A Memorable Memorial Day

For my birthday the kids wanted to take me up to Morgan Lake and spend some time there. I always forget what a pretty little lake it is.

 Max was anxious to show off his fishing skills. As soon as he hopped out of the truck he grabbed his pole and headed for the shore, cast his line and immediately hooked a tree. He spent the next several minutes fixing his line.

It took several minutes, and we were all hungry so we broke out the food, ate and watched him.

Eventually we moved spots to a place that had a picnic table and an actual fire pit. We got a fire going and I sat back to enjoy the view with everything I need to enjoy myself.

Max hooked his leg and spent some more time working on his line. As soon as he got it fixed Zoey cast it with such vigor that the line snapped and he was back to fixing it.

Soon he grew weary of working on his line and decided to splash the littles while they played in the lake.

After the little guppies tried to warm up by the fire, we put it out and headed back down the mountain. It was a rather pleasant afternoon with my chilies.

A vignette

Lilac season is basically over. (you can barely see the bouquet of lilacs I picked in that jar to the right of the candle.)  My next favorite flower to bloom will be peonies. Love those. I discovered we have a bush in the front of the house. Yeah! The other flower I really love but we don't really have around here is hydrangeas. We have a rose bush on the side of the house, don't know what color yet. Waiting with bated breath. (or would that be baby's breath, in the spirit of the discussion!)

See that fat candle? I got it for $3 at a yard sale, never been lit. The magazine rack is the side rail to a vintage baby crib, and the little stand is a metal office or hospital stand that I use for storing phone books, my sewing kit, and an extension cord I need often when working on projects. Just when my kids think I couldn't possibly fit any more into our rabbit hutch, I manage!

Silver Lining

Those of you who know me well know that I love old silver in any form; silverware, trays, salt and pepper shakers, pitchers, etc.

Several years ago I got some silver ware jewelry from the Portland Saturday Market. I don't get there very often, in fact it's been years. So I was happy to stumble upon an etsy shop full of items made from old silverware. The shop is called TheSilverCraftsman, and the shop owner is a 14 year old boy named Sheldon! Yep! I have my heart set on this little lovely...

Sew Easy

There have been some really cute and really easy sewing ideas on Pinterest lately so I thought I would try one out. It's a cute little bib for a baby, and of course I have the cutest granddaughter ever, so I decided to make up a few for Ella.

So I went to Walmart and picked out some cute fabrics.

I thought the black patterned fabrics at the top would look cute with this outfit:

See, I told you, the cutest granddaughter ever!

I cut and sewed and ruffled and button holed, and this is my first one.

I made it so you can use both sides, this is the other side.

The next couple should be easier now that I have worked out the kinks! Lucky Ella!

The Cheap Seats

The neighbors were having a yard sale and I refrained from going. But after it was over there was a sign  on four patio chairs that said "free". My favorite word! They started out looking like this:

Not much to look at, but also nothing that a little paint wouldn't fix.

Soon they will also be getting bright new cushions, but for now they provide quite comfortable seating around our fire bowl.

I love it when things are free! The other day I picked up a little side table sitting on a curb with a free sign on it. I whipped a U ey (sp?) and I'll show you what I end up doing with it later, so stay tuned.

Baseball and Birthdays

April has been a busy month with two birthdays and two kids in baseball. Zoey turned 18 on the 16th, and my youngest baby, Eli, turned 10 on the 25th. Max is playing high school baseball at first base, and Riley is playing Little League on the Majors team this year. My youngins are growing up!

Shutter Bug

So here is the problem. A barren front window that takes up a majority of the facade of our half of a semi-detached as the Canadians on HGTV like to say. It needed something.   So I started with a pile of old boards salvaged from a fence at the Grands place in Union. I set up my salvaged sawhorses and set to work cutting and nailing.

When the shutters were together I painted them. The wood was so dry it took a couple of coats. The first coat settled in like a stain and although I liked the effect, it wasn't colorful enough. A note on the color, although purple was not my first choice it looked better than what I had originally wanted, against the already dark teal that is on the house.

 

 

Max and Zoey helped attach them in place, and wa la! The window looks dressed. I also made shutters for the smaller window on the other side of the front door.

 

Speaking of front door, it is my next project. It has an ugly screen door that gets in the way of having a wreath or any kind of door hanging, and it's just plain shabby. Now normally I like shabby things, but its held together with duck tape and not at all shic go go along with the shabby. What to do. Stay tuned.