With sad heart.....

Chalk Paint - My first attempt

And I love it! :)  I had purchased an old toolbox that had really seen better days.  I used Jamielyn's mix over to I {Heart} Nap Time - How to make chalk paint.   It worked like a charm.  I hope you'll stop by her site and give her a hello and check out her post on how to make chalk paint.  

This is my toolbox I painted and filled with goodies and topped with my cast iron fairies.  Three for each of my grown daughters.  Every time I look at these sweet fairies I think of them.  They are all three very close in age and at one time all resembled these little fairies in size and features.  Well minus the wings. ;)

hmm..my table looks warped in this photo.  It's not.  It must be how the morning light is coming in the window on it.

I hear a freeze is close to nipping my flowers here. *sigh*  Have a wonderful Fall weekend!

Cool Weather!

I am enjoying the cooler temperatures today.  I fired up the oven.  I hope this weekend finds you all with perfect weather like we are enjoying today.

 

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."
-  Albert Camus

Trapped in the Veggie Garden!

What a way to start the morning! For me AND the little baby sparrow!

I went out to check on the veggie garden. We have fencing inside the garden area to separate out areas of plants and to make it a bit easier to walk through it. Well I opened the gate and was met by a flurry of wings and chirps.  There was a baby sparrow upside down! I tell you it scared the bejeezus outta me. lol  The baby bird had caught it's leg between one of the dips in the fencing and couldn't get out. The poor thing had really messed up that leg/foot trying to get out.  It was wedged in there tight. I put on a pair of garden gloves and held the baby bird and slid it's leg out of the fence. I put it in the garden and within a few minutes it was gone. I'm betting that leg/foot doesn't heal properly ...hopefully it learns to hop on one foot.  This photo is of a section of fence in the garden where it got caught. In one of those V sections. Poor thing.

 Have a wonderful Friday and fantastic weekend!

The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply that they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.

~J.M. BARRIE, The Little White Bird

UPDATE: Soooo I'm out watering the flowerbeds. Fritz looks awful interested in something on the patio. It was the baby bird It looked much worse for wear than when I had set it down earlier. I know it wasn't from Fritz as he was a nervous nelly looking at it. I picked it up and it fluttered for a minute and then died. :( Poor thing.

Bads come in threes right?

I hope everyone is getting some of this cooler weather that we have today.  Right now it's 79 out and it feels perfect!  I'm hoping those 90's and humid humid humid days are gone.  I'll finish out summer with the type of weather we are having today.  

I've been have a fun (insert sarcastic tone) for the past couple weeks.  I decided to wash my truck.  Well the windshield must of had a weak spot or had been previously marred somehow as when I hit it with water from the hose I got a nice foot long crack in it. :(  Hopefully soon that will get replaced.  My state inspection is in a couple months and won't pass with this lovely crack.

Next...

About a week ago I decide to "try" and tidy up the garage so I can work on getting some of my collected treasures prepped and painted.  We have a spare dining room table in the back of the garage.  Well it had become a clutter trap.  I do have sheets of Styrofoam and huge cardboard layers on it to keep the top from being marred.  Well I had forgotten there was a leaf under all those layers.  I'm moving things around on the table and OUCH!!!!  the leaf comes crashing down on my big toe and toe next to it.  Yep being the safe person I am, I was wearing flip flops.   I thought it surely must be broke by the pain that was shooting thru it.  So I limp into the house holding my toe...well I looked more like the hunchback of Notre Damn.  Yelling for Bill he comes and asks to look at it.  Dang it hurt to let go of them, so I just let him peek at them. ;)  Thankfully he is good in an emergency as he takes one look at my bloody toes and says...well first off lets get it cleaned up.  Well first I had to let go of my toes as I had a death grip on them as I just knew if I let go they would fall off..lol  After they were cleaned up I found I could move them so thankfully they were not broke.  But boy did they sting.  The purple is now gone, but they are still sore sore sore.

Next... 

Well let's see what else has been making my life lovely..lol  Oh...90 to 100 degree temps and my window air conditioner has decided it wanted to drain INSIDE the house.  We've had it out...torn all apart...cleaned.  Oh...and if you ever store a window air conditioner in your garage over the winter...umm...seal it up good.  When I took ours apart to find out if maybe we had a clog in it.  I found two verrrrrry old mice.  Ewwwwwww Ick Ick Ick.   So it's now back in the windows and only intermittently leaking inside.  *sigh*  Oh one more lovely with the air conditioner....on the hottest day we've had so far this year, the air conditioner is back in the window and cooling the house nicely....POOF...goes the power.  A transformer blew up and lit on fire a couple streets up from us.  The guys were right on it and it was replaced and power back on in a little over a couple hours.

I think I've had enough bad this week!

The good, finally! :)  

Today I see this wonderful scrumptious strawberry pie go by on my feed on Facebook.  

 VINTAGE STRAWBERRY PIE ~ JUST LIKE GRANDMOTHERS

(click link above for original post) 

I have strawberries!  And I have every ingredient (there weren't many) I changed it up a bit and made them into little pies for dinner.  The only thing I didn't have have the whipped cream.   I'm ready to kick back tonight and enjoy my little strawberry pies.  I hope you all have an enjoyable evening! :)

Squatter's Rights

My daughter bought me this gnome a while back.  He's traveled all over our yard trying to find the perfect spot for him to claim squatter's rights.  He's decided he likes my flower pot on my patio the best. ;)  I just love him.  

He's got a couple buddies that live in my flower beds just enjoying the summer sun.  We had these for quite a few years and they are showing their age.  They bring a smile to my face every year when I find the perfect spot for them to relax for the summer.

 

I hope you all have a fun and safe 4th of July!  We are going to stay at home and just have a quiet day.  Sounds like a plan to me. :)

"One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, One Nation evermore!"

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

 

 

 

Flowers and Books Galore!!

Flowers awaiting planting. They wrap around out of sight!

I went to Lowe's a little over a week ago looking for a few flowers to replace some flowers in my window box that didn't quite make the high heat we had a few weeks ago.    I walk up to the clearance carts.  You know..the huge blue three tiered carts they usually have marked 1/2 off.  I love me a clearance. :)  So the first cart I walk up to I go to pick a flower off it and this lady says..."That's my cart!"  I asked..."The entire cart?"  She told me it was.  Off I go to the next cart, only to be told by a man next to it it was HIS cart.  Ok...I'm thinking this was strange as they are HUGE carts of flowers.  So I went to another cart....no one told me it was theirs. :)  So I pick a flower package out that I wanted off it.  A Lowe's employee comes up to me. (I thought maybe it was HIS cart..lol) and says...."I'll sell you the entire cart for $5.00"  I couldn't believe $5.00!!  I loaded it up and went up to check out.  I sure was glad I had an empty Blazer or I would of never fit these in.  Once up to the check out counter I learned they had to ring each one up individually so it would come off their inventory.  Ewwww...that was a lot of ringing up!!  I kept watching the register $100... $200... $300.... $400.... $480...boy was I starting to sweat, I was sure hoping the Lowe's guy that offered me the flowers for $5 knew what he was talking about.  The cashier then adjusted my balance and announced my total was $5.40!  I had so many flowers to plant now!  Needless to say I've been planting my behind off.  ;)  Here are just a couple planting.  I still need to get some mulch for the beds but I am tuckered out right now. ;)  

This bed is right in front of the veggie garden.  My poor yard got tore up a bit putting in the stone edging.  But's that's another project for later. ;) 

 

This little cart we picked up along side the road during Citywide Spring Cleanup.  It needed a couple nails in the handle and it was ready to be planted.   I love free! :)

I can't wait til all the flowers start filling out and really look beautiful.

The weekend after I got the flowers we are headed out to go grocery shopping.  I see a garage sale with boxes.  I'm betting they have books.  Bill is such a huge reader it's hard keeping him in books. And he refuses to go to the library.  He like to 'own' the books..sigh.  Soooo we stop at the sale and walk up.  The man doing the sale says...All books are free.   FREE?!?!?! ;)  Oh boy....soooooooo this was my dining room table for a day.  They have since found homes...well kinda..but they are off my table. ;)  I did end up slipping the man some $ as I didn't feel right taking all these books for nothing.  He kept saying no as we were doing him a favor as he didn't need to haul them all back inside.  We picked up 189 books!  Hopefully Bill makes them last for a while. ;)

 

I hope your all enjoying your summer!

Happy Mother's Day and BUNNIES!

First off let me wish all Mother's a wonderful day today!

Last week I'm out pulling the weeds in the garden getting it ready to plant.   I know Mom was laughing looking down from heaven. She used to laugh at me and call me Mrs. McGregor. We have the darnest time keeping the bunnies out of our garden. She would say she could just see me out there yelling at the bunnies to quit eating all my plants and to get out of my garden!! She'd laugh and say they probably think you are laying them out a wonderful smorgasbord of foods.

Sooooo, I was pulling the weeds and there were many let me tell you! Where did they all come from?  I know I didn't leave this many weeds in the garden this past fall.   I start pulling this big weed....then the ground started MOVING! Out popped part of the weed along with some bunny fur....dang...we have a den of baby bunnies INSIDE our garden fence. All the weeds were pulled except the one patch with the baby bunny den.

This morning I head out to get my newspaper and check out the den to see if it looks disturbed or whatnot.  One of the bunnies must have popped the top off their den.   I lost count how many there were.  Now for them to hurry up and grow and leave so we can plant the garden. :)

Aren't they just adorable? :)

God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.

~ Rudyard Kipling

Mom's Beautiful Peonies

My Mom passed away two years tomorrow.  It seems like only yesterday and it seems like forever since I've talked and laughed with her on the phone (we lived in different states).   This year her date of passing falls one day before Mother's Day.  I've been going through my stash of old pictures of her and her home we sold after she passed.  I have always loved her peonies that lined her driveway.  Below are photos of her peonies.  They were taken within a week or so after her passing.  They were absolutely beautiful that year.  I'm sure she was looking down and smiling at her beautiful flowers.  I've since started a row  of peonies beside my driveway.  This year it looks like I may get a few blooms.  

 

I have no idea of the varieties of the peonies.  There are several different types.  I had asked Mom previously the varieties of the peonies she had...she no longer remembered their names.

I hope you enjoy the photos and have a wonderful Mother's Day this Sunday. 

Enjoy.....

Love and miss you Mom.....

Your Mother is Always With You – Anonymous

Your mother is always with you...

She's the whisper of the leaves
as you walk down the street.

She's the smell of bleach in
your freshly laundered socks.

She's the cool hand on your
brow when you're not well.

Your mother lives inside
your laughter. She's crystallized
in every tear drop...

She's the place you came from,
your first home.. She's the map you
follow with every step that you take.

She's your first love and your first heart
break....and nothing on earth can separate you.

Not time, Not space...
Not even death....
will ever separate you
from your mother....

You carry her inside of you....

Now...where do I put all these treasures?

With the nicer weather comes garage and estate sales.  Yeah!  Bill (my partner in crime) and I went to a few these past couple weekends.  Now to fix up what I've bought and find a place to put everything.  I'm thinking I might need to add on. ;)

I hope you enjoy seeing what new treasures we've found.  Get yourself a Coke and sit back a spell as there are a few pictures. (sigh...garage/estate sale fever I'm afraid) ;)

I love the hand turned mortar and pestle.  They are heavy!  I couldn't resist the two wooden mallets.

 

 I loved this wooden level.  Even if one of the levels was missing I still wanted it.  I had to Google and head to Ebay for the remaining two items.  The middle one is a Hand Forged Wrought Iron Iron Blacksmith Tong.  Super heavy!  Now the bottom one took me a few to find it.  Can you guess?  Bill laughed at me when I suggested maybe it was used to carry fish?  *grin*  Do you know?  There are four hooks.  Three under and one that is on the top.  It is marked 52 E. Whitfield & Sons.  After researching for a few I found them on Ebay.  It is a cast iron hanging hook balance scale.  It is missing the weight that slides onto the right end to balance against. One hook attaches to a base at the top and the other 3 are used to hang the meat.  A far cry from using it to hang the fish you've caught huh?

All the tools (except the mortar and pestle) were bought for a dollar a piece.  Not bad. :)

I really wasn't going to pick up the Depression glass...really I wasn't!  Then....she said..how bout you take it all for $3.  Sigh....and here it sits on my dining room table.   I wanted the silver soup spoons for my every day silverware.  I picked up a set of silver last summer and we use that for our every day silverware.  It was without soup spoons.

 

 The little handmade pillows I fell in love with.  Home they came with me.  I love the doily.  I pick them up whenever I find them for a good price.  I do not have the patience to make them.  I tried once and it ended up as a coaster for my glass. ;)  This one is large and was only $1.00.

 

This wicker hamper was in great condition.  It needs 3 little screws on one hing.  Other than that maybe just a fresh coat of white and it will look new. 

 

 Bill just shakes his head at me and asks....where are you planning on putting it?  Me? umm...I'm not sure...but I'll find a place!   *big smile* It's in the garage now...waiting on being spruced up with a fresh coat of paint.  Then....I need to find a place in a house that is already full.  Do you do that?  Find something and have no idea where it will go?

Doesn't she have pretty brass legs? I thought so too!

Are you still with me?  Good ;)

I loved this tray.   Perfect for Spring!

Tea anyone?  Bill loved the green gourd one, me the flowered one.  Actually I love both.  I loved the sweet little white pitcher also.

 Bill found the tarnished silver tray.  In my hands it went.  Bill found the wooden bowl.  In my hands it went.   I found the tarnished silver napkin holder.  In my hands it went.  I found the little pup on Ebay...first bid it was mine.  Yeah!

A glass plate...such pretty colors.  My photo sure does not do it justice.  It has Saxon China stamped on the back.   The bowl is a Pampered Chef Stoneware Baking Dish.  I LOVE this.  It cost me an entire dollar. :)  Now....this piece on the right.  We have no idea what it was. Nor did the lady having the garage sale.  Is it a strainer you use over a pot?  A splatter guard? A veggie steamer?  Have you a guess? 

Update:  My daughter called me after reading my post and informed me that tool above is a diffuser for a gas stove.  It adds a layer of protection between the burner and the bottom of your pan, yet it's perforations allow heat to get through.    Well now...what to use it for...I have an electric stove. ;)

And lastly (I'm sure your glad to see this is the last one.  I applaud you for staying with me.)  is this mirror.  It is one heavy mirror.  On each corner there is a residue, like someone had a sticker on it.  I've tried goo be gone on it.  No luck.  I'm thinking I'll just sand them smooth and give it a nice new coat of paint.

Well this is the extend of our last two weekends of sales.  Now back to my original question.....where do I put all these treasures?

Spring....she be a coming!

 

2011 Flowers

We are at 66 degrees today!  For all this week are supposed to be ranging around 20 degrees above normal.  I have signs of Spring all over my gardens.  I sure hope Mother Nature won't be deciding we need any more frigid snowy weather.  I am so ready for the smell of fresh cut grass and flowers.  

I hope your all having a wonderful start to your week!  

Springtime is the land awakening.  The March winds are the morning yawn.  

       ~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

Finally some snow!

And now.....it can melt. ;)  I would of been happy if it had just passed us here in New York altogether. ;)  It sure was a heavy wet snow.  We sure were not up to shoveling.  I had been down with the stomach flu for four days and Bill for a couple days.  But if we wanted to get out of our driveway we were shoveling.  Every year I talk about getting a snow blower and every year we don't.  Maybe next year. ;)  Here are a couple shots around the yard of what I hope is our first and last real accumulating snow of the winter.

With no snow on the limbs we are able to walk under these branches.

Backyard

A little potted evergreen

The limbs are so heavy with snow they are laying on my Blazer.

Ground light

Our pup Fritz enjoying the snow in his winter garb. ;)

I hope you've all had a good week.  After the flu all week and then snow...this weekend has got to get better. ;)