From the Kitchen

Peaceful naptime on a Thursday afternoon. Just a few days ago, Dave pulled out the electric drill and put up a kitchen shelf that is going to and already has changed my life. It's my media center--out of reach of the children, but big enough for a laptop, a small speaker, our phone and answering machine (yes, we actually have an old fashioned answering machine), and my cell phone. Above it, I've hung my faithful little whiteboard that Dave and I conscientiously populate each Sunday night with the schedule for the coming week. So now, when I think of the most brilliant Facebook status update while elbow-deep in dishwater--voila, I can turn around, dry my hands, and impress the world :).

The shelf itself gave Dave some trouble. He found it for $6 at Goodwill (which is the right price and the right retail outlet for us at this point :), but it needed a fresh coat of paint and a little bit of sanding. So Dave took it out to our screened-in porch underneath the deck and worked on it a few nights last week. Well, it was FREEZING (actually, below freezing), and it turns out that spray paint doesn't apply so well in sub-zero temperatures. So a once-over turned into a thrice-over or more before Dave finally brought it inside and just slapped on a coat of acrylic white. He wasn't satisfied with the somewhat blotchy result, but I'm too impatient to be a perfectionist. And the sentimental part of me looks at the somewhat uneven finish as evidence that my husband loves me enough to spend not one, not two, but three freezing nights outside with the sander and the paintbrush, just so my life in my warm kitchen can be a little bit better.

And now, for your reading pleasure, a transcription of the song Polly was making up while I was writing this! (she has My Little Ponies on the brain)  

Even though I love the pony,
Walked and walked and ate the marshmallows!
These are all the places that I love!
When my sister was a little girl,
Princess Luna wasn't my friend anymore.

Not sure how to interpret this, but it's sure fun to listen to!