Crazy winter weather.....

What a crazy winter this has been.  So far we haven't had one snow that required shoveling....just flurries here and there.  This was yesterday out my back door....

It was 70 degrees and very muggy.  The back door was open and several of my windows.  It was in the 60's all Sunday night.  Now, today, a cold front has come through and doors and windows are closed.

Flowers are shooting up in my front flower beds.  Today, I saw jonquils ready to bloom in a yard on my street.  Here's my jasmine vine in my backyard.

Can you see the little yellow blossoms.  I cut some of my forsythia branches and brought them inside to force.  They looked ready to bloom.

Also did some furniture work for Leola's.  Hadn't been able to work in the garage for a while so decided to pull this bench out and put a finish on it.  It's a primitive old bench but turned out so well with a nice finish on it.

See my little red wagon.  That's how I get my heavier goods from the front to the back.  It's also handy for bringing groceries around to the back door.  I'm really not certain what I would do without it.  Did I forget to mention that it still halls grandkids on occasion!

Speaking of grandkids.....this is my new project.  It started when a lady brought some dresses into Leola's that were kind of out-of-style and wanted to know if we could recycle the fabric.  It was still in good shape and all the dresses had wonderful printing on them.  I had to think of some way of recycling and decided to try to make the g'girls some outfits.  Stella was with me this weekend so we started with her some pants.  I now have the top almost finished and love the way they're coming together.  There's something so fulfilling about using this perfectly good fabric that cost me nothing and turning it into something wearable again.

 

Hope you can see the prints on the fabric.  The top is a brown knit but will have some of the print from the blue dress appliqued on it.  Phoebe's will have brown pants and blue for the top.  I'll take more pics when I'm finished.

 

It's cold with snow flurries today so plan on staying in and finishing my project.  Tomorrow I'm going antiquing with my sisters and can't wait.  It's been a while!

 

Have a good Wednesday.

Recycled table to last a lifetime

Allison found this table at a garage sale & purchased it from a couple who were downsizing. They told her how their family had set around this table on so many occasions and how difficult it was for them to sell it. They had kept it on their screened in back porch for years so the finish was pretty rough. After telling the elderly couple about her family & how they eat together (almost) every evening & about the many people they invite to eat at their table, I think they were greatly relieved. Alli & John have had a big harvest table in their dining room that was just too large so this round one with 3 leaves is perfect. We sanded it & put 4 coats of finish on it & it's absolutely gorgeous. I think it's walnut. The kids are so serious about recycling & teaching their children about protecting the earth & our environment. They loved the fact that this was a chance to show their children about reusing and not being so wasteful. They're such good parents.

Anyway, we were proud of the job we did on the finish of this table & wanted to share.

Summer pasttime -- Garage sales!

Friday was such a good garage sale day. Beautiful weather until about 11:00 when we started feeling the heat. Allison and the grandkids decided they wanted to come along so we loaded in Allison's minivan and off we went.



It seems to me that it's the greatest way to stimulate our economy and don't forget the whole recycling aspect. Almost everything I bought will now be taken to Leola's to be sold and used again. We also made note that everything we bought was made in America except for the ironstone pitcher that came from England. Even the books were published and printed in the US.

The gandkids bought books, paper, toys, and Sage bought a lock box for all his treasures. Things that would most likely be thrown away if there hadn't been a garage sale. Allison bought vintage jewelry that she'll either wear or use in a future craft project.

The people having the garage sales will most likely take this money and go to the grocery store, get their hair done, do a home improvement, or come to Leola's and purchase something of mine so we all reap the reward.

Makes perfect sense to me!