Dragonfly finished!

Finished!

Now as soon as the thrift shops open and the garage sales begin, I can start adding more junk.  I want a chair to put here and more birdhouses and plants for the ladder..(gonna rain so I took the other ones in for now), and a birdbath and perhaps some totems.  I have always loved playing in the yard and this one is so perfect!  There are defined beds around the perimeter of both back and front yards and lots of shady spots for furniture, not to mention a large low deck.  It is very private and green. The Mr. is working on enclosing some open shelves in the garage for a pantry of sorts and since we have always had a full larder for those long snowy winters, the lack of a pantry and cupboard space in the house is not enough for that life style.  If in fact we might see another outbreak of this nasty virus, it will allow us to stay at home just as we have done this time.  We are only a few miles from the large earlier virus situation, but our county has only one death so far.  We are still not open except for a few places.  Mr. needed some lumber and we trekked out at 6:00 a.m. for plywood for the pantry and I picked up some plants for the porch.  Even getting those is an encouraging sign and I planted some zinnias this week and they were up in two days. My daughter gave me some seeds and I hope to get the rest of those in this week.   

(Debbie, the moss is green so we are letting it grow as long as it stays off my back.)         

Wash your hands and stay safe.

"The dragonfly brings dreams to reality and is the messenger of wisdom and enlightenment from other realms." ~ Author unknown 

Backyard junk

 Anyone who really knows me knows that I love turning junk into more junk.  I cannot remember all of the repurposed items I have made, enjoyed and then left at one of the many homes we bought and sold.  Every yard is a blank canvas for me.  So when we took down two ceiling fans, I kept the blades and I kept some turned wooden pieces from a previous yard sale with the intention of repurposing.  I have this great large storage building in the back yard so I am in the process of doing just that.  These are just a few of the steps we are taking in getting this insect of my design which is not anatomically correct.  I really don't care.

I don't have but just a few paints here as I haven't replenished my artists supply, but I will hope to finish this in a day or so and will post then.  Somehow I got off my 3 day a week schedule to post.

We miss our little furkid so much, but have decided that the emotional drain is too much to endure again. 

A Sad Day

I was hoping to get back on track with my blog, but yesterday was a sad day for us.  Above, Roger on the left and Spencer on the right were sleeping peacefully in their beds when I snapped this.  These little guys had been with us since the spring of 2009 as adult rescue dogs back then.  Unfortunately, we lost Roger a few months ago and we sadly said goodbye to Spencer yesterday.  Anyone with fur kids know how much joy they can bring and we were so blessed with these two little guys.  We found a wonderful home for our cat, Coalette before we left Cheyenne in July, but she had been diagnosed later with a tumor and she was lost to all of us, including the terrific guy who adopted her.  So since July, all three have gone to pet heaven.  There is a void today in our lives.

"No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich." ~

Pictures

 Didn't know what to title this today, but I am trying to catch up on lots of things.  I am not sure what I will do when this stay at home business is over, because I don't go anywhere except to the grocery every two weeks.  I stay so blamed busy! I found my birdhouses yesterday and I think that after a few more and some pots of blooming flowers, this will look like someone lives here and cares about our little piece of property.

 I just wanted to finish up with most of the house pictures for my friends who know that I have found homes for my ever growing and changing junk decor.  The little rocker in the corner belonged to an uncle of mine and it was given to me many, many years ago by his daughter.  I loved this uncle who was married to my dad's sister and I remember all of the summer days long ago when we would sit and watch baseball together at his home when I got to stay with them.  He loved baseball.  I still like watching and miss that it is not being played yet.  The pictures of family are displayed in an old window and the quilt on the wall is made from teeshirts the Mr. collected when he played pool in Rawlins, Las Vegas and at many tournaments.  Some have the team names and some have the bars and tournament locations and dates.

 The table is newly purchased for this home and it was important that it be a table like the ones the leagues use.

I just came back from my neighbor's home with 4 new jigsaw puzzles to work.  Last week when our neighbor loaned us the saw and hedge trimmer he was power washing his shed and was drenched.  However he was wearing some pants that were water resistant somewhat.  He asked me if I could repair them.  All that was wrong was the string at the waistband had slipped from the eyelet and had been pulled into the elasticized waistband.  It was an expensive pair and I assured him that I could fix it and would be more than happy to do it.  He brought them to me and I had them repaired in less than 10 minutes and when I returned them, I came home with the puzzles.  His wife didn't even know that he had asked about the pants, but I am thrilled to have new puzzles to work.  

We are loving this little neighborhood and in spite of the distancing, we are managing to say hello to so many who walk our area. 

Morning walk

Just a couple of blocks from our home is this wetland area and as the morning was really nice, we decided to take a walk.  Not having been familiar with this neighborhood until recently when the weather allowed us to explore, we decided to take this path.  Oh my goodness, it was a lovely walk.  We encountered no one and the walk was about 30 minutes from our front door, through the wetland and back.  What a great wooded wetland!  We have much more to explore, but we are looking forward to doing that.  It will be so shaded this summer with all of the fir trees and other plantings.  

Now this tree is a rainier cherry tree which lives in our daughter's back yard.  The fence behind the tree is a few feet  behind the tree, but the fence is about 6 ft I think.  I have told people about this tree but it is so tall.  I cannot even begin to reach the limbs so I cannot tell you how tall it is.  Unfortunately, the raccoons and the worms devour most of the cherries.  

I have heard from a few old friends this past week and hope that they know that we are staying safe in spite of the fact that we have been in the midst of what this virus has done. Our state is now making progress but things may never return to what we have known as normal for our nation.  The virus is brutal for some and we take it seriously. 

" Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time."
~ Steven Wright

Neighbors

 Our poor little Spencer had to have his teeth cleaned yesterday and at age 13, needed 3 teeth out so he was a little out of it and clingy when we got him home.  Needless to say, I didn't get to this blog.

Somehow, we ended up with a ladder that wasn't ours.  I think it came off the moving truck with our other contents.  I have these birdhouses, and have always wanted to put them on a ladder in my yard so I have started to spray this one and cannot wait to get it done and put some houses on it.  I still need to make a couple more and was looking forward to some yard sales so I could get some glass for totems also.  I have a great yard for my junk.  That may still happen when we are done with this virus.  

 The puzzle above belongs to my daughter as it was a Birthday gift to her from her best friend.  She loaned it to me and I loved working on this one.  I have done 4 puzzles since Christmas and find it addictive. 

Remember the trunk or stump from the previous post.  Well it is gone!!  As we borrowed the saw and post hole digger from our daughter and son in law, we found it was very laborious and spent the better part of 3 days hacking away at it.  I say "we" but it really was "he" mostly.  Our neighbor with whom we share a fence line was working on his shed which is just a few feet from ours. He had been watching the progress and finally convinced the Mr. to let him loan us his chain saw.  That was a life saver.  We used to have all of those tools but had to trim back on what we were able to move.
The hole is nearly filled in.  I mentioned that we would have to borrow a hedge trimmer from our son in law for our junipers out front and within a minute, he was handing a trimmer to me over the fence.  He asked if I could repair a waistband tie on the pants he was using to power wash his shed and even offered me a sewing machine.  Apparently he bought one for his wife for Christmas and didn't realize she didn't know how to sew and evidently didn't want to learn.  Wherever we have lived we have been blessed with wonderful neighbors.  

"Times like this, even though tragic and devastating, bond us together as neighbors." ~ Reed Quotes

Yard work

 Just a couple of pictures of our bedroom.  If this is a repeat of the quilt I apologize  it's only to show those of you who know how much we downsized and others that...yes there is still a TV in every room as we hung most of them on the walls. 

We have two of these stumps in the yard among the other large fir or cedar trees.  They are large and this one has been chiseled away now for 3 days and we are finally at the center.  Some was rotted, but the core above and the roots which are huge, are resisting removal.  We will win eventually.  According to our neighbor, several of these trees were taken out of both the front and the back, but our city does not allow any trees on private property to be removed unless they are diseased or if the city Arborist allows it.  People here love their trees and we have plenty of them.  I have been able to walk every day and I am so amazed at all of the trees and shrubs which are blooming.  Some have huge blossoms and the leaves have not yet fully opened so the colors are spectacular.

Stay safe..We are.

Easter weekend

 Above is the finished light fixture that my daughter made. She had never tried cutting glass, but knew that she wanted to make this which was similar to one she had seen.  Cutting the butterflies, foiling and soldering was not a problem, but we struggled trying to fix them to the shade and then, she discovered that the glass was heavier than we thought about, so getting them balanced was another issue.  He husband helped her install it and she just sent me a picture.  She did a great job. 

 I didn't get a photo of my pig cutting boards which now hang in our large room which encompasses the kitchen/living area.  I have a total of 13 now.  They are my Easter pigs.  Below I spent some time pulling quilt squares out which have not gotten into quilts.  I decided to put them in rows and will make one quilt from all of these orphan squares.  I have more and will get to them eventually. 

One thing that has given us a bit of pleasure this week is watching our squirrels.  I know that they can be destructive, but the Mr. has been feeding a few peanuts to our regular visitors.  I posted a photo earlier of a squirrel that frequents us and gets her 3 peanuts from the bark of a tree just a few feet from out deck.  She has started to come onto the deck and watches for us through our full length glass door.  Yesterday we noticed that she is a new mom as we could see that she is nursing babies.  It is very apparent from the tummy view that we get when she sits up with her paws folded under her chin.  We watched her earlier when she was carrying white fluffy stuffing in her mouth to a tree which someone was providing her for nesting material.  For the longest time, we couldn't figure that out.  It looked like she had a marshmallow in her mouth, but now we are finding bits of it with nesting material in our lawns. 

So in this time of not being able to socialize this Easter weekend, I will not forget how very blessed I am and my wish for all is to be safe and remember those who are not.  

More pics

 First of all it is 68 degrees at 4:18 pm and I just came back from a great walk.  It is so beautiful with so much blooming. Even at 10.00 this morning, the Mr. and I worked in the yard.  Yeah! I am loving this Washington weather.  As before, except for the bed and 2 wheeler, none of this stuff was new.  The lamp was given to me decades ago and the cross stitch were given to me by dear friends, but the others were picked up.  The quilt and bear I did make.

 There are a couple of pieces of stained glass which I made in the room, the dress form I made and the quilting bee I did purchase at a consignment shop, but she sits on a small chair which was mine as a child. The rockers are missing but I have had it as long as I can remember.

 The embroidery/sewing machine is atop a singer base and covered with decoupaged pattern pieces.  The little 30's Shirley Temple and chair were given to me by a cousin and the black chair was a $1.00 purchase at a Meals on Wheels thrift shop.

 Again, the stained glass light was one I made, and everything else was thrift shop or consignment purchases, except for the GO machine.  The table that the sewing machine sits on was $1.00 at the Restore here.  Unbelievable and it is so sturdy!

The ironing table was made by the Mr. and the rest I made or purchased again at yard sales or was gifted.

So I would rather be outside, but waited until it was a little late to get to this so more to come on Saturday.

Trip to buy food

 So more below about the trip to the store, but I promised more pictures so most of my friends know that I repurpose, reuse and recycle most everything. Above is a trunk that I picked up at a thrift store years ago and below, except for the clock, all are acquired.  The sled, a gift from a friend, the sewing box made by an uncle 100 years ago and given to me by an aunt.  The quilt rack...a $5.00 purchase from a friend and the table was found in a garage by my mother-in-law and given to me in the 70's.

This is the livingroom now although the entire room, kitchen included is one large room.  We love the coziness. Again, all accessories are thrifted or given to me. 

At 6:00 am we went to Walmart as we hadn't been out in nearly 3 weeks and our larder was nearly empty.  We wore masks and each took a cart.  Except for toilet paper (we have plenty), we were able to find everything on our list. We didn't have to wait to get in and were able to travel aisles with everyone distancing.  These hours were for the older generation.  Only at checkout was there an issue.  The money drawers hadn't been installed yet so the wait was a little longer there, and there was a line but really, it was not bad.  The Mr. had the list so we did get some duplicate items, but nothing perishable so this was the only purchase on our credit cards this month so far.  It was however, a doozy!  Then came the matter of washing everything and disinfecting everything.  Our daughter had ordered on line and went to pickup last week.  Her complaint was that the produce was not very good and there were some substitutions.  We did make some, but they were our choice.  The Mr. is going to mow the lawn this afternoon and I will go for a walk as the weather is really nice.  So everyone stay safe & 6 ft away. 

"I accidentally went grocery shopping on and empty stomach and now I am the proud owner of aisle 4."  

Saturday?

 Any more I have no idea even what day it is.  Decided it must be Saturday.  Our daughter called today to check on us as we do not venture out of the house except to go for a walk or to work in the yard.  She has actually been on vacation. She needed to take some days which would not accumulate and as the day ended on Friday, she got a notification now that the weekend has come, that she needs to do some work.  She works for the State DOT and is a graphic designer.  So she has been asked to do some work that the governor has requested for a task force.  That is all I know, but it sounds important if they waited until the weekend as she has been at home all week.  

Our cookie jar was getting low and the Mr. always has his hand in it.  Heaven forbid it would be empty in this special time of need.  So although I keep staples on hand usually for these types of emergencies, my larder was getting low also.  I used a new chocolate chip recipe and found only 1/3 cup of chocolate chips, but I had a little coconut, lots of walnuts and some raisins and cranberries and with some oatmeal...the recipe developed into what has perhaps become a new favorite. The dried fruit and nuts and oatmeal make it nutritional, right?

After sampling a few, the need to work off a cookie or two was obvious   So I went for a walk.  This morning the doe below and her two fawns from year before last and last year, had breakfast on my tulip buds and hyacinths in addition to finishing up on the greens across the street.  I just peeked out my door to see the culprits this morning, but as I trekked back into our neighborhood on  my afternoon stroll, I encountered them having afternoon tea. If you look carefully, you will spot them below. 

With the national directive for all of us to wear face protection for the benefit of others, I made a couple for us.  I have resisted doing this as we have been informed that fabric masks will not protect us.  But now it seems we are required although it is supposed to be voluntary.  I found several patterns and made two versions after the first one didn't really suit me.  I will let you know how they work.

Stay safe and this too will pass.   

More kitchen and memories

 So I am continuing with more snaps of the house.  Had to improvise for the coffee area and the microwave.  Miss the under range hood kind, but small means you adapt.  Thank goodness for the built in storage here.  Had to downsize to one set of dinnerware and left china and silver at Cow Creek with new owner there.  But with two of us, it works.  The little bit of upper cupboards in the kitchen require a step stool for me as I am short on one end.  Well one might say I am short on both ends.  Never mind.

 We had a formal dining room before so that meant leaving one table and I chose the larger one here.  Ginger, can you see the antlers that you sent?  Above are some of the rolling pins I have collected and below some of the pig cutting boards.  I kept finding them in Cheyenne at yard sales and people would tell me either they or sons made them in shop class.  Then I met a gal who told me her dad made hers and he was the shop teacher who taught kids to make them as a class project.  Needles to say, I paid just a little more for that one as I had to have it.  More will show up on mySaturday post.

Memories~~~~I got a call this am from a dear friend in Colo.  You have probably heard this before but we met when our husbands were stationed in San Diego in 1966.  I left her this summer when I moved and miss her so much. Time before last when I saw her she had been in an accident at the state line leaving our home in Cheyenne and ended in the hospital there with a broken pelvis.  She was in the hospital 10 days there and I saw her every day until she went home back to Colorado.   We have been through so much together since 1966.  I could write a book, but most of the memories are wonderful.  She lost her husband a few years ago, but through the joys and tragedies we have remained close.  During this time of trial, I am reminded of the many blessings I have as the number of friends I have made along my journey still stay in touch.  Hooray for technology!

"How beautiful is it to be alive!" ~ Henry Septimus Sutton