Garage organization

So we are back to organizing the garage!  A couple of weeks ago I saw a post on an app advertising a couple of cabinets.  I figured it would be a good spot in the garage to organize more of our "junk".  And look, I opened up a box and discovered that something was still wrapped up in a moving blanket!

I had to move a few things out so I could get the cabinets into the garage:

Yup, so much stuff out of the way first!

And here they are! The lady that was selling it advertised them as "Danish cabinets" but I found a label that said they were made in Yugoslavia??!

Well, I was able to unload 3 boxes and put almost all of the things away in some sort of spot. LOL!!!

And then, there were these to put away.  It was "almost" like Christmas.  Ha ha!

Funny how my new tool cabinet (which was purchased last year!) fit perfectly in this built-in stove in the shed:

Tada!!!

And someone else was conveniently fast asleep on the hammock:

And it didn't take long for the boys to find their tablets either:

I did find our old golfer-windmill in one of the boxes.  Poor thing looks totally worn out!

I had some spray paint and also some marker pens...

Still squeaky but at least it looks a lot brighter! :-D

The deal was to try and open up and organize every box in the garage by the end of the boys' school summer holiday.  But now that school has started again, I guess maybe the new target deadline will be Christmas holidays??!  Only time will tell I guess.  Christmas is only 4 months away!!!

In the meantime, I did get a little bit of mulching done.  Here's the before:

And after:

I was able to hide the new sprinkler lines too!

Science Museum (Aug 15)

We were suppose to head over to the Natural History Museum but the parking lot was full!  So I ended up having to go around the block and ended up closer to the Science Museum.  I was definitely so careful about where I was parking this time as well, especially after being towed when visiting the La Brea Tar Pit Museum that last time!

We didn't see this the last time.  What an aircraft!

This metal structure by the entrance is pretty cool too!

Graham and Charlie knows exactly what they want to do this time:

They love this old flying machine!

I am glad it wasn't very busy in the museum:

This was fun for the boys to play with for a bit:

I see you!!!

I love this photo of Graham with the Apollo Command Module:

This entire area is new to the boys and obviously we had to hit every station.  There were Dominos:

Spinning tops:

Fishing:

Boat wind-sailing:

Want to guess who this is??!

It's Charlie!  We also built an arch together.  We were quite familiar with this as we did the same at the Da Vinci Museum in Florence, Italy.  Yeah... just bragging a bit :-P

These magnets are pretty cool:

We also went into an area where there was an earthquake demonstration.  After that, there was a whole section talking about human body parts and how the body works.  Not sure why I didn't take any photos there!  I did learn a few things though - like did you know that the Blue Whale's heart beats at only 5 beats a minute??! WOAH!!!

And I did take a photo of this Mexican salamander.  It's crazy what sort of creatures we have on this earth:

I think most of the kids were most excited about trying out the Drunk Driving simulator:

Here is Charlie driving sober.  I sure hope he doesn't flunk his driving test when he turns 16!!!

And here is Charlie when he is driving drunk.  You know, it's sort of funny but it almost seems as though he is driving a bit more careful!

And here is Graham driving drunk.  Sheesh... they are not making me feel any better!

Although who knows what sort of technology will be available when Graham and Charlie learn to drive.  I mean, there are already self-driving cars on the road now as well as cars with a park-assist functions.  Flying vehicles perhaps??!

I think this hanging exhibit is completely made out of like trash or recycled plastic? I can't remember now but still very impressive:

The boys tried this the last time where they pretend to be on TV and read from the teleprompter.  Charlie was still struggling to read from it so that didn't end so well although they sure looked good on TV for a minute :-)

Ahhh.... good ol' LA traffic at 4pm!

As usual, Charlie is fast asleep when we get home.

A successful day!

Recent happenings

Trying my hand at more extra succulents from the yard.  I actually put this in our bathroom.  Not sure how well it is actually doing without much sunlight!

Speaking of sunlight... Graham and Charlie sure knows how to enjoy the backyard!  A few weekends ago, Graham set up the chairs and even opened up the umbrella all by himself :-D

 The backyard is still the best for S'mores:

The view of the harbor from our highest vantage point (although it's not very clear from the photo):

Boys are definitely taking full advantage of the yard today.  Graham is on the hammock (which Daddy love LOVES!!!) and Charlie is going full-force with the tether ball.  I am so glad it is still stuck to the ground!

Since we started our music lessons, I am down about $10 almost every week from buying smoothies next door.  YIKES!!!  But the boys enjoy playing the games there so maybe worth the few extra bucks:

Somehow I am not remembering where this was taken... but Charlie is being so cheeky here.  He is such a character!

Some new peppers from the yard, but not too sure about these brown spots.  So into the trash they go!  The leaves of the plant seem to be chomped up by some sort of animal.  But there is one new pepper so I am excited to cook that up soon!  Fingers crossed it doesn't get eaten first by something else:

A new plant sprouted recently.  Not exactly sure what it is so I posted it on a local App and some are calling it an Amaranth.  Edible leaves... but I think I am just going to let it grow and see what else sprouts from it:

The sweet pepper is finally here! Can't wait for it to get ripe for pickin':

And the tomatoes are finally flowering:

And the boys' pumpkin plant are growing fast!  Graham was using shoe laces to soak up water and direct/buried it into the pot while we were away in New Jersey last week.  I guess it worked well because the plants didn't dry out!  Almost too well because the little white pot was totally moldy on the inside. Eewww...  Glad we re-potted them into bigger pots today. 

With school starting this Wednesday, there will definitely be more happenings to come!

Another sewing project - Chair cover

This project was completed 3 weeks ago and was definitely a new one for me.  It was a chair cover for one of our dining chairs.  Any time the black chair scrapes the wall, it would leave black markings:

So I obviously got tired of it!  Since my sewing machine was still out from sewing Graham and Charlie's PJ shorts, I decided to take this task on.  I found some fabric while I was unpacking one of our boxes recently.  It was fabric that I had bought from IKEA years ago!  The fabric was meant for something else which I don't even remember what it was for now.  LOL!!! So, here it is... my first seat cover ever!

I was actually too lazy to really measure it out so I just flopped the fabric over and pinned it all together.  I also made a flap for the back-side:

It's not perfect but it definitely works!  Sure beats wrapping a bandana or a blanket on the chair! I could perhaps make a matching one for the other chair, but nah... maybe another time.  I need to oil my sewing machine and then still have to make more matching shorts for me and Bobby :-)