Saturday stuff.............

Isn't this too cute!!!!????  I love it and she gives great directions.  I have no intention of painting mine at the moment but it would apply to any appliance you  might have.  I'm thinking my built-in oven and refrigerator!  Plus, I started following her because she also had a post on how to do faux granite countertops on your existing countertops.  They did her Mother's which were white and they turned out fantastic!  And for wear and tear in both projects....not a problem so far!
Of course, I did nothing so creative today....I ordered dog meds, special flours and flax meal to start making healthy treats for them.  I made bread dough....

After it rises like this I stick it in one of my lock and lock containers but I don't "lock" it and I refrigerate and I'll bake bread tomorrow.  The dough is a wet sticky dough and much easier to work with if it's cold.

I did laundry..........

And I watered outside this morning and filled the bird bath and then did my neighbor's plants outside and inside and their birdbath because they're gone for a week.  That was enough outdoors in the heat for me!  It was 105 today or more...I quit looking after awhile.
I did catch up on reading some blogs hopefully and it does inspire me but I want to get to my place in Hanover so I don't have to be concerned with "buyers" and can "do my own thing" like polka dot appliances! LOL!  My next place will be my last if I can sell this one otherwise this house might be my last! LOL!
I reread my one and only Tasha Tudor book...........

She had the life!  And such a beautiful farm.  I would not go barefoot though or wear dresses and I'm not sure I'd do the wood stove cooking or the kerosene lamps.   But the gardens and canning and sitting by the fire during a snowstorm with my girls curled up beside me....oh yeah! 
I might go make some peanut butter cookies now.....my sweet tooth is aching for something.  I hope you enjoyed your Saturday and that it was everything you hoped it would be!

Headline news................"Northern girl wilts in the South!"

Actually, it wasn't that much cooler in the North....I think we may be having a world wide heat wave!!!  But I got out early and watered and spray painted the planters............3 coats....that seems to be the magic number of coats of paint for me.  Everything I paint takes 3 coats!  I really wanted green as I am definitely on a green kick outside right now but I already had the orange so there you go.
I finished sanding the bench and the lid pieces...........

Now I need to figure out what I want to paint it.  I was thinking yellow underneath and then red and then sand so some of the yellow shows thru and then rub some stain over the whole thing.  I had gotten the material to make my own Annie Sloan type chalk paint but someone warned me that it would turn out pink if I used the red and I'm really not into the white or pastels.  I like saturated colors.  Adventures in painting on the horizon!
I managed to do a little cleaning and organizing last night after supper..........
This table is a little rickety.  That's what you get when you only pay $12.00! LOL!  It needs cross braces on the legs and if I'm going to do that then I might as well add a shelf underneath too and of course it also needs a paint job.  Dresser scarves and table runners hide a multitude of sins for the time being.

This dresser sits next to my green front door and is a place where I put the outgoing mail or library books that are finished and ready to go back or anything that has an errand attached to it.  I have my granite ware pan holding my sunglasses and keys at the ready and inside the green pot is a plastic container filled with dog treats for the "girls".  They get one when they come in from outside.  The dresser I bought years ago at a place called Sister's in Iowa.  It was an old farmhouse out in the country  chock full of furniture they had redone and also new things too like candles and decorative items.  I got some good buys when they first opened but the more popular they got the higher the prices went so I stopped going.  It's not any fun if it's not a bargain!  I think I paid $50 or 60 for the dresser.

 

 There's me in my pink and green hydrangea pj's! Ha! Ha!  The mirror I found in a restaurant that sold a few antiques and it cost me $25.00 but I love it!  That sucker is heavy too, let me tell you! 

 Below are some new candles I ordered and they're called Aunt Sadies candles.  They come in the neatest fragrances and the same fragrance can be bought with different decoration on the outside so you can sort of mix and match.  I got them off the internet  Aunt Sadies has a store locator.  I can't remember where I got mine.  They are made in Vermont and smell delicious!  They even have an iced tea and a beer one! LOL!

They had me with the fresh cut grass.  The green chenile is going in my bathroom, the Yankee Doodle is red apple and will go on the kitchen table for my 4th of July vignette, the grass one will go in my bedroom and the lake one probably on the mantle.  These are my summer candles along with the McCall's candles I bought.  The next order will be for Fall flavors later on.

 

 Well, I've had my bath, my jammies are on and I am going to go nestle in my bed and watch either Monk or Little House on the Prairie if I don't fall asleep first.  That heat really takes a lot out of you!  Tomorrow I'm staying in again except for watering early on.  Take care everyone and I hope you had a great Friday!

The dog days of Summer....literally!

Yep, even the girls didn't want to be out in that heat today!  107 when I looked but the weatherman said 109!  I can't blame my girls....if I was wearing a black fur coat in this heat I'd pass out for sure!  We're so blessed to have central air conditioning but I can just imagine what the electric bill will be but I will be glad to pay for this respite in the middle of a heat wave.
 I had some calls today and a visitor so I didn't get much done at all.  I was going to sand my bench but by the time I got off the phone it had gone from 79 to 98 and was still going up so I bailed and stayed inside.  I fixed syrup for my humming birds and made some of my homemade laundry detergent.

 I finally scraped the paint off of the front door window and washed it and the storm door glass......

See my dead lawn in the reflection! LOL!  The only thing that has any color is my red rubber mulch!  It stands out like a sore thumb!

I could use a new storm door but I have to pay money for the door and to have it installed and I think there are other things that need my attention and money worse right now.  It works fine but it's black on a house with brown trim and the black is faded and worn in places.   Hmmmm....another paint project me thinks!  But not right now...I have bigger fish to fry.
I also worked a little on my applique.  See the missing pins in the right upper corner?  That's been stitched now.   I do a blanket stitch throughout and then some embroidery stitches for vines and such after all the wool is stitched down.

 

I made a nice supper of chicken garlic and herb sausages, a baked potato and some creamed corn which has probably been genetically modified but I'm not reproducing anymore (thank God!) so whatever it does will not get passed on at least. I do have a weird growth on my nose though....seriously! LOL!  I probably need to see a dermatologist.  But like Scarlett O'hara said in Gone With The Wind...."I'll worry about that tomorrow"....or not.
I hope you stayed fire free, flood free and cool and safe where ever you may be and I hope you had some joy today!  It's out there!  Go get yourself some!

My flowers are perkier than I am today..............

The mandevilla is looking good I must say even in all this heat!  I'll have to remember that for next year!  Finally a flower that seems to thrive in it!  I was tired today and stayed in catching up on laundry and household chores.  I was beat after yesterday's marathon in the heat!  Here's my door from the outside.  I still haven't scraped the window though.

I like it....a lot!  It sure perks up the orange brick with the dark brown trim!  What do you think?  Honest.....
The crockpot and the detergent worked like a charm on the old hardware!  Finally an easy way to do something with stuff I had on hand. 
This is before.........

This is after........

Pretty cool huh?  And there was very little scrubbing involved.  It even took the paint off....amazing!  I used Dawn and water and my crockpot on high for a couple hours till it was boiling.  Awesome! 
I also got my applique all pinned in place for stitching on my next block.  Those little white headed pins are special applique pins.  They're tiny and short and are great for pinning everything in place.   Some people use needle felting machines or spray on adhesive or glue sticks.  I prefer this method.

While I was out in the garage yesterday I noticed this chair I got for free.  It is totally "rusty" but no holes or anything and the chair is fine otherwise.   Is it too far gone?  Can I sand and prime and actually rejuvenate it?  Does anyone know before I spend a lot of time and supplies on it?  Or should I just stick it in the yard as is with a plant on it?  I love these kind of chairs and I have a better one in the basement that is not rusted at all.  It would be nice to have a pair of them in that green to match my door?  I'm thinkin'!   Let me know what you think, please.

You guys are so motivating to me.....I have to get something done every day or I have nothing to blog about! LOL!  Tomorrow it's back out to the garage and my little sanding buddy.  Oh!  And scrape that front window and make bread and feed my hummers and order coffee, flour and a few more Agatha Raisin books if the budget will allow!  I hope you stayed safe and cool where ever you are today.  My prayers go out to the people involved in the fires and the flooding. 

Terrifc Tuesday! Major projects going here.............finally!

This is my front door with the orangish tan color..........nothing exciting but then I painted it.........

It doesn't show up as green as it is......it's like a light Granny Smith Apple but not as pale as this picture.  Once it's totally dry I'll post a picture with the little window scraped and washed and from the outside.  I thought about yellow but I really wanted a green after I bought those green plant pots but Walmart didn't have much to chose from in exterior paint.  It took 3 coats!
I decided with the heat and all going on here and everywhere that I would have to get up early in the morning and get right outside if I wanted to get any projects done this summer.  Yesterday was 107 but mornings are in the 70's early so that's what I did.  I threw on my clothes and went outside.  I didn't even brush my teeth!
There was an old saying about doing your "big rocks" first in the day because you will always find time to do the "little rocks" later.   It was based on a glass jar where you put in your big rocks, then you can fit smaller pebbles in and after that you can pour sand in to fill the jar completely.  I'd been doing the little rocks in the morning....my daily tasks only to realize that by the time I got them done it was too hot out for me to want to go out and get started.  So, I went out and worked until noon and acclimated myself as it warmed up and by the time I came inside it was in the high 80's but I had gotten my BIG ROCKS done!  Yippee!  Thus the lateness of this post.   Here's what else I got done outside.  Oh, and I also weeded and put down more rubber mulch but didn't take a picture of that.

There are 2 of these foam plastic flower boxes that I got at a garage sale.  This is after I scrubbed them and set them out in the drive way to dry.  I plan on painting them with some plastic spray paint I bought and so I'll post a picture after that.
This bench with a lift up seat and storage has been with me for years.  I got it at an auction (really cheap...you'll see why!) and tried several times to strip the paint off of it but it has at least 8 colors that I counted and I've decided to sand it and paint it. 

 This little sander is a God send!

Then I spent 2 hours just trying to get the hardware off of it....it was painted over don't ya know.......

More trusty tools to get the job done and yes...there is always a kitchen knife involved!  See that black and red screwdriver?   It is one of my favorite tools as all the heads are in the handle and you never touch them....

You pull up and they're all there and you just align that red marker on which bit you want and push it back down and voila!  Your bit is there...ready to go!  I got one for my son-in-law one year and he thought it was the bee's knees....there you go girls!  Christmas present for the guys!  It's a Craftsman....I got it on QVC but you can order from Sears.  Of course, being a Craftsman it has a lifetime warranty too.

So...finally got the hardware off but it was in rough shape......... so I came inside and Googled how to clean antique hardware and lo and behold!  Put in a crockpot with water and dish detergent and set it on high and walk away.  In they went...screws and all..........

a few hours later this is what I saw...............

Do you see that filthy water?  Whoa Nellie!  I was shocked!  But I had taken my bath and really didn't want  to spatter myself with the dirty water so that's a project for tomorrow.  I turned it off and I'll "reheat" tomorrow and then I imagine there will be some old toothbrushes involved in further cleaning but who knows?  I'll save that for another post.  Below is the "lid"/bench seat but it must have been just glued together because when I lifted it up it came apart into 2 boards.  Hmmm.....any ideas anyone as to how I should put them back together?  Anyone have a handy hubby they could ask? I'm thinking nails should be involved but I am no carpenter.  I'd Google but not sure what to ask?  I better dig out my woodworking books.

I did get my small rocks done too after I came in and I can't say I'm not tuckered out because I am but what a great feeling to get going on some projects that have been on the back burner WAY TOO LONG!
I am going through items like that bench and if I'm going to keep them then I need to make then usable and attractive or out they go!
I hope you had an enjoyable and satisfying day too and don't forget..........big rocks first! LOL! 

Miscellaneous Monday!

Look what I found in my basement!  I got it at an auction in Iowa years ago with the intention of hanging pretty linens on it for display but recently I was shopping on the internet for one of those indoor clothes dryers (non-mechanical) and realized that was what this was!  The new ones are very expensive too!  This one has seen a lot of use and some of the dowels split and someone repaired them by wrapping wire tightly around the break.  I put it in my laundry room and it's a little crowded so it will probably end up somewhere else eventually.  I washed it all good and it could probably use a coat of paint but for now it's okay as is.  I used to hang outside but kept getting ticks in my clothes from the cedar tree that is near my clothes line so I had to stop hanging outside.  Although I could probably place this outside away from the trees as it folds up and is portable. 

 

I was able to hang an entire load of clothes on this baby!  I was amazed!  Whoever invented these was a genius and I know I paid very little for it...like less than $10.00 while the new ones go for $70-$100 I think.

Lucky me!

I went to Wal-mart yesterday and would you believe they carry Bison meat now!   I bought a pound of ground Bison to see if I would like it.  I had it years ago and I remember it tasting almost sweet.  It is very healthy for you as opposed to beef and this has no antibiotics or hormones or additives of any kind.  I'll let you know what I think after I make something with it.

Remember the other day when I said the only thing that could make that "coffee" cake any better would be some coffee ice cream?  Well........Ta Da!!!!!

Oh baby, oh baby!  Yes.....it was delicious!  I may need to go on a diet after I finish this cake...who am I kidding....I need a diet NOW! LOL!  It is one of the true joys of life though to have these extraordinarily delicious foods.  I just can't have them all the time.

See this paint chip below?

I know, it's hard to see the color really well.  Think Granny Smith Apple green.

Now...........see this door?

Stay tuned for further developments!

Have a wonderful Monday and stay cool.....it was 97 here yesterday or more.  Thank you Lord for my AC!