Thursday, February 25, 2010

Thankful Thursday

While I a obviously Thankful for the little guy perched upon said mare, today's grateful is for
my horse. She turns 18 this year. She has problem hooves, she is a red-head and she isn't a 'snuggler'. Those are things I would NOT change for the world....b/c look at her. She and I had ridden five miles and I come home and she happily excepts pony ride time for Duncan. She is a very sensitive girl. If you were to womp her in the sides she would likely gallop off, but for Duncan....she lets him do it all day and ONLY breaks into a trot when I say so. Even if he is yelling 'trot trot' at the top of his lungs, as he is likely to do often. :D

She is a great mare and I am blessed to have her.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Working on the workshop

As I mentioned Monday I went home to work in the old Barn. It was very cold and I have decided that a summer chore will be to frame off a portion to be 'heatable'. Sadly the old windows of the barn are/were dead when we moved, so I have to reframe boxes and windows....wanting to find OLD windows to do it.

Anyway, on to the PROGRESS....

I literally walked into the shop...snapped this picture and tried to not be too ashamed. :D I the got to work, sweeping and picking up. Here is one of those 'dead' windows...note...the cardboard held in by scrap wood...what workmanship I have! :D I took this picture, because tonight I have getting four new table tops from a guy who does table advertising. I will be building my potting bench here and intend to have the sun shining on me when I do....picture it....


Notice though...my floor is now swept and ready for said table...


Now...here is the closest I have to 'after'. After is going to require money I don't have in my 'blow money' envelope....and it will wait. I do have things sorted and off the worktable. Notice...piles of like items. When I go to dollar tree today (with said blow money envelope) I will get a small container for 'electrical stuff', plumbing stuff, miscellaneous screws, miscellanious nails etc... Then they can go under my worktable. Notice all my power tools are put away...except the Circular saw, as I was using it to build....

little shelves and hanging rail for my painting supplies. Wow, I have alot of painting supplies!That coffee can farely gasped at the thought.


A few things I love about my workshop:


  1. It is mine!

  2. That SUNOCO blue workbench was made with the time-worn hands of my Grandfather over 30 years ago...and he happened to WORK for Sunoco! He also WIRED it...which means it is plugged in and has a plug in for my tools...GO PAPA! :D

  3. My windows overlook my horse pasture

  4. The barn is OLD

  5. and behind that old blue workbench, I have my free trelis pieces that are pretty..and a great place to hang my hammers etc... Sadly I didn't get the hammer in the picture.

  6. I am making it mine with my own sweat and blood.


It is a workshop in progress, to be sure, but I made a dent...and feel more like getting out there and working...if only it would get WARM!



Oh yes...vote for my makeover here! :D I forgot I wast joining a linky!


Monday, February 22, 2010

A biggish job

The old barn at our farm is where we have 'dumped' things as we moved. It is where I dream of having my workshop space and have succeeded to a degree. I got things in and mostly put away when we first moved. Some stuff was still at my shop. Then Dad brought me the workbench my Grandfather made and I moved more stuff. Then my Grandmother cleaned out her shed and more stuff came in. Then I got the rest of the stuff from the shop/old house storage...and now it s a cluttered mess.

The following collage is of the barn when we got it. I haven't taken many pics since we moved, it isn't exactly a 'pretty' place to look upon. So you get the idea....it looks like this only the previous owner had more junk..and more cool tools/storage than I do. I promise to take a before when I get there today.
I am off to kick it into submission...wish me luck!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Thankful Thursday


Well, Thursday is back and I am finding things to be thankful for! How about you! Today's imperfect thing for which I am thankful.
My arms....well my whole working body...but let's focus on arms. Every day we see ads saying "want firmer tighter arms" Well heck yes I do...but I don't have them...and I may or may not EVER have them. What I do have are arms with which to hug my boy, pet my dog, clean my stalls, ride my horse and even type this blog.
Last night while I was mucking wet hay out of my horses stalls and my biceps burned and I felt like whining I decided then and there to be thankful I had those injured muscle fibers!
So today my imperfectly functional and yes, even STRONG arms....shall hug that boy...groom a few dogs...steer my car and maybe even get some rest....
What are you thankful for...it is THURSDAY!


Wednesday, February 17, 2010

I am serious this time....

Dear winter,

Last week I asked, no TOLD you it was over between us. You seem to have ignored the discussion. Not only did you stay....you brought more of your 'things' to my house. We have officially had enough snow. Our COUNTY has even broken up with you...running out of salt to get rid of your mess. I hate to insist, but you need to leave. You are messing up my plans!

PFFFFFFFFFFFt

Chez

Now that I have had my winter rant...I have to consider tomorrow's Thankful Thursday....and what shall we post...and you?

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Home found for Valentine table!

Well, I didn't get her painted or anything, but I found a lamp (also Goodwill), and a chair I found (GW!) a few weeks ago....and put them in place.
Then I added a picture (GW!) and an extra frame (FREE at yardsale)....to complete the set.

I have found something weird. I feel very PROUD to say "I got a deal on this...EVERYTHING in this room was thrifted, hand made, handed down etc...." and I say it with PRIDE, yet people always say "well that is okay" Like I told them I have foot rot and they are consoling me. Harumph! So I come to blogland, because I know you too LOVE deals!

Sorry I didn't get a picture of it "all together" when I get the lamp shade I want...and paint the table I will try to remember. Now...to paint the inner frame...or not? Hmmmmm


To see other pretty furniture in blogland go to:


Holiday crazy?

I maybe go a bit overboard.
Saturday night I made my family heart shapped pizza.
and Sunday we had heart shaped Pancakes. (I wasn't the oNLY one)
Actually, I love doing this for my family. That is Duncan's little plate before I put his syrup on...and covered his eggs/cheese with Salsa. He LOVES Holidays!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

My new Valentine table

I needed a Goodwill fix, I have been finding things I like or could fix up but they were to pricey for their quality. Then I found this:

According to an article online Mersman tables aren't worth "ALOT" because they were mass produced, but they are good and attractive.

Since I will paint her, I am glad she isn't valuable.


What do you think?
Funny thing....the chair behind her...and the bookshelf are both also Goodwill finds. This is my floor that needs done when we have warm weather...I can't wait to find the honey tones of oak under that remaining dark stain!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

It's all relative

Sometimes when reading blogs I become MORE dissatisfied with my house. My perfectly happy home becomes NOT good enough. I need something TALLER for this shelf or I need to get MORE frames, more furniture, less clutter, more money......just get overtaken.

I think I am going to claim Thursday as THANKFUL THURSDAY....where I ask that you look at it from a "Thank God I have this" standpoint. When a blogger you love says "no dishwasher" like that is sacrilige, I give you the right to snicker at them.....

So share something today that isn't perfect, may never be, but you are just grateful to have a place to lay your head each night!
So sadly, I have been SO ashamed of our bedroom (that and there are always dogs about) that the only pic I have of it was with inspectors in the closet! LOL But here it is. Ugly panelling...needing trim...no closet door...foam/something ceiling tiles and all.

I do want it fixed up eventually, but I am grateful it. My hubby and I find rest there every night, it stays warm in winter and cool in summer and it is MINE. I do have big dreams for it, and they may or may not come true. What matters is that I stop focusing on the negative...and what I can't acheive.
I don't ask that you accept less than you deserve or live in unsafe or dirty or...environments, but let's not nitpick our lives to unhappiness!
Go enjoy your house today....and YES it's okay if you ENJOY remodeling or whatever....but don't nag yourself to death today!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Dear John letter to Winter


Dearest Winter,


I have enjoyed your beautiful display of snow covered trees. I have even enjoyed a sleddig moment or two. However, I need to see other seasons! I can't abide the snow blobs on my floor anymore. I need to see green things pop up from the ground. I need to take the blankets off my horse. It's ME, not you. You are a great season, I just don't love you anymore! Please visit again next year, but I think we should call this off.


Yours


Cheryl



Okay....so in reality it isn't that horrible. We have had a few days of missed school, lots of shovelling and whatnot, but I am ready for different. I wonder each year why my family settled in Indiana. I think the answer is reasonable Cost of Living and a decent job market. 10 months a year I love it here. Late January through early March I start to think of this as a 'trap'.


I did enjoy a horse ride for a few hours on Sunday where the winter had done a nice job of dressing the world in a hushed white. However, it doesn't change anything...I need to break up with Winter and start anew with Spring.


Friday, February 5, 2010

My mundane task

Yesterday I challenged you to find the mundane to do to keep/make your house nicer!

So I share a picture that shows some of my 'issues'. This is from the previous house, but it is the only one I could find. I know how to delete bad pictures and crop, so I have cropped out 'yuck' from most of my pics.

First, I have a little sigh seeing Reckless in the background in her bed, I still miss her. Anyway,
You can see the top of my coffee table, which isn't always the case, but you can see there is something UNDER Reckless' bed. Under the tug o' war toy are Jay's shoes, there are his jeans laying on a a bench across the table.
and one of Duncan's shirts is also under the table. Clutter falls EVERYWHERE in my house. With Jay, Duncan, the dogs and myself stuff just multiplies. By the time I work, take care of animals, make dinner, clean up dinner, get the kiddo in bed and fall over...things get put aside. So my MUNDANE task that I avoid is cleaning. Years ago when I found FLYLADY I would clean one day a week. My house would be spotless Friday night and by Tuesday a train wreck. It isn't like that any more...I do more daily routines, 27 FLINGs and such, but it just isn't second nature for me. After refinishing floors last week and not being able to do my daily stuff, it got out of control. I did some cleaning last night, prepped dinner for tonight and so forth.
I want badly to paint a cherub I bought, I want to pull down panelling in our bedroom, I want to build a tack room in my barn and paint the cabinet in the bathroom. Those things would be great for blogging.
Cleaning my living room, scrubbing the toilet, shining my sink...those things...they just don't seem FUN or blogworthy or noteable...but they are THE most important. I have been in some impressive houses, with architecture for days, expensive furniture, great floors and if they were messy that was all you noticed. I have also been in tiny, scantilly furnished cabins/cottages and been truly impressed with how LOVED those homes were.
So my MUNDANE task for myself this day/week/month....is to be more diligent about picking up those shoes, shirts and papers so that I can enjoy things like my floor, my mantel and just my house.
and honestly, I still can't tell you what that is under Reckless' bed!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

The boring stuff!

Somehow we all love a makeover...redo...declutter...makeover! The more extreme the better! We like to watch shows with dumpsters full of people's overpurchasing, pack-ratting ways.

What we don't want to see is the day to day that we do to prevent ourselves from getting that need. The fixing a door hinge before it falls off, the new gravel in the driveway, daily chores and more.

TV and blogland has brought us face to face with "You can fix it" but it also reinforces our need for instant gratification!

So today I challenge all my blog friends to do something mundane for the sake of NOT having a big thing to do later!

What can you do today?