Busy Times

I'm back after much busyness!  In the past few weeks we've moved my mother-in-law from one assisted living facility to another, celebrated the birthday of a very sweet and very adorable granddaughter, dealt with the aftermath of my husband hitting a deer on the way home from a quick trip to Wisconsin (damage to the car and the deer, unfortunately, but no damage to said husband, thankfully), prepared for the start of classes at The Potter's School, and had major painting done on the house.  Now I'm trying to catch my breath and keep plugging away at school prep.  Whew!

Remember the bright yellow and orange and not-so-bright blue walls?  They're gone, replaced by a soothing, creamy color that is not at the height of fashion right now, but who cares?  We like it, it goes with our furniture, and it complements the woodwork, which is also of an unfashionable, non-trendy color.  My philosophy leans strongly toward doing what we like and ignoring the style gurus because in five years, possibly fewer, they will be telling us that what we "needed" today is now hopelessly dated and couldn't possibly be born by right-thinking people.  Remember mocha and black?  Exactly.

View of the entire great room with newly upholstered sofa!

We had our 20+ year-old sofa reupholstered.  It took forever and a day, but I am so happy with the result.  It's like brand-new!

I especially like this little shelf over the stove for the salt and pepper.  There is not an abundance of counter space in the rather small kitchen, so I tried to clear away as much counter clutter as I could.  The pitchers to the left of the stove were made by Dave's grandfather, a multi-talented artist.