It’s budget meeting season at work, which means time for me to do some Zentangling while the meetings happen.
It had been some time since I tangled, and I had to remind myself how to do a few of the tangles.
It was also Election Day!
I transported ballots from the Northwest Library again. This was the last election at this location of the Northwest Library. They are opening a new larger location in January on NW Pettygrove.
It was fun to watch the ballots come in for the last 15 minutes people could turn them in. There were more than 10 ballots that appeared in the book return. Apparently turnout was very low overall (we only had a parks bond renewal to approve or reject—the easiest ballot I’ve ever cast), but it didn’t feel like that while I was waiting for the polls to close.
We only had to drive to the Elections office on Belmont (rather than the Yeon building, like the 2024 election) so I didn’t make a ton of overtime, but the money is just the cherry on top. I would transport ballots for free.
Back in October 2016, I got a new driver license (pictured below on the right) because it had been eight years, and my current license was going to expire. A few months later in 2017, I was told I needed to get another new driver license and soon, because the Real ID was going to be needed for travel.
“Pah to that!” I said, and got a passport so I could use my not-Real ID license for its full time period.
Well, the deadline to travel with a Real ID was extended and extended, and if I’d been a May birthday instead of an October, I could have used that license for the full eight years because May 2025 was the real, true, final deadline (although I read that they would let people through if they didn’t have a Real ID after May…).
I didn’t do any flying between the real, true, actual deadline in May and today, and so I met my goal of getting the full eight years out of my license.
Here’s to the new one on the left. So very shiny and Real ID.
New Seasons sends me a sheet of coupons now and again. Unlike most coupons, which are for things I don’t buy, these ones are actually good deals for things I like.
So I put them prominently on the refrigerator.
And then, as the weeks tick by, I cut them off one by one because I have not gone to New Seasons, because I have gone to New Seasons and forgotten the coupon, or because I have gone to New Seasons and brought the coupon but forgot to use it.
And eventually, there are no coupons on the refrigerator.
You can see full-on before pictures, an update including new items, and the last day of blue walls. And now, here is the picture of the green walls, with (nearly) all the things returned to their places. Or holding a place, while I wait for a few things to arrive (ahem, Murphy Bed, ahem).
Here’s the closet door angle. You can see the soothing green color and that my desk area has been reassembled, nearly unchanged. My closet has not yet been put back together (a very large undertaking, given the three shelves that have to be reinstalled, plus I have a lot of things on the walls in there).
The rolling file cabinet has been sold, and the cat tree has been put out for someone to grab it. I’ve moved one of the Billy bookcases into the room, grabbed one of the storage ottomans to serve as a bedside table, and my mattress is on the floor because I gave away my bedframe.
I bought a new duvet cover. The other one was bloodstained due to Antares’s open wound lump, and I also needed a change. This may be temporary bedding. The bedding came with two pillowcases, and I needed two more for laundry purposes. Ikea didn’t have any in the same pattern, so I grabbed a package of orange. Turns out Ikea sells their pillowcases in singles. I had to go back and get another one.
You can also see the above-bed shelves that I would knock my head into once or twice a year are gone as is the wall-mounted reading light.
While I have taken down the curtains and pulled the bird diamonds off of them, I have not yet finished the valance that will replace them. Though I did get the curtain rod back up.
Here you can see that the postcards are back. I was able to reassemble the lower curtain wire with no trouble, but the top one sags. I will buy a replacement and change it out the next time I rotate postcards.
The drying racks are back on the wall, but the fun hanging desk is gone (via OfferUp) and has been replaced by the Ikea folding table. The two black lumps are my sewing machines. I have plans to make new covers.
Outside the door, you can see my dresser upside down. The rails for the bottom drawer broke, and I ignored it long enough to have the sides of the dresser start to come apart. I have hammered and glued things back together, and asked my neighbor Leo if he can make new rails.
One more look at the other corner. I hadn’t realized until today that three of my four walls have doors in them.
This first batch was from my subpar Let’s Go Lincoln City Scavenger Hunt. There were a lot of tasks that began “Take a picture of your team…..” As my team was me, this was not a super fun way to spend my time.
Something with texture.
Tidepools.
I think I was “being a devil” because I was at Devil’s Lake Campground.
My room had gorgeous woodwork.
The lamps were nice too.
I read about the Connie Hansen Garden Conservatory, and it turned out to be just down the street from where I was staying, so I stopped by on my way out of town.
Apparently Ms. Hansen love growing irises, and made her very large yard into an amazing garden. When she died, other gardeners created a foundation and the garden continues today.
I really liked this meadow-type section.
On my way out of town, I opted to grab a salad and cottage cheese for breakfast so I could watch the sea while I ate. Plus, it wasn’t going to take as long as ordering breakfast.
Matt left town for GenCon, so I took the car and visited Lincoln City. I stayed at the Whistling Winds Motel, which had quaint accommodations. And it also had an Oregon Coast staple: glassed in walls to keep that whistling wind away from you as you huddle by the fire.
I went shopping at the outlet mall, and did a Let’s Roam Scavenger Hunt (which was not very good. Riddle Routes doesn’t have a route for Lincoln City, but if they did, it would be worth your time).
I also visited an artisan fair and took myself out to lunch.
Unfortunately, walking in the sun and the wind along with the salmon salad I ordered was not a great combo with this otherwise tasty cocktail. I had to buy some goldfish crackers at the convenience store across the street so that I could sober up and drive back to my motel.
The beach was quite pretty.
I did some good people watching.
I found Lincoln City to not be the most walkable place to stay on the coast. Plus, there are so many houses blocking views to the beach, it’s hard to even see the ocean or find your way to the sand.
It’s been almost 15 years since Chris and I panted the walls blue. It wasn’t my favorite color, but it was my favorite color of the Metro Paint colors. Rereading that post, I was reminded that I once had an idea of installing shelving so the cats could hang out up top. I have no memory of that plan, though I do remember the plan to stencil Hungarian stars on the wall.
Anyhoo! I’ve grown very tired of this blue and am very excited for a new era. Here’s a corner by corner view.
To prepare for painting, I pushed my desk into the middle of the room, put my bedframe in the back yard, and my mattress in the front room.
To prep, I spackled over holes that I wouldn’t be using, and removed all of the extraneous things like switch plates and shelving.
In this picture, you can see that the second mirror on the wall was installed before the room got painted, and we didn’t bother to remove it when we painted it. It won’t be coming back, so I spackled and texturized those holes.
The big texture spot on this wall was where the folding desk was. That desk only lasted two years; I have other desk plans for the new room. The person on Buy Nothing who came to get it was thrilled. And also named Patricia. And was younger than me. Weird!
Both the postcard display and the drying racks on this wall will be coming back.
All the shelves are down from the desk area, but they will be back.
And here’s an interior of my very empty closet. The front room is stacked with all the many things I efficiently stored in my closet. It’s kind of a lot.
I was over near the window and spied something odd: inflated figures. There were two of them, attached to two white trucks.
When I craned my head I saw their purpose: it was a protest by construction workers.
A well-timed protest, as a media tour for the new Albina Library was happening in the next 30 minutes.
The protest seemed to be about one of the contractors for the library using non-union subcontractors. Hence the rat (I think it was a rat, I didn’t see it from the front) squeezing the neck of the construction worker.
After a few hours, they deflated the figures and drove away.
More buying today. The paint is here. The dark green is for the stripe at the top of the two walls, currently it’s a dark navy blue. The lighter is for the rest of the walls, and the closet. I’m currently wishing I had gone one shade darker, but we will see how it looks on the walls.
Also present in this box: an Ikea pillowcase. I have two sheet sets, so I needed another two pillowcases. I bought orange to match the new duvet cover. When I got home, I discovered they are sold in singles, not pairs. So I had to go back and get another one. And also three more shelves for the Billy bookcases, and two more storage ottomans.
I spent a good chunk of allotted room transformation money at the Swedish flat-pack store and have been in my happy place: assembling Ikea furniture.
The cat tree that was in the bedroom so that the cats could get to the windowsill and perch has now moved out to the living room in preparation for moving to a new home. In the meantime, it’s corralling the cardboard of the items I did and didn’t assemble.
My new table! One of my goals was to have a place where my sewing machines could be easily accessible. They will sit on top of this table, which has drop leaves that will let me have space to sew when the bed is put up.
The wall with the window will have three Billy bookcases. This is the biggest one, it will be flanked by two smaller ones. It has a rolling drawer.
I also bought a new duvet cover. It’s not as orange as it looked in the store, so it might not be the final iteration. We will see.
