Thursday, December 01, 2005




The pitter-patter of soles, the little feet of tadpoles...
Movin' right along, footloose and fancy- free. Darcie mentioned that she likes my floors. Well, funny thing about those floors... My DH is always looking for a bargain. Now, he didn't used to be that way, but he's pretty smart and figured, hey, he'd rather save a buck than throw it away. So he haunts all those bargain papers where people are selling just about everything. A regular hunter/gatherer. (We just purchased our second Ebay vehicle. A 1999, 15 passenger Dodge van for $2800. Runs beautiful.) But back to the floors. Bill decided to bargain shop for building supplies, because they were so expensive due the the "rebuilding of Iraq." He found these cool boards and bought them for the subfloor to our addition. (The addition consists of my quilting room, a spare bedroom and handicap bathroom, and a laundryroom.) When we were finishing up the quilting room, which of course, had to be done first as the 5'x15' quilting machine was in my bedroom and he was getting tired of having to go around through the bathroom to get to his side of the bed... I tried to decide what kind of flooring I wanted and could afford. There are two layers of those boards down on the floor, so they were sufficient but Bill wasn't so sure they were good enough for a "finished" floor. Well, I already had a couple gallons of polyurethane and figured it couldn't hurt to try. They turned out so much better than I could have imagined. We put 5 coats on it and it cleans up very nice. I like the primitive, rustic look, so they suit me fine. I always get compliments on them and to think Bill just bought them for a dollar a board! (Oh, and the quilt a friend made and I quilted.)
This is the inside of my shelves in my quilting room. When DH and I were putting the varnish on my quillting room floor, we noticed that someone had wandered into the room while the varnish was still tacky. It wasn't a big deal as we still had 2 more coats to apply, but it gave me the idea to preserve their little foot prints in the closet. The older boys felt a little foolish putting paint on their feet, and the baby cried, but everybody in between had a good time. Notice I have a flat footer in the mix. If you're having trouble counting, ask Sarah how many there are- I'd hate to deprive her of the tickle she gets from telling folks. She rolls her eyes as if to say, "My friend is insane." But she loves me anyway!

9 comments:

Tonya Ricucci said...

Those are incredible floors and what a deal. Lot of work, but worth it. I LOVE the footprints - if you ever sell the floor you'll have to cut that portion out and take it with you.
Looks like you have a great work area too.

Finn said...

What a great looking floor Nines!
Love the space,the footprints and the quilt..hope mine looks that good someday..*G*

The Calico Cat said...

I love the idea of the feet and the warm feel of the floor. 6 kids - huh? If i weren't in the middle of my 30's and only now engaged - I might have considered a big family.....

Lucy said...

I love your floor , I love the quilt !!

Lucy said...

.... and I love the footprints. What a great idea

Frances said...

love the footprints Nines what a great idea,

thanks for your comments and message on my blog I emailed you a reply but it came back to me a no reply post, I keep forgetting your e mail is not public and I can only communicate here,

love the jacket too

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh I LOVE those floors! They are wonderful! And that quilt on the machine is great too!

Those footprints are so special! When we first started cementing our driveway (it took my husband 2 summers to do it - he did it all himself) we put the kids hand prints in a section. Next summer when he finished the rest we put their feet prints in it. I love to go outside now and look at them!

Darcie said...

Aaw Nines! I'm so glad that you shared this!!! I'm *floored*! ;-) You are one spectacular woman, whether Sarah thinks you're insane or not!!! ;-)

Holly said...

Nines, I like your family traditions alot - got all choked up reading about them. Love the footprints, too.