I moved

..a long time ago to Robinella's.

See you there!
~R

Don't hate me because I am beautiful

***Sadly, all comments were lost in the moves back and forth between blogger and wp (all tho many were retained in wp).***

Okay folks, I love the loyalty! You followed me from Blogger to Wordpress and back to Blogger.

Guess what, starting Monday, it's back to Wordpress. Half of you still have the Wordpress linked anyway so I only need to say I feel your pain to the other half, so, "I feel your pain!"

Other than losing my ability to spruce up the place, there just isn't anything in blogger that I love. I still don't want to pay for anything because every other day I am quitting blogging for good. I need a free service for when I am not quitting blogging. Comprende?

I've already moved my posts and comments to wordpress and it is so lovely that it is importing these posts as I write. I'm still figuring out the widget stuff so it may be bare, but hey, I probably need to lose some of that stuff anyways. I'll put them in the new "pages" feature they have (as soon as I figure that out).

And the support at Wordpress is phenomenal! I posted a question yesterday and had replies this morning. They called me Moron too, but I'm okay with it because they said it with a smile.

Stop by for a visit today at http://robinellablog.wordpress.com/ It's the same post, of course, but whatever - show me some love.

And thanks for the friendships,
~R

Round Robin - I Made That!

This time around we have to show things we've made, whether that is food, crafty things, kids, whatever. This is a tough assignment because I usually give away what I make - except for the kids. (insert nervous laugh)

Back in November/December timeframe, I started a Robinella's Craft Corner Series. (hmm, I should start that back up) Anyway, you can see what we made here, here, here, and here.

As photographers in this ring, some of you may be interested in this post about building a light box. I ended up cutting the box down so that it was square and that helped with the lighting tremendously.

So let's see what I might have hanging around or any photos of things I've done.

View photos of old artwork here.

Here is an antique bureau that I refinished and that wild fruit laden tree on top is one of my creations. I'm not so good with the fruit - but I really liked how it turned out and it made a great vignette for our foyer.

This little stool was done by special request for my neighbor who is petite - only 4'-10". Her daughter is equally petite and needed a stool for the potty. So I made this:

And finally, in our first home (originally built 1914), the chimney could not be used without extensive repairs, so the previous owners covered up the wood stove openings in the chimneys. It was hideous. BN ripped out all the tacky plaster covering the fireplace opening and I faux finished it.

Before:

And after:

I don't how big this will click up to but on the mantle shelf is a model I made of our first home out of cardboard. It became an ornament for our tree - which my first son tore to pieces as a baby.

Enjoy the rest of the Creative Robins out there.

~R

Forrest Gump

That's my new name for RePete. No matter what we call it, he calls his ass a but-tock (complete with that little separation.)

~R

Hillbilly Hell

I'm in it. and deep.

Once we cleared out the flower beds, our porch railing's eyesoreness became even more apparent. So we decided to go ahead while the beds were empty and install new rails. BN started them almost two weeks ago. Here they are today. Gosh that sun is bright.

My husband, who is damn near genius, cannot figure out the rails going down the stairs. He has the angles done, but it's lining up the top and bottom stiles that he can't seem to get.

You may be asking yourself why he's doing it when we can afford to have someone else do it. I know I am. BN's answer, "why would I pay someone else when I can do it?" ???? So he's scheduled to complete it tonight. I actually have faith he'll figure it out, he just needs to look at it a bit longer. (smirk)

*************************

We've been in the 100's for the past 5 days. Our upstairs has two skylights. I'd like to beat the shit out of the person who decided this house needed them. Anyhoo, I went to Lowes to get the film that blocks heat. I don't want the blinds, we actually have a pretty view of...the sky and...the trees and they do bring in a lot of light.

Unfortunately, they also bring in all the heat. As it turns out the film I need to put on the windows requires two sets of hands and BN has not been available the last two days since I bought the film. So I tacked towels over the windows to help with the heat. T-A-C-K-Y. Yeah, I know, but it has helped quite a bit. Hopefully, after the railings are done, BN can help me with the film. Cause these have got to go.

Next thing you know we'll start storing extra appliances in our yard.

~R

Anonymity

When you are new to blogging or perhaps like me and in way over your head with all the technical stuff, you start at point A and somehow point B pops up and before you know it you are in the DDs and have signed up for and put avatars or pictures of yourself all over the internet.

I laughed at this post of Joy's about how even when you lurk, they still know you are there. Not because they go to some place like Sitemeter and see that Robinella from Norfolk, VA (which is funny, cause I'm not) is on their site lurking. NO it's like Joy said. you are reading and look ever so casually to the sidebar and see your smiling mug. I laughed at her post and then yesterday I was directed yet again by Google to a popular kid's blog and ever so casually looked left and there I was. I immediately clicked on back button like that would do anything. I felt so cheap.

Apparently somewhere along the way, I signed up for MyBlogLog I have no idea when that happened or where. But there I am. I saw this big box of "social stuff" on Joy's site and MyBlogLog was on the list, so I clicked on her big box of p0rn and voila, I do indeed have an account.

This is the part in all of my Techno Challenged Posts where I throw up my hands and ask you how this happened.

Today? I give up. I'm on it. It was my own doing. And in Willowtree's own words, "put the bat down". You'll have to go back to this post and see his comment to get the full effect of that advice.

~R

School Is Out

It is with mixed emotions that I post about the end of the school year.

Yesterday, we visited with friends and heard about award ceremonies and I was shown all the awards that my kids will not be getting since we home school. I thought about making some for them, like perfect attendance. Everyone who home schools gets perfect attendance, right. But I didn't make any. Maybe next year.

Today, I passed the high school on the way home and saw kids driving away from school for the last time this year. Everyone was laughing and I imagine the ones that are seniors must feel...exhilarated. Do you remember that day? Your last day of high school? Signing yearbooks, laughing, crying, hugging. It was like the air more filled my lungs when I stepped out of that building for the last time. I can still feel it even 20 years later. (gasp)

Tomorrow, I'll be over the nostalgia part. Because tomorrow the parks and museums will be crowded. The zoo, the mall, and the beach will be crowded. And the pool will be crowded. One of the benefits of home schooling, and one that came as a surprise bonus, was being able to go to any of those places during the school day and have it all to ourselves. No waiting in long lines or not being able to see my own children in the sea of laughing faces.

So here in Casa de Robinella, we look forward to the next school year. At least I do. What are your summer plans?

~R