back from Mom's, with pictures!

song+ Only Wanna Dance With You -Ke$sha -Warrior
book+ my DQ8 guide
quest+ clearing out things i've compulsively collected but no longer want
upper+ Mom's dining room looks awesome
downer+ i'm that next-day kinda sore that comes from working muscles you generally ignore
attire+ starry fleece pajama pants and a tank
drink+ water

i was back last night, but catching up on the internet stuff i missed took until close to midnight, after which i went to bed. so the big story this weekend was obviously the painting of Mom's dining room ceiling to resemble a starry sky. it came out pretty awesome. xD

okay so Friday i'm chilling starting a new DQ8 file when i get a message from Mom asking if this weekend is good for the starry sky painting. absolutely it is. she picked me up after work and we swung by Jenni's to borrow her air mattress (and to go to dinner, which was awesome) before heading back to mom's to set up for the weekend. Saturday morning started with breakfast, then a 6am trip to home depot for the paint (which looked like a rich aquamarine to me, but i think it was named something insipid like 'beach towel' or whatever) and some backup supplies. i taped off the upper wall edges and the line we wanted between the dining and living rooms, then started the edging work on a stepladder. for a while mom was holding my paint tray for me, but when i switched from brush to mini roller we were both looking up and mom tipped a steady dribble down the front of her shirt and onto the carpet. (exhibit A)

i'd been trying hard not to make a huge mess, so when she got back from changing i told her it was nice not to be the messy four year old in any given craft project. xD anyhow, after the edging was done (including around the ceiling fan) i was back on the brush trying to get an even coat on the air vent (which took multiple layers to eliminate white spots and brush strokes) while mom used the handle extender and a big roller to lay down the first coat across the everything-else. the first coat took much longer than the second, and we had to stop for sitting-breaks multiple times as the most effective standing positions all resembled limbo-meets-mopping-the-ceiling. it got done though. (exhibit B) this picture was after the first coat, and before i'd finished the vent, as the interior of the blades is still white.

after the second coat was up and drying Mom got our her collection of craft paints so i could inventory what was there and we could head to Michael's with a better idea of what we needed to buy, with a stop at Braum's on the way, because ice cream is awesome. Mom got butter pecan, i got pumpkin and peppermint. not the worst choice i ever made, but they did taste a little strange together. in any event, we ended up picking up a purple tone, two or three additional blues, and a set of natural sea sponges. my inventory probably should have included a shake test to see if any of the already-owned bottles were dried out or almost empty, but live and learn. that was all the crafty progress we made Saturday since we took that evening to head the the chili & cheesecake cook-off Mom's ward was hosting. it was fun, but i think it was the right choice when we used the distraction of most everybody getting up for the cotton-eyed Joe to flee.

Sunday morning Mom directed as i started sponging on the color layers, starting with our purples and working into the blues. after an hour or so she had to get dressed for church, but i stayed home and kept going. due to the previously mentioned dead bottles, toward the end i was wondering if there was enough paint to finish the sky effect, but it all worked out and mom did the research for a few constellation formations. it came out delightfully uneven, but cohesive overall. (exhibit C, above) while it was drying Mom cut the center out of a paper plate to serve as out moon stencil, and i worked on layering it with the fill olor while she took a brief nap. (exhibit D, the moon stencil- not the nap, and exhibit E, the finished moon with depth sponging)

after the stencil came down it was a matter of cutting small sponge circles to paint the starts and heading up the ladder while Mom directed placement. if we'd scaled them smaller, we probably could have fit more constellations, but in the end our selection of the big and little dippers and Aries look good without anything else competing for attention. (exhibit F)

so after all was done and cleaned up (these pictures still have the painter's tape up, i just realized) i packed up my stuff and the air mattress and we headed back to Arlington. first to Jenni's for a lovely visit, then home again for me. i returned to a roommate fighting off being sick, and a perpetually excitable dog (that think she's a cat). home sweet home. xD