Chicken Claws

One of the things I wanted to try to do during this bathroom reno is to practice the three R's (reduce, reuse and recycle).

In terms of recycling, I'll be bringing our toilet to the Architectural Clearing House because unchipped white toilet tanks are apparently in a bit of demand. The vanity was particle board and icky and not worthy of saving. Sometime you just have to rid the world of ugliness.

There wasn't really a way I could think to reduce, but we did buy a dual flush toilet. That should reduce water usage.

Mostly we are reusing. I managed to score some decent floor tiles at the Habitat Reuse store and I love the square porcelain sink from the ACH. The rest of the floor is the hardwood we dragged home from Victoria years ago from my sister's house when they painstakingly saved it from the landfill. It still looks great in our hallway and will be nice to continue into part of the bathroom. Thanks, Bon and Rodger!

And then there is our clawfoot tub that we found via Kijiji. Of course it needs a bit of work, but when I'm 81 I'll need a bit of work too. The enamel is still great, but the outside is being sanded and painted. And this is what the feet looked like.



Since they were painted originally, I was just going to do that again. I'm too cheap to get them gilded at $60/foot. In the end I decided to try a different route and sprayed them with automotive primer.


Already the detail of the claws shows up much better and the chipped paint shows up less. 81 year old paint turns out to very hard to sand smooth but the primer filled them in a bit.

Then I followed it up with a coat of chrome automotive paint. Here they are now.

The girls called them "chicken claw feet", but they're really eagle claws and a common enough foot for a tub. Since the tub will be a soft grey colour, I'm glad I made the decision to paint them metallic. The gloss makes the chips stand out more than the primer did, but it is an old tub and I don't mind if it looks old.

I can't wait to see the whole tub put together. I could use a bath right now. My feet are throbbing and I feel coated in sawdust and grime. It's all coming along and I like some of the process, but definitely not all of it. I'll be happy to have it done one day.

Goodbye

"If I die..." said Dave, chasing a snow pea around his plate with his
chopsticks.
"When you die," said Kenny.
"Whatever," said Dave. "If I die. When I die. What's the difference?"
"Acceptance," said Kenny.

He's right.


We all knew that she would die, but we were still caught off guard when it happened. Yesterday Laura discovered her little gerbil, Ella, hadn't made it through her day. For a gerbil, she had reached her natural age span of about two years, but it still hurts a little girl to lose her first pet.


And it hurts a mother to see her little girl crying like that. It's a different cry than when she falls down, or when she's tired. It makes other people cry with her. Laura, Beth and I had a good cry after school.


After she calmed down, she said "Can you read me some Stuart McLean?"


She could have used the moment to get a trip to McDonald's or to eat some consolatory chocolate, but she asked for Stuart McLean. Laura, you know better than I what will make your heart feel better. A cuddle on the couch and some laughter. You're so wise.


The funeral is today after school. Laura will be painting a rock to place under our nanking cherry bush and then we'll only have Ella memories.

Full of Beans

I finally shelled my dried beans. I've never grown beans specifically for drying before, and I don't know yet how they taste. Another experiment in the garden this year.

Aren't they pretty?



They are a heritage variety called Speckled Cranberry Beans. I saved enough for a few plants next year too, although I think you have to save a full year's growth in order to harvest enough in the second year to make a few meals.


I'll make one pot of chili and see if we even like them. But I do like how they look and beauty is one of the reasons I garden.

Another bag

I don't think I'm in tune with junior high fashion, but apparently Beth's friend loved her new purse.

Everything I make is developed sort of as I go. I don't have it all planned out when I start. I started with the sagey linen and the nice cream fabric, of perfect weight for the finished product. But they were boring when sewn together. And I didn't have a handle planned at all.

Laura braided the handle, using the two fabrics and a third with a flowery one just to add some colour.

It wasn't enough colour once braided, so I added the flower.

In the end, it was a purse I would use, and luckily so does the birthday girl.

A gathering of saints

Although we did mention All Saints Day at church, and I always think of Reformation Day and my grandparent's anniversary, it's still Halloween to us. Sacrilegious, maybe. Fun, definitely.

We went around our neighbourhood in a group. Two friends independently called us in the late afternoon deciding that it would be more fun to Trick or Treat together, so we went as a big group. It grew by one even before we left the door as one of Beth's friends showed up. Apparently our group looked better that her mom and three little siblings. The more the merrier!


By the end of the night Beth and another friend joined us too, but we missed taking any pictures of Pirate Beth and Professor Trelawney, and the Eskimoes fan who took this picture.

It just occurred to me - 11 girls and one boy by the end of the night. He was too young to care and way too young to think this was a good thing.

Hope your Halloween was good too!

Laura's winter pictures

Elephants and Mice

Little mice. You wouldn't think they'd be scary would you? But this little wheat bag is very scared of them.


See how his eyes are rolling? He's totally freaked out.

Oh, don't turn your back, little elephant! Those little mice might sneak up from behind, take a bite out of your felted wool behind and feast on your wheat!

This little wheat bag was a quickly made gift for another friend and has left the house in happy anticipation of living in a house with cats. No mice for this little guy.

But me? I have to go to bed early if left alone because the mice scamper once the lights are turned down. I haven't seen signs of them in our food yet, but we've definitely seen one in the living room and heard one squeaking behind the fridge. Is it alone? I'd love to think so, but I'm thinking not.

Anyone got a hypo-allergenic hairless cat I can borrow?