Indoor Winter
I’m used to waking up cold. I’m used to going to bed cold. That’s the thing about Practically Canada from October to May: It’s cold.
But this morning was different. Derek had to leave for work very early, like 3:30am early. When my alarm went off, I swiped it off, noticing that the screen was like ice. Ice, however, cannot stop me from snoozing, so I nuzzled my nose under the down comforter and drifted back off to sleep. Not many minutes later I woke up again. This time sleep was not a temptation, because the cold was unbearable.
I was reminded of waking early on a backpacking trip in a nylon tent coated with ice from the morning dew. In those moments though, I knew things would get better once I was up and moving, once a fire was lit and food was in my belly. Today things were different. I looked back to my phone to find a text from Derek.
“If the heat isn’t working call someone as soon as you get up. It was 58 when I left.”
I hated the thought of 58 degrees. Reluctantly I jumped out of bed and pulled layers on at a rate just shy of the speed of light.
52 degrees and dropping.
A heating company said they’d be out at 1:30. At 2:30 I gave them a call. “Should be there soon…your house is next on the list.”
At 4pm I got a call. “Actually, a complication has come up. No one can come until tomorrow morning.” By this time the thermostat was reading 43 degrees and I was wearing a coat, boots and hat inside. Poor Panda cat was laying on top of her icy cold paws. The electric blankets cords were snaking around me and the setting on the digital screen read “H.” That’s one click higher than “9.”
For a moment I wanted to cry. But tears would not save me from the cold. So instead I Googled. I called every H/AC phone number on the list. Number number 3 yielded results. A man named Bob, who was surprisingly young for a man called Bob came over within 20 minutes. Thirty minutes after that I had a new ignitor in the furnace and heat blowing through the vents.
Today taught me a few valuable lessons. Firstly, the cold here is serious. Serious enough that the inside of my home dropped down to a temperature lower than winter-temps in other places we’ve called home. Second that heat is a necessity here. I feel so blessed to have it on demand. So blessed to be in a stable enough situation that I can dial up the temp. Blessed that, spoiled as I am, I put a sweatshirt on because I’m “a bit chilly” even when the furnace is working properly. We really are so very lucky.
Step into my cloffice…
Remember 2014’s first project? Yes, that hideous closet that I left untouched after completing the bedroom remodel…that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Well, it’s done. And I even had a day or two to spare. It might not be as lavish as other cloffices floating around the Pinterest world, but it’s functional, I think it’s pretty, and it’s a heck of a lot more productive than working from the couch.
The next big house project we are planning to tackle is the basement. Task number one of that job is getting all our stored stuff out of there. Which means, my craft supplies. Honestly, I was all too happy to go through my things and move them upstairs to a well-lit, cute space. It’s nice to have {almost} all of my go-to supplies in a location that isn’t shared with Panda’s litter box.
I sorted out all my string and ribbon and stored it in a basket. And I used a box left over from Christmas, covered in scrapbook paper, to organize all my writing/drawing/doodling supplies {chalk, charcoal, markers, crayons…} Buttons, which I rarely use but seem to have an abundance of, are stored in a vase that came with some flowers from the florist. And my stack of unused notebooks for list making are finally all together in a bin from Martha.
The basement is currently unfinished except for a few “walls” made of peg board. It’s all going to get torn out soon, so I salvaged a chunk, gave it a coat of spray paint, and made it into a vertical desk. I had a hard time finding pegboard hooks, so I’ll tell you where I finally bought them: Menard’s. Really any big-box hardware store should have them. Insist that they find them for you. At Menard’s I asked three employees before one knew what I was talking about. In the end they were by the closet stuff.
In days to come I’m sure I’ll have more things to pin up, but in the mean time I clipped up a few old photos that I came across while sorting through the desk. They make me happy.
I took the same can of paint that I used on the pegboard and sprayed the old, ugly-gray file cabinet as well. Much improved!
We had that silver utility light in the basement. I bought it once upon a time to use in dim photography settings. I haven’t used it in a long time and it’s perfect for the desk space. I love that it clamps onto the shelf so it doesn’t take up {precious} desk or floor space.
Eventually this closet will return to an actual clothing closet. With that in mind we installed all the shelving on a closet kit from Rubbermaid. The shelves are adjustable and you can buy additional accessories to add hanger rods or additional shelving. It was easy to install. Derek helped with this one, but I used a similar kit in the bedroom and put it in myself.
I’ve already been more productive the last few days since this has been finished. It’s really amazing how having a dedicated space that you actually enjoy coming to can change your attitude about work. This project also serves to show that with organization and creativity, even a small, overlooked space can be transformed into something useful.
Amy
PS…In case you missed it, here’s how I made that cute dry erase board. And going even further back…here’s how I made that wreath.
DIY Dry Erase Board
Well friends, Derek worked late last night…which means I was up late working on finishing the cloffice. Today is January 29 and my goal was to have it finished by the end of the month. Looks like I met the goal with 2 days to spare. It’s really nice when that happens.
One of the final pieces of the cloffice I really wanted was a dry erase board. I’m a major list maker and I’m trying to cut back on the amount of small pieces of paper with mini lists on them floating around. Hopefully a board near the desk will allow me to make an ongoing to-do list without paper trail.
The only problem is, I think white boards are kind of ugly. Especially against a white wall. Then a friend mentioned that he was going to replace his office’s white board with a painted glass storm door. That got me thinking, “Could any glass be written on and erased from with dry-erase markers?”
Google told me yes.
So I went to Goodwill last night and picked up an old frame. It even came with a complimentary picture of a sad little boy in period clothing. Case in point it was $3. Just be sure you get one with real glass in the frame. I’m not sure the markers would erase as well off of plastic.
Once I brought it home I painted the frame. While that was drying I cleaned the glass and started making a stencil. I free-handed a curve similar to the shape Martha uses on her labels. Also, to keep things tidy, I used the frame’s poster to prevent paint and markers from getting on my table. I only drew one quadrant of it to keep things symmetrical. I used the poster that came with the frame to find the center of the glass and a dry erase marker to split it into four equal sections.
Once the quarters were drawn on I traced my curve four times…once in each section. Then I flipped the whole thing over.
Next I used the curvy line as a guide and acrylic paint to trace over it. Let that dry.
Then put your frame back together {minus the dated poster}. I used a staple gun to attach a ribbon to hang it by, but if your frame comes with a hanger on the back you could use that too.
It’s cute and it writes on and wipes off easily.
If you aren’t known for your artistic handiwork here are some alternatives to making your own curvy frame.
1. Trace a platter to make a circular frame on your board.
2. Print out a giant brace…that’s what these are called {{ }}…and use that as your template.
3. Paint all of one side of your glass a solid color.
4. Use painter’s tape to create a guide for a square frame.
Get ready because tomorrow I’ll show off the finished cloffice!
Bust Your Fitness Rut
It’s the end of January. The “resolution” gym crowd is thinning out. At the gym I work at our membership forms have stopped flying out of the folder.
{Image from Women’s Health Magazine}
So if you are still sticking to your 2014 plan to get fit and shed those pounds that have haunted you…well done.
If you are new to the workout game {or even if you aren’t}, you might be getting bored with your routine by now. This month I’ve had a few days every week that I’ve taught four classes at the gym in one day. It’s a bit above average for me. All the time at the gym, all the classes have caused a couple people to ask me: Where do you come up with this stuff?
This is the truth. I write out every workout I teach. Then, at the end of class I throw it away. I do it simply because I like doing something new and different each time. So, where do I get so many ideas? Today I’ll show you my go-to sources for fitness inspiration. **Be warned…these are links to fitness sites. There will be images of tones up girls in sports bras on these pages. These pages advertise their workouts by showing results. I advocate conservative dressing…and working out while covered up.**
Some of my very favorite workouts come from The Daily HIIT. {High Intensity Interval Training.} These moves are way hard. They inspire my hard core classes. I usually do a workout, or just browse around for moves that I’d like to pair together.
For pilates inspiration I love Blogilates. She’s got good posts about clean eating, recipes, and workouts that will kick your booty. Most of her workouts are categorized by body focus and they are short {12-15 minutes each}. Usually all you need is a mat and a bit of space.
My last go-to source {I’m not giving you all my sources, just the ones I frequent most} is Women’s Health Magazine. The magazine is okay, but I’m a bigger fan of the web version of the source. That way I don’t have to week through ads, clothing advice and articles. I can go straight to the workouts. They have a great variety of moves to try out with basic equipment that you’ll have at your local gym.
I can go months without looking anywhere other than these three sites to bust out of a fitness rut. Hopefully they’ll help you too. The hardest part about fitness is always starting. So if you haven’t started: Go for it. And if you have: Keep it up!
Amy
Puppies and Kittens
While in Louisiana I spent a good deal of time with one of my greatest friends in the world. In addition to a lovely husband, she has three roommates full of personality and antics. While staying over a snapped a few quick portraits of them.
Meet Sam.
He was Megan’s first dog when she lived along shortly after college. He may be tiny, but he loves his mom and will protect her from any and all threats. Be it slippered feet moving a bit too quickly, a dog on TV, or the doorbell, Sam is on guard. I think deep down he is happy to have Dallas out of the house so he can have his momma all to himself.
Meet Stella.
She was in a litter of puppies at the animal control center in Enid, OK. Megan and Dallas adopted her and rescued her from the clutches of death. Now she likes to spend her time cuddled under blankets, rolling over for belly rubs, and on long walks. Actually, she likes to be carried on long walks. In the car her favorite spot is slung around the back of Megan’s neck between the headrest and her mommy. Best of all, she loves her dad {and men in general} and cannot wait for him to come home.
Meet Mo-Kitty.
Mo was once a nursing home cat. He took long walks around the old folks home in the basket of his owner’s walker. His career as a therapy cat was cut short due to his habit of nipping at the residents on occasion. From there he moved on to his new home where he quickly packed on a few pounds and discovered his passion for bird watching from sunny windows.
I just love pets.
Accumulation
I know many of you are creative types. Like me you probably have the skills {and enjoy} whipping up a new wreath, making felt flowers, pretty-ing things up with scrapbook paper, doodling, stamping, sewing…
If any of that describes you, you’ll probably also relate to this word: Accumulation.
For those of us who like to create it’s easier {and more cost effective} to slowly amass an arsenal of supplies instead of running to the craft store every time the making-mood strikes. And since our supplies are often put away in a closet, binned up in the basement, or neatly shoved under a bed…sometimes we don’t even realize how much stuff we’ve accumulated.
I’m still working on the cloffice, which will also serve as a place to store some of my crafty supplies. So while I was making the move from dark, dingy basement to bright, pretty cloffice I started to process some of my goods. Let me tell you…it’s a little disgusting. I’ve got supplies that date back to my freshman year of college. At this point, if I haven’t used black plastic beads, wooden star cutouts, and glittery wired ribbon…chances are I never will.
Going through it all was quite a task. As I’m sure you can tell by the photo, it was a messy task and a lengthy task. But I’ve been through my ribbon and string, tested all my markers, sorted my colored pencils, wrestled my buttons into one location, and weeded out my stationary. In the process I’ve made quite a pile of things I don’t need any more.
It’s so easy to hoard craft supplies. I think we all get that irrational itch, thinking “I can’t throw this out…what if I want to use it someday?” Friends, take it from me, you’ll feel better when you purge. And 5 years down the line if it turns out you actually do need a handful of black, plastic beads, it’ll only cost $1 to get more. In the meantime I think that’s money well saved to take back your space, organization and peace of mind.
This year I’m going to try to use up some of my arsenal. So put some cute things on Pinterest, so I can make them. Okay? Thanks.
Amy
Southern Comfort
I’m in Shreveport, LA. If you’ve been a friend of the blog for long…you know that before PraCan was home, this was where I parked my car and rested my head. One of my best and dearest friends still lives here. So when Derek found out he needed to come down for a week of training, I was totally on board for tagging along. Seeing a bestie + escaping the Polar Vortex=a major win-win.
Today the bestie is at nursing classes. So I was on my own. I started my day off by doing a little video work for another friend who works for a lovely non-profit in the area. More on that later. After I finished up there it was 10am and I had yet to have a cup of coffee. In dire need I headed to Strawn’s Eat Shop. Here’s the thing about Louisiana. I don’t miss the heat. I don’t miss the bugs. But what I really do miss is the vibe here. The accents, the sassy locals, and the abundance of southern comfort food.
Stawn’s is iconic. They’ve been featured in magazines and on TV. Their joint is quaint. Their food is amazing.
I settled in this morning, ready to take my time…maybe knock a few more pages off of an amazing book I received for Christmas. During the course of the hour I spent there sipping coffee and slowly working on my food I watched the action unfold inside one of Shreveport’s oldest and most loved eateries.
It’s the kind of place where the waitresses know the customers. More than once was a patron greeted with a “Hey, how you doin’?” and a hug to match. My coffee cup never fully drained. The waitress never pressured me to hurry up and move on. She just let me nibble and read. By 11:15 the door was constantly swinging open as more and more hungry locals poured in for burgers and pie.
{yes, that is a giant slab of butter on the counter. I love the south.}
When you spend time in a place like Strawn’s you see the best in the community. People excelling at their work. People carrying on a tradition worth carrying on. Lately, I’ve been overwhelmed and heavy-hearted over the state of our world. The truth is, it is easy to look around and feel like everything and everyone is awful and growing worse. But all it takes is a slow breakfast in a hole-in-the-wall to remember that there are still lots of good people, and plenty of good left to be done. Maybe things aren’t really as changed and far gone as they sometimes feel. That’s a happy thought to hang on to.
xo Amy
