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Sunday Happy

April 7, 2019 Colleen Stem
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I think we are pretty much out of the clear. Yes I woke up yesterday morning to a light coating of snow on the ground, but I feel like that was it. It has got to be because I have to wash my winter jacket that is as of now, covered in dirt and concrete so it needs to be washed. And once it is washed, it is getting packed away with all of the other winter stuff. So you see, we really cannot have any more winter jacket weather because I won’t have a jacket anymore. It must be sweater weather or warmer and that is that. Are you listening weather?

The week good, if not a bit hectic and all over. There was work, paper work, the “must not be mentioned” and no they are not done yet but must be by next Monday or else. The mr has been running around all over town doing this and that which has been a slight pain because when he is super busy and I am busy and we only have one car and my bike needs a good tune up before it is safe… Well it makes things some what difficult. But so far we have managed and there wasn’t too much arguing over car. We did manage to take a nice walk down by the lake, I also was able to sneak in a warm afternoon of clearing out the garden and picking up yard trash. The back porch is almost ready for summer living and green things are popping up all over the place making me ache for more more more. Think of it, trees with leaves. I am getting more excited every day.

Friday was a crazy day. Woke up, went to the gym with no plans other then work at the studio and having the littles over for dinner. By the time I came home I had plans to quickly make a cake before work because the littles pizza party turned into a family birthday party for Megan. So I made that cake, ran to work, moved 700lb of clay and loaded kilns. The mr picked me up with littles in tow, we ran home in time for all the family and partied partied until I kicked everyone out of the house at 7 because I was exhausted and plus Megan needed to go to Costco so she needed to leave anyway. Ha.

Yesterday, after a near sleepless night due to a racing mind, we woke up (again, to snow. BLAH), I bundled up and out we went to spend half the day pouring wet, heavy, cold concrete. I must say, pouring concrete usually isn’t the worst, but yesterday, well it was. First off, we were working in very tight quarters making moving somewhat difficult.. Secondly, I was sore from all the clay moving the day before. And I was freezing. And tired, so so tired. By mid morning my fingers and toes had tuned to ice, I was covered in so much dirt and concrete, the mr was basically rolling around in dirt (reference picture above) so was trashed worse then me, but we were getting it done. The mr was brilliant and saved us so much time and hassle by coming up with a tarp and jostle concrete mixing technique so that was good. Anyway, the concrete was all poured and it is over. (Now we wait for it to set to finish porch construction) The rest of the day was short and went by with cleaning the house. I don’t know how my family does it but there were sprinkles from the cake EVERYWHERE!

Today, after a quick romp to the gym, the library, the grocery store, and all the other little chores I need to do, the mr and I are going for a drive to look at a van. We need a work car. The life car is getting trashed, we have been having to get materials delivered (which costs money and stupid time) because we cannot fit wood and big stuff in the car, and it is just not practical for us to share. So van. A van for work, A van for cross country travel. A van for sanity. Hopefully this van is the one. Wish us luck.

Some stuff from the internet that you might care to look at.

-Thinking real hard about buying these Birkenstocks…but not sure. Any opinions?

-Stop Asking Kids What They Want to Be When They Grow Up The question forces children to define themselves in terms of work. And really, what do you consider grown up?

-Gluten sensitive? Try sourdough. Why Some Gluten-Sensitive People Can Still Eat Sourdough Bread.

-Kitchen spices look startlingly different in the wild. So pretty

-Brown is one of my favorite colors

-Got a power drill? If yes, you also have a oven cleaner. I Cleaned My Oven with a Power Drill

-All Right. Some Cats Do Fetch. Only never fetched. That would have been beneath him. But he did respond to his name. Cats Might Not Act Like It, But They Know Their Names As Well As Dogs

-I very much like this house.

-Will Kevin Costner be my neighbor? Floating cities could ease the world’s housing crunch, the UN says

-10 Things Nobody Tells You About Plywood. I love a good application of ply wood. We have plywood floor tiles in the pantry and our kitchen cabinets are plywood and they are great.

And some pictures from the week.

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-C

In Winooski, the fam, sunday happy, remodeling, pictures, photography, internet links, Barbara Eats Tags Sunday happy, family, everyday life, pictures from the weel, Vermont, birthday, pottery, internet links, life, photography, Spring, nature, Barbara Eats, construction
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Sunday Happy

January 14, 2018 Colleen Stem
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Mid January. I love this time of year. All the big holidays are over so the pressure is off, my body is acclimated to all the snow and cold so I handle it just fine, and every day gets a little bit longer. I feel like it's when I really get  focus on and enjoy winter for all it's greatness. It's just so dang pretty and I am again wondering why I do not live in a little cabin in the middle of the woods. Or why I have yet to go sledding. On the agenda for the week...Build a cabin and speed down a hillside on my ass. Can't wait. 

The beginning of the week I was still feeling like garbage. I thought for sure that what I had was a 24- 72 hour thing, but it lingered well into the week. (watch out, everyone is getting it) I feel better now, but am still a little low energy. Getting sick sucks so I think I won't do it again. 

And the twins turned 20. I would tell you all about how great it was to hang out with them but they are too cool and didn't return any of my texts for hanging out and I guess they don't care about me any more so whatever. Instead the mr and I brought Judah over to Shanons to crack eggs and make giant bowls of marshmallows with Cameron for dinner. So Happy Birthday Mark and Paul. You suck.

The mr and I made a trip out to Barton for a day of hard work. We gutted a bathroom, the mr moved some plumbing, and Jes and I starred down an actual "shit hole"( i.e. a hole that shit comes out of and is the proper use for the term), while sewage spewed all over the place and the mr stood strong and held up all the pipes in a sea of shit. It was a very dirty job, but someone had to do it. Unfortunately it was us, but there are worse things I guess.  And now Jes is well along her way to putting a floor down over the hole  and spending quality time with the purple swans the adorn her bathroom walls. 

After that, the week just flew by. There was the farm share (thank goodness, I was starving), more family stuff with my and the mr's family,I re-pierced my ear and may have gotten it infected, and I started a new sourdough starter (the yeast loves Red Cat Farm flour!). And let's not forget the crazy ass weather. Friday afternoon I had all the windows and the front door wide open and the heat turned off. 60 something degrees and almost every speck of snow had melted. It was so, well, it was nice, but so weird. And very short lasting because we got like 6 inches and dropped like 70 degrees by the next day. Ah, Vermont. Love it or go crazy. 

Today is one of those days where it could go either way. I have a pile of papers that I need to go through, people to see, laundry to do, but I am also thinking that an afternoon of wondering outside, reading and knitting might just take priority. Next week is going to be hectic so maybe I rest up today. And ice my ear because it really hurts.

What the Internet had for me to read. 

-I love these so much I need to print them out, especially Backpfeifengesicht because it makes so much sense. 30 Untranslatable Words From Different Languages Illustrated By Anjana Iyer

-The Rolling Huts: An Architect’s Alternative Approach to Camping. My new life plan right here. Seriously. Buy the land and build the huts. It's gonna happen.

-After reading this book I feel like I should just make life all about the bread. Sourdough: A Novel.

-Mushrooms are magical, and not just the magical kind. Do Medicinal Mushrooms Actually Work?

-Are Gummy Bear Flavors Just Fooling Our Brains? It's all the colors. Our brains do weird things. 

-I could eat that whole thing. Giant Cabbage. 

-Periods piss me off. There’s a reason using a period in a text message makes you sound angry

-Inside One of America’s Last Pencil Factories. This is pure awesomeness and make me really happy. 

-Talk about some sweet ass sweaters. Custom Hand-Knit Sweaters Blend Subjects into Urban Environments

-It's January: Time to Plan Your Garden. I can't wait for seed catalogs!!!

Pictures from the week. 

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Have a great day.

-C

In winter, Winooski, vermont, sunday happy, remodeling, photography, internet links Tags Sunday Happy, everyday life, photography, family, vermonting, vermont, winter
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Sunday Happy

August 6, 2017 Colleen Stem

This is the golden time of the summer. Warm days, cooler nights. It's still summer but fall is so close that sometimes you can almost feel it, like in the morning when it's chilly enough for a sweater or see it when you notice a few tips of trees turning colors. It's the best and I am eating it all up.  Plus I am really excited for apple soon. Early macs should be on there way and I am craving me some apple stuff.

The week has been a little foggy very much productive. Foggy because my allergies have taken hold of my brain making me cranky and at some points unable to hold a single though. Productive because well we got so much done. See the porch(picture above) It's freaking amazing. The mr is so so good. (he did most of it)  And I am not the only one to think it. Every day that we are outside working on it, at least 5 old ladies have to stop and tell him how amazing he is. I think a few of them might have a little crush (hehe) So porch is built and painted and the sealant is drying out now, the rest of the house is painted, all the siding is finishes,  and it's pretty much done out there besides a few little things and landscaping. It's crazy, I didn't think it was ever going to happen. But it did and now on to the last big house project...The downstairs bathroom. Saving it for last because we have been using it as the dirty paint sink and litter box room (need to figure out a new spot for that) but now it's time and back to the fixations of a bathroom remodel.  I am on the hunt for a very specific, never to been seen in real life, cast iron corner shower base. I have seen a few pictures, but not many and I even had found one for sale but it was (was because they sold it) 4 hours away and we thought we could wait to buy it. Lesson learned on that one. We even took a trip to a few salvage yards and come up with nothing. So if you by chance have something like that, let me know. I need it to be happy.

Today is going to involve a bit of cleaning and organizing and bean picking? I have been slacking on my farm share pyo (it's beans and flowers right now) because the garden in the back yard has been keeping me plenty busy picking out there. The tomato plants alone are a freaking jungle with a thousand pounds of fruit that is going to need to be picked this week. I am going to have tomatoes all winter long. So yeah, go to farm, maybe library, clip my nails, just take it easy. You know, do the Sunday thing.

Internet reads from the wee.

-These Are the Foods Climate Change Will, Well, *Change*

-Don't just stare up at the sun, it will be bad. Planning To Watch The Eclipse? Here's What You Need To Protect Your Eyes

-Bring back the swing set so I can play on it. A Short-Lived Swing Set Makes a Splash in Burlington's South End

-It’s Officially Too Goddamn Early for Pumpkin Spice. I completely agree. Also to freaking early for all the Halloween candy on display at the grocery store. IT'S NOT EVEN FALL YET!

-I would like to think I would be fine with this but I am not so sure. I guess I need to try it to see .World’s longest suspension footbridge opens in Switzerland

-I would so buy it if I lived in Sweden, and had the money. This Gorgeous Greenhouse in Sweden is For Sale

-Why You Should Slurp, Not Sip, Your Soup. I am a slurper

-Why Newborn Babies Smell So Delicious. I hear it all the time from people around babies. What does it mean that I never find newborns to smell all that pleasant?

-Do you watch the GBBO? If yes, you gonna watch the new season? After seeing this, I am for sure. I mean, biscuits barfing up jam.... The New Great British Bake Off Trailer: Is It Saccharine? Creepy? A Surrealist Stop-motion Extravaganza?

-Vibrant Mushroom Arrangements

A few pictures from the week.

Bye

-C

In Winooski, vermont, the great outdoors, sunday happy, summer, remodeling, photography Tags Sunday Happy, remodel, hearts, porch, DIY, vermont, garden, food, VT, internet links, photography
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Sunday Happy

July 16, 2017 Colleen Stem

Holy FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!. That is what I have been saying every time I step foot outside my door. The mosquitoes are INSANE! I think I have gotten at least 100 bites in the past few days. No joke, they swarm around as soon as the door opens. They have chased me inside more then a few times and have taken more of my blood that I am willing to give. It is terrible and disgusting and I really really hate mosquitoes. (my white walls also hate the mosquitoes, there are blood splatters everywhere)

Other then the nasty ass mosquitoes, the week has been pretty good and super productive. Windows are re glazed and painted, half the siding is up, yard is clean and porch is painted. Give us a bit off good weather and we can get stuff done. We also managed to have dinner with Shannon one night then had Miley and Judah for dinner and crazy messy chalking another night (they discovered water and chalk makes a paste and covered themselves in thick war paint like chalk) I got a few new house plants and I am officially turning our house into a jungle. (makes me very happy)  The mr has been working on some sweet stencils so there is little pieces of paper and spray paint everywhere and I am thinking about where to set up my pottery wheel. ( I think the loft is going to be my new pottery studio) So yeah, a full week of fullness and summer and all the people. Oh, and the mr would like me to mention that he has invented a new way to cook an egg. He calls it a broached egg. It's when you are trying to hard boil and egg and accidentally break the egg when putting it into the water and the egg kinda seeps out and cooks that way. Half hard boiled, half poached... Broached. So smart that one.

Today brings with it some more fine weather. I don't know what we have planned for the day, but I am hoping it is not too much. Maybe take the kayaks out, maybe burn some more siding? Hopefully not much work related stuff, but you never know. Whatever we do end up doing, I want to be outside. I just really hope that the mosquitoes are all dead.

How I interneted this week.

-Cherry Season! ALL THE CRAZY THINGS FARMERS DO TO BRING YOU THEIR CHERRY CROP.  Where do I get a cherry cheat sheet?

-When I was a kid, every time I saw a banana peel I was sure someone was going to slip on it. The History of the Banana Peel Slipping Gag

-Does drinking a few cups of coffee a day help you live longer? Yes, yes it does.

-If your in need of some advice. This Is How You Get Stuff Done.

-Airline Passenger Checks Single Can of Beer As His Only Piece of Luggage hahaha

-Birds are smart so do forget that... Ravens Surprise Scientists By Showing They Can Plan

-The Uninhabitable Earth. Scary and very real shit people.

-I get it, sometimes you don't want to get out the salad spinner but when you don't wash your greens you are probablyeating dirt (and maybe some bugs) Here's Photo Proof That You Really Should Wash Your Leafy Greens

-Desperate Ways to Stay Cool on the Hottest Days of the Summer

-Just Smelling Food Could Make You Gain Weight. But who wants to eat without tasting... that would suck.

Pictures from the week.

Happy weekend!

-C

In Winooski, sunday happy, summer, remodeling, photography, internet links Tags Sunday Happy, Weekend, whale tales, vermont, Vermonting, Sunday, internet links, photpgraphy, shou sugi ban, summer
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Sunday Happy

January 29, 2017 Colleen Stem

I don't know about you, but the past week has left me with a knot of dread in my gut. There has been a lot of utter bullshitbeing shoved in our faces, invoking feelings of rage and dismay and I am trying to figure how to be in this reality. It's scary and strange and leaves me feeling a little crazy. Add that feeling to a little mid winter blues.... I am not exactly of sound mind these days. (Ha, have I ever been?)

But there was a lot of good things. Little simple things like making pizza with the littles or walking through ice covered trees at 5 in the morning. New doors, a head of messy hair, a hint of blue sky. My little bits of happiness that really make me appreciate all the good that I have in my life.

And today, well I need to decompress my brain. I am going to take it slightly easy with work and do a news detox. No NPR. No NY Times. Do a little cleaning then chill. A good book, lots of hot beverages, a walk in the woods, some watercolor paints. The simple things to clear my head. You should do the same.

Some of the internet from the week.

-Bill Nye explains: what would happen if all the ice melted on Earth? We need to know this.

-Aziz Ansari’s Monologue on ‘Saturday Night Live’: Transcript. Not just funny..Smart and real.

-This shit is for real and scares the crap out of me. The Doomsday Clock Is Reset: Closest To Midnight Since The 1950s.Digging a hole now

-These paint palettes are making me want to paint.

-Love otters? How about a giant otter? Scientists Discover Prehistoric Giant Otter Species In China.

-A little advice can go a long way. An easier way to make cookies. Thanks Deb

-Sublime Opening Titles to the Style Frames Design Conference Animated by Eran Hilleli. Just really good.

-WATCH THE AMAZING CHINESE ART OF BLOWING MOLTEN SUGAR INTO GLASS

And a few pictures from the week.

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Take care.

-C

In home, internet links, life, photography, remodeling, sunday happy Tags Internet links, Sunday Happ, Remodeling, Vermont, Home, Life, photography
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