“If It Isn’t Broken”

 

          We try to take a frugal, practical path in life. If something can be repaired, refurbished, or refinished it remains in our household. We don’t ditch something because it’s no longer “in style”. My kitchen cabinets went out of fashion twenty years ago, and I’ll never paint them as is the trend. Appliances like our fridge and dishwasher have been repaired first before we resort to replacing them. My stove top and oven date back to 1993 because we replace elements when they burn out. Other furnishings, purchased during the first years of our marriage, get switched from room to room. My son’s baby rocker gets treated with Murphey’s oil and now sits in the family room. Most of the time my attention skips over the older pieces. They form a comfortable, familiar background. Occasionally, I’ll zero in on something and think, “How old is that crockpot?” or “Those lamps have ancient wiring.” Replacing these items shift onto my “To Do List”.

            A few weeks ago, our alarm clock, the one EVERYONE has, began gaining time. We swapped out the batteries, reset everything, and set it back down into the background of our routines. This morning, the 7:15 alarm sounded. I punched snooze and took my morning medications. Over the last nine months, I’ve added putting on my watch as I head into the bathroom. This morning, when I checked for the outside temperature, I noted it was only 6:30, not 7:15! Our clock gained time again.

            We won’t replace the clock. Like everyone else, we’ll set our phones with an alarm. I do feel a little sad as this piece was a wedding gift. Normally, I get rid of things break, but I think I’ll find a place to store it, even if it’s broken.

Copyright 2025 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

“My Christmas Wish List”

           
            Last year, I set my heart on the best Christmas gift for me—bins to reorganize all of our holiday decorations! It took me weeks to move Easter, Halloween, Fall, and Christmas items into the sturdy, stackable boxes. Every time I step into our garage I feel pride that our oldest, most delicate pieces reside in safety.
            This year, I’m continuing my request for Christmas to be either small, or practical, or both. Over this last year, the artists residing in our home produced new paintings, sculpts, and odds-n-ends that required reorganizing our wall art and finding spots on existing shelves while purchasing a few new small pieces of furniture. Guests to our home “ooohh” and “aaahh” softly over every piece as they move from room to room. To be frank, I’ve felt a little envy that not a single room contained my own photography!
            My Christmas gift request became simple. I want my own creative elements on display, too! I spent days selecting just the right pictures to print. When shopping, I suggest swinging by Hobby Lobby, Michaels, At Home, Target and Walmart to search for perfect frames that still keep within our holiday budget.
            During this time, my husband mentioned to us that he’s been looking for a small color printer and suggested that would be the perfect gift for him this year. A little research and luck added and Epson to his work area last weekend. One quick color test, and we knew putting out the various print sizes I desired would take only minutes!  
            Once I remembered the wicker chest in our bedroom contained old picture frames, we shifted into our reuse and refurbish mode. A quick spray of fast drying black paint slicked some old wooden frames into a more modern look. Within a few hours, a bouquet of flowers adorned the walls between the kitchen and dining room. For the moment, I have room for another row of images on one side, and another section designated for my work.
            That means, I need to make certain to use this next year in search of small adventures with my ever reliable Cannon Rebel T1! What a wonderful way to enter this next year—spotting the wonders of nature, capturing just the right shot, and displaying it at home.
 

New photos displayed!

Future display area!!

Copyright 2024 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman  

"Control What We Can"

 

            

Before

Old faucet

Old paint

            We began a major project the first week of November because I wanted to tackle something that was totally under my control as we moved into receiving election results. For the last few months, I feared our smallest bathroom would need major work like the tub pulled out and swapped with one of those new walk-in shower units. I fretted that the vanity and countertop needed to be removed along with the faucet. However, I spent a few days with a critical eye to refurbish and repair instead of replace.

            Attacking the vanity with Murphy’s Oil soap followed by Old English dark wood stain and a gloss of Orange Oil revitalized the tired cabinet. I discovered applying petroleum jelly to the countertop, and buffing it with a fiber cloth, made it all look new again! Our corroded faucet would be easy to update with something more stylish. Naturally, the instructions promise of a 30 minute installation morphed into two hours wrestling off the old drain.  Examination of our tub with a critical eye revealed nothing terribly wrong except for striping off the caulk and scrubbing the tub itself with a Pumice stone and spiffing up the tile with a tad of TLC. The toilet required the same diligent attention to look new again!

            The bathroom walls wore a wall treatment we tried a million years ago—a tissue paper technique that withstood the test of time. We decided to repaint the room using the same color of our family room, only using semi-gloss for the added protection. The Celestial Glow’s barely there grey freshened the room in one coat. The shower curtain, a temporary selection until the household artists decide on original work, adds color and movement.

            Repair. Reclaim. Refurbish. Salvage what we can with care.

A barely there grey

Revitalized vanity

Temporary color splash

Copyright 2024 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman