I love my Little Bathroom now. It’s so fresh and clean. The gold walls are gone, the builder-grade unframed mirror is framed, the faucette is now a brushed nickle, and I have new lights. At one time we’d talked about swapping out the sink to granite, but I didn’t want the added expense, and I like this one just fine. I’m going to write a post on things we learned from other bloggers and also from our experience in framing out this mirror.

Like that pop of red in there? Yep, I do!

I wish I took better pictures…

If there was only one thing I could have done in this bathroom after painting it, it would be to change out the lights. I really like them.

I wanted to make all of the little “decor” things to save money. I’m going to add something else, but for right now, it’s just blackbirds on plates. The yellow towels are the same color as the entry hall coming into the bathroom so they are my “transition” pieces along with a bit of black and a bit of red which is in every room in my house.

Here was my “before” photo…I hope you like this one better.

This was a change that Mike and I were both ready for. Except for swapping out the plumbing, which my brother-in-law Gerald helped with, Mike or I did everything ourselves. It was much harder to do than I anticipated because of the confined space. Glad it’s over now, and I’m very happy with the way it looks.

Mike did not like the color of this room. How about you? What do you think? I was sure surprised when he said he did not like it.

All of the very successful bloggers have a “wrap up” at the onset of a new month. They list their accomplishments and posts in the prior month. I thought I’d follow along suit. For me, it’s more of an unraveling. Several of this month’s posts have involved our “Little Bathroom Project”. It was conceptually just a simple “redo”.

I droned on and on in numerous posts about the Little Bathroom Project, and allow me to tell you, I don’t think we’ll ever get that bathroom finished.

The successful part of this bathroom redo is in the pot. Seriously. The Saran Wrap about the commode did keep it from getting paint on it. Score 1 for Eva.

It’s moved so slow that the cat mistook the drop cloth for a litter box and peed on it. It really smelled bad, and I think this is who gets that score. Score 1 for Sam.

Now, here’s where it all gets tricky, and honestly, goes downhill for poor Mike.

I’m not much of a painter, but Mike informed me that he was and would have no problem trimming the wall’s blue paint out to meet the ceiling’s white paint. I asked him…”are you sure you can climb around on that ladder to paint with your not-so-awesome new knee?” “Are you kidding?” was his reply. No, honey, I’m not. You’re sort of gimpy. He can paint, but he can’t climb.

The blue paint that got on the white ceiling doesn’t look too bad, and we’re now just going to paint it blue, too. Score -1 for Mike.

Mike was going to remove the mirror but we decided this would be too hard, so with the shop that he has, he was going to put trim up around the mirror for the look I wanted. He almost scored 1 here, but the Liquid Nails he used did not adhere to the mirror and the trim all fell down. It chipped and broke, so he now has to remake it. Score another -1 for Mike.

And then..he insisted he could change out the light fixture. This required turning off the breaker to make sure he did not electrocute himself with very specific instructions for me not to flip it back to the “on” position as he was going to tackle that light change at any moment. It’s been one.full.week with no lights on in the kitchen as the ceiling lights and the bathroom lights are apparently on the same circuit. Everything else works in the kitchen–just not the lights. I’ve got an extension cord and lamp dimly illuminating the counter. Just for timing alone…let’s score Mike with another -1.

The crap all over the dining room table is now on the countertop and kitchen table. It’s multiplied. There are tools everywhere. Is he building a house or doing a few things in a bathroom that has only a commode and a sink? Thankfully, because of the no-light situation, it’s too dark to see all the crap on the counters and table so no worries for me. I’m going to quit wearing my contact lense in this house. What’s the use? I can’t see anything in the dark.

Today, he started looking at this realistically. He needed some help, so he called an electrician. The only problem that occurred in this, however, is that he dialed the wrong number and left a message on our neighbor’s phone about an electrical job. She called and said she wanted to be a good neighbor, had been glad to help on the “I’ll Fly Away” quilt, but she just didn’t have the knowledge to help him swap out a light, a fan and rewire our gate. I’d score another -1 for Mike for that one.

So…I came up to him today telling him all of this and we both cracked up laughing. I think I said (sort of cheered as in cheerleading) “L” (as in Loser). He looked a little puzzled. I added a big “O”. He caught on (or so I thought)and said “V”. I said “what are you spelling?” He said “aren’t’ you spelling “Lover”? I’m giving him another -1 Score on this one.

Not until that bathroom is all complete.

He is being such a good sport about this. Score a 10 for that! 🙂

Look what is hanging up as part of my Little Bathroom Project…isn’t that plate sweet? Did you see something wrong? I do. The vinyl wire does not align with the horizontal stripes on the plate. I’ll fix that before I finish the bathroom. If I ever finish the bathroom. Man..is it ever going slow.

I got this idea…this birds on a wire idea… from the blogger Karianne at Thistlewood Farms (www.thistlewoodfarms.com) She has a zillion projects, and I could not find the specific link to this project. However, if you have some time, you might want to visit her and look through the many, many projects she does. Every.Day. The girl is a project machine.

At any rate, Karianne said this was really easy, and she was right. It takes only two things — plates and the vinyl which you apply to the plates.

1) Take a plain plate. I used white. You can get these at the Dollar Tree.

2) The next step is applying the vinyl. I got this vinyl kit at Hobby Lobby for $10. It was $18.99 but marked down 50 percent. Everything is marked up..and then marked down…at Hobby Lobby. I also saw some kits at Walmart for under $6 but they were not birds. It’s a no brainer to apply the vinyl. Peel and stick. The downside is that I have all these birds left behind. Oh well.

3) I decided not to add wire to this plate. I have four plates and this is the only one with the bird soaring. Ta da!!

Mike is currently working on the bathroom. It’s like watching paint dry.

It was a weekend where we watched a lot of football. We listened to the high school games (Gate City, John Battle and North Stafford) on the iPad on Friday night; and then Saturday, Mike followed a couple of his favorite teams on tv. He loves the Ohio State Buckeyes since he attended school there, so he always watches them. Following that was the Virginia Tech Hokies.

I was b.o.r.e.d. out of my mind. The house was clean, it was raining too much to go anywhere, the internet was down, I had no book on hand that I wanted to read, and I hate watching television. In addition, Gracie was in a needy mood where she barked when I left the room. She and I were confined to the living room.

I decided to work on a project that accompanies our Little Bathroom Project. I want to make things for the walls of this little room versus buy things. Mike always has some plywood in the shop so I asked him if he had any small pieces. He did, and he painted it white for me. I’d planned on something with Chevron stripes and a big initial B but I scaled down the work involved.

I decided on horizontal stripes. I spaced then with a yardstick and taped them with green painter’s tape.

Here’s the whole thing taped and ready to go. I actually liked it this way, but the green doesn’t go in my bathroom.

Couldn’t spray paint this because I was in the living room, but I was able to sponge on the paint. It meant that the look would not be quite as crisp, but I’m good with that. Sort of scary looking.

I’m pretty happy with the outcome pictured below. I’m going to put a small nail in it and hang this “birds on a wire” plate that is very easy to make. I’ll tell you about it in another post.

I’m actually working on the bathroom today. We’re going to get it done sooner than I thought. I hope I can take a picture that shows how good it looks. If not, well, you’ll just have to stop by and use the bathroom. 🙂

Sometimes I want to move. We’re 17 miles from Walmart or Lowe’s. We don’t have a store. We don’t have a local school, and we don’t have a gas pump anywhere nearby. Yada yada yada…And don’t get me started about internet speed!! You get the picture….Sometimes it is just too much. I start thinking shiny cars, restaurants and IKEA.

And then something happens that changes that thought. Yesterday was one of those days. It was the sweetness of hearing people I have “never not known” sing at the Mendota Homecoming.

And a Southern Baptist morning delivered by a Yankee man called “Preacher Joe.”

Of my sisters and cousin (Creolla “Chris” Litton Houser)…and by the way, I can’t believe Pat weighs less than me!! I am going to photoshop my head onto her body.

And all this…surrounded by the quilt drawing. The “I’ll Fly Away” quilt.

It was won by this wonderful woman…Ruth Rice. She’s not in the picture as it’s not easy for her to go out now.

Her daughter, Patsy Rice Carrier, is another lifetime friend. Patsy and I sold a lot of quilt tickets for the “I’ll Fly Away” quilt — 1523 were sold in total, and this ticket was the first one of the 100 tickets purchased by the Rice family. When the tickets were new and pulled out of the box and smelled like ink…when Patsy started writing down her mother’s name…this was that first ticket “0101”.

We were so shocked because Patsy has never sold the winning ticket for the Mendota quilts, and I don’t think any family members have won. To celebrate, we took a picture of Ruth Rice’s great grandchildren. Sweet.

We were so happy! And then, an amazing act of generosity occurred. Ruth’s family donated the quilt back to the Mendota Cemetery to reraffle. And we’re doing it!! The quilt is still “I’ll Fly Away” to everyone else. To me, however, it’s changed…it’s “Ruth’s Quilt.”

I know something about the generosity of Ruth Rice. I was 15 years old when Daddy died. Mom worked until 8 pm at the local “Fleenor’s Store,” so she got home too late for a real dinner, and for a period of time after Daddy died, she was too sad to cook anyway. We just “got by” for about two years, but I found special friends that helped me along the way. The Rice family made a place for me in their heart and at their dinner table. I wasn’t a weekly guest…I showed up several times a week…always at dinner and more often in the winter than in the summer. I just slipped in near 5 pm. I remember the house as warm, cozy and noisy. I’d eat and then get ready to leave, and Ruth would walk me to the door. She’d hug me hard, and I’d bury my face in her “bosom” and breathe in that love that was “there for the taking.”

Rewind to present day. I can never leave this place. I could travel for miles and miles in a shiny car, and pass lots of Lowe’s and Walmarts, but I would never find a place like Mendota. This is the reason people who leave here keep coming back. Once you’ve got that Poor Valley Mud on your feet…you will never wipe it off.

So, I’ll be buying a lot of tickets for Ruth’s Quilt. I only bought a limited number of tickets for “I’ll Fly Away” because I sold so many online that I was afraid you’d think I cheated if I suddenly won. This is different now. This is Ruth’s Quilt, and I am in the game!!

Of course, I’ll sell you a ticket, too! It is for the Mendota Cemetery after all!!