Art Moments http://artmoments.com Ramblings and Thoughts from an Art Lover Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:58:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Painting Some Bunk Beds http://artmoments.com/painting-some-bunk-beds/ http://artmoments.com/painting-some-bunk-beds/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 21:47:20 +0000 http://artmoments.com/?p=9 Continue reading →]]> It’s sunny outside and the weather is still warm. It’s the weekend, and what better activity to pursue on a day like this than to browse some garage sales looking for some hidden treasures. We perused the town looking for some pine bunk beds to furnish the kids room. We were hoping to find something simple but sturdy and safe (you don’t want to go cheap when it comes to buying bunk beds for the kids’ bedroom). We struck gold after searching on CraigsList and finding a neighborhood sale with a nice finished pine bunk bed.

We then spent the entire afternoon cleaning it up and stripping it down and then getting it ready for re-painting. The nice thing about pine is that it’s simple and versatile and painting is easy. We’re going to go with a colorful collage of paint to match the bright scheme of the room. Afterwards, we’ll put a few cheap mattresses on top and it will be ready for sleeping! It will take a few days to complete, and I’ll take some photos and post them here when I’m finished with the project. The extra benefit is that this is something that everyone in the family can be a part of. There’s nothing like putting on some old clothes, breaking out the paint, and going to town.

]]> http://artmoments.com/painting-some-bunk-beds/feed/ 0 Hot Summer and Lemonade http://artmoments.com/hot-summer-and-lemonade/ http://artmoments.com/hot-summer-and-lemonade/#comments Sun, 04 Sep 2011 23:02:10 +0000 http://artmoments.com/?p=4 Continue reading →]]> It’s been a scorching summer by all accounts out here in the arid valley. It’s already September but the 95 degree (and plus) days are still around. Didn’t get the insane 110 plus days like we do most years, but still the heat is oppressive and downright mean. Can’t really do much outdoors even if it looks beautiful out there with a deep blue sky and those gorgeous white puffy clouds. So we’re camped out inside here with the air conditioning going full blast.

We’re thinking about setting up a lemonade stand out by the road. Haven’t done that in ages but it sounds like a good idea. The kids and I cut some lavender from the plants out in the herb garden and put together some wonderfully refreshing lavender-infused lemonade. In about 20 minutes, the chocolate chip cookies will be coming out of the oven and we’ll have ourselves some very nice merchandise for the sale. With heat like this, we’re bound to see some heavy traffic to the stand. It will be a good lesson in economics for the kids and it gives us something to do while we try and beat the heat.

Meanwhile, the kids are having fun checking out their favorite Poptropica cheats site and reading up on strategy and tips for that game. They’ve already completed all of the islands in the game. Poptropica uses an island metaphor for its quests and missions. I could go for being on a tropical island right now! The kids are very excited because next weekend a new island called Mystery Train comes out. I took a peek and it looks very cute. The Poptropica folks do a nice job of mixing entertainment and education. This quest takes the kids back to the late 1800s on a train bound for the Chicago World’s Fair. A few well-known people from the time are on board, like Thomas Edison and Mark Twain.

Ding! There are the cookies. Time to pack it up and head outside to do some education of our own. And enjoy the nice cool shade!

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