Work Day #3 & #4

I saved the biggest project for last.  Because I really didn't want to do it at all.  But it was the most needed. 

The cleaning of the pool house.

Moans were just heard around the world.  From people who have had to walk into it.

I could make excuses...and maybe lie a bit...or just show you the befores and afters. 

And let them speak for themselves.

It took me two straight days.  A whole day was spent just getting all of Shawn's shoes out:c)  And if I didn't lose at least 10 pounds from sweating, it wasn't worth it at all.

Work Day #2

A few years ago I was in Texas helping Carrie organize her mom's house.  I came across this frame in the dining room.  I fell in love.  I could see pictures in it hanging somewhere in my house.  But, it wasn't up for grabs.  But Carrie remembered how much I loved it when she was moving her mom into assisted living.  It stayed in my patio for almost a year while I tried to decide what to do with it. 

It was definately showing its age and with the different sized openings it was going to be hard to get pictures in it. 

Still not sure what to do with it I decided it needed paint.  It was pretty damaged and I thought that would be a good way to camoflauge that. 

Of course it had to be sanded first.  You know how I love my sanding blocks:)

After a light sanding I primed it and painted it black.  I heart spray paint.

But then what?  It finally hit me when I was in the pool house.  Chicken wire.  I'd kept some that was given to me for my garage sale a year ago hoping to find a project to use it in.  So I chickened wired.  For hours.  Uncurl, staple down, cut, and twist the raw edges down with needlenose pliers.  My arms were cut up and scratched but it was so worth it.

But with it being all black it lost something.  The beautiful detail was gone.   

So I used some silver Rub 'n Buff and had all the pretty detail back.

After spray painting some mini clothespins Green Apple it was ready to hang in my hallway.

What do you think??

Work Day #1

When we recently had a moving sale for my grandmother's things that didn't go to her new assisted living apartment I found something I've been looking for for quite a while.  A big old bakers rack.  Nothing fancy.  Great for storage.

You see, I've had a dream.

A dream to organize the pool house a tad bit more.  Anything would be better than what we have now...complete chaos. 

The bakers rack was originally brass but it appeared to have been painted and then someone had started to strip it. Basically it was a mess. So I went spray paint shopping. A can of primer and two cans of Key Lime and I was ready to go.

I have an obsession, it's sanding blocks.  Know what those are?  If not, take a trip to Home Depot and buy some.  You'll want to sand everything in site.  That's how I am. 

I wanted to sand some of the loose paint off.  About 30 minutes in I was about to scream.  There's a lot of connections.  Several different sizes of rods.  And just too much to do.  Since it was going to be in the pool house loaded down with pool needs, it was time to move on.

I didn't look back, I just primed away. 

Then it was time to see the lucious Key Lime.  Except it looked nothing like the lid.  Instead of a nice green it was like a neon green.  But I was committed.  And like I said, it was just going to be in the pool house.

So here it is.  The color grew on me.  And if you don't look too closely, you don't see the still peeling paint. 

Right??

And everything that has never had a place to reside, now has a home.

Day #1.  Done!

Sniff Sniff

My family left yesterday...and I sat on the couch...and did nothing else. 

Well, I did do a little something.  I read blogs that I follow.  I haven't done that in about 6 months. 

I didn't come anywhere near catching up.

I did accomplish one tiny little thing, I worked more on my plan for what I wanted to accomplish this week.  That counts, right?

So now I guess I better get up and actually start some of them. 

Anyone have a crowbar??

Shawn's recliner and I are bonding...and it doesn't want me to go.

Camp :):

My family leaves for camp Sunday...at 10 a.m....and I'm already sad.

I have plenty to keep me busy.


Here's a glimpse at my To-Do List.


*Scrape, prime, and paint the south side the house.
*Rake up two months worth of Magnolia leaves.
*Spray paint and Rub & Buff all the frames over the piano
*Make old frame into a bulletin board type thingie with chicken wire.
*Clean the house
*Clean out several flower beds
*Re-stain an area of the porch
*Visit them all day Wednesday:c)

*Have dinner with a good friend.
*Keep the dog alive.

*Try not to die of lonliness.

Wish me luck because the only thing I'm excited about is seeing them Wednesday.

Oh boy.

Child Labor

We have four neighbors we share our fence with. Two are fabulous. Two are not. Three have Trumpet Vine that have eaten through our fence posts and support beams. The fence has fallen over on two of those sides. On one side we had it propped up all summer long. On the other the vine is so immense that the fence is just leaning up against it. Sigh. Since I married into a family that doesn't hire if they can do it themselves, we spent our Spring Break fixing a fence. I grew up as a worker so I love it. And I'm glad my girls are seeing that with a little hard work they can accomplish a lot. I'm sure our neighbors appreciated the fact that 20 minutes before the loud roofers left for good, we started at our fence with hammers and crowbars. We're nice like that. To save money we saved as many pickets as we could to reuse. I messed up plenty of them before I realized by going into the neighbors yard and taking them off from the back, I saved a lot more. It only took me about 15 ruined ones to figure that out. With three hammers and two crow bars the pickets came down pretty quickly.And soon after that the posts and supports were gone. To reuse the pickets we had to remove 6 nails in each one. That probably took longer than anything else. Luckily we had our sweet little slaves. I mean girls. After $500 and a loaded down flat bed cart at Home Depot we were ready to rebuild. Since we know it's nearly impossible to kill Trumpet Vine we used metal posts. And since the bright fence builders before us had put the post 12 feet apart we had to dig new holes. Shawn did the first two and with a tiny bit of his help, I did the next five. We used a hand auger that had been my Grandpa's. I love that. Using something that was his meant so much. I also was sure I was burning some serious calories. The leveling and pouring the concrete mix in took what seemed like forever though.After Shawn put the supports on we started nailing the pickets back on. 700 nails. Hello sore hands. We all took turns. McKinley could not get a nail to go in straight so she decided to get on the roof and start scraping paint off. So now our fence was on its way to looking fabulous and our house looks awful. Oh well, it's the thought that counts. Kennedy and I did the pickets until Shawn saw that we were going a little bit wonky. He had to take over. He's all about quality and wanting a straight fence. Whatever.The day the last section was finished was very exciting. Dinner had to be moved so that this momentous event wouldn't be missed. And here it is! We are very proud. And overwhelmed since this is only one of three sections we need to do. Another sigh. And since our girls worked so hard on their Spring Break we've promised them a summer beach vacation. Shawn is thinking Galveston but I'd like to go to Gulf Shores. Anyone have suggestions? We can't go far so Texas or Louisiana. Send suggestions! Oh, and we like to camp in our tent. I hate hotels. Hate. But that's another story that you don't really need to hear:c)

Channeling Martha Stewart

This blog post is brought to you by my new pink laptop:c)

Sorry, moving on.

My grandma gets several monthly magazine subscriptions that she reads and passes down to me. Well, I forgot the best part. When she's reading them she tears out any page that is an ad front and back. So when I get them it is just article, article. It's a whole new world. A world I can't believe I didn't live in for many many years.

You all should try it.

Visit my wonderful world.

Anyway...

I found something in Martha Stewart Living that I knew I needed. I even knew I could make it. I don't often feel that way since most of the projects in there are too expensive and the recipe ingredients are things I can't even pronounce.

But this, I can do.

I started by going through the storage area right outside the kitchen. Pulling pots and hoping to find enough dirt that I wouldn't have to buy some. Looks promising. Luckily I had plastic pots to use as the stands so I didn't have to waste any of the terra cotta ones that I use around the pool.

Not bad. Can I also say that I worked up quite a sweat and burned some serious calories moving all of those.After a quick run to Home Depot..and somewhere else...I had everything I needed. And here it is! I bought Flat Leaf Parsley, Basil, Oregano, Cilantro, Rosemary, Chives, and Thyme. I use the parsley the most so it went on the top. More growing room. I put it right outside the kitchen window so we can enjoy it from inside as well as out. And can I just say, it smells terrific outside my back door! My old herb garden was right behind the diving board and it took a lot of abuse. It also was a long walk when I had something already cooking on the stove! And, if you don't mind me saying, I'm pretty proud of it.

So, now I need some more recipes for dishes with fresh herbs. I have some favorites would like some new ones. Anyone want to pass along some tried and true ones?