Handmade Home #9: My Work Space

The only bathroom in our house is off of a bedroom for some reason. Since we didn't want anyone walking through one of our bedrooms to get to the bathroom, we made that room a shared office (rather than a guest room or a bedroom for Eden). We really have appreciated that room over the last 4 years. 

I enjoy creating things, things for my family and things for our ministry. Jimmy put together a beautiful space for me to work. I get lost there!

When we first moved in my space looked like this:

It was really impractical. I hid everything behind the screen because I thought my supplies looked cluttered. Since becoming a mom I sew mostly just during nap times. My projects are broken up over shorter periods of time. I needed something more efficient... to make all the little bits of free time I had count. Besides, I had a 3 walled cozy nook and I wasn't taking advantage of it.

For my 30th birthday, Jimmy hung shelves on all 3 walls. He also had a desk made for me. We wanted to try out a new carpenter to see if he would be a good one to build our kitchen drawers. 

Well... he messed up the dimensions of this desk and he evidently didn't let the wood dry out because it has warped and separated over time. I still adore my desk, but he won't be making our cabinets where precision is more important. 

A metal worker made the hairpin legs, which I love, and the drawer hardware. I think these are the drawer pulls I'll use in my kitchen... I can't decide. 

We found the fan in an antique store while we were on furlough in KS. Our office is the hottest room in the house. This fan saves the day! I only plug it in when my boys are sleeping so that we don't lose any fingers! The heart tin full of pins was a gift from my mother-in-law years ago. 

I found this 50lb piece of wonderful in a paca (thrift shop) here. It doesn't have a piece of plastic on it. 

I'm working on a patchwork upholstery job for it with the corduroy scraps from the boys' owls. 

Now for the colorful part of the tour. Sewing supplies are beautiful. They shouldn't be behind a screen! For my 32nd birthday. Jimmy built me this ribbon holder. 

It's a piece of art!

I never had much ribbon until we found out we were having a girl. Do little girls need this much ribbon? Absolutely! For all of their hair bows!

Ribbon is pretty cheap here, but to further feed my new hair bow obsession, my mother-in-law has sent me dozens and dozens of spools of ribbon... which I appreciate! 

I keep my embroidery floss in sections of PVC pipe that Jimmy cut for me. I have stock piles of things because I usually either pick things up on furlough or when we are in the capital. 

Jimmy put metal rods through all of my shelf brackets that hold rope and twine.

Before Jonah and Silas started potty training we always kept the office door shut. Now it is the most interesting room in the house to them. They love to play with anything on this shelf.

For storage containers I use old cans, PB jars, an old kitchen utensil basket that Claire passed on to me, metal buckets, mason jars, old bicycle baskets, and big clear plastic floor cleaner bottles that I cut the top off. 

 Jimmy gave me those test tubes for my 31st birthday. I taught Chemistry before we were married, so I think they are kind of cool. They hold interesting buttons or earrings I find here that I use for the center of E's hair bows.

This is Eden's favorite part of the nook:

 She loves staring at that stack of felt! More PVC for yarn storage...one day I'll fork out money for the wide pipe for the bigger yarn.

I found this wood box in Guate. Jimmy stained it for me. 

It holds ALL of my thread (which they don't sell in Petén, so I kind of hoard it) and sewing notions. 

My inspiration board is a vintage frame my mom found for me. She knows I never saw an oval frame I didn't love. Thanks Mom! Jimmy went on a long search to find the cork for this frame. 

All of my cutting tools are hung on a nail next to my sewing machine and serger. All of my small bolts of fabric are stored below on a thrifted bookshelf. The wrapping paper is for pattern tracing. 

My larger pieces of fabric are wrapped around pieces of plywood Jimmy cut for me and stored behind my dress form. 

 The crates below the back shelf are old fruit crates from the market. They hold current projects. FYI: old dirty produce crates from the market are filled with scorpions! Don't bring them into your house unless you like surprises.

That green shirt has been on my dress form for 2 years. Since having this space I have been able to finish things much faster, like my brown knit skirt I made during a nap time last week:

I'm so thankful for my sewing nook. It's somewhere to relax, create, and lose track of time. My husband knows me well. He was so sweet to set this space up for me!

Jimmy Asked Me On a Date!

Since the boys have been born, if Grandparents were not visiting, one of us has been with them. I think it is great, we all have a really strong bond after the first 2 years. Well Jimmy had the idea of asking Benj's sister, Kendra, (the couple that came over for Thanksgiving) if she would babysit the boys. She is studying to be a nurse and the boys really love her.

Jimmy worked everything out and last Saturday he asked me on a date! We had dinner at Las Puertas. It feels like I'm missing an appendage when I'm without the boys, but we really enjoyed our time together. It was like when we were dating. We both were a little nervous and dressed up for our date. It was so much fun!

Afterwards we went to our favorite hardware store to pick out Jimmy's Christmas present. Then... Jimmy did something I couldn't believe. He took me to my fabric store, the only fabric store I will shop at in Petén. I didn't even ask, he just told me we were going. It is the most wonderful place. I went to a fabric store when I was back in the States and it hurt to even read the prices. Fabric here is so much cheaper and wider. This particular store is full of polite workers too, who show you books of example fabrics and cut your fabric choices for you right away.

I got a photo for proof he was there! This store has recently moved and the only way I knew to get to it was a creepy path through all the taxis and buses. I usually get harassed as I walk through there and I really just dread that route. Well Jimmy helped me find another path at a different entrance. I wish you all could visit the market one time. Corn mazes in KS have nothing on the indoor market in Santa Elena. I really should drop crumbs as I walk through there to make sure I can get out! I am so directionally challenged.

Jimmy was taking me to pick out one of Jonah and Silas' Christmas presents. Jimmy is building them "big boy beds" and I am making their bedding. Their comforters are going to be striped. Silas' will be red and blue striped and Jonah's red and gray. They really like having their own stuff... similar things, but things that they can differentiate whose is whose.

On the drive we saw some guys with baskets on the side of the road. I have been trying to find these for months. All the beautiful handmade practical household items get taken to villages to sell rather than to the market or artisan shops. We just got lucky because these guys were waiting on a micro to take them back into the jungle. We got 3 large baskets for dirty laundry to place in the bedrooms and some smaller baskets for my pantry (The boys had already stollen some in this picture. The small ones are perfect for their little barn animals.) They are made in Coban. I just really appreciate the artistry many people have in this country.

They are about a tenth of the price as something similar would be in the States anyway, but Jimmy was bartering with them of course. He added everything up in his head, gave himself a bulk discount and then made the offer to they guys. They were thrilled to sell some stuff before they even got to their destination, so they said "yes!" I could tell they were still trying to add up all the actual prices in their head to make sure they were making money after they said yes, so we waited. Finally one of them got out their cellphone and added up all the stuff. Then he confidently smiled and said "yes" again. That made me feel better. We were all happy.

We had a great time together, just moseying around town and talking. We will probably try to do this every couple months. The boys had a blast with Kendra. We are so thankful for her. I felt very comfortable leaving the boys in her care. I was a little worried about THEIR behavior though. I wasn't sure if they would take advantage of someone who didn't know all of their boundaries. She said they were sweet and offered to babysit again without us asking, so hopefully that means they weren't too naughty!

A Pregnant Lady's Love Language

Jimmy makes s'mores for me nearly every night over the open flame of our gas stove! My other latest craving is ham and mashed potatoes. I makes those for him about twice a week now.

Our little Eden is 24 weeks!

Fun Finds

We have been able to go on a couple dates since we have been back. All of them have included chinese food... because I really miss it and Jimmy is very sweet. He likes chinese food too, just maybe more spread out.

One day we stopped by an antique store. We had only done that once before, but realized we really enjoyed it, so we decided to try it again. We can't take back large items, but it is fun to look for small items that can fit in a suitcase. We appreciate things that don't look like they came from a specific store and are made to last forever.

{Photo found here}

I saw an old Fisher Price barn like the one I grew up playing with. Guess how much...

$80... unbelievable! It was fun seeing things from our childhood or things that I remember from my Grandmothers' houses.

We did find some goodies to take back with us. Here were our finds:

I have a thing for oval frames. This one is solid wood, not a scratch on it, just beautiful. Maybe a print of the boys will end up in there.

I had wanted some vintage looking metal baskets for the open pantry in our forever house, but had decided that was impossible since they are pretty expensive. You know... Pottery Barn dreams on a less than Ikea budget. We found these 5 old gym baskets in the back of the store unmarked. Jimmy went to ask the old man that was sitting by the register. He haggled with him a bit with his refined Chapin skills. The man said, well since I can't get the owner on the phone I'll take your offer. I thought it was a ridiculous offer (in a good way). I said, "Jimmy lets pay for them and run!" That poor old man probably got in trouble.

This was another little find. I might put this little feminine piece in our bathroom where everything else is concrete.

This is a neat thermometer for Jimmy's desk. It is really heavy. This is the last time it will read in the 50's!

Jimmy got me this fan for my desk. So cool. It will probably last forever unlike the pitiful EXPENSIVE plastic fans you find in Petén.

We had wanted some old doorknobs to make into a towel rack. We found some but they were a little high. When we got back to the house I told Melissa about how crazy expensive they were. She said, "Oh I have some if you want them." What?!

They are beautiful too! It will be fun incorporating them into our new home. I was thrilled.

An Unexpected Fun Date!

Jimmy had a meeting scheduled for today with a kekchi national pastor. He had to rearrange his schedule to be home for when the man came over. I'm not sure what happened, but he never showed up. So the four of us ended up spending the entire day together! It was nice!

One of the guys Jimmy plays basketball with owns a lumber yard. Jimmy found it the other day and wanted to take me to go see it. It is close to our house, so we went while we were waiting for the man (he was suppose to call when he got close for directions).

I love rustic wood that still has all its character. Jimmy knew I would really enjoy this place... because he's thoughtful like that.

It is huge. The man who owns it has a tree farm, so that is where the wood comes from. He told Jimmy that he uses responsible techniques so that he doesn't run out of trees and that his son will still have a job later.

We had this oddly shaped scrap piece of wood, but didn't want to throw it away.

The man that runs the place, Oscar, is very talented with a chain saw!

The piece wasn't very big, but he got 4 beautiful planks out of it.

The boys liked watching him work... it was loud!

I already have plans for these in our forever house!

Not bad for $1.75!

Now to the fun date part. Jimmy had a project in mind. He looked around and found the perfect tree.

Here it is on the wall in our bedroom.

Look a little closer...

So sweet!

A Funny Place

So we woke up this morning to no water and realized that a pipe had broken outside. This has happened before since they built this whole house and then thought, "Hey... we forgot the plumbing." So all the pipes are in a shallow trench outside. This is just one of the many reasons this house requires almost daily repairs.

All of our water from our cistern drained into our yard, although it didn't look like a very big puddle (we later found out why). Our water pump had been running dry for who knows how long, so it needed to be primed and then fingers crossed, it would work again.

Good Morning! Jimmy was off to the hardware store before he finished his coffee. By the time we normally would finish breakfast he had the pipes fixed (which included breaking up some concrete), pump primed and working, and some water in the cistern. Ya know... water makes a day much easier. I was so thankful.

Jimmy rigged up our rain cistern again since while at the hardware store he found out that they hadn't turned on the water in this town for 3 days because of a... wait for it... broken pipe. Water isn't a big deal in this place for some reason. So all that hoping that today was our side of the streets' day for water was in vain, neither side was getting any. Who knows when they will get the water on again. And I'm blaming this next part on our town too (because it's the company you keep), it didn't rain today. It has poured every day for the last 2 weeks and there was not ONE DROP today! (Probably only in our town.) No... I know who is in charge of the rain and we're good. We had plenty of water today, it was like the widow's oil!

There were a couple other blips before the day was over, but we still had a good day. I think we have lived this day before... several times!

Before Jimmy left for the discipleship class in SR he fixed this plant up for me. I had seen this stump in a wood pile outside someone's house the other night while leaving Santa Rita. I casually said to Jimmy, "Ooo, I want that stump," and to my surprise he went and tried to buy it. The lady didn't want him to pay her for it, so he gave her Q10. Then he cleaned it up with a metal brush, lined it with plastic and put my plant in it. I love it! Jimmy's this sweet every day to me.

CRAZY ITEM OF THE DAY:

(This was the funny in our September update, so sorry if you read it twice.)

There is a big holiday here called Kids’ Day. We took Jonah and Silas out for some ice cream to celebrate. The restaurant gave them balloons and stickers. The stickers had Spanish phrases on them like, “Hello”, “Please”, “Thank you”, “May you have good digestion”, but the sticker that made us laugh out loud was the the one that read, “Can you loan me some money”! We had to put that one on them!