Tolentreasures

Just some things that I have finished over the last couple of days.

Gracelyn spent the night on Thursday and she wanted to "stitch".  I gave her the "treasure box" as she calls it and a tapestry needle with crochet cotton and she stitched buttons all evening and part of the next morning.  What a difference between having her and having the boys.  John calls the boys "the Rotties" because he likens having them to having a couple of Rottweillers and her to having a goldfish.  How true!  She is just so calm and easy and she doesn't run faster than we are able.  Which brings me to the sight of John chasing Tyler last week.  Tyler had once again hit Logan in the head with a golf ball.  I can't tell you how many times this has happened this summer and honestly, I swear that the golf balls are like heat seeking missiles to Logan's head.  This last time sent Tyler running with John in hot pursuit. The sight of the the 51 year old grandpa chasing the really fast 5 year old was enough to make me chuckle despite the fact

Otherwise to be entitled the Recap of Fair Week. One year ago, dear hubby offered to allow the fair to use our house on Saturday for the dinner for the band, a place for the bus driver to sleep and dinner for the fair managers.  You see, each year on Saturday they have a country music singer as the entertainment and every year it poses a problem of where the bus driver can sleep, where the band members can shower and where to serve them dinner.  Our house, which borders the fairgrounds seemed like such a logical solution to HIM, so HE offered.  That was the first time I threatened him with "I know where you sleep"  Usually fair week in years past has my house looking like nothing short of the aftermath of a Category 4 hurricane by Saturday, but this year was going to have to be different.  I cleaned and cleaned and CLEANED and still I felt it was not clean enough, but enough of that and on to the Rain Gutters/Elderberry Pie incident. The rain gutters on our house and garage w

Well I never have signed up for a blog party before and now I know why.  I am late and life just gets in the way sometimes.  It was supposed to be where country people create and I thought, "Well, I have to clean anyway for the  50 or so people that are showing up at my house that week so why not join the party and show a CLEAN area"  Riiighhht!  I neglected to realize how much I had been neglecting my house.   So I didn't make it to the party in time and now my painting room is cluttering up again.  Anyway, this is where I paint.  It is sort of a loft outside our bedroom.  I love the space, small but nicely tucked in.  And this is the view from the other end  of the space. And this is where I sew, it is a reclaimed bedroom.  I see those rooms full of cupboards and shelves and counters and I'll be honest, I covet them.  Someday. And some of the things that I have been painting.  Panic mode has set in.  The Open House is less than two months away.  I have to get wo

Work on this, picnic tables finished, (sorry, forgot the camera for those) work around our house. Some of this. Surgery for Shelby, Lots of work preparing for the fair, A little bit of Saturday donation work. OK, the NO PARKING needs taken off and changed.  We are going to let them to that part.  This was our Saturday project. Very little of this and this... And now for next week, THIS! The trim on the garage needs sanded and painted.  I knew that I would not even start it until I had the paint sitting right here.  Hopefully the rain cooperates this week so that I can get it sanded and painted. Funny story of the week: Entitled.. How I Flushed Dora. Thursday found me with Kendall and Gracelyn.  Shelby was still healing from wisdom teeth removal and Shawnee was off to the Buffet concert.  I finally got both girls down for a nap and decided to put a coat of crackle paint on the bench that I was working on, set the timer for 20 minutes to add the paint and then scrambled to straighten

I am always scouring yard sales, flea markets and estate sales for vintage linens.  The stacks of them that I have stored away, well it just screams hoarder.  It is time to do something with them. These pillows are quick and easy to do, minimal sewing skills required.    The one on the right is painted, however the other two are made from embroidered table runners.  Start by picking the best side of the table runner. If the runner is really thin fabric, stabilize it with some lightweight fusible interfacing pressed to the wrong side of the runner. Next, fold it in half and decide on the size of your pillow.  They will vary according to the design on them.  Cut the edge 1/2 inch longer than you are going to want the pillow to be. I keep the other end, hoarder than I am, there will be a use for that someday. Press under the 1/2 inch. Fold the runner in half, right sides together and sew just inside the trim, leaving an opening to stuff the pillow. Stuff and sew up the opening. Done...how

A little over a week ago, we started on this. And now we have this.  Fence down, shrubs and trees trimmed, and it is starting to look better.  Dear hubby and I are falling into bed at night totally exhausted, but well rewarded when we look out the windows of our house and no longer see chain link fence surrounding a jungle.  We will be taking that enclosed porch back to a regular porch and residing the house.  I can picture it in my mind.  I think it is going to look nice! I needed something new for my dining room table and had picked up this canning jar lifter thingie at a yard sale for fifty cents and my mom had found the tray also for fifty cents.  Berry vine, $11.99 and the little bird and nest for around $6 at the local shop, the rest was just gathered stuff and a quick trip to my MIL's yard this morning yielded the flowers.  Not bad for under $20. And speaking of nests.  I changed some lights on my porch this morning, have been waiting to do this until I saw no more signs of

Top Ten BAD things. 1. The musical potty chair has something wrong with it and keeps playing over and over.  Annoying?  Yes, but I can't figure out how to get it to stop. 2. The second computer of the year at the shop FRIED!  Frustrating! 3. Shelby has surgery today, wisdom teeth and two others, she is going to feel nasty! 4. This house is a disaster! 5. Boot Camp is almost over! 6. This yard is a disaster. 7. Closing on the house on Friday. 8. There is so much work at the shop that we are barely keeping up. 9. The kids are going to Buffet tomorrow and I am not. 10. Projects everywhere! Top Ten GOOD things. 1. I got it to stop! 2. Computer back, still won't run the embroidery machine, but we didn't lose any files. 3. I get to spoil Kendall for a few days until Shelby feels better. 4. I would rather clean a disaster than a "clean" house. 5. Boot Camp is almost over. 6. The yard next door is looking better. 7. Closing on the house on Friday. 8. Th

Yesterday morning this was what was facing me.  I know that it was wrong to skip church to work, but there was no other way that I was going to get these done.  Every evening after work brings it's own set of chores and Saturday?  We'll we are not even going to go there other than to mention that the groceries that were missing at our house were never even bought until after 2:00 in the afternoon.  Dear hubby started for the grocery store at 9 and one interruption after another did not let him leave the house until after lunchtime.  So Sunday it is.  These are at the fairgrounds and they had to be painted before Wednesday.  I "borrow" dear hubby's IPOD, gather brushes, paints, water, coffee and an apple and off I go.   When I start the IPOD, what greets me but ABBA!  I love ABBA, but who would have thought that would be on dear hubby's IPOD?  Do his camo-wearing, gun toting, harley riding buddies know that he has ABBA  in his music collection?  Just when I was

That is what is on my breakfast menu this morning.  You see, we need to grocery shop.  I have clothes that need washed as well as bedding and towels.  I have no laundry soap.  I have no peanut butter, no bread, no paper towels, and no apples!  I really need that daily apple.  You ask why? (Not the apple, the rest of the stuff) Maybe it is this: Better than half of the fence is down and a lot of brush cleared. Or this: Wednesday night's concert.  ZZ Top, they were great and as you see, we had pretty good seats also. Or this: I still had to get my crafting "fix" in for the week. This is made from more of those fabric sample books that I have.  Or perhaps work, or boot camp, or fair preparations, or grand kids, or who knows what else, but one of the inhabitants of this house really needs to go and get groceries.  Thank goodness that in the middle of the Fence and Brush Clearing Shenanigans last night, my MIL managed to feed us! Have a great weekend!