Closet doors

Following up on last week, hubby did get down the closet doors and I gave the kids free reign. I have to admit, I had faith but was curious. Hubby was not sure at all that this would work. So here's the "before" picture of the plain closet doors hanging on my closet:



The doors were primed, but not painted, and they were installed anyhow. That was a couple of years ago...

So here's what the boys did - first of all, they hid downstairs with the closet doors and told me not to come downstairs. Then, when they were ready, they turned off all the lights and covered my eyes and led me downstairs (I was very careful and did not fall) - when they turned on the lights and I was allowed to open my eyes, I saw this:

The kids had taken electrical tape and done cityscape outlines. If you look carefully, you can see a leaning CN tower and the Empire State Building. 

I would have been quite happy with that, but the tape wasn't very sticky and it was starting to come off. Little did I know that was part of the plan. This was only the first stage - there was a second stage to the artistry...

Our back room is being renovated, so it was the perfect place to spray paint the doors! I would have liked a snazzy colour, but they don't make spray paint in a wide custom variety, so we went with matte black. The boys got goggles and masks (safety first!) and sprayed the doors, covering up all the tape. Guess what happened when the doors dried?

The tape comes off, leaving the negative image behind! I have to say, it looks very cool and even Hubby was visibly impressed, saying that this worked out better than he ever thought it would!

Here's the finished doors, though we haven't reinstalled them yet:

What do you think?

Here's a close-up of my favourite detail - this is going to make me laugh every time I see it;

The new topics that we picked on the weekend is to support a local community event. Stay tuned - we're not sure what this will be yet...

Well the best laid plans...

Last week, I mentioned that as a family, we were doing one family activity per week - we had brainstormed a bunch of them and then were pulling ideas from the box. Last week, we pulled the activity to decorate my closet doors.

Well when Hubby got up on the ladder to try and take down the sliding doors, it proved to be more difficult than originally anticipated, so we delayed that one for another week. The good news is the doors are now down and awaiting decoration. More on that next week I hope!

Ali Al-Nimr

The other good news is that we pulled another activity! And you know, the ways that things sometimes work out, it was a pretty good one for the limited time that we had. The family task was to write a letter for Amnesty International.

The project that Hubby chose is to ask Saudi Arabia to stop the execution of Ali Al-Nimr. This is especially timely since Ali Al-Nimr is the nephew of prominent Shi’a cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr who was also sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court on October 15, 2014, and recently executed. Ali Al-Nimr was only 17 at the time of his alleged crimes, and being the nephew of a recently-executed Shi'a cleric likely puts him at higher risk. Ali Al-Nimr allegedly confessed, but it was under torture and the claims against him are highly dubious.

For our family, writing this letter made links to recent world events, and a discussion of what life is like in other parts of the world - what different forms of government are about, as well as different religions and beliefs. I have to admit, there were a lot of questions that I wasn't too sure how to answer either. The Middle East is a part of the world that I find very confusing and complex, though now I'll try to pay more attention.

If you would like to sign an online petition or otherwise appeal for the pardon of Ali Al-Nimr, you can learn more on the Amnesty International Canada website with further details here.

Next week - closet doors I hope. The contrast between our weeks is probably going to make my head spin, but I'm sure I'll appreciate my new closet doors even more knowing that no one is going to die over them.

Happy 2016!

Yes, it has been a VERY long time since my last blog. A few updates - we are still living in the same house with the same people: myself, Hubby, Kid#1 and Kid#2. Kid#1 is 13, nearly 14, and Kid#2 is 11. Over the holidays, we managed to squeeze in some downhill skiing despite the greenest Christmas around. It's now pouring rain, kids are on the computer playing some game I've never heard of and Hubby is on the treadmill (which I bought second hand from a friend - insert typical story about how I intended to use it and never did...).

Life has been ticking along as usual, so we decided to do something different this year. Ok - I decided to do something different and the family actually went for it.

Over the holidays, we (mostly me) wrote up several different activities that we can do as a family. We put them all on slips of paper and they are in a box and we pick one activity every week that is our theme for that week. Some are silly, some are meaningful, some are hard, some are easy - but they are all geared towards improving our collective family quality of life through activities that we can do together.

Our box of ideas

 

All of our ideas - so far - we might add more as time goes on!

So last week was the first time we drew an idea and it was "play outside". Good thing the kids like the winter! We bundled up a couple of times and went outside for  hikes at the conservation area, or even for just a  half-hour around our property. Hubby got a light-up frisbee-style disc for Christmas, so we tossed that around. Kid#2 built a toboggan run in the backyard - and we don't have a big backyard! He launches himself on his sled from the patio, travels about 10 ft to a steep banked curve, and then goes another 15 ft or so to the edge of the backyard - or else he might end up in the bushes, who knows!

This weekend, however, it's raining so we chose not to "play outside" and we picked our next item for the week. The activity? Decorate mom's closet doors. There's a long story there which I'll get to next time.

Until then, be kind and good to each other!