Posts from the ‘Home Projects’ category

a new view

I bought some new chairs for the kitchen table. To call the table in the kitchen, a kitchen table is stretching things a bit. The table that I use in the kitchen and occasionnally eat off of is really a little side table made for holding a lamp in a hallway… But it is what I have and it fit in a corner of the kitchen and I have been hemming and hawing over what to do in the kitchen and not really having the budget to do much of anything.

I had this little table in the corner and one ladderback chair pulled to one end so I could sit there and eat. Most often, though, I take my plate to my desk in the sunroom, the front porch or to the living room in front of the tv or the fire.

Chairs

I had seen these chairs before and thought about getting one for my entry area – I have a corner that it would be nice to sit and put on or take off shoes or boots. Saw them again a week or so ago and decided they would work. Sara had moved the kitchen table at an angle to the corner and I thought – perfect – those chairs would make a bit of a nook and they are a bit larger than a regular ladderback, but still the same style…

Well, things did not fit or look right as I originally thought to arrange them and so I ended up like this:

Chairs

…and the thing is, I really like it…and I had breakfast AT THE TABLE! And I noticed that with the new arrangement, instead of looking at the corner, I have an entirely different view out the windows from both chairs and it is comfortable and serene and I really like it!

Chairs

Chairs

Chairs

The rest of the kitchen from the chair I’ll sit in.

Chairs

From the other side of the table looking out the sunroom window…

A small change and a new view.

The chairs are from Sturbridge Yankee. They came completely assembled (YEAH!), packed well in very large boxes, delivered to my door by UPS.

Recycling the garden

The garden which I originally looked at with excitement – envisioning fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs – turned out to be a bit of an albatross [to me] as it required a tremendous amount of work!!! to get fresh fruit, veg and herbs.   I made the decision mid-summer that I wanted it gone.  I will be a container gardener next summer… a few pots of herbs, tomatoes, peppers, onions – things easily taken care of. 

It should be easy to rig a drip watering system and some chicken wire protection from deer so I can leave them for rv trips.  Even with the garden turned into “grass” – still not much to mow and trim – probably less time as I won’t have to trim around planters and the fence.

The recycling part… my neighbors had said they would like some of the strawberry plants and as we got to talking about time to get them, they decided that they wanted the planters and the fencing – the whole kit and kaboodle!  And – happy, happy, joy, joy – they have a backhoe!! – so have the ability to pop the posts out and grade everything out after and before you know it, we worked out a trade so that everyone gets what they want… they get a complete garden kit and I get a vanished garden.   A friend of theirs wanted some strawberries also so we spread the love a bit and there were even a few leftover plants that I put in containers.  Hopefully, I’ll get enough berries for a shortcake or 2 to share next summer.

Karl has been supervising the dismantling which is going very well.  Readers will have to bear with me – I LOVE big equipment and watching it work and seeing how to do things so this is probably the first in a series of the garden recycling project.

Oh deer!

I KNOW better!

Mea culpa to my step-Dad, Bill!

Bill gave me Egyptian Onions, Pimento plant, Pepper Plant – from seed starts that I think he starts in the dead of winter.  I babied them from CO,  putting them in the shower before I rolled each morning and on the dash to have a bit of sun when I parked each night…

Plants in MotorhomeI spritzed and talked and loved these plants up all the way home… and then in Montana they had a spot in the sunroom for 4 days – a bit of natural light but not too much as they were in transition – and probably shock!

 After 4 days I started putting them on the front porch – just a little bit at first and gradually more until they were on the front porch all of the time.

Next step – transfer to pretty new pots.. nice roomy pots from my favorite nursery and they just looked beautiful – I’m SOOOOO sorry that I did not get a photo of them looking beautiful in their new pots…

Because – today – Aug 1 – I left Karl and Bob in the house and was gone about 3 hours to gather groceries and other house stuff, plus pick up the motorhome and while I was gone – the  @#$&%$!!!! DEER had a small feast…

Plant stubs

BUT, I am not giving up – I was especially looking forward to making pimento cheese – SO, all the pots are now in the garden which has a deer-proof fence – where they should have been to begin with – I can NOT believe I was so STUPID!

Ok, well, in the midst of deer distruction, fires-smoke, heat – several pieces of GOOD news.  Sam, my folks cat, is doing VERY well, my motorhome’s hydraulics are fixed and it is home and stocked/loaded in case we need it for a fire escape, AND temps are cooler and kind of pleasant baring the smoke/fire stuff.  We are counting our blessings!

To close – Bob, the cat – a “legend in his own mind”…photos especially for ORS friend 2oldman:

Bob 

Bob B

Interior “Decorating”

…home/house stuff… not exactly 1 step forward 2 back… but along that line…

Air conditioner – WOW, in terms of comfort level – not so wow in terms of aesthetics but since I don’t “entertain” and this time of year don’t use the “living room” much – comfort level outweighs aesthetics… The A/C – sometime in May, I received a flyer form Costco and one of the items was an Air Conditioner – couldn’t order until 7/14…so I went to CO, came back and 14th approaching plus it was HOT so ordered the A/C on the 14th early in the day.  On the 15th when I went to the same A/C to get a link to send to a friend who asked – not available.  Anyway, it arrived several days ago, was a simple install and I am enjoying the cool!  It keeps the entire house at 72 (today was 94 at hottest) – not the most attractive thing but comfort level is improved – better temp, better air circulation and faster cool down for sleeping – we are happy!

 It’s on wheels so easy to move to another location in the morning (east side of house in the a.m. – right photo… west side in the p.m.-left photo)

Living Room

AC Craft Room

For the step forward the subject is window treatments…I have no need of window coverings for privacy since I have no neighbors that I can see.  BUT, there is the sun issue – not in Winter, but with the Summer sun angle and my wish to keep the house cool and sun damage (fading of surfaces) to a minimum… when I left for CO, I “hung” sheets and fleece blankies – I thought I would live with that until Fall, but aside from getting a bit old, there was a sale on the flat Roman shades that I wanted, hence – new window “treatments”… and away with the sheets and blankies!

Most of my favorite tools were out for exercise:

Tools

You can see 2 levels and some measuring stuff in the photo above – truth is that I mostly “eyeball” locations – considering that there is very little in “this old house” that is square, level or standard – eyeballing does just as well or better than precise measuring.

The results:

Blinds 1 

Blinds 2

And in the kitchen:

Kitchen