i started...

... a new post yesterday because i figured thousand-word thursday would be a good place to start, but i never had a chance to finish it.. it seems i've been THAT busy.

i'm nearly finished the chest of drawers that serves as Beloved's nightstand. i decided not to distress it the way my mother's old dresser and mirror are, but to paint it the darkest shade of green im using in the room, and then to stencil ivy in cream and gray and green on it. i think it will look really nice once im finished.

i finished painting and bought the stencil paint and stencils yesterday. this morning, as soon as it warms up, i'm going out to do the really fun part of refinishing furniture, at least for me - the stenciling and final finish. it feels like its going to be bright and dry today and if so, i'll be able to put a coat of polyurethane on as well.

and then the last piece of furniture i have to deal with is the bed - which is a crazy mish-mash of Beloved's old waterbed headboard and platform and a piece of plywood from home depot we've never gotten around to so much as sanding the edges smooth. i've decided that the place which serves as the Altar of our marriage deserves something a bit more ... put together? is that the word? at any rate, Beloved agrees so the search is now on for a kingsized bed with underbed storage.

the rain was gentle enough yesterday afternoon that i got quite a bit of weeding done. there's plenty of space for the weeds to run rampant all over the place around here - i feel the least they can do is cede me a few flower beds for a few pretty guests who don't necessarily grow wild. and i am careful to devote certain areas to wild-growing weeds with uses - mugwort and yarrow along the drive, for instance, and plantain a little further down, and cinque-foil just about anywhere it wishes - not only does it hug the ground in a most endearing way, it increases the magical force of its neighboring plants five-fold.

Beloved and i had a funny conversation regarding the plantain. "what's that gorgeous plant, with the big broad leaves and the ruby veins," he wanted to know, "those two you planted along the driveway?"

"i didn't plant them," i said. "they just grew, all by themselves."

"they spaced themselves so nicely," he said. "they should stay there."

"i was thinking of letting them be," i answered, mildly surprised. "they'll grow all over that patch though - most people think of them as weeds. but they're the herb i use on baby jake...that's what in the stuff that made his rash get better."

"and they're gorgeous," said Beloved.

now if only i can convince the plantain deva to confine herself to that patch.

and furthermore, the war must end. blessed be.