Let There Be Light

When you're married to a retired engineer there are always interesting projects going on at home and even more interesting and creative solutions happening!  It was time to change the chandelier in our foyer, the one that's been hanging there for fourteen years was never exactly what we had wanted in the first place, not to mention the fact that the brass plating was turning color. But, how to remove a fixture that's suspended 19 feet high?  Mr. Goodneedle constructed scaffolding, he even clamped the ladder to the platform. I can write about this now because it all turned out to be okay and without injury, but, I assure you, I thought I would suffer a stroke before the chandelier was succesfully replaced!  So, back to the chandelier replacement itself... what, exactly, did we want for a fixture? The retired engineer-turned-woodworker had an idea. For quite some time now he's been keeping the wood lathe very busy. 
Here's the new chandelier, hand crafted in its entirety from cherry wood (except for the innards, the metal conduit and wiring). He added a ceiling medallion while the scaffolding was erected. There's a soft "down light" incorporated into the bottom turned portion of the fixture, I didn't get that in the photo above.

Here is a closer shot of the fixture, in all of its hand-rubbed glory!

Yep, this is it... just what we wanted, lovingly made to order.

Let there be light. And there was light. And it was good.

Life is Good!

Smooth Moves

There's lots of slick things going on at Chez Goodneedle these days... cooler temperatures and the advent of fall have seen us gliding right on in to a new season and some fresh, fun projects! Mr. Goodneedle presented me with this wonderful, hand-turned, fruit bowl a few weeks ago. The finish on this one is just as smooth as silk, it's the absolute perfect size and a handsome addition to the kitchen countertop. While we're talking about slick additions to the kitchen I have to rave about the silicone baking sheet liners that my daughter gave me for my birthday. I had never used one before but after baking up some Candied Pecans and a batch of granola I know for certain that I'll never go without one of these beauties again! These liners make smooth work and an easy release (and clean-up!) from what could have been an otherwise stuck-on mess!

Sliding out of the kitchen and into the sewing room is one easy transition, 

something sweet's happening in here too.

A smooth, swirling quilting design, "Waterworld," on Chicken Soup #1.

Life is Good!