Life in the Slow Lane

I LOVE PAINTING! I always have, and I know many of you are grumbling at me. Just the idea of painting makes me  want to run to the hardware store to pick up swatches. I change the colors of my rooms every two or three years. Not because they need to be changed, I just like to paint, and like to see the transformation that occurs. When we built our house almost 8 years ago, every room was white. Crisp and clean, but not a functional color with a child. Here and there I would do some painting. Light blue for the baby's room, tan for the bathrooms, light green for my bedroom. *YAWN*. Then I got wild and decided to do one bathroom in a darker shade of brown. Almost camel color. Then another bathroom was dark tanish/greyish/purplish. And that was the extent of my colors. Yup, I was almost asleep as I painted. So, I painted my living room yellow. Looking back it was an obnoxious, awful yellow. But it was color. It made me feel alive. Lightened my day. Needless to say, it didn't last...

I've completely neglected you over the last few weeks. But with good reason. With all the depressing life changes that have occured here recently, it's time for a happy change...a new business venture! I've been working very hard on opening my very own local yarn shop! Where we live in the Poconos, there isn't much in the way of retail shops. Sure, you can drive a half hour in any direction and get to some civilization and any store you need. But here, in the small town, local community, there just isn't enough. One thing I've always wanted since I moved here is to be part of the community, so now's my chance! The Yarn Barn will be located just outside Hamlin, PA on Route 348. If you're local or visiting, stop in and say hi. If not, visit me on Facebook here , or check out the website. Comments and suggestions always welcome!! http://www.allisonsyarnbarn.com/

....dollhouse that is! I got this house over 10 years ago in hopes to make it for a future little girl I'd have. Slowly I started putting the foundation together, reading 50 pages of directions, calling the company for extra pieces and help, and eventually after a few months, packing it away. Then when we moved to PA, I had the itch to have kids, and again started working on it. Each piece came unfinished, and had to be sanded and painted. I'd like to share my progress with you so far... Look at that gorgeous roof. Each shingle was sanded, stained, cut, and glued. I can't even count the amount of hours this took me, but I am beyond proud of it, and it's my favorite part of the whole house. The decking gave me many headaches and had me cursing like a truckdriver. Each spindle had to be just right and standing at a perfect angle for it to all come together as wonderfully as it did. The house has a wrap around porch on the first and second floor. The exterior of ...