New House!! (Before)

Well, well, well. It's been well over a month since I've posted anything. I'm a terrible blogger! My excuse(s)--I've been busy, and lazy. :)  But I have been busy working on buying a new (to me) house!  I'm so excited--even though it's going to take a good bit of work to get it all in order so I can move in.

Before I show you some before pics of the house, I thought I'd finally show you guys the after pic of my new cushions. Remember this ugly chair? (not the stools--the ugly green tweed chair in the background) Well, I had the cushions recovered, and they turned out wonderfully!!

I was going to change the wood--sand and stain it darker--but I think I'll just leave it as it is.

Now--to the house!

Now remember, these are ALL before pictures...as the updates continue, I will post new pictures.

For now, the house is *mostly* cleaned...spent all day--literally--cleaning, but still have some more to do. It was quite filthy...

the den

living/dining room

the hallway

the OH SO NASTY kitchen!

master bath--again, nasty. will have a new shower

master bedroom

the *very* green room--this will be my sewing/craft room

the guest room

the guest bath--love the floor, right? ha!

the library/office

the front entry hall, or, the foyer (insert snooty accent here)

So--that's my house! Next comes continued cleaning, then the painting begins. Then the flooring. Woohoo!! Can't wait to share some progress pics with you!

Thanks for stopping by...I promise it won't be long before I have another post. Promise!

You Better Belize It!

Hahaha!!  I just had to put that as the title of this post because it's such a cheesy little phrase--but of course it's everywhere in Belize. Which is where I went on vacation. Or holiday for you Brits reading this ;)

As I said before, my parents live in Belize, just outside of the capitol, and I go down every year for a week plus a couple days. I did not get to go last year, so I have been DYING to get back!!

Having said that, this post will mostly be some pictures. I don't have the snorkeling pics yet, but when I do get them back, I'll be sure to post them.

Enjoy!

These are the boys at the school my parents run in Belize. Those are my parents in the middle--Lyle and Rose.

This is my dad again and Pastor Frankie. Frankie is now the director of the school, and this is the symbolic handing over of the keys. Frankie actually was in the first graduating class of the school back in the 80s. If you haven't visited Global's website from my other post, please take a look here-->GOBVT.

Just some of the loveliness of Belize. The first pic--I have no idea what kind of flower that is, but it grows beside the sidewalk on the way to the dining hall of the school. The hibiscus grows outside my mom's office (and everywhere else--by their house, beside the sidewalks, etc). And the last pic up there is my parents' front yard taken from the porch.

My mom, Rose--standing on the front porch of their house.

A wild papaya tree in the yard. They are also pretty much all over the place.

Some type of tiny orchids growing on the side of a tree by one of the houses on campus. Pretty huh?

Speaking of orchids, below are the black orchids (which I believe are the national flower of Belize) growing on a piece of an old stump at the bottom of the steps up to my parents' porch.

And next are just ONE of the many bunches of bananas that grow around my parents' house. This one is at the back corner just outside of the window of the room in which I stayed...

 

This lovely is the newest addition to the guard dog fleet. Full-bred Rottweiler named Toby. He's 4 months old. I do NOT want to see him full grown!!--he's gonna be HUGE!! Right now though, he mostly can just lick you to death *grin* 

The schoolhouse at GOBVT. Three classrooms, a library (center) that doubles as another classroom, and a computer lab. 

Teak trees that are planted on campus.

Now some pics from San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. The first is the view from our hotel room. *GRIN* Lovely, yes? The second pic is of a local Catholic congregation observing Palm Sunday. You can't see in the picture, but they are carrying palm fronds, headed to the Catholic church just up the road from the hotel.

Dolphins! Spotted as we made our way out to the reef to snorkel. Two here, and 3 or 4 more on the other side of the boat that wouldn't come up for us.

I had a wonderful time and hope that I get to go back at some point. My parents will be moving back to the states in July, so it might be a while...

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! I'd love to hear from you, so please leave your comments below!

And have a very happy Easter, remembering the true reason we have this HOLYday.

Live a life filled with love, 

following the example of CHRIST. 

He loved us and offered himself 

as a SACRIFICE for us, 

a pleasing aroma to God.

 Ephesians 5:2

Vacation!

Well, I went on vacation last week. First time in two years!!  I visited my parents in Belize--they live just outside the capitol of Belmopan. 

Also visited Ambergris Caye again and snorkeled with plenty of fish, rays, and sharks!!

I will be posting pictures soon, hopefully sometime tonight...then it's back to quilt work and trying to find some fabric for those stools I posted about last week!

Thanks for stopping by--come back tonight or tomorrow to see some pics! (snorkeling pics will be a while--took those with some disposable waterproof cameras that I'll have to send off to be developed).

New Project!

The other day I promised some "before" pics of a new project...

A few months back, I found these wonderful little stools at an antique shop where I live. They were $10 each, and I just couldn't resist!

Please ignore the ugly green/brown tweed cushions in the background--they are awaiting reupholstering. *grin*

There were a total of three of the crossbars missing, but my wonderful brother-in-law, N, made some new ones for me! (they're the lighter ones in the picture below)

I plan on painting the legs (don't know what color yet) and recovering the seats. I also have not yet chosen fabric for the seats. It most likely will have some sort of red in it. (The fabric I chose for the ugly green cushions is a red and light tan/khaki pattern). So the bottom line is that I have no idea when I'll be posting the "after" pictures!!  I hope it's not too long from now...

I'm a little nervous about the project--I've never recovered anything, so I'm not too sure of what I'll be doing. I have, however, read several tutorials online, so maybe I'll be able to do a good job of it. I will not be reupholstering the ugly green cushions though. *grin* I'll be having those done professionally!

If any of you have ANY tips--please be kind enough to leave them in the comments!! I will definitely appreciate it!

Thanks for stopping by!