More guests

My parents have come and gone, leaving Dharma with far too many treats and toys. And a new pink cushion.


They gave us housewarming gifts, too. For me, a cute little table for the entryway. As you can see, it is a good place to put more books.



For Derek, two utility shelves for the garage. (Boy, what an exciting present!) He is filling them up as fast as he can.


We ate too much, shopped, and watched the Olympics (accompanied by lectures on the greatness of Jim Thorpe, provided by my Dad.) But our favorite activity was playing with the puppy.


Dharma was so spoiled by all the attention that she pouted all day when they left. She kept checking the guest room to see if they were in there, then she sat by the garage door, hoping they would return.


Don't worry, Dharma. We'll take you to see them at Christmas!

Guest Room, Phase Two

My parents are coming to stay with us in less than a week. So we have been refining the guest room decor. We did finally find a nice "Bed-in-a-Bag" on sale at Sears. I think it is nice for a small, Japanese-themed bedroom. Soothing, not too busy, not excessively "girly." (For girly, see the pics of my bathroom!)

And it has cute matching sheets, too:


I found a cheap, decorate-your-dorm poster and frame on sale. I would like to think it fits the theme of the guest room, while bringing in some of the warmer colors from the living room.


And, following a suggestion from Madame Dr. Bloomingtonaut, I added more scrapbook paper to the wall.


Next, I need to scrub the bathroom. That's not nearly as much fun as picking out color-coordinated papers, but it is perhaps more important to my guests!

Don't worry, you can still vote on wall colors. See the post below.

And, yes, here is your daily dachshund dose!

I think this picture is kind of cute, but also kind of nutty. Dharma is sitting in a little doggie bed that looks like a crib. It came in the mail today from my mom. I do think the golden color sets off her fur nicely, though.

Vote, vote, vote!

Thank you for your opinions. The Applebee's lampshade is now happily ensconced in my living room (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun.)

Now, for today's question. I am thinking about painting one wall of the living room as an "accent wall." Hopefully, it will emphasize the fireplace and make that end of the room seem cozier and help to separate it from the dining area at the other end. Painting only one wall also avoids having to figure out how to paint the 15-foot-tall part of the other walls.

I am thinking about a nice, warm, cozy color. I have narrowed it down to two choices: sort of a dark brick red or a medium, rosy, terracotta. I have tried to mimic the colors using Photoshop, on part of the wall I plan to paint. It didn't work perfectly, but it should give you some idea. In both cases, the color came out too bright and intense. I guess a real wall would be textured and partially shadowed, so it would have more variation in color.

Here is the darker color:




And the lighter one:



So, do you think this accent wall is a good idea? Which color do you like better? Vote for brick, terracotta, or just leaving it the way it is.

Voting time!

No, not for President. (Is anyone besides me totally sick of the election? It has already descended into "I know you are, but what am I?" and "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" territory.) Just help me decide how to decorate my living room. My parents are coming to visit in two weeks (eek! lots to do!) and I want it to look extra-nice.

The first question is about a brass lamp that used to be my grandmother's. Here it is with just the globe, no shade.



I think that looks a little plain. Here it is with the sliced--transparent-seashell shade she used with it.



And here it is with the (tacky but cute?) faux-Tiffany shade I bought for it. Yes, it does look like the lamps at Applebee's. It is one. When the local Applebee's re-decorated, they sold a bunch of their old junk to benefit Riley Children's Hospital. Since I am a food historian, I wanted to memorialize the 80's pseudo-neighborhood fern bar, so I bought one. Is it cool, or just weird?



You vote: which shade? Or should I just pry open my wallet with a crowbar and get a new lamp?

And, you knew it was coming, Your Daily Dachshund Dose:

Dachshund Thermometer

Today we will learn how to tell the temperature by looking at your dachshund. Don't laugh, the first hygrometer (humidity meter) was made using a human hair. You can even learn to build your own. If they had used my hair, it would have broken the instrument, since it curls up so fast in high humidity. Today, I think my hair curled up so much it actually got shorter when I went outside. I think it would dread up if I let it.

Dachshund Thermometer

The trained eye can easily tell the ambient temperature by observing how tightly curled the dachshund is. For instance, this dog is in a room that is approximately 68 degrees:


Notice that, while the dog is tightly curled, the nose is not actually touching the back paws. That would indicate a temperature below 65 degrees, as seen below:



This dog is in a room that is at a comfortable 72 degrees. Notice the straight spine and curved tail.



But this dog is in a space that is at least 80:



Note that extremely cold temperatures may result in poor visibility, making accurate readings difficult:


Silly people who put clothes on their dog thermometer will get poor readings and may also void the warranty:


Warning: do not leave your dog thermometer in the sun too long. Melting may result.