My Mantel!

And better yet--my mantel clock! They both belonged to my Grandmother and are among a small number of possessions that I actually treasure, right D.T.? ;-)

(By the way, I just looked it up and "mantel" really is the proper spelling--regardless of how weird it looks to me and perhaps you!)

The Monstrosity has no fireplace, so it created quite a little dilemma for Grandmother's mantel. James insisted it would look stupid in the living room since there is no fireplace, but I couldn't get used to the thought of it sitting in the corner of the garage for the next ??? years that we live in this house. So I did some thinking and Googling (what else!) and found that mantels can be used to make really neat and unusual headboards for twin beds and also can be converted into shelf/display pieces. Since we weren't planning on a bed in the living room ;-) we worked out the following:



I think it's terrific! I have plans for that big blank space above the houses on the lower shelf and I'm sure there will be some adjusting of things on top of the mantel (the clock stays put, but everything else is subject to change), but for now this is what we've got. We painted an extra panel of bead board black as well as a couple of shelves, but we were able to piece everything together quickly and easily and without any actual changes or alterations to the mantel itself. A little while ago I wound up the clock and prayed that it would work (!) and ~voila~ I'm listening to it tic right now and every quarter hour it chimes beautifully. :-) I sooooo love this clock. I find most chiming clocks annoying (they sound tinny and sharp instead of having round, rich tones like Grandmother's does), but this is the one I used to listen to all night long on Christmas Eve, sleeping on the floor in the living room at the Cabin, anxiously awaiting 5:00 (or sometimes earlier) when we were allowed to get up. So many great memories of Grandmother and Granddad and all the time I spent there with them. The clock brings it all back and I'm so thankful to have it. It's a beautiful reminder of two of the most important people God placed in my life. How blessed I am to have known them.

That was the most exciting accomplishment of the day by far, but not the only one. We finally trimmed our bedroom and the bathroom and James got some more done around the floor in the kitchen, too. Wa-Hoo! Progress. I like progress. I have lots of touch-up painting to do on this floor, but not has much as I used to think. Now there's lots of furniture covering up places that should be touched-up, so I don't have to do those spots--they're already covered. HA! There was a day when I would have died before leaving things undone because they're "hidden" at present, but we are learning better all the time that we've just got to choose our battles in this Monstrosity! Maybe some day, when the house is all finished and we're fully settled upstairs and down, and I'm doing some deep cleaning and pulling everything away from the walls... maybe I'll do some touch-up painting then. But for now, I'll only worry about what I can see. :-)

Katie and Sam have been getting along great for the past few days. With Joe gone they've got nobody but each other so they've been finding ways to just make it work, I guess! Somehow it seems like it's really good for everybody involved when one kid is able to take a little vacation. I'm sooooo happy that Joe has been able to have some all-alone time with my folks. It sounds like he's been able to spend lots of time and have lots of adventures with his Granddad this week and it makes me so happy! (Though Grandma is the one who pulled out the pearl handled Colt .45 and shot the turtle out of the water--doesn't that create a great mental image for you?! HA!) And it's good for Katie and Sam to have some special time with just each other. It's good for James and me because it makes us miss and appreciate Joe more. And it's good for the Grandparents for all of the obvious reasons. Katie had her week up there, now it's Joe's turn. I would say that Sam is next if he would actually consider going, but for now he still refers to it as Alcatraz and insists he has no desire at all to make a solo trip there. HA! One of these days he'll change his mind and give it a try--and love it, no doubt.

Sam has been building some amazing forts in the basement. Stores and motels and who-knows what all. Katie has opened and closed several businesses in the past week but managed to bring in a little profit for herself before each one crashed. I found a story tonight that Joe wrote last week entitled "The Wok Mess Monster." Ha! The title cracks me up--he is so clever. :-) The storyline is very much like The Blob, except it takes place mostly in (as you may have guessed) a Chinese restaurant. :-)

And that's all the news from around here. Oh wait--we had another home cooked meal by Katie tonight! Tuna noodle casserole, peas, and corn. :-) I'm sure I'll enjoy cooking one of these days, too, but Katie was all excited and wrote out a menu and list of ingredients for three meals a few days ago. She's got one more to go, then maybe I'll get a turn. Though I must say it's been a wonderful blessing that my daughter is old enough to be able to handle some things in the kitchen all by herself. It means James and I can keep working on the house and yet our family still ends up with a good, hot, home cooked meal! How blessed we are. Katie is a good girl and a big, big help to her mama. I love her tons. :-)