Tuesday, November 05, 2013

Railings & Rainbows

Last week I witnessed this beautiful double rainbow outside my house ... a complete rainbow!  I quickly grabbed my camera and took a couple of shots to stitch together ...

 
It was  a lot more vibrant in real life, but still a pretty sight (hideous hydro wires run down our street).
 
We've been so busy here in our house for the last couple of weeks, and it's all because of fish.  The fish in my son's pond to be exact.  They need to come inside for the winter, and they should have already been brought inside in September!  But it got a little complicated when a guy down the street got talking to my son in the summer about fish & ponds (they both have ponds), and this guy offered my son some of his goldfish.  My son brought home four new goldfish and added them to his two pretty shebunkins which have been with us for a few years. 
 
Now that there are six fish, we were informed at the fish store that our 20 gallon tank would not be sufficient as this many fish require more air surface to collect more oxygen in the tank.  Really?!  So a new, much larger tank was purchased.  I think I may have mentioned at some point that we live in a rather small, cramped house.  Not really a lot of wiggle room for large tanks.  So with some shuffling of furniture on my own (and can I just add here that if you ever need to move furniture on your own, a good quality skateboard comes in handy ... just prop one end of the furniture on the skateboard, and you can lift the other end and carefully ease it across the room without too much difficulty.  I had to move a full-to-bursting cedar chest, and came up with this strategic idea).  I rearranged our living room a bit and made room for the fish tank here at the top of our stairs.  There's this handy little niche that was perfect for my cedar chest, but alas, it will now be home to an enormous fish tank. 

 
 
But wait ... there's more!  I've wanted for a looooOOooooong time to paint the railings in our front entranceway.  These are oak railings and they've been looking a little outdated, worn and tired for quite a few years.  We painted our living room/hallways/front entrance this time last year, and I thought I'd get to the railings then.  But no.  Now with the fish tank being set here in front of the railings, I figured this is the last chance I'll ever have to paint the railings, because there's no way the fish tank will move once it's in place (such a pain).  So last week, I put aside all the things I really wanted to do and got to work on the railings.  I sanded them down to take off the shiny varnish.  I painted everything with primer, and now the spindles have two coats of white, and the hand rail has two coats of dark brown.  I'm such a hurry to get this done so the fish can come inside that I decided to work on only the top railings where the fish tank will go, and then I'll do the railings going down the stairs afterwards. 
 
 
But wait, there's more ... sigh.  The fish tank cannot just sit on the floor.  It needs a cabinet to sit on.  My husband enjoys woodworking, so my son pressed him into action to design and build a nice cabinet.  My husband is really, really good at woodworking, and he likes to take his time and do it up right.  He's now put together a beautiful cherry cabinet, and it will be a lovely addition at the top of the stairs (even though it's going to sit partway into the living room too ... that's the living room where the green brocade chair back can be seen).  So I'm gauging the work I have to do on the railings by the amount of time my husband needs to work on the cabinet.  I think we've got it down to tomorrow when everything will be ready. 
 
My son is getting more and more anxious that we're both taking too long, and that his fish aren't going to survive.  Two days ago I went out to feed the fish and couldn't see any of them.  It had been really cold (-7C or so) in the night, and I feared they had all died.  Thankfully, when the sun hit the pond, they all came back to life and I could see them slowly swimming around.  They are going into hibernation, however, from the cold weather, and are going down in the deep part of the pond.  So we really have to get them out this week at the latest.  At least they'll be easy to catch!
 
I'll show the entire ensemble when we get it all together.  I can't wait!  I haven't taken any photos yet of the work so far on the railings, but believe me, it's looking so good!  I also have to get the curtains back up in my daughter's room to show that.  She's back home on the weekend, so I need to get her room back in place for her before then.  Feeling just a bit under pressure here. 
 
I've also started knitting a new lace scarf which I want to share ... but have to take photos of that too.  So much to do, and so little time!  It's fun working hard at these projects and seeing good results at the end. 
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
Wendy


26 comments:

  1. My goodness Wendy, what a lot you have going on, I feel like a layabout in comparison. I hope that it all works out in the end, I'm sure it will. We have spent a lot of this year doing the furniture shuffle, so I know how hard that is, great tip on the skateboard you have there. Good idea to get the painting done before the tank is installed as it sounds as though it will be pretty permanent. Take care xx

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    1. I feel exhausted just reading your blog & all that you accomplish!! Yes, the tank will be permanent because to move it again would require the water to be drained etc etc ... too much bother. I think it'll look kind of cool to see the tank as you come in the front door :)

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  2. This sounds like a big job! I'm glad the fish will be protected this winter, though. I think the handrail will look very nice painted. Is your house a raised ranch? It looks that way to me with the stairs coming up from the front door. I grew up in a raised ranch and the first house we owned was one too. The railings in both of those houses was black wrought-iron with twisty spindles (talk about dated!). I think your wooded railing looks much nicer. :)

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    1. The railing does look really nice painted. My husband is not so sure I did a good enough job, but it's quite difficult to paint those spindles with a brush and get it perfectly smooth. Yes, I live in a raised ranch! I'm glad the railings aren't wrought iron, because then I'd feel we'd have to rip them out. You should see my interior doors ... awful!

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  3. What a busy woman you are! It is all so exciting though-so many projects and plans!
    Hugs,
    Jemma

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    1. I always seem to want to change things around when the cold weather comes. Make things tidy & fresh indoors where we'll be stuck more & more with winter.

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  4. WOW!!! You are super busy Wendy!!! I can not wait to see that railing! I know it is going to look awesome! And I hope that your fish switch runs smoothly for you all! That is so wonderful that your husband is a wood worker! That must come in handy! Keep us posted with all of these projects and a very happy week to you dear friend!!!

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    1. Thanks Nicole. I hope the fish survive the transfer ... especially since they're starting to fall into a coma-like hibernation. Have a great week ;)

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  5. My word, you are a busy bee - all that, and time to write a blog post too, well done! I'm sure it's all going to be lovely when it's sorted, and look forward to seeing the "after" pics. You'll need a holiday to recover!
    Xx

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    1. Yes, it's a busy time here at home! I keep thinking of doing something a bit more relaxing when I'm finished, but I did make a promise to myself that I would get my kitchen painted before Christmas :]

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  6. This made me smile, all the way along I kept thinking......the things we do for our kids! Do you think they appreciate any of it!!! :) x

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    1. Ha! You're so right Ada! And as they get older, their wants are bigger and more involved. I know my son appreciates the work ... although he keeps saying "would you guys hurry up!!" he's just a little frantic that his fish will freeze before we're done ;)

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  7. Wow Wendy! You are super busy...looking forward to seeing the results of all your hard work. Love the skateboard idea!
    What a beautiful double rainbow - we had one the other week - time to stop and gaze in wonder!
    Ali x

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    1. "Necessity is the mother of invention" ... my husband was against the fish tank at first since he thought there was nowhere to put it. So I had to move the furniture on my own when he was out of the house to prove him wrong :] I think I'm running out of steam/interest on the railing painting. Hopefully today will see the end (and then I just have to paint the bottom portion!).

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  8. Dear me Wendy what a carry on, those gold fish have cost you a packet in the long run! I have a fish tank too and a living room that is desperate to be decorated but I keep putting it off because I can't move the tank! Looking forward to seeing it once it's all sorted. :)

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    1. You understand me then Linda! There's still another tank (20-gal) in my son's room for his "warm water" fish ... and guess who wants HIS room redecorated?!

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  9. Busy much? My gosh, you sure do take on some impressive projects. It must feel (and look) SO great to get them done. I'm looking forward to the big reveal.

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    1. I just love the look of the railings now and take a good long look at them whenever I walk by :) Just a few touch ups now where the paint leaked a bit.

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  10. wow what a huge project Wendy-its amazing what a couple new fish involved in the end.-thanks for the tip on moving furniture-I need to remember that

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    1. oh and I love your rainbows-hugs

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    2. I know ... who would have thought all this work came from a few new fish ... I'll have to thank that neighbour next time I see him ;)

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  11. Have you noticed that on little chore turns into another one...and another one...and another one ?Seems to be the way in this house!
    Jane x
    PS Fingers crossed for the fish.

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    1. Same. Once you spruce up one area, the rest of the house has to match! I'm desperate to get the kitchen painted, but I've also got my eye on our shoddy interior doors ... they need replacing with something new & fresh too!

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  12. Wow! You are one busy lady!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Tessa~

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    1. I've got a few projects on the go at the moment ;)

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  13. Oh and the photo is gorgeous!!!

    Tessa~

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