It smells. Yes, my sleep number bed smells. Still.

Seriously, are they kidding me? It’s been a year. It still has a horrible plasticizers smell to it. Which means I periodically have to strip it apart. Why, yes, that is a window open in the middle of the winter, why do you ask??

Then I drag all the bedding and pillows and quilts into the extra bedroom so THEY don’t pick up more of the smell while I’m airing out the bed.

THEN, I drag the egg cratey (is too a word) thingie out onto the balcony to air out. Seriously. Way to much work to do this all the time. I’m. So. Over. This. Bed.

Yes, it’s comfortable to sleep on…but I get the worst headaches from the odor. The sleep number bed smells. A year later. It smells like those old canvasy/plastic air mattress. Since the smell is still here a year later…after multiple times of doing this same chore of airing it out…I think the smell outweighs the comfort of the sleep. These things are too expensive to have such a major drawback. Oh, and I get Googled for “sleep number bed smell”, so I know I’m not the only one who feels this way.  Sigh. I hate it when we make a big purchase and it doesn’t turn out.  Okay, that’s my final answer.

• Sleep Number Bed Headaches
• In Need of a New Bed
• Sleep Number Bed Setup
• The Secret All Married Men Should Know
• Fall Food

A mid month reminder of this month’s photo of the month theme! “I’m thankful for…”

Remember, it canNOT be a person or an animal!!! I know! Shocking. We have an actual RULE this month!!

It doesn’t have to be something earth-shattering.

It doesn’t have to be something serious.

So, be thinking about what you’re thankful for and I’ll call for submissions towards the end of the month. Just a friendly, mid month reminder.

• Photo of the Month Winner and November Theme
• June Photo of the Month Reminder
• March Photo of the Month Theme
• March Photo of the Month Submissions
• Mid Month Photo of the Month Reminder

Well, we did actually get a new front door. Unfortunately, similar to the lock…we’re not having very good luck with it.

As soon as the contractor left, we noticed you could see daylight coming through at the top and bottom of the door opening.

So we called the contractor who said, “oh, yeah, the kit was missing some of the weather stripping thingies. I’ll get them from the door manufacturer and come back.”

It’s also a double door and the “dummy” door doesn’t fit very securely. Yes, they’ll need to fix that too.

Sigh. Did I mention I’m so not good with this remodeling stuff?

The windows in the door are beautiful though. They let so much light into our front hallway. Love that.

I need to pull out my macro and take a closeup of that glass. Bet it would make a good texture overlay for photos…

There is enough character and/or wavey-ness to the glass that you can’t see inside either. Even with the lights on inside at night. I won’t tell you how we tested that theory…

Now I’m in paint chip heck, trying to pick out the perfect red color to paint the door. The painter is supposed to be here the end of the week. He’s also going to paint our stairwell inside that needs scaffolding to be painted. SuperGuy just isn’t into scaffolding painting. (He’s afraid of heights!!)

Well, I’m back to staring at paint chips. . .

• The Story of a Door Lock
• How I Know It’s Spring
• Home Again, Home Again
• Life in Focus-Seeing is Believing
• Signs of the Times

So with the new front door, we needed to get a new door lock. So….we did….

Yes, it’s going to be one of those stories…

We go to the hardware store that shall remain nameless (Home Depot) on Saturday while the contractor was putting in the new front door. We talked to the Hardware Store Helper Guy, and he talked us into a Baldwin lock. “The Best” These have a smartkey system where you can rekey them yourself whenever you want to. You know, like say…when one of the boys loses their keys and has no clue where they are…

This is Baldwin’s prestige line. Okay. We’ll pay more for them. We have a double door, so we wanted the  matching “fake” handle for the second door. The Hardware Store Helper Guy said he’d call and order that part on Monday. Fast forward to Sunday morning. SuperGuy goes to rekey the front door to an existing key we have. He messes it up. (why, oh, why do males refuse to carefully read instructions??? ) It locks up the front door lock.

So, SuperGuy pulls the lockset completely out of the door and takes it up to Home Depot where Hardware Store Helper Guy uses their secret-double-probation-key-redoer thingie. They set the lock to our existing keys. SuperGuy comes home and puts the lock back in the door. (He forgets the extra keys he was supposed to have made for the boys and my parents, but I digress…)

Fast forward to Monday. Hardware Store Helper Guy calls. “They don’t make a fake handle for that model you bought. You’ll have to buy another whole set $$$ and just use the handle off of it.” For real??? THEN he says, oh, and I found out the model you bought isn’t made by the Baldwin $$ well made door lock company. It’s made by Black & Decker and just marketed under Baldwin. (So we overpaid for a “good lock” which, well, isn’t one.)

So we can pull the door lock and handle and return it. Buy a new one. Get it rekeyed. Reinstall it. Or go with one door handle.

Why, oh, why is remodeling stuff always like this???

Note to my beloved sons. I did not lock you out of the house. We just need to get you new keys…you know, when we decide what we’re actually going to do about the front door lock.

• Forgotten Chores
• The Actual Door
• The Past
• Peter Piper
• Adventures in Studio Lighting

The rain held off this weekend!! I have my new kitchen window!!

It’s beautiful, isn’t it??

It doesn’t stick out like the old, nasty garden window…so no one will smash their head anymore when they walk down the steps!

See my pretty view??

Okay, it was getting kind of dark. I’ll have to grab better shots when it’s nice and sunny out. I’m going to put in a cutting garden there in the garden in the lower left corner.

I didn’t get a good photo of the actual window. Too dark.  You can see that SuperGuy has a job ahead of him. Replacing the tile that goes under the window sill. The trim needs to be painted too.

I’m SO glad I decided on one big old picture window. I might live at my sink from now on! I’m very happy with the results of this new portion of the Great Kitchen Remodel!

Tomorrow I’ll get photos of the new front door! Not painted red yet, but still pretty.

• New Kitchen Window-Maybe
• The Great Kitchen Remodel
• May I Have Another One Please
• Simple Chores
• One Lone Tomato

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. ~Maori Proverb

(I’m still holding out positive thoughts that the weather will be nice and sunny and I’ll get my new kitchen window put in!) Have a great weekend!

• No Rain Equals New Window
• New Kitchen Window-Maybe
• Did He Do this on Purpose?
• Life in Focus-The Camera
• Forgotten Chores

So, as part of the great kitchen remodel, we’re finally getting around to replacing the kitchen window. You remember my kitchen window, right?  Why, yes, that was May of 2008, why do you ask??

I would like to say that we’re saying goodbye to this window.

Yes, that is blown out gas between the panes so you can’t see out of it.

So we have a contractor coming to replace this garden window that I have always hated. Blown out gas. Leaks cold air in the winter. Etc. Etc. The contractor is coming this weekend. . . and it’s supposed to RAIN.

Well, I guess you’ll either get a post with photos of my nice new pretty window…or perhaps a photo of me sitting and drinking some wine…

• No Rain Equals New Window
• Copy Cat
• Life in Focus-Very True
• The Actual Door
• May I Have Another One Please

In my ongoing quest for the perfect moon photo, I once again attempted some full moon shots. This one was the full moon shining over my office.

Yes, not so great. Nice in concept, but poor in execution.

The next night SuperGuy calls me when he’s driving home from work and says to go outside and look at the moon. It’s shining through the clouds. I go outside and I’m awed by it. I run inside, hunt for my camera. Isn’t it in the kitchen? No. Oh, it’s in my office. No. Oh, that’s right, it’s upstairs. I race upstairs, grab the camera and run outside.

I get outside and the clouds had just about covered up the moon 

Yes, and in my hurry I managed to catch some nice grain from under exposure. Special.

So…the next night. I’m out of town at a friend’s house. She lives on a lake. Beautiful full bright orange moon rising over the lake. But did I have my camera with me??? No, of course not!!

I’m sure I’ll have other photo flops to show you in my attempts at getting some cool moon photos.

• Full Moon Photo
• Motorcycle Mama
• Freak Snow Storm
• Sept Photo of the Month Winner and Oct Theme
• I’m into Clouds these days

Really, I have nothing today.

Honest. Just nothing exciting to tell. No silly male tricks to relate. Nada.

I’m sure I’ll be all creative and inspired in tomorrow’s post. Just you wait and see…

Anyway, I share with you a few photos that were rejects of mine for the Purple Theme for September’s Photo of the Month Contest. They remind me of our trip to the Outer Banks. Sigh. Is it wrong to crave another vacation just two months after the last one??

• September Photo of the Month Contest
• September’s Photo of the Month Theme
• September Photo of the Month Theme
• Need Travel Advice
• Sept Photo of the Month Winner and Oct Theme

We have a winner…by a landslide! The talented Katie L.

Katie L ~ Sugar

Katie, that’s an exceptional photo!!

Now, I’m sure you’re all wondering what fantastic theme I’ve dreamed up for November! Well, here it is…

“I’m Thankful For…”

Okay, the catch is, it CANNOT be a person or animal. A matter of fact, it doesn’t even have to be particularly serious. So, get on your thinking caps and come up with creative ideas for November’s Photo of the Month contest. Yes, I’ll remind you again later in the month and I’ll call for submissions at the end of the month. Go forth and be thankful…

• Thankful Things Reminder
• September Photo of the Month Theme
• Winner of April Photo of the Month
• Call for Purpliciously Wonderful Photos
• July 09 Photo of the Month Theme and Other Ramblings