there's no place like gnome.

I saw a sticker with those words and it’s a good reminder. (My new favorite Etsy shop has it.) I’ve done a couple hard things lately.  Here are two:

I push mowed the lawn. Now, you might be thinking, what’s hard about that? Maybe it’s not so much hard  but new. I’ve never push mowed before. (Gasp.) Once, while in college, I worked for the grounds crew, I got sent off with a classmate named Adam to push mow a Luther property in town. He attempted to teach me how to work the mower and – I don’t quite remember why or how – but I failed. And he suggested I wait for him to finish by sitting in the truck. That is the extent of my push mowing.

Don’t misunderstand – I have mowed lawns before. It’s just been for large lawns with riding lawn mowers. But our lot in Wind Point can be mowed just fine with a push mower and that’s what Dave has. A couple weekends ago, Dave was out of town and the lawn desperately needed mowing. Desperately. I placed a call for a phone tutorial and then – wait for it – I push mowed the lawn. I did it. And the neighbor across the street yelled over to tell me it looked great!

Second: I recovered camper cushions. I’d been putting it off for forever because – well – zippers. I don’t have much experience with zippers and they are scary for this sew-er. With our first camping trip planned for last weekend and, you know, currently being unemployed, I decided it had to be tackled. A youtube video later, I was on my way and zippers aren’t so scary anymore. It felt wonderful to get the gross standard brown cushion covers off (photo on right) and add some color. AND I had just enough fabric left to make a matching shower curtain. (Another new thing: button holes. Never have I ever sewed a button hole until the shower curtain. Verdict: kind of fun.) Next up: new dinette table.

We gave the cushions their first spin this past weekend. We pulled the camper to Stevens Point where we snagged the very last (first-come, first-serve, not-reservable) campsite at a county park. This specific park was the destination as it’s just a short drive from Dave’s sister and her family, as well as his visiting parents. We had a lovely weekend in the camper with lots of family time to boot.

I feel like we are finally getting a grip on the kitchen. A full kitchen remodel is a couple years down the road for us but we’re making some cosmetic and practical changes to help use and enjoy the space as it is now.

Before:

(The wallpaper is subtle but it’s there – covering every. single. kitchen wall surface.) The wallpaper was stripped and the glue remained. The glue was the tricky part. Three different methods were employed, along with sanding, repairing, and a whole lot of elbow grease. A couple coats of primer. Paint (lemongrass green) above the cabinets and the full wall. Today REMOVABLE wallpaper was added as a temporary, economical backsplash/accent.

Next up: update outlets and wall switches, decor, and a new kitchen island will soon follow. As cool (not) as it is to have an indoor grill installed on the island and a circle on the other end, the current island is simply not practical.  *clapping hands emoji* We’re getting there!