Day 8 of the Halloween Decoration Special Feature and I find out what is wrong with the vacuum

That's right, I've even framed my Halloween "art."I did not piece the background. The crafting queen friend of mine did it and I stitched the "Happy Halloween" and ironed on Mr. Happy Face. Then I stuck it in the frame and taped the project in with athletic tape. It's all I had at the time and I didn't care what I used because you can't SEE the athletic tape from the front. It's coming unstuck though, and I'll have to resecure it in the frame soon.

Argh moment cleaning in the sewing room: While vacuuming the sewing room after we emptied it out, I got frustrated with the vacuum. It wasn't sucking anything up. I cleaned the rotating brush, but that didn't help. Jim suggested checking various hoses. I began to disassemble ("No disassemble Number 5!"*) the vacuum and discovered that someone (not me) had attempted to vacuum up a paper towel! RRR. It created a blockage of hair and dust several inches long (it sort of reminded me of the drain blockage from the shower in the house I lived in in college. That was DISGUSTING, by the way, and I will never be able to scour that image from my mind). After removing it, the vacuum worked just fine. WHO TRIED TO VACUUM UP AN ENTIRE PAPER TOWEL???

Sewing room update: Here is where we are temporarily storing all the food items that were in the the sewing room closet. Thought you might like to know. All the boxes that were in here before are now in the garage and making it hard for me to get into my van. I have to pretend I'm thin to get into the driver's side door.

Hayley and Matt love the empty room (although with them in it, it's not empty, is it?) They loved it so much that they set up a tiny movie theater in the room, complete with greasy popcorn. I ruined a couple seconds of their fun when I came in to take a picture because the room had been completely dark and then I go and trigger the camera flash and light up the room. Oh, to be a kid and find joy and fun in something so simple and perplexing as watching a DVD on a tiny little player in a dark room with pillows and stuffed animals and eating popcorn and drinking bottled water. Notice the painter's tape on the walls. No, we still have not painted. But Jim spackled and taped and bought paint. Tonight's the night, I can feel it!

Jim ok'd Hayley's dream of two shades of minty green with blue polka dots on the darker shade. We already have curtains to match (but I'll have to hem them up). Now Hayley is asking for matching sheets for her bed. As for the bed (she has been sleeping on mattress and box spring on the floor underneath the loft bed) we will be cutting the legs off the loft bed to a height more suitable for a regular bed, thus saving us the cost of buying a new bedframe. We'll probably have to paint the loft bed too, because right now, it's a really really dark purply-blue (thank you Katie).

I leave you today with a blurry random picture of a shoe that I liked at Target but did not buy. (admission of a secret: Sometimes I go to Target and try on shoes just for the fun of it. I take pictures with my phone. That way, I don't have to buy the shoes. I can just look at the pictures and be shoe-happy)

*Be the first to guess the movie reference correctly and I'll send you an orange Lego brick.

Comments

Karie said…
Short Circuit? I can never remember.

Nice shoe! And don't you love it when the kids go off and ENTERTAIN THEMSELVES!! Not that it's a problem around my household. I'm just sayin'.
Wow, that was fast! Short Circuit is right! Email me your address, karie, and I'll send you the orange Lego. Do you have my email addy? If you still have the KF list, it should be on there.

That's why I had Hayley and Matt--they are masters of self-entertainment. I've always considered them my reward for rearing the difficulties named Katie, Jimmy, and Paul.
Jenni said…
I was going to guess "Short Circuit" and now I'm standing here beside myself. Also, nice closet space!!
Jen said…
Ha, I had the same problem with my vacuum. Once I took it apart I realized that the hose was full of compacted wool from my wonderful Pottery Barn rug that fills up the dirt container 3-5 times during each vacuuming session:(

Your kids are funny. Tell them to get used to living like that because that's exactly how it is for the first few years of living on your own after leaving home (at least is was for Mike when I first met him, and he was sleeping on that mat that your mom still has).