You know the one.

I have conflicting emotions when I watch that scene or hear that chorus: Contentment, nostalgia, intermingled with a twinge of sadness and wistfulness.

It is with these same feelings that I say goodbye to Muses of Megret.

I have been keeping up with Muses of Megret since January 2004 — for seven and a half years — and it’s been such a sweet journey.

What began as a near-daily journal about pregnancy with my firstborn continued on after his birth. I chronicled the nuances of his little personality and my adjusting to motherhood within this blog’s pages. It holds such precious memories that are written nowhere else!

But now it’s time to close this chapter….and open another.

I always said that I would “never, ever have a homeschool blog,” but, as of a few weeks ago, I now do.

It’s called Electric City Academy, and you can visit it here.

It will not just be homeschooling — it will also house flavors of things I used to write about here on Muses….recipes, homekeeping, inspirational links and projects.

Thank you, loyal Muses readers and followers from over the years. Glad to share my life with you. And I hope that you’ll want to join me at Electric City Academy to see what else is in store for this family.

Auf Wiedersehen, Good Night!

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

- Zucchini Bread with added quinoa, our family’s newest favorite grain. Sounds so delish! (via GoodLife Eats)

- Paleofuture: How folks back then thought the future (today) would look — so entertaining (and funny)!

- Make and Takes is offering the most adorable {free} back-to-school printables.

- No Fuss Fabulous showcases a Mary Poppins party that I am super smitten with! I mean — ah-mazing!

- And for laughs: Box verses animals.

(Image from Historical Stock Photos)

Then I stopped. Wait! Can’t I use what I have here and just give some furniture a fresh look, a new room in which to reside?

It was settled. The following weekend’s project? Painting furniture.

Two dressers, to be exact. One of them the dresser from my nursery when I was a baby….the other from our son’s nursery, purchased unfinished seven years ago.

The older dresser had been white once — but then underwent a coat of bright yellow, white again, then an experimental application of beige crackle paint treatment. (I did this before I was married and moved into our first home. It was in our dining room then.) It remaining in either our dining room or our foyer for the next two subsequent house moves.

This older dresser was donned the “craft cabinet.”

When I moved all of our art and craft supplies into the laundry right off of the school room last month, this cabinet was left free and open.

I decided to give it to Rainey since the 7-year-old dresser that was currently in her bedroom was considerably less roomy (and honestly, a little top-heavy and tipsy). It needed, though, to be white once again.

Then there was the newer dresser, the “current nursery” dresser. This newer dresser can be seen in this photo to the right.

The newer dresser was destined to go into the dining room — I need more space to house cloth napkins, tablecloths, placemats, other doo-dads. But white wouldn’t work in here — it had to be black.

So dropcloths went down and sanding commenced. In just three days, these two pieces of furniture had been completely transformed and given new tasks within our home.

I love the outcome — of both pieces!

Here’s how I did it:

1) Start with clean furniture. Wash the wooden furniture with a damp rag (mild detergent if needed). Dry completely.

2) Sand. An electric sander is recommended for many reasons, but it will only do the large, expansive areas well. The smaller grooves and edges will need to be sanded by hand with sandpaper. Sand, not necessarily to remove all former paint and/or varnish, but to procure a smooth surface, ready for accepting new paint. Here is where you can sand down the wood to lessen gouges and scratches.

3) Clean sanded dust off of the furniture. I used a combination of damp rags (again), a vacuum hose, and microfiber dust cloths.

4) Buy quality paint specifically made for wooden furniture. I used General Finish brand, available at WoodYou stores and other locations.

5) Apply thin coats of paint; exact number of coats differs from piece to piece. Several thin coats will wear much better and be more likely to chip than one or two thick coats. I used a large foam brush, but angled, tapered bristle brushes may also be used.

6) Lightly sand between coats (after paint has dried to the touch) using a very fine sandpaper. Use microfiber cloths or rags to clean dust before applying another coat.

7) When the paint finish is uniform, apply a sealer/topcoat. To cover miniscule defects, a satin or semi-gloss finish is best. Two coats is the minimum recommended amount. Let dry between coats, but DO NOT sand.

8) Reapply knobs or add new ones when furniture has cured overnight.

9) Enjoy your new face-lifted furniture!

Oven-Fried Chicken Tenders
Sauteed Broccoli
Corn on the Cob
Popcorn Rice

Slow-Cooker Pork Chops
Jasmine Rice
Green Peas
Carrot-Raisin Salad

Grilled Sirloin Steaks
Baked Sweet Potatoes
Sauteed Asparagus with Sesame Seeds & Soy

Grilled Salmon Fillets
Marinated Cauliflower Salad
Spinach
Rolls

Zippy Black Bean Burritos
Corn on the Cob
Chips & Salsa

Fettuccine-Vegetable Toss
Green Peas

Indonesian Coriander-Honey Chicken
Rice Pilaf (Tyler Florence’s)
Sauteed Broccoli
Baguette

Mushroom-Barley Soup
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

My favorite thing to order at Chik-fil-a?

Carrot-Raisin Salad.

I don’t know what it is about this simple combination of ingredients, but I could eat an entire quart-full in one sitting.

But 79-cents per quarter cup is kind of steep. So I make my own.

Just some shredded carrots with some crushed pineapple, raisins, a teaspoon or two of sugar, and a couple tablespoons of mayo.

Delicious.

The problem is the sheer amount of equipment and preparation involved. I grate the carrots with the fine grater holes to make it just like the original. I’m left with aching tricep muscles for days. Is it really, really worth it?

Not quite sure.

I’ve tried the standard flat grater. And even the Pampered Chef rotary grater (which really doesn’t work well at all for this). The food processor shreds the carrots too coarsely.

Any other ideas?

- Study finds that milk does better than water to rehydrate kids after exercise.

- Going to do this soon to two old dressers of ours, so I had to find out exactly: How to paint wooden furniture.

- Finally, finally found a brownie recipe that’s super dark and not too sweet. At Joy of Baking, no less.

A recent visit to our local library enlightened me to the “newest” form of audiobooks for kids: Playaways!

Made specifically for libraries, these are self-contained audiobook players that can be checked out like paper books. Just add a AAA battery and plug in some earphones and you have a portable audiobook for taking out and about!

Not only great for car rides and errands, these are also terrific for taking to bed. The kids have enjoyed drifting off to sleep with narrative stories literally within reach.

Check to see if your local library carries Playaway titles. (They make Playaway titles for adults, too, of course…and there is also Playaway View….with screens!)

Chicken Bruschetta
Orzo
Steamed Broccoli

Sliced Ham
Baked Sweet Potatoes
Corn on the Cob

Beef Stroganoff
Egg Noodles
Green Peas
Butternut Squash Puree

Turkey Hot Dogs
Chips
Broccoli-Cauliflower Medley
Watermelon

- If I haven’t posted this before, enjoy. If I have, it’s been awhile….so, still enjoy: Exciting Links for Boring Days.

- Juice bag to pencil pouch (@ Skip To My Lou).

- No Fuss Fabulous demonstrates perfectly frosted cupcakes (the “ice cream swirl” method).

- The cutest back-to-school DIY tee (at The 36th Avenue).

I sure did.

And the summer I was eight, my grandparents took me to their hometown, their origin: Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia.

I was astounded — giddy!

Room after room of CBKs posed in the cutest scenery…and we even got to watch as Mother Cabbage delivered another brand new baby!

One of the first thoughts I had when I learned we were having a little girl was, “I get to take her to Babyland General one day!”

And last week, on her fifth birthday, that’s just what we did!

(Honestly, I don’t know who was more excited — me or the kids.)

Rainey beamed with pride when they gave her a special birthday sticker to wear.

She got to hold several new babies in the nursery (with my childhood pals Jonathan and Stephanie looking on from the background.)

Each different, each unique, each “up for adoption.” It wasn’t long before she’d made her decision, and just like I did years ago, signed her name to the adoption papers, named her baby, and promised to be the best “mommy” ever.

Getting the chance to share with Rainey a cherished memory of my childhood? Priceless.

(And don’t let his expression fool you. G had a blast, too. :)