Dana Daily

This isn't my demolition project, for once, but it's pretty cool nonetheless. My parents have been at their address for 35 years, and they lived right next to a round house. Growing up there was an older couple who lived there, Mr. and Mrs. (Paul and Eleanor) Phillips, and we were in and out of their house for any number of reasons. The one thing that stands out to me was the blue plastic cookie jar with a white lid that they kept full of candy for us. It was on a counter and I would eye that jar until they offered a piece. I remember visiting in the winter and Mr. Phillips would be sitting a recliner in the back of the house. The chair was in the corner to the right of the fireplace. The tv was across from him along a short wall. There was a couch along the right hand wall with a couple crocheted blankets folded over the top. It was a real treat when one of them had to take you to another room in the house because it was laid out in a circle with the kitchen and a loft r...

Sal and I had a wonderful Sunday. And, I have pictures. Yay. Since we didn't get home until 1am from Cleveland, we slept in. That was the first exciting event of the day. I didn't wake up until 8:30. Then we scrambled to get ready so we could get a trip to Lowe's in before Mass at 12. Not only did we make it to Lowe's, but we went to Handel's as well. It's never too early for ice cream. We made it home in time to unload the car and then we headed off to church. Church seemed to be over really quickly, but maybe it's because I wasn't constantly shushing kids or trying to keep them still. When we got home I cut the grass with our new, shiny red push mower. Now, I could have taken the easy way out and gone the self-propelled route, but I just feel like I need the exercise and Sal didn't care either way. Because we don't have anywhere to throw bagged grass, we use the mulching option which works quite nicely. While I mow I dream up all ...

I'll preface this by saying I have no pictures to post. Sorry. Both Sarah and Emmy are playing soccer this Spring. Or, I should say, they play when the weather cooperates, which hasn't been very often. It's been a wet season. Emmy can't stay out of the goal. She's more interested in blocking goals than stealing the ball or pushing it down the field to her goal. Defense is the name of her game. Sarah on the other hand just likes to run around. She'll stay with the ball, but isn't aggressive enough to really fight for it. It looks like she's having fun though so that's a good thing. After the girls soccer games, Emmy's is from 10-11 and Sarah plays from 12:30-1:30, Sal and I rushed home to get ready for a night out at the Cleveland Orchestra. It was a late night and we were exhausted, but we had a great time.

Sal's first concert as the middle school band director was yesterday evening, and his kids did great. I'm not sure how he was feeling inside, but he looked calm and confident. They performed  Mustang Sally (my pick), On Broadway , and Living on a Prayer . The high school jazz choir and jazz bands (I and II) also performed, as well as the jazz band from East Liverpool High School. It was a fun night out.

Yep, I did it. I took the day off, and it was my most guilt-free vacation day ever, I think. And the first order of business was cleaning the refrigerator. I also got a ton of laundry done. It never seems to end in our house. The girls and I sorted out their drawers of winter clothes, and put summer clothes in their place. I tried to organize the spare room which I am still trying to paint. I just can't seem to find a chunk of time in which I don't get pulled into some other project. Sarah did some reading for school. She really likes the Henry and Mudge series by Cynthia Rylant. In the afternoon Emmy and I went for a walk while Sal and Sarah rode their bikes. I think Emmy is a little intimidated by hers. Sometimes I make her ride, but taking a walk sounded like fun to me too so I let it slide. We were playing wiffle ball (again) when their dad showed up for the switch. It was very hard to let the girls go and I told Sal I was going outside to do something. I deci...

Would you believe I didn't take a single picture on Easter? Well, believe it. It probably had something to do with the 2.5 hours of sleep I received the night before. Emmy had gone to bed with a tummyache. Between worrying about her and my mind racing over life in general, it was a wasted night. Anyway, Sarah sang in the children's choir at mass, and then we went to my sister's for the afternoon. Sal's uncle met us there and then followed us back home. He stayed for dinner, went for a walk with us, and then played wiffle ball at Sarah's request. We had another fun day with gorgeous weather, and I would love to take a vacation day tomorrow. We shall see.

from my garden

The Good Friday service was at 1pm, and we told the girls that if they could behave we would take them to the zoo afterwards. Mass was longer than I expected, but the girls were excited to participate in Veneration of the Cross. Different churches perform this ceremony different ways, but Holy Spirit in Millvale has two altar boys hold a large crucifix while parishioners form a double line down the center aisle. The lines alternate kissing the feet of Jesus on the cross. We were in the right hand line and should have exited to the right, but I allowed Emmy to go ahead of me and after she kissed the feet she went left instead of right. I knew she wouldn't go far and she did see me return to my seat so she cut through the line and returned to us. Veneration is followed by a communion service since Good Friday is not a full mass. Following the service we did go to the zoo. Just as we exited the elevator, Sarah spotted a $5 bill laying on the ground. There was no one around t...

Easter break started today for the girls, and Sal too. I was stuck going into work. For the first time in their young lives, we decided to take the girls to the Holy Thursday mass. It didn't start until 7pm, which is late for them on a school night, but since they had slept in and just hung around the house all day I figured they could handle it. At this mass the priest washes the feet of twelve parishioners, just as Jesus washed the feet of the twelve apostles prior to his Last Supper. Emmy was particularly interested in this ritual, but it was Sarah who volunteered to be one of the twelve. Sal also participated. They, and ten others, sat on metal folding chairs that lined one side of the main aisle at St. Nicholas. The priest began with Sal who was sitting on the end closest to the altar. Sarah was next and I caught her grin when the priest poured the water over her foot. I heard him ask if it was cold, and Sarah nodded in return. I wanted to take a picture, but de...

So, the plan was to sand the top of the shelf and either re-stain or paint it. I went to Lowe's and bought a new toy. Took it home and realized that the top of the shelf was just a veneer overlay and not real wood. I decided to try to sand the red stain out anyway. What I succeeded doing instead was to cause the veneer to bubble. Then I had to pick at it with a screwdriver. Once I took it to the point of no return, I told Sal the entire shelf had to come out. I waited to gauge his reaction, because it's not me who had to replace the shelf. It's him. I destroy, he fixes. All he said was, "okay." And, he didn't sound mad. WoooHoooo! This little bedroom was supposed to be a paint the walls and rip out the carpet kind of project, and I've now put more effort into this room than any other in the house. It's going to be so worth it though.

Yesterday I buried myself in the spare room to stripe and paint the walls. I made progress, but I'm not finished yet. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. I am quite happy with the results, but the skinny, top stripe had to be brushed and, though you can't tell in Picture 4, there was quite a bit of seepage where the paint ran underneath the tape line. It's nothing that can't be fixed with a steady hand and a tiny brush, of which I have both, but it did create extra work. I'm not sure if I love the top line anyway, so I may paint over it and just have two lines on the wall. I'm going to talk to a graphic designer at work and get her expert opinion. Update: The line stays, at this point.

This was such a busy weekend that I had to split my posts up so I could get organized. Let's rewind to Saturday afternoon. I started off the day with a quick trip to Kohls to make a couple returns. Since I'd still looking for a wall clock for the kitchen and a couple pieces to hang in the living room, I decided to hit the home section and ended up finding this on clearance, Photo 1. As far as size and sentiment go, it was exactly what I've been looking for to hang over the dining room doorway. Everything has either been too small or over-priced. The design didn't thrill me and I didn't think the yellow would really work with the (Sherwin Williams) Oyster Bay green that I painted the dining room, but I couldn't pass it up. I took it home and decided to see if I could improve it. To start, I sanded off most of the "Family" paint, Photo 2. It was looking better already. Then I painted each of the letters with the Oyster Bay paint I had leftove...

A few months ago, Sarah mentioned that she wanted to join the children's choir at school. She loves to sing, and since she mentioned joining on her own, her dad and I agreed to let her try it out. The kids practice for an hour once a week, and I know she's been working hard. She also loves it. This Saturday the children sang at the Saturday evening Palm Sunday mass, and Sarah wanted me to be there for it. Of course I was happy to comply. When I arrived Sarah was already with the other children, and Emily and her dad was sitting toward the back of the church so I slid in to the pew next to Emmy. I would have preferred sitting closer to the front, but I couldn't make Emmy choice between him or I so I fulfilled my Lenten obligation. The most memorable moment happened as Emmy and I went up to communion. Just as I started up the aisle from our pew, I heard a shouted whisper, "Mommy!" Every mom in the attendance looked over her shoulder, gazing heavenward. There w...

The Christian school in Steubenville is performing Annie this Thursday through Saturday. After some confusion, Sal was able to score me a ticket for Friday night. He, of course, is playing percussion in the orchestra. Because he has a solo and ensemble competition this Saturday, we decided to stay in Steubenville after the show for a romantic getaway. I say that half jokingly; have you been to Steubenville? Anyway, he has to be at the school by 5:30am and it didn't make sense for him to come home to Pittsburgh, late after the show, only to return a few hours later.  Anyway, Annie is the first musical I remember seeing as a kid. I believe my girl scout troop saw it together so I must have been 8 or 9. I remember Al Shilling played Daddy Warbucks and he was very convincing. I also remember that I loved it. Little did I know h ow much I would love to come musicals over the years. I always send Sal a candy gram or a carnation when I attend shows, and the Christian school h...

I've been wanting to paint stripes on a wall, any wall, for a good while now. However, we have textured walls so I wasn't sure how well that would work since tape doesn't seal flat against the bumps and ridges. In my search for the perfect stripes, I found this product. After further googling, I found a tutorial on how to use it. I'm intrigued, and I think it's worth a short. At $14, I know it's expensive tape, but I really want the challenge of painting stripes. And just to note, I painted the second coat of gray last night and it looks fabulous, although I haven't seen it in natural sunlight yet. I also received notification that the curtains shipped. It's actually coming together.

Pinterest has served as my inspiration for the spare room since I saw a yellow and gray bedroom in its database of images. Since deciding on the color scheme, I have been scouring the internet for the perfect curtains. I think I found them last night on urbanoutfitters.com. I love love love the ruffles, ie waterfall, but I'm not sure of the color. I went ahead and bought them because 1) they were on sale, 15% off the pair, and 2) the company offers free refunds so I figure it's a win-win situation. They also bring a little femininity to an otherwise masculine or neutral scheme. Initially, I wanted them in yellow, but then I got to thinking if I do a yellow stripe around the room, which is the current plan, then it might just be too much. The curtains would break up the lines and I'm not sure I want that. Plus, the texture of these curtains add interest without taking away from the details I'd like to incorporate in the rug, which I have not found yet, and the a...

my latest project - our spare bedroom This past weekend, while Sal was working on building walls in our basement (pictures to come), I tackled the spare bedroom. Currently, this is a combination storage, office, library, and play room. This room has the same hideous carpet that was in our hallway so we decided it would be going away as well. Before ripping out the carpet, I decided to paint with the carpet as my drop cloth. I also decided since we had the time to do it "right," that I would paint the ceiling. Thank goodness I did. What a difference a fresh coat of white paint made. To paint the ceiling properly,  I felt it would easiest if I removed the paddles and globe from the ceiling fan. I had been meaning to talk to Sal about changing out the fan for one with white paddles, so I was delighted to see the other side of the  reversible  paddles were white. Score. But, it was a  classic example of one project leading to another. I proceeded to remove all t...

This article came across my Facebook newsfeed, I'm Done Making my Kid's Childhood Magical . I read with increasing interest and when I was finished I felt validated.  I have resisted throwing huge birthday parties for my children. We don't do a lot of crafts. The kitchen is my least favorite space. I'm not much of an interior designer.  Ultimately, Christmas is more stress than joy. Over the years I have blamed working full-time and lack of time as the reason I fall short in each of these aforementioned areas. From time-to-time guilt takes hold. I've always said that people have the money for their priorities or to pay for what is truly important to them. Can't the same be said of time? If crafting was relaxing, I would find the time to craft. If  baking was rewarding, I would find the time to bake. My mom enjoyed sewing and baking. I used to love sorting buttons in my mom's button box, or standing on the opposite side of the counter while she bake...