so happy the snow fairies have worked their mischief once again and hit us with a lovely, lively,fest of swirling snow, sleet, slush, and snain, bringing us another joyfully amazing snowday off of school. winter does not go easily into the good night. in other news, dairy queen opens in 2 days.
while some might see this as a cheap way of getting out of buying a new toy, felix sees it otherwise. instead of going to the store, he took his giant pipe cleaners and created his own new stuffed friend, ‘crazyanimal’ and they are very happy together.
‘your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions’ – albert einstein
i so loved the recent safety tips from my gas company and was especially taken with #3:
1) never operate a lawn mower in a closed garage.
2) never teach children to light gas appliances.
3) never use gas fuel lines as clotheslines.
for some reason, i had it in my mind the project would be kind of fun. and quick. and easy. turns out i was a bit off the mark and scraping wallpaper from a 100 year-old wall is not all i imagined it would be. i bought all of the recommended supplies, and pictured myself spraying it down, and peeling large sheets of old paper right off, only to find a fresh new wall underneath, just waiting for me to repaint with a shiny new coat of gloss.
reality looked quite different and was filled with surprises.
surprise #1: i climbed up on my step ladder, only to discover it needed one more step in order for me to reach the top of the wall. decided i could do it on my toes and with a bit of balance. had to spray above my head, leading to some collateral dripping damage.
surprise #2: the paper and glue were so old that it would only peel off in tiny shreds, no matter how much extreme wallpaper toxic liquid gel neon remover stuff i sprayed on it, and no matter how long a time i left it on there, soaking in and ‘working its magic’
surprise #3: the aforementioned stuff was making me a bit sick and dizzy but i couldn’t open the windows as it was below zero-ish outside
surprise #4: noticed my fingernails had begun to shred from picking/scraping with them and toxic gel sticking to them
surprise #5: found things under the old paper, such as nails, staples, cracks, unexplained cryptic pencil marks, and more tiny pieces of wallpaper
surprise #6: sticky paper dropped to floor and stuck to my shoes, leaving a trail throughout my entire house, vacuum jammed with paper bits and dust and had to be taken apart
surprise #7: after hours and hours of this, i actually found myself beginning to enjoy the task: fueled by coffee, toxic gel scent, music, and sheer will, i fell into a peaceful, relaxing rhythm, in spite of myself, i became a bit addicted to the process. kind of like basket weaving or meditation for some?
surprise #8: due to the use of the scraper, shredder, finger nails, gel, and putty knife to get it all off, the wall below is now destroyed and will have to be restored before putting my new shiny paint on. i imagine it will be quite fun and peaceful.
‘god can run faster than a dolphin.’
(helped clear up an unanswered question i had about the universe)
the number of chipped nails directly correlate with the number of miles a person travels.
(20 freshly manicured nails + 240 miles = 17 nails without chips + 3 nails with chips = 1 nail chip per 80 miles)
real world example: had my nails done just before leaving on a trip across the planet to western australia. on the first leg of the trip, very early on, after a one hour flight to make my first connection in chicago, i noticed 2 fingernails and one toenail were already chipped. i wondered what shape i would be in by the time i arrived in perth.
conclusion: after 11,181 miles traveled? i considered myself lucky to have any nails at all. i’m going to go out on a limb and say that if i had been a colonial pioneer woman, traveling across our country, in my covered wagon, clothed in calico, with my churn, 6+ children, and skinny cow, i most likely would not have been able to maintain a french manicure.
I didn't have my glasses on.... 