Who is Orange Sink?

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Rice Lake, WI, United States
My home town is Rice Lake, a small town in northern Wisconsin. I own Red House Wool Studio~ an in-home wool and rug hooking business. I enjoy collecting and decorating with antiques and primitives. Orange Sink Blog is a journal of my interests and ramblings about life. Cathy Greschner

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Saturday, November 20, 2010

Almost Moved!

The first snow came a couple of days ago.  Just a dusting though by northern Wisconsin standards. Dave's fake deer he shoots arrows at in the back yard looked kind of pretty with his new coat of snow!

Mom is almost moved in to her house.  Just a few things left at her apartment that we'll be picking up tomorrow.  We had quite a crew of young and old guys (sorry Tracy and Ron, but you're still younger than me LOL) helping with the move this time.  They got a workout hauling things down three flights of stairs and trying to fit things in the elevator at the apartment building.  Many hands made the move quite smooth.  Of course there is always something that gets broken with every move.  This time it was the tote that fell from the top of the stack to the bottom of the trailer.  The masking tape label on the tote said "dishes from the china hutch".  What are the odds of that?!  Quite a few delicate pieces of china were broken including some pieces of thin bone china that my Dad had brought back from Japan when he was in the service in WW2.  I always marveled at how thin that china was and how it survived five kids growing up on a farm.  

My brother's Tracy and Ron.  Ron is one year younger than me and looks so much like my Dad it's scary.  They both drive truck and my Dad was a trucker for a number of years also.  The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree does it!

Here's the younger muscle of the crew.  My nephews Mike and Terry.  You met Terry in the last post.  Mike is currently a roofer.  Boy it was great having those guys do the heavy lifting.  I made a big pot of chili for lunch and I think they were hungry because they didn't even wait for me to set the table!  As soon as they got to my house they started grabbing bowls from the cupboard and started filling them up from the crock pot.  I had to laugh!   They had the fridge open and the food on the table before I could even turn around!  That was fine by me as I was so pooped all I wanted to do was crash on the sofa.  But it wasn't meant to be.  We still had boxes to go and beds to set up and make.  By 7:00 pm. Mom was ready to crawl in bed in her new place.  I'll show you some photos after we get a few more boxes unpacked.

I did manage to get a few boughs from the blue spruce in the backyard tucked into my window box.  I hope to get a few more decorations up but that may just be wishful thinking.
  I do have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Right now I am going to go soak in a nice hot tub of bubbles and think of all the things.  I'll be thinking how it was only one year ago when Mom was recovering from her heart surgery. Who would have thought in a million years she would be moving into her own little house just a short walk from our house.  Tonight she is tucked safely and happily in bed with her little dog Hans at her feet.  






Monday, November 8, 2010

Saying Goodbye!

Yesterday was moving day getting the last of Mom's belongings from the house she's lived in since my Dad passed away in 1991.  It is a cute little cabin that my youngest brother Tracy built for her that year.  She and Dad were wintering south in Arkansas and the gulf coast around Lake Charles, LA.   Three years into his retirement my Dad passed away and Mom found herself without a house to live in.  Their 5th wheel camper was home.  So my brother designed and built this one bedroom cottage for her in a wooded area on land that they owned.  Leaving here is not so easy for her but she is looking forward to moving into the nice little house she is buying next to us.  


The weather was perfect for moving this weekend.  Made it a little harder to leave as it was so quiet and sun shiny yesterday down there.  But one has to visualize the scene any day from here on. Wisconsin winters can be brutal.  So we know how lucky we are that it has held off this year while we move.
My younger brother Tracy, ready to get the last of Mom's stuff out including that ugly MIL tongue plant in the background!

Here's some of the muscle who were helping us with the move. My nephew Terry and his girlfriend Stephanie.  Terry has served a couple of tours in Iraq with the army.  So we're glad he's home now and lending a hand!  Cute kids heh?

Mom's house from the back.

The trailer and truck all loaded.

Cheer up Mom! You are really gonna like your new house in town!  


She's a little bit of a thing but strong willed.  Next Sun. Nov. 14th is her 80th birthday.   We still have to move her things from her apartment where she has lived this past year here in town.  She  is really looking forward to getting out of that apartment.  So as soon as all the papers are signed the truck and trailer will be making another trip from her apartment to the new house.  I sure hope the moving crew are still around!





Friday, November 5, 2010

Just Chillin'


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Mr. Chill is just chillin' waitin' to be bound. He measures 19 inches wide and 17 inches tall.


 Hooked in mostly # 8 strips except for the snow. I cut wide strips by hand for that from a fluffy blue and white large scale plaid wool from my stash. 


 I used kind of non traditional colors in a softer palette than some of my other rugs. 


 I think the red hat and mittens really make this rug! It doesn't scream red and green Christmas so you can leave it out long past the Holiday season.


 Mr. Chill  can't sweep that falling snow away fast enough!

I am thinking of maybe drawing up a pattern or two on linen for sale. Any thoughts or opinions?



Cathy G

Monday, November 1, 2010

Rugs and Roses

When life gets the craziest it seems the rug ideas flow the best for me.  Has to be the energy flowing to the brain or at least my desire to make some sense out of all the chaos.  Along with the usual readying the nest for winter we've started a new little remodeling project and we're still in the process of helping my Mom complete her selling and buying of another home.

The rug I'm working on is a snowman pattern I designed that I'm calling simply "CHILL".  It's a reminder to do just that when things are getting rather hectic.  The photo above is a little sneak peek.

Last week a knock on the door sent the dogs barking and racing to see who the visitor was.  My husband's boss stood with a dozen long stem roses for me.  Ah yes, the Rotary Club sells roses each year to people in the work place to raise funds for local projects.  The beautiful blooms look fabulous but aren't known for their deep rose scent that one expects from roses. I found my best heavy crystal vase and arranged them nicely.

The small remodeling project I mentioned above is part of another idea that may transpire here sooner or later.  The project are these windows located between my studio and the breezeway entry to our home.  My studio is an add on to the back of our house which was an enclosed porch when we bought the house.   A while ago we remodeled the studio making it a four season room instead of the summer porch that it once was.  The windows are on a wall separating the studio and breezeway.

My idea was to remake the windows into shelving for wool.  The windows are now removed  and framed for some shelving.  Hubby and his friend Dann are doing this in their "spare" time. LOL. So when they make a little more progress  I'll post some photos.  I'll leave you with the following photos of what it looks like now.

Remember to stop and smell the roses regardless of whether they smell like roses!


Windows before