Look, it’s my dirty garage, just as the contractor abandoned it!

I moved around so often growing up that as an adult I’m still not certain what it means to own a home. We have our share of issues to contend with still (like argh, the plumbing CONTINUES TO LEAK), but I’m slowly beginning to realize that I can do whatever I like to it. How liberating to imagine that I could paint the whole thing bright magenta if I want, and nobody could say no. (Except future purchasers. They might say no.)

A month ago, I decided to give up on waiting for a certain AWOL contractor to resume his job (picture above) and clean the garage. This snowballed from a weekend of garage cleaning (results below) into “wow, this space can be used for household projects” to “hey let’s paint this inherited piece of furniture.”

I’ve learned so much in the process. I’ve never painted furniture before, and my family helped me figure out wood and primer and various coats of paint. Then a woman at the art store gave me a swift and practical lesson on making stencils with acetate, and suddenly we had a cute item of furniture for my daughter’s room.

I see how it is, home ownership. It’s addictive because it lets me nest more easily. If I’m not careful, I suspect I’ll start sticking seasonal wreaths on my front door.

Anyway. Here is a photo essay of my path from dirty garage to clean furniture.

At the beginning of the month, I gave up hoping that the contractor would return, and spent several hours mucking out the garage. Suddenly it became clean and empty. “We could even…fit a car in here, or something,” Dave said.

My mom prodded me mercilessly about this painting project until we actually did it (she knows that my usual household project path is deep procrastination), in my AWESOMELY CLEAN garage.

With everyone’s help, we finished three coats of white paint before breakfast one morning. It’s amazing how easy it was to paint something. I never knew.

Late Saturday night, my daughter and I did this. Stencils were a bit harder. I admit that I became a perfectionist about them. My daughter sighed at me a lot.

Somehow we finished it (with a small trip to Lowe’s to more firmly anchor the hutch). But look, it’s awesome, and neatly covers up the floor ruined by our leaky plumbing! And yes, that’s next on the agenda…

A long time (but less than a decade) ago, I had a child on Chinese New Year. She was born on the first day of the year of the rooster. I was so certain that she’d be born the day before that I decorated her room with monkeys (for year of the monkey), and her nickname stuck.

Thai people celebrate Chinese New Year. Actually, they have the happy luck of three: January 1st for Western New Year, Songkran in April, and Chinese (lunar) New Year between the two.

Monkey’s first birthday had a Chinese New Year theme. We had a bunch of tiny one-year-olds over to our small graduate school apartment, and Monkey dressed up in a set of little red Chinese pajamas. I remember that the party was noteworthy for the large plastic tablecloth that we spread on the floor. We stripped the children to their diapers and let them rip into the cupcakes.

There was frosting everywhere. I remember washing it from behind Monkey’s knees.

Monkey’s birthdays have since become more elaborate. Each year her birthday theme has been different. She’s been through princesses (of course), Mardi Gras, doughnuts, and other things. Chinese New Year moves around on the calendar depending upon the moon, and this is the first time in eight years that it’s been on her actual birthday again. This year will be the year of the snake.

When I mentioned to Monkey that her birthday fell on Chinese New Year again, she said, “I want to have a Year of the Snake party! And pie, I want pie.”

I like to keep her birthday as DIY as possible. We make our own invitations (last year’s invitations were also fun, a card with a doughnut on it), some of our own decorations, and a few games. My husband cooks. We do tend to buy the pastry though, because I wouldn’t make anybody eat what I’d bake.

I fretted a bit about decorations, but my local Party City came through. It totally had a Chinese New Year section, complete with snake banners and tiny dragon toys. This is what we’ve made for Monkey’s party so far. I’m crossing my fingers for good weather (and that mama has time for some strong coffee beforehand)!

Monkey got really into planning, and made little thank you notes to put into each treat bag. “Because you are going to forget to send thank you notes,” she said. She knows me well, I am not very good at sending cards for anything except Christmas.

I do know that as long as the kid has friends and dessert, it’ll be a successful party.

October is my favorite month, and always has been, but it might just spill over into November this year. My kid is in an elementary school program that focuses on Spanish. Because of this we take the time to read up on Spanish-speaking cultures, and it was the perfect time of year for us to learn about Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead.

These are first and foremost happy days (there are two!) rather than sad. According to legend, the dead cannot return along a path made slippery from tears. On November 1st and 2nd, all kinds of traditions collide and become a Mexico-wide celebration of those who are gone.

The traditions come from a merging of celebrations of the Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl (the lady of the dead) with Catholic traditions of All Soul’s Day and All Saint’s Day. These days are marked by celebrations in which the dead are remembered in a loving and light-hearted way, and certain foods are cooked (including pan de muerto, sweet bread made to look like skulls), graves are cleaned and decorated, and much merriment is made.

One famous bit of iconography from the day is La Calavera, the skull. It is made into art, and into the form of sugar candy or chocolate that is put on altars to feed the dead (who apparently have a sweet tooth, which explains Halloween). These sugar skulls also given to the living as a reminder to suck the sweetness out of life. These skulls are not scary or sad, in fact, they are decorated with symbols of rebirth — orange/yellow marigolds, vines, and bright colors.

In honor of these days, my kid and I decided that we wanted to make a few of our own Calaveras on blank post cards that we can send to people this month. This is what we did!

Materials:
— Strathmore Kids Post Cards
— Pencil and eraser for penciling in our designs
— Gel pens and colored pencils
— Google search for “Calaveras” for good examples of the colors and design motifs.

I sketched out some instructions based upon studying various websites with pictures of Candy Skulls, so that my kid had something to follow. I think she did a great job!

The important parts are keeping the skull simple but happy, because Dia de los Muertos is a time of happy reunion of the dead with the living, and using the motifs of orange marigolds, vines, and flourishes. I was inspired and drew a few too! So in honor of remembering those that are gone, and in honor of the life we have right now, happy Dia de los Muertos (early).