Cabinet Painting After All

All this talk of painting cabinets and don't you know I had to go and paint one. As for the kitchen cabinets, not at this time.

This cabinet was a gift from dear friends who were married around 1940. They purchased a dining room set about that time and this is the only piece left. They gave me the buffet, the table, the chairs, and this. I had no idea what to do with the gift as I found the set too dark and too big. The buffet was dispatched as quickly as I could. Now I see all sorts of them on gals' blogs beautifully painted and looking fantastic. The table broke and went on its way. All the chairs, save for one, did as well. So this is all that remains. In its original state it was a deep, deep brown. What you see here represents my sister's and my feeble attempts to do something, anything, that would make it more presentable. I haven't liked it much either. So last night I decided to tame down the panels.








From what I'm seeing in these pictures...pictures reveal things in clearer ways sometimes...it's going to get some more taming down. Perhaps once January comes, it'll get the ale or the poppy treatment. (See earlier in the week's post on painting kitchen cabinets.) In the meantime, I'll tame this down one more time, then trace the words "Give" on the left side and "Thanks" on the right side. Look for it in a future post.

Are you all crazy busy with Thanksgiving plans? I've shopped twice this week. Why doesn't Wal*Mart carry everything one could need? I had to visit Shaw's to purchase those small white onions that my family loves. This morning finds me making place cards. It's so much easier when each person knows where s/he is sitting.

Don't forget Karen's A Christmas Fair tomorrow! I've been busily planning that, too.

Have a great Thursday!

Edited to Add: Found a font that I liked, printed it off, traced it on the cabinet, and painted over the top of the tracing. I like the "give." Hate the "thanks." Sigh. If the river wasn't so cold, I'd consider pitching myself off the bridge. There's always more paint. %/ Sigh.





Edited to Add AGAIN: Friday, November 21, 2008 @ 10 am...

And the saga continues...

Last night, I was wailing explaining about my dilemma. John, bless his heart, came to the rescue.



I couldn't understand what had gone wrong, but now see that I was not faithful to the font. I had struck off on my own. There's a lesson here somewhere!



At last, some success!



Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions. Next time, I will follow them! For a while, I thought that I might paint the word "up" instead.

Best wishes to A Woman Who Is who happens to be in the throes of this right now. :D Hope that she blogs about it!

How You Live

How You Live

Wake up to the sunlight
With your windows open
Don't hold in your anger or leave things unspoken
Wear your red dress
Use your good dishes
Make a big mess and make lots of wishes
Have what you want
But want what you have
And don't spend your life lookin' back

Turn up the music
Turn it up loud
Take a few chances
Let it all out
You won't regret it
Lookin' back from where you have been
Cuz it's not who you knew
And it's not what you did
It's how you live

So go to the ballgames
And go to the ballet
And go see your folks more than just on the holidays
Kiss all your children
Dance with your wife
Tell your husband you love him every night
Don't run from the truth
'Cause you can't get away
Just face it and you'll be okay

Turn up the music
Turn it up loud
Take a few chances
Let it all out
You won't regret it
Lookin' back from where you have been
'Cause it's not who you knew
And it's not what you did
It's how you live

Oh wherever you are and wherever you've been
Now is the time to begin

So give to the needy
And pray for the grieving
E'en when you don't think that you can
'Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you
So think of your fellow man
Make peace with God and make peace with yourself
'Cause in the end there's nobody else

Turn up the music
Turn it up loud
Take a few chances
Let it all out
'Cause you won't regret it
Lookin' back from where you have been
'Cause it's not who you knew
And it's not what you did
It's how you live

'Cause it's not who you knew
And it's not what you did
It's how you live

~Point of Grace

Mother Makes the Front Page

Yesterday afternoon, while visiting with my mother and grandmother over a cup of Crème brûlée coffee (delicious!), my mother asked, "Did you know that your mother made the front page?" (My mother often speaks of herself in the third person.) Well, no. No, I had not. John dug out the paper from the recycling bin this morning. I hope that we can be forgiven for having missed it.

Apparently, last Veteran's Day (a week ago) filled with honors and activities finally got her the acclaim that she so well deserves. She's been following my dad around for years so I find it amusing that she makes the photo and he, who is obviously seated to her right behind all those who are standing, does not. Geeze, I hope that he wasn't on his keister during the flag review. :D

Oh, can't see the picture so well? *Here's* a much better look.

Edited to Add: Hahahaha, I just noticed the camera in her hand...she holds it like a teacup. Hahahahahaha...Mom, did you know that your daughter laughs at how you hold a camera?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Thank you to everyone who left a comment yesterday. I received good advice and lots of helpful tips. If you are considering a kitchen cabinet painting job, you might want to check them out.

Oh, I am waiting...I'll do a good scrubbing and perhaps give Lovella's and Jan's ideas a go. And a collective cheer was heard across Blogland...

Projects

My head is just spinning. Perhaps it's ADD or some malady that strikes women of a certain age. Whatever it is, I know that I am restless and fidgety as if I need to get completely involved in something. There are a number of projects at hand, which I'd like to discuss this morning with you.

First up are my kitchen cabinets. I'd like to paint them and have been thinking about it for weeks. This week, it seems most urgent that they get done because I am hosting the family for Thanksgiving next week. NEXT WEEK! Do you think that I could possibly have decided to do this at a worse time? Please talk me out of it; John almost has. They've been this way for 14 years and it's looking pretty tired; I'd feel so good about having them freshly painted. It's just that one thing leads to another and the wallpaper would need to be refreshed since I can not afford to have tile or beadboard installed and then...

I'm still pondering colors. I like both these colors from Maine Cottage...

(As I have provided, at no benefit to me whatsover, a perpetual link to Maine Cottage, I feel perfectly justified in sharing these pictures. If you don't like it, don't look.)

Next are drapes for the front picture window. I got this brainstorm from visiting Dawn at The Feathered Nest just one too many times. Yesterday, while shopping at Lowe's, I picked up the painter's cloths and I'm so excited about the possibilities.

For another thing, we're pretty sure that the upstairs rooms should be closed off to save on heat this year. That will mean that the front room will become our winter bedroom so we'll need those drapes for this window.



The next project is the ongoing one of packing up my sister's things. This is where I really miss an old blogging buddy who would often comment, "WHAT? Those things would be on the front lawn by now!"














The above bedroom is the future home of my sewing, craft room. May it be so, Lord!

This all reminds me of the old joke about the little boy who finds a dust ball under the bed and reports to his mother that somebody's either coming or going. In our case, it's both!

Well, I'd better get started on something. It's not as if I don't have plenty to do!

Enjoy a wonderful Monday and a wonderful week, too.

Fractals

Fractal: frac·tal
Pronunciation: \ˈfrak-təl\
Function: noun
Etymology: French fractale, from Latin fractus broken, uneven (past participle of frangere to break) + French -ale -al (noun suffix)
Date: 1975
: any of various extremely irregular curves or shapes for which any suitably chosen part is similar in shape to a given larger or smaller part when magnified or reduced to the same size
— fractal adjective



Some years ago, I attended a seminar where a mathematician was the featured speaker. I so wish that I remembered his name because he gave a presentation that has remained with me. The gist of it was that NOTHING in this universe is unplanned and EVERYTHING has a pattern. Patterns signify that a designer is at work.




He said that if one splatters paint on a wall, even the splotches of paint, which appear absolutely random, will, if magnified, reveal a pattern. He showed us photographs of such instances. It was pretty incredible information for this mathematically challenged gal and is reminiscent of a discussion on fractals, photographs of which you are seeing here.



The discussion of fractals features prominently in the book The Shack. Each person's life is represented as a fractal — broken, but beautiful and something that God Himself is busily working out on our behalf.

Mackenzie, my purposes are not for my comfort, or yours. My purposes are always and only an expression of love. I purpose to work life out of death, to bring freedom out of brokenness and turn darkness into light. What you see as chaos, I see as a fractal. All things must unfold... ~Papa



It's the most profoundly comforting thought. What colors are your life? What needs working through? Where are the broken places? Allow Him in, lean on Him, rest in His great love for you.

Photo Source: Google Images and I make no apology.