What's Up, Wednesday?

It's here again.  Time for: What's Up, Wednesday? (Okay, so I've only done it one other time, but I'm trying to make like it's a thing, so play along would you?)

It's been a week tied to music.  First on Friday I saw Todd Snider was going to play at one of my favorite theaters, The Castle, in September.  The Castle is a smaller venue and only an hour away from us.  We haven't seen him in over 12 years, but in the spririt of "We're Still Going To Do Fun Things When I Go Back To Work" we decided we were going and bought tickets.  (And let's face it, if I'm going to keep posting "What's Up, Wednesday?" I'm going to need to do some fun things or those posts will just be about doing laundry and fixing lunches.<shudder>)

Then my younger brother landed a gig just a half hour away at the new winery in my hometown, Arpeggio.  See what I mean about music related topics this week?  Even the name of the winery fits in!  So we went to that on Sunday and drank many kinds of Sangria (pomegranate, peach, and blackberry) and picked up a bottle of their Dolce.  Delightful outing.

And look at the bottle of wine we bought, for crying out loud!  It has a guitar on it!

And then on Monday we hit the jackpot. We were waiting on pins and needles to see if Jason Isbell was, in fact, going to play in Carbondale as it was rumored.  At noon, it was announced that he would be playing a FREE show there in October.  And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, ten minutes later The Castle announced via Facebook that he was going to be playing there the day after he is playing in Carbondale. He currently has the #1 rock, country, and folk record  IN THE COUNTRY, people.  All of this with little to no radio or t.v. time.  This is a big deal.  So just like Deadheads, we will be following him around to see him perform that weekend.  I wrote a post about seeing him at The Castle a year ago. You can read about that HERE.

A few pictures from when we saw Jason Isbell at The Castle last summer...

So, yeah, a lot of music related items going on this week.  

I also finished reading this book, The Antelope in the Living Room, by Melanie Shankle.  I found myself chuckling out loud (COL - let's try to get that acronym to catch on) every few pages.

We've really tried to have date nights this summer.  This was something we rarely did when our kids were young.  I mean very rarely.  But we've found a great baby-sitter and the kids are older now, so we've gone out several times this summer.  Last week we drove to Springfield and ate at Obed and Isaac's Microbrewery and Eatery.  The food was fantastic and so was the peach hard cider.  And you have to love the history of this place.  

And finally I went in to set up my classroom this weekend.  It was not too humid, and I had volunteers.  Not only does this make it get done more quickly, it makes it more fun. Thanks to my husband and kids for helping me out on this!

  Only 10 more days until school starts, so I need to enjoy drinking my morning coffee at 9:30 on my deck while I can.

Kim

Bathroom and Patience Renovation...Part Deux

Patience is a virtue.


Good things come to those who wait.


Rome wasn't built in a day.


And any other cliché you can think of to extol the importance of things taking time.


It is done.


Our half bathroom off our master bedroom is renovated.


It only took four weeks.  Four. Long. Weeks.  You can see my original post on this HERE.


During the last week, I started saying things to Dan like, "I can't live like this," and "This is becoming intolerable."  I said them calmly.  I was just trying to let him know that I could see my breaking point approaching in the distance.  In his defense, he has been working 10 hour days for pretty much the entire summer.  So he didn't always feel like coming home and working on anything.  But other than that, I think we both did pretty good.


So now - pictures!  It is possible I may have had my 12 year old show me how to make these collages on the Collage Pic app.  In my defense, I only needed a little help. 


So without further ado...the new bathroom "Before" and "After" pics!


This first...the wall you see as you walk in.  Wow. What a difference. 

The wainscoting was necessary because when Dan pulled the flat mirror off the wall, he discovered...a big square hole in the middle of the wall.  Yes, we could have just hung new drywall, but the walls are textured, so it wouldn't have matched, then we would have had to do all the other walls...enough of this run-on sentence.  But that is what it feels like when you remodel.  First this, then that, so not this, but instead that.  It's like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, for crying out loud.  It all turned out for the best because I looooove the way the wainscot looks.


And a few detail shots of this wall...

Next...the sink and mirror.

As I mentioned, the mirror over the sink before was just flat to the wall.  But the new mirror I picked does double duty.  It's actually a medicine cabinet style that opens and has shelves.

And just one more shot of the old sink cabinet and new pedestal sink...

I didn't think I wanted a pedestal sink going into this remodel because I thought it was really going to limit the surface space.  But when you look at the two side by side like this, you can see there's really not much of a difference as far as surface space goes.

And the wall with the toilet next to the sink...

I didn't take a "Before" picture of this.  Now I really wish I had.  Nuts.  Just use your imagination.

Here's one of the old light fixture above the old mirror and the new light fixture above the new mirror.  This one is a little unfair to the "Before" picture because the old fixture is missing a light bulb that we could have replaced.  But the whole room was so depressing, it was like, why bother?  So we didn't.

Last up...old floor/new floor...

The floor was also something we also had to do along the way.  We knew it was probably going to be necessary but weren't sure until Dan actually pulled out the old sink cabinet.  Yep, no tile under there.  It was news to me that they had porcelain tile that is made to look kind of like wood floor.  I LOVED this floor.  It reminded me of an old farmhouse floor where the hardwood has been whitewashed.  But instead it's actually beautiful porcelain, so no splinters or lead paint!  I have to hand it to Dan here.  We bought exactly enough to cover the floor.  There wasn't one scrap left over when he was done.  Good thing he didn't make any cutting mistakes!


This last picture is a my attempt at using the panoramic function on my phone.  Not perfect, but it gives you a little bit of an idea of what the whole room looks like.

Because you probably won't come up and walk around in our bathroom.  But now you can feel kind of like you did. You're welcome.

Kim

What's Up, Wednesday?

In an effort to become a little more regular in my posting, I've decided to try to do a "What's Up, Wednesday?" weekly post.  Now -  you have to read that right.  It's like you're asking Wednesday, "What's up?" like Wednesday is a real person.   Don't read it like "What's up" is an adjective for "Wednesday".  Okay?   It's important to me that you know that.  Anywho, the idea is to just share some different things that have interested me or have been going on in my life lately.  You know, things that I can't turn into a post in and of themselves, but that I do feel are worthy of snapping a picture of with my cell phone. 


I'm hoping this might anchor me to a more regular posting schedule. 


Up first: our bathroom renovation!

I wrote about being in the midst of our master bedroom half bath HERE.  We've made progress, and now this is in its most fun phase - the shopping-for-cute-stuff phase.  It was important to me to make this bathroom pretty because it so wasn't pretty before, but I also want it to be functional.  I found these glass containers at Wal-Mart and decided they would be perfect.  A bonus is that they are made in America!  They're holding cotton swabs and cotton balls, but I love the simplicity of the look. I also found this little ceramic owl container on clearance at Pier 1.  Would you believe I bought it before I knew I was going to have this tiny shelf?  It fits there so perfectly!  And it holds bobby pins like it was born to do so.  I plan on doing an updated post about the finished renovation soon. 

 Here's a sneak peek!

Next is this:

It was finally my turn on the library request list for The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.  I been waiting for this one for months and had heard many good things.  It did live up to the hype, and kept me awake too late a couple of nights in a row.


And finally... The Wizard of Oz!


Here we were - off to see the Wizard!

When my kids were little, I would take them to the children productions at a nearby theater.  They were wonderfully done and relatively inexpensive.  They were done at 10:00 A.M., right before the under six crowd gets cranky for a nap.  And you didn't have to worry about them talking out loud or fussing and bothering others in the audience because, let's face it, that's who the audience was.  Afterwards, they got to meet the characters from the play. Oh, those were good days.


But they've been too old for those for a couple of years at least.  I started taking my daughter to one regular production a year.  My son was just 7 when I started this, and I knew he was too young to sit through a two hour production, intermission or not.   He's not always enthusiastic about outings in general.  These productions are NOT what I would call inexpensive excursions, but I do think it is worth it.  Over the past three years, we've seen Annie, Cats, and The Sound of Music.  This year one of their productions was The Wizard of Oz.  I decided the boy was old enough to go this year.  He LOVED it!  I'm so glad I took him this year.  When I went in to kiss him at bedtime, he said, "Thanks for taking me to see that, Mom."  So worth every penny and he will now be making the yearly trip with us!

So that's What's Up, Wednesday!

Kim

Solo Road Trip

A couple of weeks after family vacation to the Gulf Coast in Alabama, I did something I haven't done in over 12 years. 


I spent the night by myself. 


I know it's been at least 12 years because my daughter turned 12 this year.  Now, there have been plenty of times when she and/or my son have had an overnight stay at a family member of friend's house, but on those occasions, my husband and I jump at the chance to go out for a date.  So, I haven't been alone.  He's with me.  There have also been times when he's been gone, and I've been alone with the kids. Or there have been times when he's been somewhere with one of them, and I've been home with the other one. 


But alone for the night by myself?  No.  It's been more than 12 years.  How is that possible?  The funny thing is, before I was married, I did pretty much everything alone.  I was 32 when I got married, so I had pretty much flown solo on everything I did.  If someone had told me back when I was 30 that I wasn't going to be alone for 12 years, I think it would have given me pause. I can honestly say I haven't missed it, but I did slip back into the old habit like a broken in pair of jeans.


This happened by accident.  My husband and I had been planning to make a trip down south in July.  We were going to see my brothers play in their band at our favorite winery. This plan had been in the works since they scheduled the date in the early spring.  As it turned out, my daughter was invited about a month ago to a pool party that same weekend.  She really wanted to go and is at that age where it's all about being with her friends, so we made arrangements for my husband to take her and pick her up.   My son preferred to spend the night at my parents' house, which is on the way to Southern Illinois.  I made a reservation for myself to stay at our favorite inn.  I realized when I was doing that, how strange it was going to be to be there alone. 




One thing about heading south in mid-July.  You know it won't be cooler when you get there.  It was oppressively hot and humid that weekend.  I made it down to The Davie School Inn to check in before heading out to the winery.  The Davie School Inn is just what the name implies: a former elementary school building converted into an Inn with eleven different suites.  I stumbled on it online, searching for a place to stay one night on a trip in December.  This place is a delight.  When the owners renovated it, they left a generous amount of the 1910 charm, while updating it with all the modern comforts you hope for. 

These rooms are referred to as suites for  a reason.  With a large sleeping area, dining area, kitchen area, living area, and bathroom, they put hotel "suites" to shame. (Blue Suite)

   Original chalkboards in many of the suites (Blue Suite)

   The black line on the floor is the "Reading Circle" in the second grade classroom. (Blue Suite)

The schoolhouse flag is displayed in the Black Suite.

    There's quite a bit of original cabinetry in the suites. (Black Suite)

When I arrived, I was told my room had been upgraded to one of the main floor suites because it was available. I had reserved the White Suite but was being moved to the Pink Suite. I knew this meant fancier digs.  I was a little disappointed this happened on the one stay that my husband wasn't with me.  That didn't stop me from texting him and rubbing it in a little! ;)

    Softest sheets ever in the Pink Suite!

   Can you see me waving to my husband in this picture I texted him? (Pink Suite)

  Cozy gas fireplace in the Pink Suite - but not much fun in July.

I made my way out to the winery.  My sister-in-law and my brother's girlfriend were already there.  This winery, Owl Creek, in Cobden, Illinois, specializes in hard ciders.  So naturally, I had to try a cider-rita, made with their coriander lime cider and tequila.

We then proceeded to polish off a pitcher of peach bourbon hard cider and a pitcher of their Sweet Knocker hard apple cider.  Just because it is kind of awesome to be pleasantly drunk at 4:30 in the afternoon sometimes.  Especially when good music is involved.

After the gig was over, I got to spend the evening visiting with my family on my brother's farm.


Then it was time to go back to my suite.  I took advantage of the huge spa tub, crawled into a deliciously comfortable king size bed, and began to read my newest check-out from the library, The Silkworm.  And it was all very fine.

The next day, my breakfast was delivered to my room.  This is another sizeable reason I am a fan of the Davie School Inn.


Here are a couple of the scrumptious breakfasts we have had when we have stayed at this fine establishment:


   Pancakes this time around...

   This spinach and feta omelet from another visit rocked.

   This French toast was life-changing.  I had to ask the owner (who does the breakfast-makin') for the recipe.  Five words: Girl Scout Samoa Coffee Creamer

 I can tell you, I took my sweet time getting ready to go.  When I checked out, I asked the owner where I could find some fresh peaches.  He directed me to Flamm Orchards, 15 minutes away.  I did a little shopping in Carbondale and then headed home. 

I suppose I could have just stayed home too when it became obvious that one of us was going to have to stay home, but I'm glad I didn't.  I had been looking forward to going for a few months, and it was enjoyable to set my own schedule, even if it was for a little over 24 hours.  I had kind of forgotten what that was like. 


It's not bad.

Kim