28°F or -2°C this morning, warmer than the 19° yesterday morning. We had a couple inches of snow Saturday, which has mostly melted off as the days are warming into the 40s with sunny skies.
After a full day of sorting and pricing our auction items on Saturday, I have mainly been painting furniture. Kinda boring around here, actually, unless you are me and enjoy the work. I haven't left home since last Friday, and love this uninterrupted time. I finished up the little green desk at last, so it will be off to a booth soon.
Now I am finishing up a pair of end tables, and am about halfway through a vintage 1940s kitchen cupboard. No photos of those yet. I need to get these things finished up because we sold a large cabinet and that console table so we have some empty space in our booths.
Larry has been spreading rabbit and chicken manure on the gardens these last few days. It's a good time of year to get this icky job done, and the gardens will certainly benefit. He has been working on some furniture pieces too, getting them ready for me.
Like I said, boring! I have managed to finish a couple books, which is really a nice treat for me. Again, not going out means more time for such things.
I have been thinking a lot about Alexei Navalny too. I feel so very sorry for his family. When he was sent to that Arctic prison, I feared that he would not come out alive. That seems to be the way things work in Russia. It amazes me that people like Navalny still stand up and speak out, knowing full well that they will be targeted. What brave souls they must be. I wonder, would I have the strength to do the same in a similar situation? Or would i duck my head and try to just go on with life as best as I could? I don't know. I am ashamed of our Congress for not sending more aid to Ukraine, allowing Russia to extend its terrible reach into yet more places. What must be happening to the Ukrainian people in the occupied areas? I shudder to think.
In college, I took two semesters of Russian history. It was fascinating, and I longed to visit the country, although I knew it was unlikely with the political situation there. Then came Gorbachev, and it seemed like there might be real change on the way. How sad that that period of possibility was so short-lived. As a storyteller, I dug into Russian folktales with great pleasure. Such a richness! And now, all dulled by the grayness of a regime that seems only to want to suppress its people and enrich its leaders.
Well, enough doom and gloom. As messed up as the US is these days, it is still a pretty good place to live. Something to remember when I despair of the political antics sure to come this year!
And on a completely different topic, did you know that one can travel from Chicago to Nova Scotia by train? Iris, thinking of you, lol, and your long train trip! I had an aunt in Nova Scotia; she passed away some years ago and I have always been sorry not to have met her. Now I am thinking, a train trip...what an adventure that would be!
ReplyDeleteCatching up on blog-reading tonight, and I'll guess that your mystery object is a foot warmer that folks used to use in sleighs and other horse-drawn conveyances. I'll go a step further and guess that it's soapstone.
I absolutely love the green table! Oh, if I had the space!!!
ReplyDeleteRussia. Three of my former team leaders were from East-Germany and knew the language.
I got the alphabet sung to me!!!
I so feel with both sides.
See, it would be like fighting our neighbors. We speak the same language more or less!
I wish for peace when I come home. But that's just a dream. So hot here, so cold there.
Yes, sad you didn't take that ride in time. Maybe do it now, if for memories? Hugs to this, huh...
You did a great job with the desk.
ReplyDeleteThat train trip sounds good.
If you do make it Nova Scotia sometimes, do get up to Cape Breton and do the Cabot Trail.
Still so cold? Here it feels so much like spring already..7C today. That little green desk is really pretty.
ReplyDeleteThat desk will sell quickly! I love the fact that you take other trash and turn it into someone else's treasure.
ReplyDeleteI had a desk similar to that as a teen, and painted it two shades of purple, to match my bedroom. Then when my younger sister inherited it my father put formica over the drop down surface! Yuk...and of course painted it a different color...red I think.
ReplyDeleteI rarely have long stretches of time at home, but I do love them when I get them. It sounds as if you have used your time wisely.
ReplyDeleteWe all see plainly Russia's intentions. He will not stop at Ukraine. The arguing in Congress are the same debates and discussions we had regarding Germany prior to WW2. Heartbreaking that a handful of people are so power hungry that they will destroy the world for it.
Oops I thought you were talking about the top picture. I think the foot warmer guesses are the most likely.
ReplyDeleteI would not have thought green would work on that desk until you combined it with the chair. Looks very sweet together now..
ReplyDeleteAny ideas besides vinegar, borax or tsp to get rid of green mold on the inside walls & floor of an old wood house? It is still solid in spite of sitting under big trees neglected too long.
We are probably crazy to try and revive it. It has not gone to black mold, only green like you see in old cars sitting in somebody's yard for years.
The contrast between yesterday's chilly morning and today's slightly warmer start highlights the variability of winter weather. It's not uncommon for snow to melt quickly under sunny skies and higher temperatures, especially as we move into the daytime. Enjoy the brighter, milder days ahead!
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