The way I clean house

Dirt: Layers of dirty film on windows and screens provide a helpful filter against harmful and aging rays from the sun. Call it an SPF factor of 15 and leave it alone.

Cobwebs: Cobwebs artfully draped over lampshades reduce the glare from the bulb, thereby creating a romantic atmosphere. If your husband points out that the light fixtures need dusting, simply look confused and exclaim, "What? And spoil the mood?" (I just throw glitter on them &call them holiday decorations).

Pet Hair: Explain the mound of pet hair brushed up against the doorways by claiming you are collecting it there to use for stuffing hand-sewn play animals for underprivileged children. (Also keeps out cold drafts in winter).

Guests: If unexpected company is coming, pile everything unsightly into one room and close the door. As you show your guests through your tidy home, rattle the door knob vigorously, fake a growl, and say, "I'd love you to see our den, but Fluffy hates to be disturbed, and the shots are SO expensive."

Dusting: If dusting is REALLY out of control, simply place a showy urn on the coffee table and insist, "This is where Grandma wanted us to scatter her ashes."

Painting: Don't bother repainting. Simply scribble lightly over a dirty wall with an assortment of crayons and try to muster a glint of tears as you say, "Junior did this when he was 3 years old, and I haven't had the heart to clean it."

General Cleaning: Mix one-quarter cup pine-scented household cleaner with four cups of water in a spray bottle. Mist the air lightly. Leave dampened rags in conspicuous locations. Develop an exhausted look, throw yourself on the couch, and sigh, "I clean and I clean, and I still don't get anywhere."
As a last resort, light the oven, throw a teaspoon of cinnamon in a pie pan, turn off oven and explain that you have been baking cookies for a bake sale for a favorite charity and haven't had time to clean...Works every time.

If the house is clean, the computer has crashed.

The black hairy beast

We're friends here, right?
You won't judge me too harshly--will you?
I want to come clean--
about my cleaning--

I have been vacuuming anything and everything that won't move--
much to my dogs dismay.
She (the dog) HATES the vacuum--
she will run in fear at the site of it being moved into a room where she is at.
She cowers in fear at the sound of it--
She is one of those things that i would vacuum--
if she didn't move so fast--

We love this dog--
In the past she was the motivator

to get my husband out of bed and running.
She has been such a good companion for little man.

Not unlike Lassie,
she told me when he had wandered outside by himself.

She proves to be valuable as an alarm
to notify us when the bus is outside--
and continues to be patient with little man
as he climbs on her.

She doesn't mind sharing her bed with little man,

so why should we mind sharing ours?
The minute my husband walks up the first step out of our room in the morning--she is staking out his side of the bed.
(much to his dismay)

My dog is spoiled--

she thinks she is human

She thinks she is a small petite thing
and tries to be a lap dog

she thinks she needs pillows to be comfortable on the floor.

When we are not around she likes to lounge on furniture.

I don't mind the bean bag so much
but
she likes to spread herself out on the couch
and get real comfy.
(little man has been known to invite her up to hang out with him--
and being the good dog
she is obliges as to not hurt his feelings.)

I don't like her on the furniture--
but not unlike my children
she has selective listening.
And when she gets caught she shows her remorse as she slinks away.
She works under the premise
that it is better to ask forgiveness than permission

But the biggest difference between her and my children
is that she sheds--
she sheds black hair--
it is rather gross
and if she wasn't so sweet and wonderful--
it might have been a deal breaker
for her coming to our house.
(I had no clue what i would be in for when we got her)
We all have flaws--
she can't help it--
I mean there are far worse things she could do.?

As I was on my mad vacuuming in the living room
I found evidence that she spends far more time
on the couch than i previously thought.
My couch has a channeled back
(for those not familiar with furniture terms-- that means those vertical creases held in with buttons--not the diamond shapes--that is tufting)
Which, when i started to vacuum
did not appear to be too bad--
that was until i opened up these crevasses--
NASTY black dog hair filled these cracks--
it was soooo DISGUSTING--
she was busted--big time.
I went to town with the vacuum
removing all evidence of her misbehavior
I did not want to have black hairy cracks--
EWEEEEE---
the cracks are now clean
and she has been banished--

If only we could remove all unwanted hair that easy....

Excited by dust

Recently i was watching a show on the History channel
about the Dust Bowl.
I was quite fascinated about this--
seeing how they had this horrible drought
for many years
and yet not one mention of
global warming
and yet they had this extreme weather in the 30's--
little to no rain....
and fewer cars to cause this condition
and they hadn't even begun to cut down the rainforest yet...
Wait----
that is really not what I was going to write about--
so anyway back on the subject of
DUST--
Many people actually died of dust in there lungs
it was so thick that as they would breath it in
and the moisture of the lungs would blend with the dust to create mud.
Mud for facials a good thing--
mud in lungs--not so....
I was thinking about that show today
as i was battling the dust bunnies in my living room--
Actually dust bunnies is far too tame for what i was battling--
lets just call them dust demons--
It is amazing how thick it can get when you ignore it long enough.
So armed with my shop vac i started this daunting task--
which made me think about how people cleaned before vacuums...
(why when we have it so much easier is it so much harder
to keep up with it all?)
I thought my valance in my living room had gotten faded from the sun--
the red was no longer bright--
it was a dull flat color....
I knew it was dusty so i took it out and shook it--
not much improvement...until
I sucked the living dust out of it.
It was RED again--
it was AMAZING!
I love when you can see the change right before your eyes..
as if you are doing a magic trick.
Who knew cleaning could be so exciting.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's cleaning story
it is a doozie--
I like to refer to it as the
black hairy crack--
HMMMM......
just something to think about.

Headaches and motivation

Do you ever have those days where you are amazed that anything got accomplished?

Where my house has been concerned-
I have been lacking in motivation for a long while now.
I lost my will to clean and organize--
my own crap.
I am gladly willing to help others
but when it came to my own disaster--
Not so much.

Anyway...
My mom offered to come over today
and give me a hand--or two.
Had she not been here i would have stayed in bed
with some ice on my head and my eyes closed---
but i didn't--I couldn't.
I had woken up with a WHOPPER of a headache--
that 3 ibuprofen didn't even touch..
Then we added to the mix,
3 Naproxen (my normal drug of choice)
and a 44 oz Pepsi (the real deal)
and my head started to feel a tad bit better.
I was able to function at a better rate.
I love the deep cleaning--
it makes me feel soooo good.
Even if it is only one room it makes such a difference--
who knows maybe i will find my motivation again.....

I think it has been hiding under the many layers of dust.

Thank goodness for the Village--people

Just to let you know--
we are all fine here.
All is currently well with the world.
The meltdown is over--
for all involved.
(I have quit tearing up)
Thank goodness for other people
who love and care about my kids--
when they won't listen to me
or take our (mine or dear hubbies) advice
or let us help take the hurt away--
Thank Goodness that others can step in
and say those things that need to be heard.
To let them know that all is not lost--
that things will be alright with the world.

Thank goodness for that village
that is helping to raise my children!

emotional day

Today was an emotional day.
The kind of day that makes me want to curl up in a corner and have a good cry.
The kind of day that leaves me drained
and feeling like a wet noodle--
The HIGHS
and the lows--

No matter what
you want your kids to do their best--
to be the best person they can be--
This growing up stuff is not for sissy's--
Being a parent means not getting to say
"I told you so"
when you told them so.
Being a parent is about having to watch them fail--
when they fall short of their goals.
when they have made choices you know they would regret later--
those choices that you know they will want to change
if they could.
Watching them swallow that large pill of REGRET--
which we all know is such a hard pill to swallow...

Learning life lessons the hard way--
learning that talent will only take you so far
that hard work is the recipe for success--
that falling short of a goal--HURTS.

There comes a point where you can no longer pick them up
and kiss their hurts goodbye.
Man i hate this part of parenting.
I don't like seeing the disappointment in my kids eyes
when they know they could have done better,
when they know they should have trained harder.
It is not about winning or losing--
it is really about
doing YOUR best.
There will always be someone better than you--
Someone who is having a more perfect day--
but if you gave it everything you had
and did YOUR best--
that is all we can ask--
that is all we do ask.
We are not asking for perfection--
we are not asking for #1

I remember watching my son wrestle
and even though he lost the match
I was soooo proud of him.
I hadn't expected him to win--
(I hoped he would)
but he wrestled that kid the BEST he could that day.
The other kid was better and that was OK.
I remember watching his coach smiling
and proud of him as he came of the mat.
He wasn't proud of him because his hand had been raised in victory--
He was proud (as was I) because win or lose.
he had done his best.
That being said--I have seen kids win
and there was not that sense of pride for that accomplishment
--because they did not do their best.

I think about the Olympics
all those athletes that were there
were the BEST their particular country had to offer--
and yet more went home without medals than with them
(that hog--Michael Phelps)
But that doesn't mean that they were losers--
if they did their personal best
what more could you ask of them?
Some didn't do their very best--
and they will have to live with the what ifs--
of falling short of their own goals.
What made the difference?
Sometimes it hundredth of a second difference....
that left them short of their goal
of being the best--being their best.

All this has made me think about the atonement...
We are so blessed that when we are less than perfect...
or don't work as hard as we should--
when we fall short of our goal
and make mistakes--
the LORD is there to pick us up
to point us in the right direction--
to guide us--
to make up for our shortcomings.
And i know that just like i love my children
and my heart aches when they make mistakes--
that his love for all of us is deep
and he feels our pain.
Often times it is those times of pain
that help us to strive to become better because of it.
If all we knew was success
would we be willing to work hard?
If we never knew failure--
would we even try?
True success comes from overcoming adversity
and growing through it--
becoming better in spite of it.

While it was hard to see my child struggling today--
i know that they have learned from it-
and will be better in spite of it.
All those things I have been saying
have been meaningless until now.
Lesson learned---
now to correct that path....
To start over....

Failure is a signpost

to turn you in another direction.

----

oprah

The PERFECT shoes

So as of Friday
we still needed the perfect shoes for Homecoming.
We tried Kohls and a few other stops--
I found a pair that i felt would work--
but again the response was
NO!!!
I am getting frustrated-
enough with this homecoming shopping fun.

So the daughter says to me
"Mom,,maybe you should go back and get those one shoes
from that one store.
Do you remember which store they were at?"
How is that for vague?
Yes, i did remember--
because I had suggested that we go ahead and pick them up--
because they really were the perfect shoe--
and that would have been our last store--
I also knew it would eliminate a trip back to the mall.
But NO...
we needed more shoe drama.
So tonight--
while daughter #1 went to homecoming with her date--
daughter #2 and i went and picked up the shoes,
bought the headband for the hair,
and picked out a black clutch.
Daughter #2 did a good job of watching out for her sisters best interests.
She even tried on the shoes--
and she knew right away that they were the perfect ones.

Mind you we had done most of the legwork the week before--
but we were in and out of the mall in less than an hour--
and that included browsing through Virgin--
and buying some movies and a new I-Pod case for her-
after all she should get something for playing the role of
Personal Shopper.

Signs of Change

Even though we are a land locked city--

and our area has been established for many years

we are still feeling the pains of change.

Recently they tore down a car dealership
that had been there FOREVER--
It was a large piece of property--
and i was afraid,
and worried,
and stressed,
and concerned,
that they would end up putting apartments on it.
I have nothing against apartments-per say--
I am just tired of the fact that any open space in our city
becomes multi family housing--
which means WAY more cars on the road
and a more transient city--

and we don't need more apartments.
Oh, how i could go on--
but i won't.
A large fence went up around the area
and since this election time--
many signs went up on the fence.

I get tired of seeing all these signs
Some of these signs promise change--
I find that very hard to believe.
As far as elections go i am a pessimist--
There is that old joke
"How can you tell a politician is lying?"
"He opens his mouth...."
Anyway, my most favorite sign that was posted in this area
was this one
Now that is a sign of change that i can get excited about-
that i can and will get behind.
That is a sign of change that i will embrace---gladly!

my various hair-do's

For those of you who know me
I claim to still be in my 30's
and for a brief few weeks
that is a still a true statement--
SORTA?
I NEED TO COME CLEAN--
i am really much older than that--
i know---hard to believe
but in going through pictures the other day
i found some old ones i want to share with you
DON'T JUDGE--
If you looked as good as i do at this age--
you too would say your only 40--
i don't want all those baby boomers
HATIN' Me--

This is the hairdo that my grandma Teeples taught me--we could practically be sisters

Sorry about the quality of some of these pictures--but remember they are OLD

This was the year i was placed into the witness protection program
(that's a story for another day)

they thought i could pass as a guy--
it worked for awhile---until i got too busty

And here was a day when i had the daylights scared out of me--

I thought my cover had been blown---
my hair just stood on end--
I know--CRAZY???

After that whole "hair in the air" experience
i found some really good hair paste and this was the result.
We all know that the key to a good disguise is a pair of glasses--
My name during this period was Jean Smith--
(how is that for blending in?)

Did i mention that i was a teacher?
Don't I look Teacher-ly?

Again with the glasses--I also like the terd roll for the bangs

Thank goodness someone talked me into updating my doo--
I found out that the kids were making fun of me---
oh, those irascible children.
I was also teaching at a Catholic school (hence the cross)
Those were the good old days---
when you could still wrack their knuckles with the ruler--
That's what they got for making fun of my hair!

I found i had enough of the teaching and decided to go to beauty school--

To do or not to UP doo....That is the question?
Being unable to make a decision i decided to combine several styles together
The Flip--and the Up-do
Works for me
Talk about stylish--
No beauty school drop out for me!

Once they figured out that the whole legal issue was a mistake
I was taken out of the witness protection program
and i went for a much simpler look--
(I think i also sported this look in the 90's)

On occasion I would still flip out--

just to make things interesting

and then one day i held the curling iron too tight

and found my ultra conservative republican self.
This was the ultimate look in Molly Mormon

There was just far too much forhead being shown
and i got a zit over my eyerow--

so we went back to a more casual bob

And then i decided to grow out my hair

Now days you would just get extensions
but in the old days we had to wait patiently for it to get this long
and on most days--(since we are being honest)
it was thrown up in a pony tail--
and then i got this wild hair to cut it all off
Or as they said then--
FEATHERS

What was i thinking?
Very rarely did i have a good hair day
And then someone said
AHhhF---FROH--
and i listened--

I was easily influenced during those years.

I was swayed...

everyone was doing it.
I established a rule during those dark days--
"Ones hair should not be larger than your head!"

I then brought the FRO down
and went for the doo with built in Gutters.

(they come in very handy when it is raining)

This was a time when they wanted to show how big your head truly was
hence the minute flower in my gargantuan hand

And this is what it looked like without the gutters

and then back with the feathers
(GAKKKK--what is with the Adams apple)

and then getting into my "inner soul sista'"

My friends called me SHANIQUAH

This was during the years
of being the token white girl on the basketball team.
Who says you are not influenced by your environment?
And then i experimented with the crimping iron-- Not feeling "black" enough

i went for the ultimate white girl look-

I became a material girl

with variations of big hair
big bangs and big perms

(i think i was fake baking as well in this picture)

These bangs were teased and made possible with lots and lots of hairspray.

Then i heard blonds had more fun

that and a bad perm that fried my ends caused me to shorten my hair

And then one day i had a really bad hair day
and decided to cut it all off

While easy to take care of--it made me look like a boy
and i felt fat !

And then i got fat

It was a dark time in my life--
but i feel i can come clean here--
expose myself--
(well in a manner.....)

I came out of those days

unscathed

confident in my woman hood

and being blond again helped with that

really what were we thinking with bangs?
the only purpose they serve is to hide our zits
and at this point in my life--
i should be done with that.
Thanks for taking the trip down memory lane with me.
Some of those pictures were hard to bring out--
but i know you won't judge me
and my bad choices.
RIGHT?
Even though hairstyles change--
one thing remained the same
I was always a pretty happy smiley person

I look pretty good for being almost 40 right?
(WINK--WINK)

hide and seek

I have some make up posts
to squeeze in this year.
My goal is to have 365 posts for the year--
I have been a slacker as of late.
By the time I get around to blogging,
I want to see how everyone else is doing,
and then I am just to darn tired to put a sentence together.
So i will randomly be posting things from the past
and putting them in the time frame that they occurred.

So if you have nothing better to do.....
keep your eyes out....
http://sondrupclan.blogspot.com/2008/08/passing-thoughts.html

http://sondrupclan.blogspot.com/2008/10/my-mantra.html

http://sondrupclan.blogspot.com/2008/09/speech-in-swimming-pool.html

Memories of roller skating

It is amazing of the things that can trigger memories.
Sometimes it is a smell--
a place-
a look
or maybe an outfit
or perhaps a song.
Tonight it was a TV show.

In watching the show Cold Case,
it transported me to my early teens.
They show was about a girl
who was really good at roller skating.
The music and events made me remember
my many evenings at the skate rink.
Oh the teenage drama--
it makes me laugh thinking about it.
It was what we did--
living in Germany
we didn't have a mall to hang out at.
We were limited in our entertainment--
so rollerskating it was.
Those were good times--
innocent and fun--
and i was a pretty good skater---
and as much fun as i had skating
and hanging out at the roller rink--
times have changed....
and it is one of those things
that i would now think twice about letting my kids do it.
Oh the world we live in......

bizarro dreams

I have heard that some people don't dream--
I dream--
and sometimes i even remember what they were about.
Sometimes i wish i had someone to interpret
what i dreamt about
and why out of all the dreams
i remembered that particular one?

Last night i dreamt.
It felt so real,
and then i woke up and I remembered it.
It kinda gave me the hebbie jeebbies--

Do i have your curiosity peaked?
It really isn't "all that"
and i will say this---
for those of you into dream interpretation
"there is NO WAY it can come true--
and there is NO TRUTH to the dream"

I dreamt that i was pregnant--
this dream included
all the problems that i had endured with my pregnancies
I even dreamt of the pain i felt
being pregnant with each of them--
It felt very real...
and when i woke up
It struck me as a bit BIZARRE.

I have never been one to be baby hungry--
and I still am not--
so why am i dreaming about such things?
That is a chapter in my book
that is closed!
Beside the fact that in my mind
I have passed the age of NO return--
my parts are no longer conducive for that.
I have heard the term "Hostile Environment" used
when speaking of my parts.
So why the dream?
Why now?

Maybe, the fact that i got to meet my sweet niece for the first time this weekend--
maybe,
because i got to nibble on her fat cheeks with sweet little kisses?

Maybe,
it was that yummy baby smell--
not the
"i just spit up"
and sour smell--
but the
"I am bathed and clean"
baby smell.




Maybe,
it was the sweet innocence in her eyes
that i have been missing
maybe, it was the fact that she can't talk back.

And then there are my Sunday babies--
who are growing up so quickly.
They are now standing-
crawling,
drinking out of cups,
getting teeth....
It is amazing how fast they are growing up.
In standing and rocking with another baby today-
I forgot how my back hurts in doing that--
even though they don't weigh a ton-
over a period of time
that weight adds up.

When my kids were little
i thought they would be little for a long time--
but time has flown by and
my babies are no longer babies
here is my oldest baby holding the youngest baby
And then here is my baby checking out the baby--
or atleast her toys--


he looks like a monster in comparison












My babies are NOT babies
they are loud
they have opinions
they talk back
they play games with me
they can drive
and before i know it
my babies will be gone---
maybe the pain i was dreaming about
was the pain i will feel
when they really leave me.

Shopping similarities

I love shopping with my kids.
I use the opportunity
to find out if I am on the same page as they are.
I use it as a measure to see if i really know
what they like and dislike.
It is like a game to me--a challenge.


In shopping with my daughter
we were having a great time--
we used the divide and conquer option
in the purse section--
At the same moment we both said
"I think i found the perfect purse"--

as Jordyn rounded the corner
with her prize in hand--
we couldn't help but crack up.
Both of us were holding
the same UGLY furry purse in our hands.
Hers was black, mine was brown--
It was so refreshing to know
that we have the same opinion of atrocious.....

"The only way to get through life

is to laugh your way through it.

You either have to laugh or cry.

I prefer to laugh.

Crying gives me a headache."

Shoe shopping

My feet are tired--
very tired!
and my feet weren't even the ones trying on shoes.
They were just the feet along for the money.

So here we are at homecoming time--
daughter got asked the other day
for another schools homecoming--
she is excited.
We already had the dress--
got it last year
and we already tried it on to make sure it fits
(it did--eliminating our previous fun)
But what is a dance
without some fashion drama?
I figured it would be simple to solve--
black shoes and black accessories--
a staple in any girls wardrobe--
Right?
We already have several pairs of black shoes
but according to the daughter
none of the shoes were right--
and in being the good mom--
and lover/sucker for shoes i obliged
and went along for the fun.
How hard could it be to find black shoes?
We found
lots,
and lots,
and lots,
of black shoes--
just not the right black shoes--
I went into any
and every store--
that had a single shoe in it.
Here is some excerpts from some of our discussions
regarding all these shoes
"Those are too high"
"those are too short"
"Too Skinny"
"Too Chunky"
"The strap isn't tight enough"
"My feet slip out"
"Those pinch"
"Are they supposed to hurt already?"
"I don't like my toes peeking out"
"Do you really think i could walk in those?
--I would break my neck"
"Those look like Hooker shoes"
(to this i responded that the politically correct term is
Working Girl--
and the shoes went with the clothes that were in the store)

While shopping I saw many cracks--
but the one that my daughter found the most repulsive
was the toe crack when the top of the shoe
smooshed her toes together and didn't cover that area--
AHHHHH!!!
It is enough to make a shoe lover go barefoot.

I have decided that shoes should not be sold in
Pavilions--
or stores the size of a Costco.
It is enough to give you shoe overload.
It made me feel dizzy to see all the
rows
and rows
and rows
of shoes.
At one of the last stores
(and it would have been the last store--if only...)
I thought we had found a winner
not too high or skinny,
no toe cleavage...
comfy....
but she wanted the smaller size--
which they didn't have.....
Who thought finding basic black shoes
would be this hard?

Goldilocks of weather

For some reason
the weather in AZ seems to occupy much of our thoughts--
we don't just talk about it we live it--
it is an event.
Any major change
and it is a headline on the news.
It rains--
the wind blows--
the temp drops by 10 degrees
and we have a news story.
Maybe it is the fact that we are sure
that at any point our solid state
will turn to liquid.
If often feels hot enough to melt my fat---
(If only it worked that way)
But in those infamous words from people who don't actually live here
"It's a DRY heat"
(So is a blast furnace--doesn't make it any less HOT!)

In AZ we are never quite content with the temperature
We are like Goldilocks--
We whine---
IT'S TOO HOT--
(which is a valid complaint--as we drive with two fingers)
then the weather cools off for a day
and we complain
IT'S TOO COLD--
of course when we are making that complaint
we are not actually wearing a jacket or even a sweatshirt.
Do we ever feel the weather is
JUST RIGHT?

While it has cooled down in the mornings
(46 degrees the other day)
I still find myself turning on the air in the car
by the time the afternoon rolls around.
I have yet to wear a long sleeve shirt
because i know by mid morning i will be too hot.
HOT then COLD
It is like the Valley is going through menopause

While the rest of the country is having fall
we are still in the summer mode.
Our trees don't change color--
there is no crispness in the air--
and that "fall smell" is non-existent

With all that being said--
fall is here.
I can tell by
the winter grass being planted--
the fall/Halloween decorations being put up
the pool is actually cooling off--

Although the days are still warm
and the kids are still in the pool--
there is a direct correlation between the evening temperatures
and the water temp--which is dropping.
They don't turn on the heater on the pool
until after high school swimming is over,
so each day the water gets a bit chillier.
The other day when the weather turned "Cold"
the poor kids were unprepared at the swim meet
and were shivering as the got up to the blocks-
having learned their lesson
two days later at the next swim meet
they came prepared with the warm stuff
only to find that it was 20 degrees warmer.

One thing about the weather--
it does give us something to talk about,
and let's be honest
we wouldn't live here if we didn't like the fact
that you don't have to shovel
SUNSHINE.

dining room improvements

It was amazing the many things that i was able to
accomplish at my mom's house this summer.
We fondly refer to her house as the summer cottage--
since she has cable/dish
it makes working over there more enjoyable.

Last year we tore out a wall

it turned into a fun family home evening
as we drew on the front side

before we took out the entire wall.

It was amazing how it opened up the space.
What had previously been a 3 foot wide hall
made quite the difference in the overall dining room space.

So with this open space
I started looking for a new dining room table
to fit in the area.
I knew what i wanted.
(you would think this was my house--
since i had such an opinion)
In my travels this summer I found the perfect table.
I had wanted a round table that opened up for when she had family over.
The chairs on the other hand were not quite as perfect--
but i could see the potential.
It is amazing how certain styles of furniture/fabric
scream out the era that they had been popular.
These chairs said to me
UGLY 80's--
early 90's

I couldn't stand the fabric
and found something i liked much better,
that would blend the three rooms together

I had mentioned to my mom about the table and chairs
and had told her that they would need to be redone.
I had decided to get them finished before she got home.
She was due to arrive on Wed. afternoon--
so on Wed morning I was over at the cottage
getting the last one finished.
I should have left one unfinished.....

Since my mom had not seen the ugly pink/white fabric
she had no idea of the real impact of the change.
Infact she said "I think the chairs look great.
"I don't think they need to be redone"
"MMMM--Mom, I already did them."
"Oh well, in that case--
I LOVE them.!"
Glad I can oblige.