Vines and Elephants and Somebody's Memory

A bit of an update on the painting front.

Alex's room is DONE.  Dee, Oh, En, Eee, DONE!  Earlier this evening I had Alex sorting toys so we could put them back in their proper bins (at least for the time being), and while he was doing that, I was removing blue tape from Julia's closet.  Yay!

Here are a few shots from Alex's room first.

I used a sponge dipped in green all along the electric heater in his room, and here and there I'd paint plants of various sizes and shapes.  Like this:

I think I mentioned that I'd let him paint the inside part of his bedroom door.  I painted it one of the shades of blue from his walls, and then handed over the green paint and a brush.  Here is the result:

 
Vines and assorted other foliage.  Yay, Alex!  I'm thinking of occasionally painting a bit of animal life here and there, without telling him.  Maybe a tree frog or a gecko here and there...or a snake...just something for him to discover some day. 

I'm still working on Julia's room, but the inside of her closet is finished as of today, and the baseboard along one side of the room.  Baseboard's not all that exciting, so I'll show you, instead, the little elephants I've painted so far.

First, the mama and baby perched on top of an outlet low on the wall, right near the bedroom or.

And then there's this girl, over on the little crawlspace door in one of the nooks in the room.  She's holding a big flower with her trunk, and she sits there, happily, just gazing at her prize.

I had to use the flash - it's a really dark little bit of the room, even during daylight - so the color's a bit off.  But you'll get the idea.  I don't know what that weird shiny wet part is along the bottom.  Bill was adding some insulation inside the crawlspace before I took this picture, so maybe it has something to do with that.  Or not.  Probably not. 

Anyway, here's my flower-bearing elephant:

Now...speaking of flower-bearing....

Before I took all these pictures tonight, Bill, as I said, was adding more insulation right inside that crawlspace.  We apparently had never opened this door in the 8 plus years we've lived here.  I was peeling up blue tape in the closet when Bill pried the door open and made a couple of discoveries.  First up was a very dusty black dinner plate.  I asked him to put it in the dishwasher - I could use a black plate for food pictures....

OH!  I know what that weird shiny part is - I bet it's polyurethane from when we did the floors last summer.  Bill probably bumped the wall with the mop or whatever he used to apply the stuff.  Mystery solved.  Back to the story.

I was peeling more tape, and then I heard Bill say "Hmm...somebody's memory...." 

Roses and baby's breath and greenery, all faded to a pale shade of terra cotta. 

I'm guessing a bridesmaid's flowers...the ribbon was pink, and the handle, or whatever you clal it, was made of pink and white ribbon woven together.  Bill thought they might be prom flowers.  That's possible...but I'm still leaning toward bridesmaid. 

 
Who was she?  What was the event?  How old was she?  Why did she tuck them in the crawlspace?  With a dinner plate?  We have a bit of a mystery now....

A part of me wanted to keep them, despite the dust and cobwebs, but what would I do with them?  Besides, Scratchy would eat them.  He tried to get a nibble while they were on the floor.  He likes crispy, crunchy, non-food items.

He's a little strange.  But very sweet.

And that, my friends, is the latest on the bedroom saga.

Comments

[Jolea]

I love your mystery!!! Keep digging and snooping around, would be interesting to learn more...

[Jen - The Alien Spouse]

Ooh! Interesting!

My house, when I lived in Brighton, had the name "Cathy" written behind the bathroom door and we had no idea why. I lived there for five years before I started a new job in London, with a girl called Cathy... Who had grown up in Brighton... In my house... and had written her name behind the door when she moved out. It was so weird!

The funniest part was that my housemate then knew the bathroom had last been decorated over ten years before, and so he painted the very next weekend!

[sarah]

such an interesting find!

[judith]

I love that about old houses. Ours is old but the only thing we have found while redecorating was that the kitchen tile was laid down with glue that could have held a space shuttle together. Nice painting.

[Jayne]

Oh, Jen, what a great story!