The Kelly House Project

Jayne is doing a wonderful job renovating her folk victorian home. She's uncovered a little gem. This is her video from youtube. If you'd like to visit her inspiring blog click here.

Beaded Board on the Stairs

Joe has been working on the stairway while we were gone. He installed drywall first for its fire retardant properties. We are putting beaded board over that to a) get that cottage feel, and b) avoid all the sanding it would take to finish off the drywall. The rest of the house is looking pretty good, and I know from past experience that, even if you hang plastic to try and control it, that fine dust goes everywhere. It's a little more expensive doing it this way, but I'm sure liking how it looks.

I've seen board like this in plenty of old cottages in Michigan...sometimes hung vertically and sometimes horizontally. We opted for horizontally because it is already a very tall narrow space and I'm hoping installing it this way will keep from making it seem even more narrow.

Road Trip to Daytona

My mom and I headed out of town to catch a little sun in Daytona Beach. One day we attended a fun party for the standard poodle group on Flickr. Hawkeye had a great time, and the pics from that will make a whole post on it's own....22 poodles running around!

Mom and I

Jenny rented us a room at her grandparent's place on the beach. Jenny and her husband are doing a wonderful renovation of their house and there are lots of pics on her blog if you're into home renovation.

This is the view out the window of our room. At Daytona Beach you can drive your car right down to the beach and park....unique! Handy too. We saw lots of families coming for the day with all their gear...you can tailgate right on the beach. The sand here is extreemly fine and packs down hard, so you see lots of people biking on the beach as well as driving.

While we were in the south we made sure to eat plenty of BBQ and key lime pie.

On the way home we stopped at St. Augustine. It's a beautiful city. Here is the lighthouse, peeking through the live oaks. Look at that moss...so pretty.

Yup, I climbed all the way up...
got very hot in the process....

and was rewarded with a beautiful view and a stiff breeze to help me cool down.

Daytona Beach on Dwellable

Hat Knitting

Today I finished up a hat for friend who is undergoing chemo treatment. I hope it fits her. It's the pattern called "Checking on the Colonel" at Woven n Spun. It's very easy and knits up fast. The yarn feels fabulously soft. It's called Cotton Supreme from Universal Yarns. It's 100 percent cotton, which I hope will make it comfy for summer, and machine washable and dryable.

I think the way they worked out the decreases in the crown is pretty elegant way of continuing the pattern.

Here's a very out of focus, nighttime, in the bathroom mirror shot...but at least you can kind of see the shape. Well, I'm off to block it so Colleen can take it to her tomorrow.

Like Father, Like Daughter

So I stop in at the shop today, and I see Dad with his feet up, and here's what he's wearing:

Good grief.
I had to laugh, because what was I wearing?

Hey, Chucks are a classic, right?

"Crusin' the Square" Art Show

We have a wonderful new display here in Pontiac, IL. Most of the cars in the "Crusin' the Square" show were unveiled today...so much hard work and imagination went into these cars. And such great variety!

This one is sponsored by the Illinois Route 66 Association

Rockin' and Rollin' Car was done by the Jr. High Art Club

Jack Gerard's car featured activities of teens who might be crusin' the square.

Reticulated CARaffe by JoanE Lipinski

Crusin' with Lincoln by Bob Sear

Detail of "Crusin' with Lincoln"

Humiston Woods Work Truck by Ed Lipinski

Pussyfootin' Around....in Downtown Pontiac by

Vincent Not a Van Gogh by Shannon Vincent

by Pontiac Township High School Art Students

There are still several cars yet to be finished or installed (including mine), but I'll post them as soon as they are done.

Illinois on Dwellable