July 4th Mantle And Other Disasters

I don't even try to pretend that I can decorate a mantle. I just don't have the knack for it and Wild Bill loves electronics too much. Look behind the poor chicken's head and you will see the cable from the TV outlet that runs from the wall above the mantle and across the room to the TV, which we have sitting on a cabinet.

 I tried taking the picture from a different angle and that worked out better for the picture. But I'm thinking not many visitors will want to stand over next to the wall...and look down the line with the flags in front...so the cable won't show!

 As you can see in the picture above, it looked pretty barren before I added two packages of little flags from Hobby Lobby. The flags really need to be dulled down by soaking them in some tea to make them look faded and older, but I was getting ready for the tile guys to come the next morning so I called them good enuf.

Some where in the chaos I have an old faded flag that I like to drape on the mantle, but we're still in turmoil with the floors and other problems, and I don't have the energy to go pull out any more boxes to look for it.

 I bought the old crock that holds the flowers long ago at a fantastic garage sale. The pictures on the wall are oil paintings from the late 1800's. The old tag, that was barely hanging on the back years ago, said they were framed in San Francisco on Sutton Street in the 1880's. When the tag got so lose it wouldn't hold any more, I put it in a plastic bag and packed it away. So it's just another one of the things I'm looking for as I unpack years of boxes from the last six moves we've made.

 Sadly, I had to round up a bag of pinto beans and pour them in two mason jars to hold the little flags. It's necessary to improvise when your floors are in transition and the contents of closets have been packed up and stored who knows where!

Hope you have a happy 4th of July and that you're not in the middle of a remodeling nightmare like we are.  I'll wait until Thursday to tell you all the unexpected problems we've encountered during the last few weeks. We've come to expect the unexpected as we try to make all the changes needed to make this house or home.

Thank God we've learned to laugh instead of cry when problems present themselves. We even stayed calm and collected yesterday when Gary the electrician (who was cutting a hole in the wall to relocate the 220 wiring for the stove)  yelled: "...OH...OH SH*T... DAMN... WHERE'S THE GAS SHUTOFF???"  

Well... you know it's never a good thing when the electrician, who was cutting through the kitchen wall, is frantically running around looking for the gas shutoff!

Maybe you're not aware of this, but the plumbers do gas hook up stuff, not the electricians. I just learned this, and other things I never wanted to know, last year.

So, while Wild Bill and Gary the electrician ran outside to the gas main, I ran around opening windows and doors...and prayed...and laughed. That's all you can do when you're in the middle of a remodel!

Yeah, sad right? This is part of our front room and dining room, all ready for Bryan and Jay, the tile guys. But when they came this morning they discovered that the travertine tiles were the wrong size...and the truck won't bring the right ones until Thursday afternoon...so they can't start doing the tile until Friday or the following Monday. Happy 4th of July!

I'm linking up to the following linky parties. Come see what everyone's showing:

Cowgirl up! at http://farmhouseporch.blogspot.com/
Primp Your Stuff at http://www.primpjunktion.com/
White Wednesday at http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/
Open House Party at http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/
Wow Us Wed at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/
Home & Garden Thurs http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Make It Pretty Monday at http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/