~ Black Creek Colonial ~

Just thought I’d share…

2011-11-18T07:40:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to share this link to view a stunning home I came across this morning.

You will want to enlarge these tour pictures as you view them…. and probably download the offline visual tour to your computer…to refer back to often for inspiration… or just for a warm fuzzy feeling!

Enjoy…

http://www.visualtour.com/applets/flashviewer2/viewer.asp?t=2481224&sk=13

Sincerely,

Debra

Time Flies…

2011-11-04T09:24:00.001-04:00

Hi there! I can’t believe how long it’s been since I last posted something on my blog. I doubt I even have anyone following it anymore! But incase I do, this post is just going to be a lot of eye candy from our annual trip to a nearby museum.

I wish I had more time to spend blogging but it seems like I always have too many different things going on. I do have some additional photos of Peggy’s gorgeous Saltbox that I will share in my next post…When that will be I have no idea…hopefully soon. Worth the wait though…It’s a BEAUTIFUL home!

Anyway…Here are some of my favorite shots from the Genesee Country Museum…taken in September…almost two months ago already!

Cobblestone…love, love, love!

This color combo is fantastic!

Don’t you just want to rub that redware pots belly?

Lovely blues…sigh.

A gorgeous bench with storage under the seat!

In training… born one month apart. :)

Indoor plumbing.

More pottery.

I just love this simple latch…it’s the little touches like this that I am crazy about! Is it just me???

Neat cattle? As opposed to messy cattle?" (Neat cattle does not refer to cattle that dress nicely, but rather to domesticated straight-backed animals of the bovine genus.)

Who knew??

And just some misc. family pics taken while we were there.

Had to add this one Emma…Notice her cell phone in hand?? Just like at home!

Richard and I.

Emma and her Daddy.

Hubby.

Emma churning butter.

We lived on Orchard Street prior to moving.

Well I have to get moving here…lots to do today.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to the museum also!

Sincerely,

Debra

P.S. I will try to post the additional pictures I have of Peggy’s home this weekend.

Our Graduate

2011-06-28T10:15:00.001-04:00

Our Emma has graduated! I can not express how proud I am of this kid. Her senior year was full of trials and tribulations…but she persevered. Between suffering through undiagnosed gall bladder disease, and a first love that has now ended, to weeding out the toxic friends in her life, she has learned a lot in the past year, unfortunately the hard way.

As a Mom, you wish that there were some magic wand that you could wave that could take away all of your child’s pain…whether it’s physical or emotional. Those awful situations that they really have to get through themselves, hurt us as parents even more.

We have a saying in our home, “One of life’s greatest lessons to learn, is which bridge to cross and which bridge to burn”.

When you think about it, this quote says it all. We all follow a path in life…and it’s the decisions we make that guide us to where we will end up and mold us into the person that we will one day become. Some of those decisions may be very difficult to make, but in the long run…we all have to do what’s best for ourselves…and only ourselves.

I am happy to say that Emma is doing absolutely wonderful now…and this past Saturday graduated with honors.

Here is our little girl…ready to snatch that diploma and to take on the world!

Richard and I with our baby girl.

Of course her best friend Sam was here to help her get ready. Sam will be a senior this year. Only one more year to go little one!

And her Aunt Sharon celebrated with us too…Sharon is not Emma’s biological aunt, but has been my best friend since she and I were 13 years old. For 34 years she and I have been through everything together. From our first loves, marriages, kids, through the good times…and the bad. She will be there with me until the bitter end. The one with tweezers in hand to pluck my chin hairs when I am no longer able to do it myself.

I so love you Sharon…

And my Mom and Dad…who are also so very proud of their granddaughter.

My brother-in-law Robert happened to be here visiting my Father-in-law. He lives in Arizona and is absolutely the sweetest guy in the world! Unfortunately Dad blinked when I took this picture and I didn’t notice it until I loaded the pictures onto my laptop.

Dad will be 88 in October and it was pretty tiring for him to attend. Now that I look at this picture…it’s quite possible Dad was asleep! :)

We were so happy that they were both able to make it for Emma’s special day also.

And just a few more pictures taken Saturday.

Had to add this one Sharon… :)

Congratulations Emma!

“May your dreams take you…To the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known.”

Now on to a few prim things… :)

I had mentioned a few posts back that I was working on my bedroom…again! Here is a little glimpse of what I have done now…I re-painted all the trim in Antique Pewter and added a chair rail. More pictures of that to follow another time, but do you remember the prim lamp I was working on? The broken lampshade and the white Goodwill lamp?

Well here that is completed…it only cost me about $15.

And a lantern lamp that I recently purchased…The picture hanging on the wall above is my grandparents marriage certificate that my Mom had framed and detailed with floral accents by an artist she knows.

I also found this large basket that was marked down from $40 to $10 at the same place I bought the lantern lamp.

I couldn’t resist this sampler.

A little prim picture I picked up at a flea market for $3. It just had to paint over the 80’s matting.

And finally…a gorgeous 4 gallon crock I just got off of Craigslist for a whopping $20!

Obviously the seller had no idea of this crocks value…but I sure did! Sweet!

I have got to get a move on here…We are having a Graduation party here on July 17th for Emma and a friend of hers. Her Mom apparently told her she would not pay for a grad party for her…That she would need to pay for it herself…Sad.

So needless to say, I have a ton of things to get done around here before then…Last I heard, close to 100 kids have been invited.

Dear Lord give me strength.

Sincerely,

Debra

He’s finally done!

2011-06-11T21:16:00.001-04:00

Yes, I am referring to the floorcloth that I have been working on for what seems like forever as a “he”. Why? Because “he” could be the biggest pain in the a** at times!!! I have to say, this was quite the learning experience! I learned what not to do that’s for sure!

I decided to go with what I thought would be a fairly simple square design, but first I had to determine the size of my squares. 12” seemed too big for my liking, so I needed to find something smaller to use as a template.

So…I came up with this. I used this clock that hangs in my powder room that I had previously found at Goodwill (and had given a makeover of course).

It was the perfect size for the squares I wanted…approximately 9”.

First…I painted three base coats of beige, then the taping of the squares began. I then painted the squares black, and then chose a stencil that I felt fit well inside the black squares.

And here “he” is during the stenciling process.

And after completing the stenciling, and during the process of applying a stain on the entire cloth to give it an aged appearance and to tone it down a bit.

Here is a close up of the stencil I used…I alternated the center of the stencils accent colors between the beige I used for the basecoat and antique pewter….then I used black for the accent color in the beige squares.

So here “he” is all finished. First I tried “him” in my kitchen eating area.

But decided I liked “him” better in the dining room…for now anyway.

So…What do you think?

I’m fairly happy with “him”…now. Like I said, I learned a lot and would do things differently next time…that’s if there is a next time! There were many times I wanted to throw him out of the house!

Just glad “he’s” done…What a pain!

I found a few finds at Goodwill this week…This alphabet sampler. I paid $1.98 for it then bought a different frame for it there for $2.

Here is a close up view of it. See the two little Robin’s?

First I tossed the frame…coffee stained it and replaced it into the different frame…and here it is now at a cost of about $4.

I also found this Theorem painting.

And this little antique oil painting of a shoreline…The corner of the frame is chipped but nothing that can’t be easily fixed. It reminded me of our cottage in the Thousand Islands.

And this little lamplighter silhouette for $1.

Well that’s about it for tonight…Ruby pulled something in her leg earlier and I’m just going to watch her closely and make sure she rests and stays off of it and hope she is feeling better tomorrow…If she isn’t better by Monday, I will have to take her to see my vet…as for right now she is resting comfortably…it’s always something!

Sincerely,

Debra

A different kind of “before and after”

2011-05-29T08:52:00.001-04:00

First let me start off by saying “Thank you” for all of the comments I received on my last post regarding Emma’s Senior Ball. For some reason I am unable to post the comments to my blog…it just keeps saying “re-directing” and then goes nowhere. If anyone is having this same problem, and might have any info as to how to correct this, please let me know.

Now, I don’t think I have ever mentioned it here before, but I am a dog groomer. I went to school in 2008 for months of training…Then in March of 2009, I tore the ligament in my right wrist which over the next year, required me to have numerous surgeries and finally a total wrist replacement.

Here I am at school…I’m the one in the background! :) (Pre-injury…I so miss those days!)

Anyway…The other day I happened to catch “the infamous Esther” in a rather strange place.

I had just came out of my powder room and saw this…

She had managed to climb up onto the bench portion of my kitchen table and was just sitting there…Probably to get closer to me, as you can see I was on the computer.

I also noticed…that it was time from her grooming/Spring hairdo.

Here is another “before” picture of “Esther the Jester”.

And this is a “during” shot. You see, my dogs are so used to being groomed that this is typically what happens while I am working on them.

They fall asleep…Zzzzzz

And here is Esther now.

And then there is Ruby….

“Before” She knew it was coming! It’s the bathing and blow drying part they aren’t crazy about! “No Mommy…I don’t realwy wike a bath.” :)

And Ruby after…

Now Ruby absolutely LOVES my brother-in-law Michael…Michael drives a dairy truck and usually stops by here every weekend with milk, eggs, butter, etc…

So I asked her if she got her new haircut for Uncle Michael, and this was the look I got. “What…Uncle Michael is here…where, where, where???? (He adores her too but has yet to admit it!!!) I actually think that’s the real reason he comes here…To see her!

And then there is Quinn…

Before…

And after…Aw done!

Bet they are glad that’s over…I still have Petey to do but lost my steam.

I bought an awesome lamp yesterday…I will share pictures of it on my next post…And hopefully a completed floorcloth!

May you all have a safe Memorial Day weekend.

“The dead soldier's silence sings our national anthem.” -Aaron Kilbourn

Sincerely,

Debra

Emma’s Senior Ball

2011-05-25T07:25:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone…I wanted to share some photos of our daughter Emma’s senior ball with you. The gown (unbelievably gorgeous), the hair, the bling… etc.

She looked so beautiful! She found her gown on Bon Ton on-line. The moment she saw it, she knew this was the one.

First we will start with the hair. Believe it or not, the curls for her up-do were done with the hairstylist using a straight iron…by spinning it in circles…Who knew? Here she is “before”… during her hair appointment.

She wore a simple headband with a single row of crystals along it. Here is Emma’s finished up-do.

Then there is her nails and the “bling”. She chose to wear a beautiful vintage bracelet that belongs to her grandmother, my Mom.

I did her make-up…The primary colors in her gown were purple, light green and blue…So I did green on her lid, purple above that and added blue in the crease.

You can also see the gorgeous earrings she chose in this photograph too.

And here she is…“the finished product”.

Here is the back of her gown.

Here she is with her Daddy. She looks so much more like her father than she does me.

(You’ll get the goatee and mustache eventually Emma. In due time!)

See…(Never mind the fact that I did nothing with myself the entire day and that I look dead compared to her tan skin.)

The front of her gown was all beaded. I had to shorten the halter 2” because she has her father’s breasts, and couldn’t hold the gown up with what she has…or should I say hasn’t.

Notice the small scar right next to her eye in this next picture? Not so funny story behind that! When she was about three or so, she had just gotten out of the bathtub and was all wrapped up in a large towel…She was jumping up and down on the bed while I was looking for something in the dresser. Well she fell off the bed, on to the open dresser drawer and her head bounced off the corner of the bottom drawer! An inch or two over and she could have lost her eye! I still see it happening to this day! Amazingly enough, there wasn’t a drop of blood…just a deep puncture wound that the Dr’s decided not to try to stitch up, as that would have been more traumatic than just bandaging it.

It’s amazing she has even survived to attend this ball, considering that she is the type of kid that would run from a bee right in front of a bus!

Gotta love her!

Excuse the un-mowed lawn…We have had nothing but rain here!

This year, she went with her best friend Sam. This girl is a peanut…I mean tiny! Adorable too. I mean Emma is a size 1/2…and Sam is even smaller!

Here is a picture of the two of them before the limo arrived.

And in front of the limo.

I took this picture of the limo driver and told him… “Now I know who to look for if anything happens to my kid.” I think I scared him…and Sam. He said I could find his picture in any Post Office, so I felt much better after hearing that!

Here a just a few more pictures of Emma and her friends enjoying their night.

She and her good friend Val.

(Oh Mom…enough already!) I know, I know.

Ironically enough, this boy’s mother and I grew up right across the street from each other.

And just a few more pictures she took while at her senior ball.

Her friend Emily…Hard working, intelligent…just a sweetheart.

She and her friend Becca. Becca got best hair in their class.

Emma and her good friend Melissa. Melissa was recently in a terrible accident this past winter while on a ski trip through the ski club at school. She somehow veered off of the trail and hit a tree. She suffered head injuries and a compound fracture to her arm. Thankfully, she doesn’t remember any of it and is doing wonderful.

So that’s it…My baby graduates soon and will be attending a local Christian liberal arts college. She will be studying nursing and wants to become a surgical nurse.

Her father and I are so proud of her.

Always remember Emma…One of life’s greatest lessons to learn, is which bridge to cross and which bridge to burn.

Congratulations baby…The world is at your fingertips!

Sincerely,

Debra (a.k.a. ~ Mom)

Sharing is good!

2011-05-05T21:30:00.001-04:00

 

You all know how much I love to share prim eye candy with you, and this post is no different.

I recently received an email from a woman that had come across my blog. She stated how much she enjoyed it, and she must have gotten the idea (from somewhere, in this little ole’ blog of mine) that my dream home is most definitely a Saltbox.

I may have mentioned this once or twice. :)

Her name is Peggy McConnaughay, and she is originally from Orchard Park, New York…which is a suburb of Buffalo. Home of the Buffalo Bills. This area is approximately one hour west of Rochester, where I live, so it was a lovely coincidence to hear that she originates from my neck of the woods.

Peggy and her husband moved from Western New York to California in 1986…when her husband retired, they then moved to the foothills of the Sierra’s. It was here that they built their dream home in 2001…a replica of a New England Saltbox.

Peggy attached some pictures of her GORGEOUS Saltbox home in her email, and she was gracious enough to allow me to post them here on my blog for all of you to enjoy also.

So without further ado… Here is Peggy’s beautiful New England Saltbox (a few of these pictures appear to be taken during the holiday season).

I absolutely love the exterior colors!

How welcoming is this entrance??? The red door. The fruit swags beneath each window. The bold, fluted trim surrounding the door. Quite an impression!

Here is a daytime photo of the west side of her home…The pergola style porch roof with lattice looks so airy and inviting, doesn’t it?

OK everyone…are you ready to step inside?

OK…C’mon into her mouth watering kitchen! The beamed ceiling, the Porringer dining table, wide plank floors, and that island with cooktop and stainless vent!

Now lets mosey on into the dining room shall we? Now check out those long shutters on the window! And that floorcloth!

(Mine’s still not done! Poly is a special order. Honestly, my back needed a break anyway…Definitely not getting any younger.)

And here is her gathering room…Love the matching upholstery and window fabrics.

Here is another shot with what I am assuming is her most prized possession. Her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Bailey. Correct me if I am wrong Peggy… :)

What do you think? Do you think Bailey enjoys living here??? This is after all, the same breed the Windsor’s own, so I guess it’s fitting he/she is living in the lap of luxury in this home.

Look at the height of that mantel….and the built ins. Looks like cabinetry to the left.

Sadly that is all the pictures I have of this beautiful home for now…She said she would be sending me more photos though so after I receive them, I will post those also.

One more thing I wanted to share with all of you about Peggy…She owned a primitive store for 21 years. She no longer operates out of a brick and mortar, but she does have an on-line website.

You can visit her on-line store here. www.countryncollectibles.com

I absolutely fell in love with a line of purses she carries! It’s the Bella Taylor Collection. Love all of them and they are so reasonably priced also.

I have chosen this one, and will be placing my order in the next few days.

It’s the Renaissance Collection ~ Saddle Bag. So pretty!!! LOVE!!!

There are many more wonderful handbags from this designer on her website…Go check them out, along with so many other things for the prim lover!

Thank you Peggy for allowing me to share your home and website link with my prim pals…I’m sure they also appreciate your kindness.

Sincerely,

Debra

Happy Easter…

2011-04-24T10:03:00.001-04:00

To all my Peeps…

Close Friends…

My dear confidants…

And Prim Pals…

My partners in crime…

My Homies…

And my Buds…

Have a wonderful Easter!

Sincerely,

Debra

A Sneak Peek and Other Ramblings

2011-04-16T22:47:00.001-04:00

I was hoping I’d have some pictures of my completed floor cloth for this post but sadly it’s not quite finished.

I just have the poly coats to do now, but I need to go to a specific Sherwin-Williams store in the city to buy the poly I need and that’s closed until Monday.

I do have a couple of pictures I took when I first started it though.

Here’s my sidekick Petey taking a sunbath on it…Smile.

Can I just tell you how time consuming this taping process is??? Especially when your pattern doesn’t come out right and you have to re-tape the entire thing!!!! Notice the two different color tapes? Yup, my inside lines, needed to become my outside lines…I could have screamed…A few choice words were used that’s for sure!

You see how I now have four little triangles in each corner? Well now I do…I only had two before and had to re-tape the whole thing!!! At least I hadn’t cut it to size yet and was able to fix it.

When I first noticed it, I was so mad at myself, now, I’m actually kind of glad I had to re-do it (Now that it’s done that is) since I used a better tape (Frog Tape) the second time…One that does not allow any bleeding of the paint underneath…Another lesson learned the hard way after painting the border!

This has been quite the experience…I also ended up with an entire back full of muscle spasms from working on the living room floor! I had to go see my Dr. for muscle relaxers that I’m now taking every night for the next month just to undo what I have done to myself!

Again, my own worst enemy!

I’ve also got this other project to complete…I picked up this lamp shade last weekend…It was 50% off due to the broken wire…see it sticking out of the top? It isn’t a big deal at all, a little hot glue and it will be as good as new…I paid $12.50 for it.

Then I needed a lamp base for it…So while at Goodwill, what do my little eyes spy??? This base for $2.99.

I just need to paint it black and I then will have the cutest prim lamp for about $15. I’m so frugal…and proud of it!

Now, like I don’t have enough painting projects going on, Esther decided I needed another one.

This is Esther…Named after the swimmer Esther Williams because as a baby she would somehow always end up running through the water bowl.

I took this picture at this angle so you could see something specific…Notice the foamy, slimy spit just under her bottom lip?

Now Esther, shall we say…”Is as sharp as a marble.”

And this is our cat Periwinkle…”Wink” for short. (Not the best picture of her, but this was the only one I have of her on my computer.)

Can you guess how she got her name??? Those eyes! She is a Siamese/Tiger mix. A beautiful cat…but mean!! She even looks evil.

Now Wink spends time in our basement during the day because the dogs want to “play” with her and she hates the dogs so they need to be separated at all times. Actually, Wink hates everybody…This is the most anti-social cat imaginable. You can pet her a few times then she will attack you! My parents took care of her years ago when we took a trip to Disney World and they still talk about the time she attacked my Dad and drew blood when he tried to pet her. How dare he!

So, back to my story…This is my cellar door…or it was.

When we return home from going somewhere, Esther immediately goes to the cellar door and begins licking it…To kiss the kitty I guess. Not just a few times…but over and over and over! Hence the sludge below her lip.

And this is my cellar door now. Ta Da!

Do you see that line across the bottom of the door? About the height of a Yorkie named Esther? That’s not spit…it’s from her spit…She has actually warped the cellar door from licking it so much.

Then…this happens when she is done.

She falls asleep sitting up! So now I have to sand and paint the door again. Really Esther?

I’ve also been doing some drooling….on line that is.

Have you ever seen the movie The Proposal with Sandra Bullock? If so, have any of you spotted this headboard in her bedroom in this film? You have to double click on it to get a good view but I absolutely fell in love with this headboard. A wingback headboard! It doesn’t look difficult to make either so I’m thinking of making one for my daughter’s bed…Love it!

Then I spotted this pencil post bed canopy. It’s simply perfect. It almost looks like just a wool blanket just draped over the top. Am I right? Or wrong? Anyone know?

I’m also thinking of making these curtains…

For this odd window in my bedroom.

Three of them side by side. Just wondering if it just might cover up too much of the window and appear dark. Maybe not if I use a light colored fabric though.

What do you think? Anyone have any other curtain ideas that might work? The difficulty is the center window…I can’t use festoon drawbacks as there is nothing separating the windows at all…I also thought maybe shutters but then you are talking framing in each window which would be a lot of work.

So I’m thinking these might work.

And then there is this clock…This is a must have!

I LOVE THIS CLOCK!

And I love this dry sink…Love the size of it and those spade strap hinges! I could live in here…:)

And I’ll take this Porringer table please…Boy are these expensive…But can it be made fairly easily? Hmmm.

Oh how I wish I had put pine floors in like these instead of the Oak we have. I just want to do a Tom Cruise slide on these floors…Not necessarily in my socks and underwear and a men's dress shirt, but that would work too.

Smooth as a baby’s butt.

Well that’s it for this post…I have complained and whined enough I think!

Just want to leave you with one more picture tonight…

This adorable picture was sent to me in an email and it has to be the most adorable puppy I have ever seen in my life.

Hope it makes you smile today too.

Too stinking adorable…Squeeze!

I mean really!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

A Soft Landing

2011-03-30T08:31:00.001-04:00

I’ve been doing some spring cleaning and rearranging around here…Yesterday I tackled an awkward landing that we have here. It’s not very large and quite narrow so decorating it can be a challenge.

When we first moved in we had our computer up there, but I hated looking at the mess and cords, etc…so that didn’t last too long. Then I just had a small loveseat up there for quite a few years…until my daughter’s cat destroyed it that is.

This area is not too visible from the first floor unless you are coming out of the master bedroom so it stayed like that while I focused on decorating our first floor since that’s where our master is and where we/I spend all of my time.

Here is a view of the space I’m talking about from the first floor…

And here are a few shots of what I accomplished yesterday.

I moved the couch I got for Christmas up here.

This picture shows just how narrow of a space this is so decorating it frustrates me …It’s probably 7’ x 10’.

I brought the cupboard that I have moved around to every room downstairs up and it works well due to the height of the ceiling up here too.

The antique trunk came from my Mom years ago…I had painted the handles brass when she gave it to me…You know, when brass was in??? Going to have to do something with those now.

Anyway, I’m pretty happy with the results so far…I know, I need some greenery for the basket on the wall or something. I’ll figure it out.

So here is one last shot of what I did yesterday.

While I was up there I figured I might as well scrub the kids bathroom.

I definitely need more prims in here.

I bought the shower curtain when we moved in 10 years ago out of a catalog I used to receive at my old job…It was like $20 and I have really been happy with it. It still looks like new.

Here is a close up of it.

I happened across the prim portrait at the Salvation Army for like ten bucks. I had the perfect size frame for it in the basement so I painted it black and it turned out pretty cute…. it also went well with the feminine colors in the shower curtain so I stuck her in here.

The little Windsor chair I spotted at my Mom’s recently…Spotted and stole that is. :)

The basket I found for $8 at an antique store…I used the handles as an easel and just threw a twig wreath & prim star in there.

Now the ugly vanity…I have always hated this vanity! Our builder had it and the cost was dirt cheap but not what I would have liked to have had.

So, this is my next project…After the floor cloth I am working on now that is.

I’m pretty sure I will be painting it…Black of course…and definitely replacing that faucet too!

Well…Time to drive Emma to school, pick up a latte…my butt is going through withdrawal symptoms (sagging) and then I need to get to work.

Still having some cold weather here so I want to get as much done inside as possible before it finally warms up.

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

Saltbox For Sale….

2011-02-25T06:16:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone…

I thought you might like to see some pictures of a home that is currently for sale here in my area…It’s located in an upscale community that is close to where my parents live.

This home is listed for a mere $450,000…so if you have the cash, and want to live here in balmy western New York, then this home is for you.

(Mind you, if this home were situated where I live…approximately 30 minutes away, it would probably go for around $300,000…it’s just the area that it’s in is really desirable, and very expensive).

So are you ready for a tour? (You may want to click on each picture for a larger, better view of this home).

C’mon up the driveway… This just looks so inviting doesn’t it? A winter wonderland right now.

So, so pretty!

And what’s that just around the bend up ahead?

Oh, it’s a beautiful three car garage with a loft.

I love this garage.

Are you ready to get a glimpse of the beautiful home that comes with this awesome garage?

Ok……Here she is.

A lovely Saltbox that sits on almost 3 acres of land.

Are you ready to come inside and get out of the cold?

Come on in…Make yourself at home.

Have a seat by the fire and I’ll grab the coffee.

(Loving the stenciling, pewter paint color and the red bow back chairs.)

Have a seat and make yourself comfortable.

(Notice all of the antique rugs throughout this home…there are so many, and all gorgeous!)

And one more living room picture for you to take in.

Love the 8 over 12 windows.

Now lets step into the kitchen…Love the wide 8 over 8 window above the sink.

And another view of the kitchen…I’m not really crazy about the black distressed cabinets…I would love to have see them done in the same pewter color as the trim throughout, but I could manage…and check out that stainless stove…and the little redware plates in the window.

Now lets head into the sitting room.

I just love that spoon-foot porringer table…and all the baskets too, especially the one hanging on the wall!

I’ll also take the cabinet and the large basket hanging on its side, the trencher and that chair!

There’s that table again! LOVING the shutters on the windows! SWEET!

Off to the dining room now and another beautiful rug…Can’t overlook that awesome bench with original red paint either.

Shall we wander upstairs now? Watch your step.

Again, the period stenciling is great…and yet another rug, this one hanging from that beautiful brick wall which looks to be the center chimney exposed…Love, love, love.

Ok…Let’s check out the Master bedroom first shall we?

Loving everything…except the bathroom scale…I hate scales…They always seem to be defective and never seem to give my correct weight…Strange.

Oh and yes, another antique carpet. The blue in this one is so bold and eye catching isn’t it? $$$$$

Now here is the spare bedroom…

You are welcome to stay over if you’d like…the rates per night are killer though. :)

Oh, that hooked rug and tombstone cabinet…… Sigh………Black IS beautiful!

The bedding is heavenly too. So simple looking. Notice there are no curtains anywhere in this home either. Love that…simplicity.

There is just one more thing I want to show you on this prim tour.

It also has a finished basement.

The prims in this basement are nicer than mine in my living areas! So jealous am I!

And look..They have the same exact couch that I just bought.

Mine isn’t kept in my basement though! I don’t even go in my basement unless it’s absolutely necessary!

Wish I had all of her other pieces too. Look at those chairs will you???? In the basement no less…I want them in my main living area! So not fair!

Well, that concludes our tour today………I so hope you enjoyed it your visit.

But, here’s the thing, remember that the contents of this home are not included in the sale price. Yes, I’d love a saltbox myself…but whether we live in a Cape, a ranch a townhouse or an apartment…we can all have a home with an interior as beautiful and cozy as this…just with the use of primitive, colonial decor.

Have a great day…and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

Memories of Mom…

2011-01-30T10:29:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned in previous posts…I have recently helped to care for my Father-in-law whom has Alzheimer's disease. He lives in a very large old farmhouse about five miles from us. He and Mom had eight children…four boys and four girls, and needed a large home to raise the kids in. There is one room in his home that simply became a catch all for various things over the years. So one night when I stayed the night and after he went to bed…I decided to clean this room.

Richard’s sisters had long since gone through all of Mom’s things as she will be gone eight years this April. They packed the remainder in totes and left them.

My Mother-in-law had worked at a local country museum nearby for years…it was traveling to that museum one foggy April morning in 2003 that she lost her life, and our family lost the glue that held our family together. Everything spiraled down hill from that day on. Long story.

Here is one of the only pictures I have of Mom on my computer right now…It’s of Mom and Emma when Emma was just a baby. She had such a loving spirit. The nicest person in the world. I always used to joke with her that she was definitely going to heaven and to “put a good word in for me” when she got there…little did we know that she would be taken from us much too soon.

So as I cleaned, I went through each bin to see what “Memories of Mom” I might be able to find. I was positive I had taken a “before” picture with my cell, but for some reason it’s not there any longer.

Anyway, here is the “after” picture.

Believe me, it looked nothing like this in the “before” picture…You could barely get the door open…I did what I could with it without waking Dad as I worked in there until 2:30 in the morning on Halloween night.

Not expecting to find much, I was thrilled to find various pieces of salt glazed pottery most likely given to her by the Potter working at the museum.

In total there were five different baking pieces.

There were two pie plates that she used frequently to bake pies in…There is this one I now keep under my Shoo Fly on the kitchen table.

And another on top of my Coffee cupboard.

There was also this deep dish piece.

A very small piece also…

And this adorable little pitcher.

I also came across this little redware pitcher.

And some Pewter pieces too.

So these are my “Memories of Mom”…Every time I look at them my heart melts a little…knowing her hands had touched them. She loved baking, she worked in the kitchen at Kodak here in Rochester for many years and from there, after her retirement, started working at the museum. She will be forever loved and missed. Ok enough of that…tearing up here. :(

On a lighter note, I wanted to share some more of my daughter Rachel’s artwork. This are some charcoal drawings that she recently did for a couple of her friends.

The first was done for a friend that loves Joan Jett…as you can see from the original photo just to the left of her drawing, it looks identical.

And this horses head she did for her equine loving friend.

I am not bragging when I say that my daughter Rachel is truly gifted…They are absolutely amazing in person…every detail comes to life. Ok…maybe I’m bragging just a little!

Me, I got nothing! No artistic ability what so ever! Not fair!

Well that’s about it for this post…I’ve been working an yet another project here at home…A HUGE project that is going to take me forever…especially since my wrist is really acting up the last two days.I couldn’t even lift my coffee cup this morning.

Anyway the project is my bedroom (again)…I am hoping will look amazing when completed…either that or it will be a complete mess and waste of a lot of time. We shall see. It’s just that I came across a photo of an amazing room and in my little world, decided I wanted it (or had to have it ) so of course I’ve started on that now even though there were many other things I could have worked on…or finished! :)

Always my own worst enemy!!!!

Have a great day and a better (or bitter) tomorrow. Brrr!

Sincerely,

Debra

A Senior Moment, Some Misc. Pictures & A Fabulous Find

2011-01-16T20:19:00.001-05:00

Ok…remember when I said I wasn’t able to download any pictures because I couldn’t find the cord that connects my camera to my computer? Well, this is my camera case…See that little zippered pocket in the front? Well apparently…I am much more organized that I thought I was since that’s where the cord was! Major senior moment!

So today was a “Me day”…I left here this morning to get away from everything and everyone for a few hours. Something I haven’t done in forever. My first stop was to buy myself a little slice of heaven. Ahhh…My Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha. My butt hates them, but the rest of me just can’t resist! I’m so addicted! Seriously… Is there a Starbucks anonymous? Hello, my name is Debra… :)

From there, I headed to an Antique Co-op about 20 minutes away…Here is the first thing I picked up…Apparently there were two sconces at one point since the tag listed a price for the pair or for just a single one…I wasn’t able to find it’s mate though…but it’s all good.

Haven’t decided where to hang it yet. Would have looked great with two of them flanking my picture of George over my fireplace though.

Oh well…then I just picked up a grubby, battery operated candle for my corner candle shelf.

Then…drum roll please…My fabulous find of the day! I was looking through a bottom drawer full of antique linens in a booth that was having a 30% off sale…I couldn’t believe my eyes when I found this! OMG…Be still my heart!

An antique sampler! It was so hard to get a good picture of it as the thread is a very light color….Here are a few more pictures. I had Emma hold it up against the window to try and get a better view of it.

(BTW…There is my barn quilt on my barn in the background! I meant to take pictures and post the finished project months ago! At least I finished that project! Someday I’ll take better pictures and post them.)

Back to the sampler…Here it is in two sections.

It was added to at one point as you can see the seam. Practice makes perfect!

It measures 11 1/4” wide by approx. 28” & 28 3/4 as it is not perfectly rectangular by any means.

It begins with:

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP

****************************

QRSTUVWXYZ & W

MARY * ANN * W

ORK * IN * THE * 10

TH * YEAR * OF * MY * AGE

ABCDEFGHIJ

KLMNOPQRST

UVWXYZ & W

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 *

S x R * S

MARY * ANN * WORK *

A B C D E F G

H I J K L M N

O P Q R S T U V

W X Y Z (2 hearts)

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q

r s t u v w x y z * 1 2 3 4 *

I absolutely love it! But…I also loved the price…Now remember I mentioned that this particular vendor was having a 30% off sale and since this sampler was marked $1…Yes, One dollar…I got it for .70! Yes, 70 cents! Woo Hoo!

Imagine the hours and hours little Mary put into this…I’ll cherish it for her…since for some reason someone didn’t. Not sure where I will put it…I will probably have it framed.

Do you remember this? The $40 harvest table I found on Craigslist? With the ugly green legs and cherry stained top? Very Christmassy!

Well, here she is now…I took about 1’ off the width of the table top, as there are two drawers that were not even visible with that overbearing top. You’d have to bend over and look underneath to even see them, plus it was too large for my dining room at it’s original width…so she needed to be slenderized.

I then completely sanded her down, painted her base black and did the top in a combo of stains…Can’t even really remember what colors really…Just kept applying different ones, Special walnut, provincial etc…until I got the results I wanted…Then just used paste wax on top of that…Here she is now.

I left the drawer pulls the same natural stain as the top so you would notice that it even has drawers. You can barely see them in this picture but they’re there. Much easier to see them now than before though.

What a difference busting your butt makes huh? I knew it had amazing potential though and I was right…I think she turned out beautiful and I am so happy with her now. I also picked up the large antique basket for $4 recently…Score! I love her too!

Finally…if anyone is still with me here…My new couch.

(No, I still have not painted my coffee table…I know, I know…it’s kind of growing on me now though!)

It’s a JB Chippendale sofa done in a fabric called Rose Garland…I love the height of it as this room has 16’ ceilings. I have not changed the blown light bulbs in my ceiling fan in years! :) I’d need scaffolding!

See just to the right in that last picture…what looks like a large roll of canvas? It’s been there for months waiting for Richard and I to make some floor cloths out of it…We just never have any time when the both of us aren’t exhausted or feel like using our brains lately! Someday soon hopefully…My floors are just screaming for floor cloths! Too busy right now to even research what I’d like though.

Thanks to all of you that stuck with me through this very long post and my recent break from blogging…I truly missed you all!

Have a great day…and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

Hello again…..

2011-01-09T11:05:00.001-05:00

Yes, I am back… I have no idea how often I will be posting though. I do know that I truly missed connecting with all of you. Those of you that love to decorate in Primitive/Colonial style as I do. And lets face it, it is a pretty taste specific style that doesn’t appeal to everyone. I know, I don’t get it either. Truthfully, I believe we have all lived previous lives in the 1800’s. Why else would we be so drawn to that era? It’s either that, or we all just crave simplicity in our lives.

I have still been following all of your blogs while on my little hiatus…The Christmas eye candy was wonderful! Thank you all for sharing! I however, only did the necessities.

I also have not had much simplicity in my life. Back in September, when I decided to close my blog, I knew I was in for an upcoming bumpy ride. We had just found out that my husband Richard was going to need open heart surgery. At 55 years old no less, to say we were in shock… was an understatement. So…on October 8th, I paced the waiting room floor, waiting for news from the operating room.

They tried to do a less evasive procedure just under his right breast, to avoid the fully evasive procedure down the center of his sternum, but according to his surgeon…he must have had Pleurisy or Pneumonia as a child and his lung was adhered to his rib cage. So…after trying to get through that for an hour, his surgeon ended up doing the more evasive procedure anyway. So, in trying to avoid the more evasive procedure, he ended up basically having two.

I am so happy to say that he is doing wonderful now. He has been going to Cardiac rehab 3 days a week, and finally returned to work on Jan 3rd.

Then there is my daughter Emma’s recent surgery. Here she is in one of her Senior pictures with our tiniest Yorkie “Petey”. All 2.5lbs of her…(Petey…not Emma…although Emma doesn’t weigh much more!) Her name is actually Peyton, but somehow we ended up call her Petey. So stinkin’ cute.

Now back to Emma’s story…

This kid has been suffering with stomach problems for the last two years…She would have these severe attacks…Mainly at night, where she would literally be forced into a fetal position, in agonizing pain. Not wanting to even breathe…Swore she was dying…saying my name…”Mom, Mom, Mom”…over and over and over again…all I could do was sit there, and try to keep her calm and doing my best to comfort her…telling her it would be over soon. (These attacks would last anywhere for 1/2 hr to an hour.)

So, after numerous visits with various specialists, countless tests, and calls to 911, we ended up in the ER again on December 19th. They finally did an ultrasound and found that her Gall Bladder was completely filled with stones and sludge. Finally… a positive diagnosis! She was then scheduled for surgery the next day and spent a total of three days in the hospital, being released on December 22nd.

Here are a few more Senior pictures of our beautiful daughter Emma.

Now this left me with two days to finish all of my Christmas shopping…which was only half done, do all of the wrapping, baking, etc…all while still caring for her. Then, lucky me…I became sick on Christmas day…I was fine in the morning, while the kids opened their gifts, we went to my parents for dinner, then I started feeling lousy nauseous . Excused myself from our holiday dinner, apologized to my Mom for having to leave her with all the clean up and headed home…a 45 minute drive. I was home about an hour when, Blech…let the vomiting begin! Now I have not thrown up in 27 years…The last time was when Richard and I were dating and I think I ate some bad chicken wings…I’m pretty sure there was alcohol involved too…I have not eaten a chicken wing since. I spent the next two days in bed…those two days are a complete blur.

Now I am back to helping to care for my 87 year old Father-in-law. Also, so stinkin’ cute. He has Alzheimer's disease. This man was once so intelligent, he scored one of the highest scores ever on the entrance exam into Penn State…Now, he does not remember anything short term, and what he does remember, he repeats over and over and over….Very sad! A truly ugly disease…one I hope they eventually find a cure for.

I haven’t done any new decorating…I did buy a new JB couch recently…I will have to show you that another time though as I am unable to find the cord that connects my camera to my computer. I hardly ever make it into a prim store anymore either. I am hoping that all changes soon though…as I am starting to have withdrawal symptoms.

Well, that’s it for this post…I have the day off today and am thinking of painting my dining room hutch from burgundy to black…Oh, I did finish the harvest table that I got off Craigslist and I have to say, it turned out awesome…Something I will also show you after I find my computer cord.

Other than that, I’m just going to try to stay warm today and in my jammies…it’s freezing here in Upstate NY!

Have a great day…and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

Goodbye and Thank You…

2010-09-14T08:29:00.001-04:00

Hello all…after much thought, the time has come for me to shut down my blog.

Although I haven’t been in blog land for very long, I just haven’t been as dedicated to it as I had hoped I would be.

I will certainly still be checking in on all of you, for a laugh, a craft & the decorating inspiration that originally led me here… but will no longer be posting about my own life and home.

Thank you to all of my followers and to all of you that stopped by for an occasional visit.

I will still be here…just on the outside looking in.

So thank you for visiting my Black Creek Colonial.

And always remember…

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

Back to my OLD self…and a few new things

2010-08-24T09:15:00.001-04:00

Well my knee surgery was just over two weeks ago now and I am now starting to get back to my old self. I made the mistake of doing too much right after surgery, like the next day! After that, I forced myself to stay in bed for a good three days or so, bored out of my mind!

I am not one to sit still at all. When I had my four wrist surgeries, at least I could walk around and do things left handed. Having knee surgery is a totally different story. Just glad it’s over. My surgeon was in there for an hour and a half. It still doesn’t seem right though…I tell Emma, it still feels “discombobulated”.

So, as I sat in bed, I had to do something…so I did a little cross stitch pattern I had downloaded a while back. I think it’s from Primitive Betty’s and was a free pattern she had offered. Thank you to her!

So here is that…

Once I was back on my feet, which surprisingly is one thing on my body that I don’t have trouble with, I decided to make some pantry cakes using this old cast iron cornbread mold I picked up at a little 2nd hand store I stopped into a few weeks ago.

I’m pretty happy with how they turned out.

I hung my tin Candleier in my rear entryway.

I found a couple “new to me” goodies…

This one at a church sale…A small blue bird stoneware crock with ears and lid for $5.

And this antique Walking Wheel off of Craigslist. This baby is huge…It’s over 5’ tall and 5’ wide. It was used to solely spin wool. It was also called a great wheel or a wool wheel. It is said that a spinner would walk the distance of twenty miles while spinning a skein of yarn…hence the name. Yes, it’s missing some components, such as the minor’s head, drive band, etc…which I may find in my travels, but I thought it was really pretty cool as is so I picked it up and put it up on my landing upstairs. Probably dates to the mid-late 1800’s.

Well, time to get going…

Hope all are well…Glad we are starting to get some cooler temps now and that the air conditioner isn’t running 24/7.

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

Caffeine Free

2010-08-09T08:35:00.001-04:00

So here I sit…without my morning coffee. :(

My knee surgery is scheduled for this afternoon, so I was told not to have anything to eat or drink after midnight last night. I have to arrive at the surgical center at 12:30 this afternoon and surgery is scheduled for around 2pm. I am so looking forward to getting this taken care of today, and really curious as to what he is going to find in there.

I think I’d rather go without food than coffee! I know the major headache will soon appear. Oddly enough, they are able to give you caffeine through your intravenous drip, so I plan on asking for that as soon as they get that hooked up. It’s amazing, as your headache usually disappears within about five minutes.

I spent most of the weekend getting prepared for today, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc…as I will be unable to do anything around here for a bit.

I did manage to sneak out and do a little prim shopping on Saturday morning after my last puppy left with her new owner. I was feeling a little down as we kept her a little longer than usual and then you tend to get attached and it’s hard when they leave.

So, I drove to a wonderful shop about 45 minutes from here called the Main Street Trading Company in Macedon, NY.

It’s an old house filled to the brim with primitives. I actually went to inquire about purchasing a floor cloth. I didn’t come home with a floor cloth as they are special order and the store owner is going to get back to me with pricing, as it varies depending on size, pattern etc…I did see one done in a pattern I really like called Bump Tavern…May be a little too busy though. I also really like another pattern called May House. Not sure yet as to what pattern I want so I will think about that more while recovering as I will have more time to research it while resting in bed with my laptop.

I didn’t leave empty handed though…As soon as you walk into this store, the wonderful scents hit you depending on the seasons. One of her big sellers this time of year is a scent called “Lemon Custard” and it’s mouthwatering.

So I picked up one of those and let me tell you how fantastic it makes the house smell. I burned it for a few hours on Saturday afternoon, blew it out around 7:30pm before we went to dinner with some old friends, and when we got back home around 12:30 in the morning, it hit us as soon as we walked in the door. Then when I got up on Sunday morning, with a slight hangover, :) I came out of our bedroom and it hit me again, and it hadn’t even been burning since the previous evening. So loving this candle.

Then I spotted this tin Candelier hanging from the ceiling…Still haven’t decided where I will be putting this yet…So many possibilities.

I’ve been wanting a Shoo Fly Screen for awhile now and found this one there also…But fell in love with this perfect table top server to go along with it.

Here they are displayed together with a pantry cake I made.

Love the base on the server…and the brown chippy paint it’s done in.

I finally replaced everything on my fireplace mantle too. It needs a string of something draped across the front yet I think…

Well that’s it for now…I plan on being heavily medicated for the next few days. As soon as I can see clearly again, I hope to find lots of eye candy on your blogs…as that’s the best medicine.

Have a great day, and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

Paintin’ Place

2010-08-06T09:06:00.001-04:00

Hi there! Yes, I am posting again, and weeks have not passed this time! I’m actually taking a little break this morning…so I thought I would give you all a glimpse of what I have been up to recently while I have my morning coffee.

I’m trying to decide what has been my biggest project as of late…There were two rather time consuming things that I got myself into since last posting.

I am so my own worst enemy!

I guess I’ll start with this one…I was sitting here at my kitchen table a few days ago…reading all of my favorite blogs, with my morning coffee, again… :) and was looking out into my livingroom.

I was thinking how much I’d really like to paint my fireplace…Scary thought!

I knew if I started and messed it up that it would all need to be sanded off and brought back to what I originally had to begin with. I also knew that if I didn’t get the courage up to do it, I never would. So, the more caffeine I consumed, the braver I got! Liquid courage!

So, here is a picture of my fireplace, before I became '”Woman ~ Conqueror of all things.”

Ok…Did this not stick out like a sore thumb? Nothing blended. The trim is the Laura Ashley Cocoa Rose, the brick color I have used throughout my home. The corner TV cabinet is done in Olde Ivory and the fireplace is/was Oak with that lovely/butt ugly, 90’s brass trim surrounding the fire box……Blech!

I couldn’t decide if I wanted to paint it to match the trim or the cabinet…Here is another picture that shows the window trim and cabinet…Hmmm, what to do???

BTW…Do you notice anything in that picture above? Do you see that crooked candle on top of my corner cupboard? It’s been driving me crazy for weeks! You’d think I’d get a chair or a ladder & get up there and straighten it, huh? (Mental note: Straighten candle on top of cupboard!)

So, after much thought/debate/anguish, I decided it needed to match the trim work, even though I worried about starting to have too much of the brick color in the house.

Here is another before picture…

And after…Ta-Da!

I have to say I am really happy how it turned out, and so glad I did it…So much warmer than it was, don’t you think? And see, no more brass trim!

Caffeine is a wonderful thing!

I haven’t placed any of my decor’ on the top of it yet as I want it to cure for a few more days before I do.

Now onto my next project…While reading my favorite blogs one day, I came across a post from Karen/My Colonial Home on barn quilts, and that totally inspired me to make one for our barn. If you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to head over to her blog and check it out. It screams Americana!

Now I am only going to give you a little peek at the barn quilt I made…

Here is a during “tease” picture…

Can you figure out the pattern? Haven’t I given you enough?

Ok…Here is a little more. All the pieces are there, you just have to “fill in the blanks!” I’m sure all of you quilters have it now.

Now I didn’t go with the primary colors that most barn quilts are done in…I went with warmer, more earthy tones…and here is why…When you are inside my home, it would catch your eye out that large picture window in my livingroom and I wanted it to blend with the interior colors of my home…Call me crazy!

It is all done, I just have to seal it with some poly today and hopefully it will be hung on Sunday and then in my next post I will show you the finished, hanging quilt. Love it!

Here is a picture of my barn, I just snapped this photo this morning while I was outside taking a picture of something else that I will show you in a minute.

How pretty is this sunrise over my pasture & barn?

Good Morning!

Looks like a Folgers advertisement doesn’t it?

I just love country living! Give me this view over a cityscape any day!

What’s that old saying? A day in the country is worth a month in town? So true!

I already know how the quilt will look on the barn as OCD me had hubby put it on the top of his car and drive it out there & hold it up on the front of it. :)

Well, I had to make sure it wasn’t going to look too big because I made mine 6’ x 6’ which is quite big for a barn our size. (Or the Taj Mahal of run-in’s as I like to call it.) Really large barns typically have one that is 8’ x 8’.

The reason I was outside taking pictures this morning was because of something I mentioned in a previous post…

Remember this?

My garage door that my neighbor damage with his plow blade back in January?

Well we finally had our new replacement door installed. I went with a colored door to bring out the roof colors a bit more and to also add a third color to the exterior of our home.

Here it is…As you can see, it was white before. I don’t remember putting much thought at all into choosing our garage door when we built this house.

So much warmer…again.

Now if I just had $8000 to pave our extremely long driveway…Not with two kids in college soon. Not going to happen.

I now have another project I need to get started on. An awesome $40 Craigslist find…A Harvest table with breadboard ends.

Here is a picture of it…this is the picture from the actual listing…I do not ski!!!

Oh how pretty it will look when painted and babied a bit as I do not care for the green stained legs at all.

So that’s it for this post…I will be taking Emma out driving again later as she finally got her learners permit. We were out last night and she did really well for her first time, other than the curb she drove up on. I should have checked my tire while I was outside. :)

I will be having knee surgery on Monday…I had a tendon repaired 30 years ago after falling down some stairs…Graceful, I know! It’s been giving me a lot of trouble lately so I’m going in for a “tune up”. Actually I’m not sure what has happened in there so my surgeon is just going to repair whatever he finds and hopefully I will be back to my falling apart old self in no time.

Take care all and Thank You for inspiring me with all of your posts, I look forward to them daily.

“Oh and Char…Still waiting on another house update!”

Have a great day, and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

Hey There, Remember Me?

2010-07-18T17:11:00.001-04:00

I thought…or rather I’d hoped, that when I started this blog that I would be more dedicated to it. Maybe it’s not my dedication that is lacking, but rather my inability to conquer all, and still have the time and energy to blog about my life and my home. The ironic thing is….that’s what seems to be what is keeping me from staying connected with all of you.

I just asked Emma how long ago her Junior Prom was…May 7th!! Over two months ago!

In that time…

I have raised yet another litter of puppies…a litter of four this time. This is my last litter. All of my adults have been spayed/neutered…and all the babies have been sold and should be in their new homes soon.

I just took this picture of one of them in my husbands work boot…Way too cute! Meet Lena… :)

I’ve painted my master bath, and our walk in closet. I have also done some stenciling throughout our kitchen, just above the baseboards.

Brought just the top finial design into and throughout my livingroom.

I completely re-did my daughter Rachel’s bedroom. It took me hours just to remove all of the tape residue from the walls where her posters were hung. Wish I had a before picture, but then again I probably wouldn’t have shown it to you!

I went with a blue/gray color on the walls, a black bedspread & curtains, new throw pillows, and toile accents in black & white throughout…Oh, and my very talented daughters black & white charcoal drawings. I really like how things turned out. I think it took me over 60 hours to complete. Oh, so there is where one entire week went, I remember now!

Let’s see…I have done my share of bargain hunting. I have added a few new chairs to the olde homestead. This one was found at a Salvation Army type store nearby…It’s called Am Vets…it benefits our American Veterans. Completely spotless by the way.

I also found two of these Johnston Benchworks, Walkers Ford wing chairs…I am absolutely in LOVE with these chairs! One is in my livingroom, and the other is in my bedroom.

And this antique desk…it was in a Catholic school. I needed something in this corner of my livingroom…Cost? $10. Works for me.

I also purchased some new livingroom furniture.

Since the lighting is so bad right now, I’ll have to walk you through the colors of these pieces.

A Johnston Benchworks Shenandoah sofa.

(Excuse the coffee table…it was a $5 find…I like how the lines flatter that of the furniture's frame work, but I need to paint it black and distress it yet…in due time.)

The sofa is done in the upholstery fabric shown below called Hastings Raven.

And the two Thunder Hill Wing chairs are done in a coordinating fabric called Buckingham Raven.

You’d think with the name “Raven'’ in the description they would have a black base…however they are in a deep navy blue.

I found this amazing table/bench on Craigslist…The top folds up to become a bench with storage under the seat.

Again, excuse the poor lighting as it does not do the table justice…but if I didn’t take pictures when I had the chance, I wouldn’t have made this post…Gotta make hay when the sun shines. It’s made from 100 year old barn wood and is just AMAZING!

The woman I bought it from ended up buying one of my puppies…I mentioned having them while I was at her house and she couldn’t believe it, as they were looking for one.

Then there is the constant fussing with things…and rearranging…You all know how that goes.

And the occasional baking…The most amazing Cheesecake EVER! It’s baked in a water bath and is the creamiest cheesecake I have ever had. It slides right down to your butt & thighs instantly!

Hmmm…I wonder who ate that missing piece?

Well, that’s it for this post…Hopefully I haven’t bored you at all. I tried to cover so much…without it being too extremely long.

I did want to mention something in closing…I noticed that someone recently created a prim blog with a name very similar to mine..I won’t mention the blog’s name at all, not necessary. Why though? Were they unaware of mine? Possibly, hopefully. But if they were aware of mine, why? Should I be flattered that someone liked the name of my blog enough to create one with a name so very similar? Not really…That would be like me creating one and calling it “The Pickled Pepper Plot” or “Behind My Burgundy Door.”

Hopefully they are simply not familiar with my blog.

I don’t know…maybe I’m being too sensitive about it. It’s just that these spaces are so personal and we reveal so much about ourselves in them that they become something you tend to want to protect I think…even if it is just its name.

Anyway, enough about that…Don’t sweat the small stuff I guess…Speaking of sweating…I hope all of you are well and enjoying your summer. It’s been scorching hot here in Upstate NY… Thank god for Air Conditioning.

Have a great day, and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

Emma’s Junior Prom & Sensible Shopping!

2010-05-20T08:02:00.001-04:00

Well, our little girl attended her Junior prom last week. She went with her boyfriend Ben…Such a polite kid…He is so good to her.

Oh, the details that went into this! I don’t remember going to all that trouble when I went to my prom, but now it’s so time consuming…and costly.

There’s the dress, shoes, hair, nails, limo, etc…

She had a wonderful time, but got completely drenched after the prom when leaving the Hyatt. She looked nothing like this when I picked her up at her friends house the next day!

Here are a few pictures of her special night… Her gown was just beautiful…Purple at the top, then it gradually changed to a gorgeous pink and then back to purple at the bottom. It fit her like a glove…Oh to be a size one again!

Off they go…I just love this picture…It won’t be too long before she’s in a wedding gown, taking off with her new husband.

She was such a bundle of nerves the entire week prior to the prom…especially when the poison ivy decided to make an appearance! But, after taking her to after hours care and getting a shot and a prescription for steroids, she was doing much better.

Here is a picture of her beautiful corsage.

We had some computer problems recently…that’s why I haven’t posted in so long. Emma was charging her Ipod on our desktop and smelled smoke…luckily she happened to be sitting next to the computer and unplugged it before she burned the house down. After that little incident, we could not turn the computer on as we kept getting an error message stating that the “keyboard was not found'” and to press F something to continue…How funny is that? Obviously, if your keyboard is not working you are unable to press F something!

We did make a rather large purchase this week…We have bought one of these outdoor wood burning furnaces.

After a good friend of ours purchased one, we did a lot of research on them and decided that this would be a very good investment for us also.

For those of you that do not heat your homes with propane, or are lucky enough to live in a warm climate, you may not know that the cost of propane has become outrageous, and here in Upstate N.Y. we only have warm weather maybe from May-October so the cost to heat your home here becomes a bit much.

So, here is a photo of what we will be using from now on to heat our home.

It works like this… You load wood into it twice a day…once in the morning and again in the evening. Heated water is then pumped into your home through insulated underground pipes. A water-to-air heat exchanger conveys the heat into your home’s forced-air furnace.

We are so looking forward to getting this installed and up and running. We are also looking forward to saving big money on our heating costs!

This unit should pay for itself in approx. 3-4 years, then it’s just going to be the cost of wood to heat our home in the future! Approx. 75% less than what we are paying now for propane.

Wonder if I can prim it up somehow? Actually, I could care less how it looks outside our home, as long as we are saving money and our home is at a moist 74 degrees all winter long I’m good!

That’s about it for this post…Hope you are all well and enjoying the warmer weather, but remember, it won’t be here for very long!

Bring it on Mother Nature!

Sincerely,

Debra

Recovering With Some Retail Therapy

2010-04-14T13:07:00.001-04:00

Hi all… I know it’s been forever since I last posted. Seems like I just haven’t really had much worth sharing. I had surgery about a week ago…After suffering with heavy menstrual cycles for years, (33 to be exact!) I finally decided it was time to have a hysterectomy. I had to go for all sorts of tests over the last two weeks. I had a couple of uterine biopsies done, (ouch) a pelvic & a pap smear, blood work and an EKG, and finally an ultrasound which revealed six fibroid tumors in my uterus & a large cyst on my right ovary, so I had to have that removed also…No wonder I was having problems. The Dr. told me that my right ovary was as big as my uterus and she could not believe I wasn’t having constant pain from that.

All is good though…I’m a little sorer today than I have been the last few days…Probably because I have been doing way too much…You ladies know how it is…I’m sure you can relate to this…I cleaned the house for three whole days prior to leaving for the hospital and sure enough, I came home to a mess! The first day home I changed the sheets on our bed, did laundry, dishes, etc…I was told not to drive for 2 weeks and three days later…you guessed it, I was out driving Emma around to find shoes for her Junior prom. Either you can’t keep a good woman down, or I am a complete idiot!

So I have seriously decided to slow down for a bit as I’m starting to feel worse than I have been. By the way, I need to give a big Thank You to my sister Linda…For the hospital visit, complete with bouquet of pink roses, and especially for all the daily phone calls checking up on me…Love you to death! (You still get Dad though!) :)

So, I decided I better start taking better care of myself and while I’m resting I might as well go shopping. Cyber Shopping that is, and create my dream home so to speak.

Ready??? Here we go…

So, lets start with the house itself…I went back & forth with this one…A Saltbox or an olde Cobblestone? Hmmm. In the end, I decided that a Saltbox was indeed my dream home…So here is my new house…What do you think?

Isn’t she just too pretty? I so wish we would have built one like this nine years ago…Live & learn!

Now the fun part…the furnishings!

Lets start in the dining area in the kitchen…I’m going to have to have this scrub top tavern table…That’s a must! Although the chairs need to be changed.

To these…I’ll take six of these side chairs please! :)

And I’ll need just two of these…Not in rocker form though. Love the comb, don’t you?

I’ll need this floor cloth…

And I’ll need this chandelier…I spotted one similar to this in the new Country Sampler, in the home of Donna Kish. (A Detour de Force) I just noticed she has the same exact side chairs in her dining room that I just showed you! And she lives in a beautiful olde Cobblestone that they just happened to stumble across. Very lucky lady! Her home is absolutely gorgeous!

Anyway here is the chandelier I’d need…LOVE the tin reflectors above each light! I would just love to see the way they reflect the light throughout the room in the evening…wouldn’t you?

Now I will need a hearth…I so wish I would have eliminated my dining room here and just built a huge kitchen with a beautiful fireplace/hearth/sitting area in it. This one is perfect…just a simple period hearth.

I’ll need a couple of these chairs to flank it though…Ok, I’ll settle for just one.

Because I will need two of these facing the fireplace and I wouldn’t want it to appear over crowded.

I’ll also need this trim work throughout…Simple yet perfect.

Well, that’s about it for today…Next post I will start on my dream kitchen itself…as I’ve spent enough money and time on the computer for one day…I better get something done…Who said something about resting???

Sincerely,

Debra

Almost ready…

2010-03-18T14:54:00.001-04:00

Just thought I’d post one last picture of my babies. They will be 8 weeks old next week and ready for their new homes.

Here they are now… That’s little Mya on the left…The only one with her ears up. Then we have Peyton in the back just behind her…she is absolutely adorable! Owen is in the center in the front & Eli is on the right.

They have grown up so fast and I know I will cry when each one of them leaves for their new home, but I will always cherish my time with them.

Sincerely,

Debra

Back in the 1500’s

2010-03-12T06:18:00.001-05:00

Did you know…Back in the 1500’s:

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all p-e-e in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery.......if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor"
But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...........they "didn't have a pot to piss in" & were the lowest of the low.
The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500’s:
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June... However, since they were starting to smell . .. . Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the
babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt.. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.
(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and “chew the fat.”
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus,someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer...

And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !

This and THAT!

2010-03-05T08:13:00.001-05:00

Well, another week has flown by…Just a little of this and that to share with all of you…I finished the powder room, but forgot to take after shots so maybe I’ll include those in another post. The puppies are almost 6 weeks old now and have started on solids…What a mess! They slop through it while eating, and then, when it comes back out, well that is another story! I’m changing their bedding up to 5 times a day…which means a lot more laundry to do too. They are also becoming little attention hogs ”Hold me, No…hold me!”

Here is a shot of them enjoying their solid puppy food…Yum!

I received a little gift from my Mom last week, (She also scours the Thrift stores…That’s where I get it from) She found me with this “new to me” coffee mug! As she knows how much I love my Yorkies & my coffee! How cute is this?

I found one of these little banded boxes below a few weeks ago at a thrift store…it looked like someone had glued a winter scene to the top of it…I brought it home and sanded that paper off the top and painted in in green over black. Then a couple of days ago at another Thrift store completely across town, didn’t I find another one exactly like the first? Same winter scene and all..Here is a before picture of the little banded box…apparently they mass produced these.

And here is the first one I did…

And the second one I did in burgundy over black…

They cost me $1 each…I think they are just adorable.

I also picked up this knotted iron candle holder for $2…Love it!

And this beautiful chimney cupboard a couple of weeks ago… The finish is just fantastic…Kind of a mustard/Old Ivory color combination…distressed to perfection…and it fit perfectly here in my rear entryway….Love Craigslist! The homeowners were changing their furnishings towards more of a Pottery Barn theme…So I jumped on this.

And now on to the THAT!!!

Our neighbor down the street took it upon himself to plow our driveway for us while my husband was not at home last Saturday. I had told my husband to tell him not to come because he had come one other time (unasked) and plowed half the driveway & half the lawn.

Well Monday, when my daughter asked me to hand her something in the driveway she had forgotten on her way to school, she got out of the car and said “What happened to the garage door?” And when I turned to look at what she was pointing at, I nearly had a stroke! Just look at my garage door! A 12” long gash from his plow!

Directly in the center of the door too!

So…My husband called him and asked him to come down yesterday to look at it and he suggested epoxying and painting my garage door! Are you freaking kidding me??????? No way is this guy going to epoxy and paint my door! And you can’t just replace the panel because the door has been there for 9 years now and according to the door company it would not match the other sections. I called my insurance company and they said that my insurance company would end up going after his auto insurer…So be it!

We never asked him to plow our driveway, never paid him any money, after the first time he dug up the lawn, nor did we want him to come back again! I’m sure he thought he was doing us a favor and didn’t intentionally damage the door, but he did, and I’ll be damned if we are paying a $500 deductable to have another door installed. So today I am contacting my insurance company and filing a claim.

I think I’m done ranting now…it just makes me so mad though…Apparently he has no heat in his house because he ripped out his furnace last year…He has three small children too! They are left alone quite often with no parental supervision. He used to have horses and had used barbed wire to enclose an area for them…Well, one day one of his horse got spooked by gun shots during hunting season and you guessed it…went through the barbed wire injuring his rear foot badly. The equine vet came out and told them to change the dressing daily…Apparently one day, when his wife was doing that the horses foot came off in her hand!!!!!!!!!!!!! These people never even had any sort of shelter for these poor horses and let me tell you it gets frigid here in Upstate NY. I called to complain, but apparently there is no law in NY that requires you to provide shelter to horses! Do you believe that????????

I guess I wasn’t done ranting after all!

Stupidity should be painful!

Sincerely,

Debra

A Thank You and Yes, More Puppy pics

2010-02-22T08:10:00.001-05:00

First off, I just have to tell you all something, ”I just heard birdies chirping in my hedgerow a little bit ago!” It stopped me in my tracks! I live in the Northeast, so this is a sound we have not heard here in a while! Once we hear that, we know that Spring is on its way…That, and the sight of the first spring Robin…So encouraging! Soon we will also here the sound of the Geese returning. So hang in there…won’t be too much longer.

I also want to say “Thank You” to Char from The Pickled Pepper Patch……She and I were partners in her “You are so trashy” swap, and I absolutely love everything she sent me…Especially her homemade tarts! I have already used almost half of what she had sent me, as there were originally about 6 packages…Not anymore. :) I just love burning tarts!

She also sent me this adorable set of stacked, fabric covered books…tied with twine, a little sprig of Sweet Annie tucked inside and a tiny little key…way too cute.

And then there was this…A box she transformed for me…By using the perfect shade of green, and an aged label with a sheep on it that says “Olde Mill Woolens” also too cute.

But, I’m not done…She also included these molds she had for me to use when making pantry cakes. Love that roped design don’t you?

So Thank you Char for everything! I love it all…And again…Sorry I was not able to include a puppy in the box I sent you!

Speaking of puppies…what would a post be without recent pictures of my little ones? And a couple of my daughters, that would probably be so mad at me if the knew I posted these on my blog…Especially Emma! So don’t tell her!

Here she is with the babes…When you ask a family member to please go spend time with the puppies, “it’s your turn” sort of thing…They will basically resort to doing anything to occupy their time.

So here is my youngest daughter Emma…in her pajama’s…In the whelping box…again…mum’s the word! I know my secret is safe with you…(Especially you guys, my sisters Linda & Diane, and my nieces Laura, Julia & Liv!) She’d kill me if she knew, but I thought it was so adorable. She kept complaining that her butt was burning up on the heating pad she was sitting on, but the babies were entertained and that’s all that matters, right? Not the 2nd degree burns on her butt! :)

And here is one I snapped of my oldest daughter Rachel while on baby watch…No where near as embarrassing as Emma’s. (Notice the piercing right through the center of her bottom lip?) Urg!!! She is still gorgeous though!

And just a few more of each of the babies..They will be 4 weeks old tomorrow already.

I had to laugh at this next picture…this is one of my males…They are such fatties…See the shadow on the wall? Those are his little legs dangling because he’s too fat to fit in my hand like the girls can…Hilarious! :)

And who could forget little Mya? So sweet, and still the only one with a name.

Now this is where things get a little interesting…See this picture? (Sorry, it’s a little dark.)

This is not Peanut nursing the babies…This is not the puppies mother…This would be Esther…another female of mine. That for some reason, decided that these were her babies! She started jumping in the whelping box over & over & over again. She would do anything possible to get in that box to be with those babies! She actually starting developing milk and has been nursing them too!! Isn’t that crazy???? So, after a long talk with my vet about this situation, he agreed that the best thing to do was to let her nurse them, as long as she wasn’t being aggressive with Pea or the babies that there was no harm in letting her “help”! Esther does not have an aggressive bone in her body and Peanut could care less if she helps…Probably figures “less work for me” So, needless to say, these babies as very well loved by all!

Hope all of you are well and warm, and remember, not too much longer…the little birdies said so!

Sincerely,

Debra

My How They’ve Grown!

2010-02-11T14:36:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone…I’m still here. Tired, but here. Not used to all of the noises these little ones have been making all night long. I am a light sleeper as it is, so I hear everything.

Well, my babies are now 16 days old. They are really getting big. Their nails need to be trimmed already. They keep getting hooked on the blanket so I’m going to need to trim them this weekend with the help of a family member.

I couldn’t really get a good picture of them by myself as they are getting very squirmy and strong. Here are a few shots I just took…Here is a little girl…We call her Mya…She is the only one named so far as her eyes were the first to open so My daughter Rachel came up with this…

Ready??? Mya Saropen… Ya gotta say it fast though…Get it??? My eyes are open??? :)

So here is Mya…Look at those ears…She has to grow into them.

And this is a little boy, soon to be named…We wait until they take on a certain personality before naming them.

So Momma and babes are doing great…as you can see, they’ve more than doubled in size. They love to eat. They look huge compared to two weeks ago don’t they?

So there is the babes update…I’ve started to repaint our powder room…I had painted it in an Olde Century Color called Olde Ivory…which is a great color for smalls or trim & doors, but not an entire very small room…Here is where I am at right now…The kids referred to it as “diarrhea brown” :)

Trust me when I say these pictures don’t actually look that bad…In person, it hideous…So I’m painting over it with a creamy candle light color called Glistening Sand…which should look nice with the trim paint you already see. I have to paint all of the base moldings & the window in the Cocoa Rose now too. What a pain painting moldings behind this sink and the toilet!! There is so little room to work.

I’ve got one coat on the walls since taking this picture the other night…I really should have used a primer over the brown first, but wasn’t thinking clearly.

Well, that’s it for now…Hope everyone is staying warm…Target had their electric blankets on sale last week for 75% off…So I picked up two King sized for our bed for $20 each…regularly $80. I got a full size for Rachel for $12.50. They went quick…two days later they were all sold out except for twins which were $7.50…I also picked up some 300 count King sheets sets for $15…regularly $60. I love Target…There’s a Starbucks right in side and they always have great deals on something. So, I grab a White Chocolate Mocha Latte & off shopping I go.

Gotta go now…Babies are calling me…Take care & stay safe especially if traveling on icy roads!

Sincerely,

Debra

It’s a girl, and a boy, and a girl, and a boy!

2010-01-28T06:26:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone…Well my baby finally had her babies! It seemed like she was never going to have them. But finally on Tuesday afternoon, she went into labor. She was so uncomfortable prior to her delivery. She looked like she was going to pop. I took this photo on Tuesday morning…I could tell this was going to be the day as she was very inactive. Her temp was down and she was refusing to eat also…Just look at that belly!

So my daughter Rachel was off for FIVE weeks for the holiday recess from college…Yeah, five weeks! As soon as she goes back to college, Peanut decides it’s time to deliver. So Rachel was not at home! My partner in delivery! So Richard helped me…and I have to say, he did a great job.

The first pup was a little difficult for her…it seemed like hours for her to push the puppy out, but in reality, it was just a minute or two. It was a little girl…then 20 minutes later, a little boy…then nothing!!! What!!!

An hour and 45 minutes had passed and I knew if she didn’t have the next puppy within 15 minutes we were going to have to rush her about 15-20 miles away to the emergency/24 hour vet, because of course, it is now after hours and my regular vet is now closed. (She has approx. two hours to deliver between puppies or medical intervention is necessary.)

So now I’m scrambling…getting ready to do that, when finally…another puppy! Whew…OK…Peanut, you are officially driving me crazy! It was the second girl.

(Richard is now seeing a pattern here…Seemed like the women were already stirring things up!) :)

And finally, baby number four arrived 20 minutes later…it was another little boy.

So I’d like you all to meet my baby’s babies…

She is being an excellent mother…very protective! I had to take her to the vet yesterday as she had retained a placenta and needed a shot of Oxytocin in order for her to have more contractions to expel the remaining placenta. Other than that she has very sore nipples as the pups are feeding a lot…So off to Target to get some special nipple cream…I don’t think I took as good of care of myself after child birth! My breasts are living proof of that! :)

So, I’m glad the delivery is over and all are well…I have been chained to this house for over a week. I love my home, but I am starting to go stir-crazy! Hopefully I will get out for a little bit this weekend as I need to find one more thing to transform for Char… I told her if I couldn’t find anything…I was just going to send her a puppy! :)

Well, that’s it for now…Thank you for all of your well wishes…You are all so very sweet.

Sincerely,

Debra

Waiting, Worrying & Working…

2010-01-21T09:20:00.001-05:00

Still no babies…She is resting comfortably right now as I continually watch her for any sign that her labor may have begun. We had an x-ray done yesterday to determine the number of pups to expect and I’m told four. She herself didn’t show up on the x-ray I had taken for her mother…then again, she was so tiny.

So I wait…

I try to keep busy. I have everything prepared and sterilized for the delivery…My oldest daughter Rachel is on standby…She is on house arrest until these babies have been delivered…She is such a big help to me during the whelping process…we move in perfect synchronization…we each know our jobs and together handle everything calmly…for some reason, Richard makes me too nervous…maybe because he himself gets nervous and I can sense that…Not with Rachel, she’s a toughie…not much gets to her.

In the meantime, I worked on something I found while scouring the local Thrift Store for some things for my “You are SO Trashy” partner…Which by the way, I got Char…the Queen of trash to treasure!! No pressure! Kidding…I’m thrilled…I just hope she doesn’t have very high expectations of me! I already know whatever she sends me I will absolutely love…She always does beautiful job on anything she touches. With me, it’s hit or miss!

Sorry, back to the Thrift Store story…so while searching there…I came across this dry sink/cupboard and I thought it had good bones.

I sent a picture to Richard from my cell asking his opinion…after about 20 minutes with no response from him I decided to buy it. I so did not need another project in the works but for $40 I figured it was a good deal and talked myself into it.

So, here is the before picture…Notice my sidekick sleeping at the foot of it? She was probably thinking “Here we go again!” :)

I didn’t really like the scrolled woodwork on the top, so the first thing I did was cut that off. It dated it too much for me. Once that was off, I painted it in a grungy green over black and here is what it looks like now.

I’m not crazy about the hardware and will change that out eventually, but I knew it had potential.

Now, remember my last post of the barn find table & chairs? I decided to switch that shaker style table into the dining room with the other set of Windsor chairs that I recently got….as everyone else seemed to like my farm table in the kitchen area better. So, after moving them around, I realized I liked it much better too and that the chairs fit the table much better..they actually seemed to wrap perfectly around the table tops shape. Check it out.

How cool is that? I still need to get started on some floor cloths!

And here is the farm table in the kitchen eating area now with the continuous arm chairs.

What do you think? Would you believe I only got five of these chairs. Now I’m a woman on a mission to find a sixth! I can’t use the fifth in here since that would look odd, so for now it’s in the corner of my dining room…but a set of four side chairs with the two arms would look great in here…What do you think the chances are of me ever finding one chair that matches these? Zero! But I will look anyway…at flea markets, yard or garage sales, etc…

Well, it’s time to go…Wish us luck that everything goes smoothly. Thoughts and prayers would be greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,

Debra

My Latest Project

2010-01-07T07:12:00.001-05:00

I know I’ve mentioned in previous posts how much I love Craigslist, Secondhand stores, Thrift stores, Yard sales, etc… People just don’t realize sometimes what they have & sell it dirt cheap. One persons trash can definitely be someone else's treasure. Such is the case with my latest Craigslist find.

Everyday, I check the Antiques & Furniture sections on Craigslist to see what has been listed. Well, one day about a month ago, there it was…Treasure. It was listed the previous day and I sweated waiting to find out if it was still available.

First I should probably show you what I replaced with this new found treasure.

This was my old kitchen set. A 90’s oak double pedestal table & chairs that I was never really crazy about. I bought it from a co-worker in 2001, the year we built, just because money was being consumed by the new build and I need a cheap set. I think I paid $300 for it 9 years ago. It was in immaculate condition, as my co-worker was very meticulous. A single women with no kids to destroy it. Inevitably, my children began to and Richard re-finished the top once due to water marks, scratches, nail polish etc…

It served us well for the last 9 years or so, but I never really liked it all that much. Richard just told me recently when I sold it that it was his favorite piece of furniture in the house…That’s when I knew I made the right decision in replacing it. :)

So, when I came across this listing, located just a few miles from my home no less. I couldn’t believe my eyes…it was actually in someone’s old barn along with some classic cars. Yes, it needed a lot of work but I could definitely see its potential. So, here it is…

A Shaker style table with two continuous-arm Windsor chairs and 3 matching side chairs. (Sorry, this picture is very dark as it was taken in Richard’s man cave the night we brought it home).

Here is the before picture…

And here it is now. The table was completely stripped by Richard and re-stained in an Early American stain. I painted and distressed all of the chairs. Let me tell you, this was so much work…especially done left-handed, again.

Here are a couple more pictures…these are the chairs.

And here are a couple more of the finished project.

Now you’re probably wondering…How great of a deal did I get for this set?

Ready?????

A whopping $50! Yes, it needed a lot of work but the end result is so worth it…Granted, the table is not exactly what I have on my wish list, but I have to say…all & all I am so much happier with this set then the old…Which by the way I sold for $425 on Craigslist…I actually made a profit from what I had originally paid…so I figure this set was free.

Now, I’ve added another fairly new piece to my bedroom also…Definitely not a colonial/prim piece by any means…Here it is…Can you guess what it is?

It is a whelping box…Yes, my Peanut is expecting and I am going to be a Mommy again. I have mentioned my love of Yorkshire Terriers before. I absolutely love the breed. They are the most devoted dogs you could imagine. So, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of these precious babies. I expect her to deliver in about a month. I will keep you posted. Such an exciting experience. Nerve-wracking to say the least…In no way do you want anything to happen to your Dam, and you definitely want all of the puppies to be ok too.

In closing, I just wanted to share some drawings my daughter Rachel did over the last couple of days…She is truly gifted. She doesn’t get it from me, that’s for sure…Must be from her Dad…She did these in Charcoal. Each took her about 2 hours to complete, and I have to say the are even more beautiful in person. She is an amazing artist.

Here they are…The male & female forms…You can see every muscle…Actually, that’s me on the right…NOT! Maybe pre-children, but not anymore. My breasts will never be that perky again!

I will be looking for some frames at the Goodwill store for them. These are probably my favorite pieces she has done thus far. And in two hours…crazy good.

Well, that’s it for today…I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year.

Sincerely,

Debra

Merry Christmas, My Friend

2009-12-24T07:11:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas, My Friend

‘Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
In a one bedroom house made of plaster & stone.

I had come down the chimney, with presents to give
and to see just who in this home did live.

As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand.
On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.

With medals and badges, awards of all kind,
a sobering thought soon came to my mind.
For this house was different, unlike any I'd seen.
This was the home of a U.S. Marine.

I'd heard stories about them, I had to see more,
so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.
And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home.

He seemed so gentle, his face so serene,
Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine.
Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read?
Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?

His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan.
I soon understood, this was more than a man.
For I realized the families that I saw that night,
owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.

Soon around the Nation, the children would play,
And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year,
because of Marines like this one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home.
Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye.
I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.

He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice,
"Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice
I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more.
My life is my God, my country, my Corps."

With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep,
I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.

I watched him for hours, so silent and still.
I noticed he shivered from the cold night's chill.
So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
and covered this Marine from his toes to his head.

Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold,
with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold.
And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,
and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.

I didn't want to leave him so quiet in the night,
this guardian of honor so willing to fight.
But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure,
said "Carry on, Santa, it's Christmas Day, all secure."

One look at my watch and I knew he was right,
Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight.

By James M. Schmidt, a Marine Lance Corporal
stationed in Washington, D.C., in 1986

As we celebrate this season with family and friends, please say a prayer for the men and women serving in our armed forces, all whom make it possible for us to be safe in our homes.

Have a wonderful holiday season.

Sincerely,

Debra

Notice anything different?

2009-12-22T07:41:00.001-05:00

Hi all…hope everyone is accomplishing everything on their Christmas to-do lists. I’ve still got some shopping left to do. I always try to make sure the number of presents for my daughters is exactly the same, and also the amount that I spend on them. This year I’m having a hell of a time, since I’ve spent more on my oldest, but she has fewer gifts. So I’m trying to balance it out and it’s not going well at all.

Saturday morning I left here at 7:15 am and got back home at 4:30 pm. I could hardly move Sunday morning. I couldn’t believe I was that sore from shopping…but when you think about it, all the walking and carrying all of the heavy bags…it wears you out. I didn’t bring Richard to help carry things…husbands slow you down! When you are a woman on a mission, you don’t need a husband tagging along.

I haven’t done nearly as much decorating this year…My banister never got done, my nativity set was never brought out, the exterior lights were minimal, etc… I just have too many other everyday projects going on and since I’m not having the family over I figured we would be having a simple Christmas this year. I mean do we really need to break our butts it order to enjoy the holiday? I’m actually enjoying this one more since I haven’t been killing myself.

So your probably wondering about the post title…I made some changes in my dining room…This was my dining room a couple of weeks ago…sorry the picture is a little dark, but you should still be able to spot the difference.

And here it is now…

Yes, I did some re-arranging. I moved my hutch to the longer wall in the room. Not sure if I’m crazy about it, but the more I complain now about needing something under my bowl rack I just may drive my husband crazy enough to build me the dry sink I’ve got my heart set on.

Have you spotted the difference yet?

If you guessed new Windsor Braceback chairs, you’re right!! As you can see in the first picture, I had ordinary farm style chairs and always hated them. They were actually a blonde wood at one point that I painted black years ago. So, when I spotted these on Craigslist, I had to have them. They were listed along with a depression era, bulky 5 leg table that was really ugly. I inquired as to whether or not she would sell me just the chairs and she agreed…(she is still trying to sell the ugly table). :)

I literally stole these chairs! Here is one more picture of them…I am so much happier with these now. So much more colonial.

Merry Christmas to me!!!!

I also want to try to make a floor cloth for this room and also for the eating area in my kitchen. I’ve been researching it and think I can handle it. I just need to find out more info on purchasing the cloth itself and whether or not to buy it already primed or should I try to do it myself?

Well, I’m off to the mall…again!

I hope you all have a truly wonderful Christmas.

Sincerely,

Debra

You have got to see this

2009-12-14T20:59:00.001-05:00

This is really awesome, it was sent to me in an email and I enjoyed it so much, I thought I’d share it with all of you. I can't imagine the time it took to coordinate all those lights and the music!

Click on the link below, and enjoy!

http://www.flixxy.com/best-christmas-lights-displayhtm

You can also view additional Christmas lightshows of this home here…

http://www.holdman.com/christmas/video.asp

Happy Holidays,

Debra

Long time no blog…

2009-12-02T10:42:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone…I’m still here!!! I can’t believe it’s been over a month since my last post…I’ve been so busy. I’m still in the process of painting all of the trim work throughout my home. Then there was Thanksgiving…and now Christmas decorating. Will it ever end?

I guess I’ll start with the painting/trickle effect…As you know, it all started with my bedroom…I loved the paint color so much that I decided to carry it into my dining room…so here is a photo of the progress I’ve made in there.

Which lead into my kitchen/entry…(I was able to make two of these pine boughs from what was trimmed off the bottom of our tree…I’ll show you the other in a moment).

This little tombstone cupboard below was given to me by my Mother…She picked it up off of the side of the road after someone had thrown it out…It’s in perfect condition, I’m not crazy about the color as it clashes with my trim paint so it will probably be painted black sometime down the road…but for now it’s fine.

I also picked up this little wall cubby for $5 where we bought or Christmas tree this year…They had a little shop there & I couldn’t believe how reasonable things were…but as you can see…it’s practically the same salmon color as the Tombstone cupboard so it will also be painted eventually.

I also got this punch rug…it appeared to be hanging there for quite sometime…it had no price tag so after a struggle to get it down off the wall & find out the cost, I ended up paying only $20 for it.

Here’s a shot of it over my fireplace…

Now, back to the painting…on to the kitchen eating area.

If you look closely…on the kitchen chair on the right you can barely see my constant companion…(besides my coffee). That’s my baby Peanut…I had a litter of Yorkies not quite 2 years ago…she was so small at birth that she pretty much fell out of her mother…She was so tiny…Here’s a picture of her on that day. She could fit into the palm of one hand.

As you can see in comparison to one of the other pups…she was extremely small…incase you couldn’t tell, she’s the pup on the right :) She was kind of shaped like a peanut too. :)

So, when I took them to have their tails docked and their dew claws removed, the vet told me that she probably would not survive much longer…she was three days old at that point. I then became a woman on a mission. I found a formula on line that consisted of Yogurt, Goats milk, egg, Karo Syrup & water. I hand fed her with a syringe every 2 hours for weeks. She immediately started to respond and slowly began gaining weight…every ounce she gained was celebrated… She was just too small and weak to nurse by herself, but I’ll be damned if I was going to let her die…Talk about sleep deprivation!! No wonder they use it as a form of torture! It was worse than when my girls were babies…I walked around like a Zombie. Thankfully, she is alive and well and is my baby…She follows me everywhere! Guess who’s on my lap right now??? :)

Here she is now…This was taken on our way to our cottage this past summer…I mean really…not too attached is she??? Notice my coffee next to me too?? :)

Here is a better picture of her adorable little face…sorry,it’s kind of dark…this photo is the wallpaper on my cell.

Ok…enough about my little buddy…

Now, where were we before I got sidetracked??? Oh the trickle effect…right. So we were in the kitchen eating area weren’t we? Here is a little prim tree I’ve got in there…I’ve just begun going through my boxes of Christmas stuff but I did manage to put this up in here.

…and my little angel sits a top this banded box on the table.

Then after the kitchen trim was painted, I just had to do the living room. (Sorry, these are a little dark). Notice my Santa collection up in the transom windows?

This is our tree…the lighting is all done in the silicone covered lights that Char did the tutorial on …I did six strands all in mustard…once I got the hang of it, it went fairly quickly…that’s the thing, you have to move fast of the silicone starts to get dry and thickens up on you.

So here are just a few more shots of the little bit of decorating I’ve done so far…pretty much only the living room is mostly finished.

My little Orange slice & rusty stars tree in a crock.

This is probably my most cherished Christmas item…This sled was handmade by my Brother-in law Phil…It was given to me to thank me for handing down all of my girls clothes etc… to them over the years…He is such a talented woodworker. It’s as smooth as a baby’s bottom…made from walnut & oak I believe. Oh, and that’s the other Pine bough I made from our trees ”haircut”.

I just picked this Santa up at Goodwill during their 1/2 off sale for $2.50…There is still a $79.99 price tag inside. I’m sorry, but as much as I love Santa, there is no way I’d pay $80 for one…NO NO NO!!! :) Get it?? HO HO HO?

I’ve still got a ton of painting & decorating to do yet before the big day…I did want to share just a couple more goodies with you…I picked this cupboard up at a garage sale recently…

Here’s the original price tag still left inside…

I stole it for $20…LOVE IT!

And this was my big find a Thrifty Shopper recently while shopping with my Mom & my sister Linda…Her I am strolling along, and what do I spot???

This beauty…for $4. I was thrilled to find her as I’ve always wanted one.

I also stitched this little practice sampler up while relaxing in bed, resting my aching bones at night…Not bad for a beginner huh? I also did another for someone for Christmas, but it’s a surprise so I can’t show it just yet…I will show you that after Christmas.

Well, that’s it for now…Hopefully it won’t be a month before I post again, but you never know. Back to work.

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

That’s settled…

2009-10-29T07:30:00.001-04:00

Just a very short post to share a couple of pictures of my new settle that was a birthday gift from my husband and daughters…It is the perfect addition to my newly painted bedroom.

I may decide to move it somewhere else in the future, but for now I’m enjoying it here.

I’ve been busy painting again…I decided to carry the trim color from my bedroom into my dining room now…which will probably lead to another room, and another room & so on…I truly am my own worst enemy, since I had just painted all of the trim work & doors throughout my home in Olde Century Colors Buttermilk…It just does not enough “wow” factor for me for some reason.

Told you this would be a short post…So much to do today.

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

Finally finished…Well almost!

2009-10-22T10:24:00.001-04:00

Boy, have I been busy…I have been working on this for the last few weeks and I have to say it was a lot of work! Do you remember this? This was my bedroom about 3 weeks ago.

Green walls, white trim & doors and a pine pencil post bed that I was considering painting black…Well here it is now.

I decided not to paint my bed, but instead I completely sanded it down and re-stained in a darker provincial colored stain. I painted the walls three coats of a creamy candle light color…as it wasn’t easy covering over that green paint at all.

The trim and doors were done in this beautiful color called Cocoa Rose by Laura Ashley Home…and I am just loving it.

I picked this color out after seeing a similar shade while visiting a nearby museum recently. Here is a picture of the door at the museum that I used as my color inspiration. I also had a couple of Country Sampler magazines in hand. It took me forever to finally decide on this particular shade, but I’m thrilled with it…and I have to say, I just love Lowe’s Valspar paint…its so thick, like pudding.

The door hardware was sandblasted by my husband and then I painted it black…which lead to another project I will show you in a moment.

All & all, I am loving the transformation. Here are a few more shots of my bedroom make-over.

(Sorry, as usual, it’s a little dark here in Western NY this morning!)

Now, I just have to figure out what type of curtains I want to put up…and this Sunday, I am going over to my cousin’s to borrow her box of historic stencils and after I choose which one I want to use, and tackle that job…it should be just about finished.

Now, on to the other little project I got myself into…while sitting in my kitchen last weekend, I realized how much I hated my kitchen cupboard’s brass hardware…so, I decided to paint those black also. Here is a couple of shots of them now.

I am liking them a lot better.

And one final thing to share with all of you…I took my daughters and a couple of their friends to get some pumpkins last weekend. They wanted me to take them back to where my husband had taken them last year. I was recovering from yet another wrist surgery and wasn’t able to go, so I was anxious to see what all the fuss was about.

It was very cute…they had a corn maze, a petting zoo, loads of pumpkins, gourds etc…and these tiny Indian corn…I had never seen them so small before so I bought a bunch of these and plan on stringing them together and making a garland for my fireplace. Aren’t they adorable?

So, while I browsing around, my oldest daughters friend Charlotte comes up to me and tells me that Rachel wants me to come into the barn…so what do I see upon entering???? Out of all the pumpkin patches in New York State, we end up at one that happens to be giving away free kittens! Are you kidding me????

So…I’d like you all to meet Tegan.

I told Rachel that she absolutely could not bring home a kitten, so what does she do…calls her father from the pumpkin patch and he told her she could have her! Urg!

Well, that’s about it…Like I said, this really was a lot of work for me, especially since it was all done left handed…Yes, you read that correctly, I had a wrist replacement recently…done on July 30th…approx. 10 weeks ago, so this is my right wrist now.

Warning!! If you are squeamish at all, you may not want to view these next couple of pictures…the first is an x-ray of my new “bionic” wrist, the second was taken five days after surgery along side my daughter Emma’s after having my bandages removed the first week of August…This was my fourth wrist surgery in 14 months and unfortunately it’s still not right. My only other option is a complete fusion, and I’m not ready to do that, so I live with the pain for now.

I just thought I share the biggest obstacle in doing this project all by myself.

It was completely done left handed!

Are you ready???

You sure you want to see this?

Nice huh?

I’m thinking about becoming a wrist watch model now… :) Pretty gnarly, huh?

Well, that’s all for now…I have a something to show you in my next post…My birthday is Sunday and I can’t wait to share my beautiful gift from my husband & daughters with all of you!

Have a great day and a better tomorrow,

Sincerely,

Debra

The Most AMAZING Dessert Bars!

2009-10-09T07:38:00.001-04:00

Ok…so this isn’t what I planned on posting about today, but I made these dessert bars on Wednesday and thought as long as I was making them, I’d share the recipe with all of you. Believe me when I tell you, these are the absolute best dessert bars. They are one of my family’s favorites. This is a recipe that was my Mother-in-laws…rest her soul. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Just make sure you have the correct size pan, a as this makes a very large batch & if your pan is too small, it will cook over the sides & you will have a big mess… You will need a 11” x 16” pan.

Revel Bars

Ingredients: (For the Oat batter mixture)

1 Cup (2 sticks) Butter (softened)

2 Cups packed Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

2 TSP Vanilla

3 Cups Quaker QUICK COOKING Oats

2 1/2 Cups Flour

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 1/2 Tsp Salt

Ingredients: (For the Chocolate Mixture)

1 - 14oz Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 – 12 oz pkg NESTLE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

2 Tbsp Butter

2 Tsp Vanilla

First, Preheat oven to 350* degrees. Beat butter & Brown sugar together…

Add eggs & Vanilla…

In a separate bowl, combine Flour, Oats, Soda & Salt together.

Add this to the butter mixture.

Now, this will get really thick, and kind of hard to work with, I usually end up turning off my mixer & stirring it by hand.

Now, press 2/3’s of this mixture into your pan. (Save 1/3 of it). I usually put a sandwich baggie over my hand and press it down with that, as the batter sticks to everything else!

Now, you’ll need a double boiler for this next part…I guess if you don’t have one, you could probably try to melt these ingredients together in the microwave, but I’ve never tried it, so I’m not sure how that would work.

In your double boiler, melt together your Sweetened condensed milk, Chocolate Chips, 2 tsp butter & 2 tsp vanilla. Stirring constantly.(Sorry, I didn’t take picture of this step).

Pour this over the mixture in your pan.

Now drop the remaining 1/3rd of your batter mixture all over the top of your melted chocolate mixture.

Bake at 350* for 25-30minutes…JUST UNTIL THE TOP GETS LIGHTLY BROWNED! DO NOT OVER COOK. See the slight browning on top of the Oat mixture in the picture below. I cook mine for exactly 25 minutes, but oven temps may vary.

And here is the finished product!

Cool completely & enjoy!

They are so delicious, and a secret family recipe…until now. ;)

Gotta get to work now…The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!

Have a great day, and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

Something old, Something new, Something Hubby made & Something blue

2009-10-05T14:18:00.001-04:00

Seems like forever since I’ve posted. I have been really busy with so many different projects. I am my own worst enemy sometimes. I can never finish up just one thing. No, not me, I have to have about five different things going on all at the same time. See I get something in my head and I just have to get started on that particular thing instead of finishing up what I have already started!! Can anyone relate?? I think it’s some sort of OCD disorder. Really, I do.

Anyway, Richard and I went to a local flea market a couple of weeks ago…it was a fairly cold & drizzly day. Some people had her baby there, probably about seven months old in a stroller in just a sleeveless sun dress! No coat, no pants, no hat, no socks or shoes, no blanket! It made me so mad considering it was about 50 degrees outside. I just had to vent a little about that! I mean really, what are these people thinking??? Poor baby…it’s not like she can speak for herself to tell her parents she’s cold! A good mother should just know these things! So sorry, I got off track…Lets try this again.

Something old…

So there weren’t many people at the flea market, probably due to the weather so the vendors were willing to deal.

I picked up this shelf for $1…I’m more of a cupboard person, I mean I prefer to have a nice old cupboard instead of having a lot of things displayed out, but I couldn’t pass this up.

I also got another beautiful old wooden bowl for $10…I will show you her in a minute though.

Now, something new…well new to me. I picked up this little shelf at Goodwill for $1…it was made by some kid in his shop class in 1995. :)

So I primmed it up, and here it is now…much better.

I also made some new pantry cakes. That’s one on the shelf, and here is another.

And just one more something new, I took this photo the other morning of the fog burning off of my pasture…The dawn of a new day so to speak…I just thought it was so pretty, so I thought I’d share it.

Now, something Hubby made…

Finally, a bowl rack! I just love how it turned out! Great job honey! The bowl I just got from the flea market is on the bottom left. A rimmed beauty, out of round for $10. She was asking $30, but like I said, the vendors were willing to deal.

Do you remember this bowl I picked up at the barn sale 30 miles away?

Well, that’s her on the upper shelf, right hand side. I brought her back to her original beauty. I just knew she was hiding under all that brown paint! Now it was worth the drive!!

And finally, something blue…

It’s actually the bowl on the upper shelf. I picked her up over the weekend for $20. Thing is, I can’t tell if she has her original paint or not. Can anyone tell me how you’d know? I mean it was obvious that the other bowl had been painted with its brush marks & paint drips, but I can’t find any evidence that she has been painted. Don’t you just love how I refer to my wooden bowls as females? That’s because I think they are just so beautiful!

Anyway, here are some closer shots of the finish she has…and just look at her shapely figure!

So, can anyone tell me if this is indeed an original finish or not? I mean we have become so good at making something new look old with all of the different techniques out there these days…I’m just dying to know. If it is her original finish, she is definitely worth more than the $20 I paid for her. Any wooden bowl experts out there?

I came across this bowl on line…mine is a little smaller than this one though.

A nice large wooden bowl with a medium blue paint. Overall very good condition with one small crack on rim mentioned for accuracy. Measures 20.5-inches in width, 19-inches in depth and 6.25-inches in height.

Price: $895

Well, that’s it for now…I’ll be posting again in a couple days, as I have something else to show you I have also been working on…So stay tuned.

Have a great day, and a better tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Debra

Finally, Some Bittersweet & A Makeover

2009-09-25T10:35:00.001-04:00

Well, I finally found some Bittersweet…totally by accident. I was driving to a nearby town, when I spotted an older gentleman on the side of the road with some clippers in hand. I thought…no way, he couldn’t possibly be cutting some Bittersweet…But I had to know… So, nosey me and a being the desperate woman that I was for some…I turned the car around and pulled up next to him and said" “You wouldn’t happen to be cutting some Bittersweet would you?” and I couldn’t believe it when he said he was! Hidden in some overgrown weeds, there it was!

Isn’t it beautiful!!!!

So, I spent two hours here last evening…de-leafing it.

I could still use some more though…That large pile didn’t go as far as I would have liked it to. I’m thinking of asking Richard to go back tomorrow for some more…It’s a tedious job, but so worth it…as long as I don’t have to go back and cut it, I’m fine with the de-leafing part…it’s actually kind of relaxing.

Here are just a few areas where i have placed it…I did both of my chandeliers.

This next picture is a little dark…Sorry….it’s kind of drab here today & if I used the flash, it was way too bright & shiny.

I’m just so thrilled that I have some now & know where to find it in the future.

Now for my makeover..I found this cupboard at Goodwill, with the tax it cost me $2.16. Someone had tried their hand at Mosaic tiling on it. The ironic thing about this is that the tile they used, is the same exact tile I have in my kitchen…Really weird! There’s also a funny story to this cupboard, if you had it setting on a table, and you opened the door, the entire cupboard would fall over from the weight of the tile, grout & adhesive..:) So, here is the before picture…pretty huh? (Not!)

And here it is now…

What do you think??? Better???

Well, that’s all for today…It’s going to be a cleaning & baking day. I’m going to bake the Pumpkin Pie Bars that Jenn over at Bittersweet Prims was kind enough to share with us…They sound so good.

Oh, one more thing…I have to say hello to my beautiful nieces who have apparently been following my blog…

“Hi” Laura, Julia & Olivia…Love you guys!

Have a great day, and a better tomorrow,

Sincerely,

Debra

Friday’s Barn Sale & Goodwill Finds

2009-09-19T09:24:00.001-04:00

So what’s a girl to do when she has a million things to do around the house, but then…comes across a barn sale advertised that’s about 30 miles away??? Go of course! Was it worth the drive?

First, I usually do my initial walk through…I mean you don’t want to make any decisions before you’ve seen it all …right? I make a mental note of what I’m interested in, do some bargaining, and then decide on what’s the best deal. For me yesterday…it was only these two things…First was this adorable stump, prim angel doll. She was originally marked $8, but I got her for $4.

Then, there was this…a beautiful 15” out of round rimmed wooden bowl. Unfortunately, it has been painted brown at some point, but for $15 I swooped it up. (I’m still trying to get hubby to make me a bowl rack…I’m working on him though…I think I’m wearing him down).

So, those were my two big buys at the barn sale that was 30 miles away!! Worth it? Hmmm…I do love the bowl…but why would someone paint a beautiful antique wooden bowl like this?

On my way home, I figured I’d stop at Goodwill, since it was on my way…Not like I’d go out of my way for a deal or anything… :) and found this…a little hand painted coffee pot with a little saltbox house & willow tree…I paid a $.99 for it. It’s a candle holder of some sort…as there are burning instructions on the bottom.

The coffee pot & angel ended up here in my laundry room temporarily…I’ll probably bring “Angel” out and display her somewhere else during the holidays, but for now I thought she looked cute hanging by the christening gown I recently picked up for $5 and then coffee stained. (The little red lantern I just picked up out of my neighbors garbage). ;) Hey, one persons trash…

I also found this antique slicer for $1.99 stuck way behind some knick knacks…

It now hides my electrical outlet on the wall perfectly…

Lets see…Oh, and my big find (not that I knew it at the time), was this. I spotted this while I was standing in line waiting to pay for what I thought were some of my big finds for the day…it wasn’t located with all the other dishware…for some reason it was over with the entertainment centers and furniture...but it was in full view of the checkout counter…so I got out of line, waited for some woman to pass it by…whew, and started checking it out.

It’s a stoneware/earthenware bowl…This is how it was displayed in the store.

I thought maybe it’s sitting a hot plate of some sort. I loved the bale handle and it looked really old, so I bought it for $7.99. When I got home, I googled the information on the bottom which reads “NEU DEEL COOKIN’ WARE” and I came across limited information, there were actually only two sites that came up. One is a blog containing info a bowl set just like it. Hers has the matching pie plate whereas mine is glazed. If you’d like to see it, you can just google “Neu deel” and read about it for yourself. She mentions that she was offered $250 for her set at one point, but declined. Hers is in pristine condition…it doesn’t look like it’s been used for baking at all, but it appears as though mine has.

Anyway, apparently it’s not a hot plate after all, but a pie plate.

It can also be used like this as a cover or a Dutch oven…Clever huh?

And last, but not least, I found this ice chest that looks like a firkin…I paid $4 for it and will prim it up one of these days so it doesn’t look like this!

Well, that’s about it for today…

Oh, I did want to share a little funny with you all…This is my baby Ruby…Isn’t she beautiful? This is how she normally looks…

Well, she has been in heat for the last few days…I also have another female (Ruby’s daughter) named Quinn, who shall we say is “hormonally challenged”. She will constantly “hump” Ruby when she is in heat unless you separate them. She will go on & on & on and then she drools all over poor Ruby in the process….Well, yesterday morning, I had to drive my daughter Rachel to college and forgot to separate Ruby and Quinn before I left…30 minutes later, this is what I came home to…

Ruby was “loved” by Quinn to the point that she was soaking wet…POOR RUBY!

I felt so bad for her, but couldn’t help but laugh too.

Well, gotta get moving here…Richard & I have a wedding to go to today…so I need to start the make-over process. You know, lots of primer, layers of paint, etc…

Have a great day…and a better tomorrow.

Debra

A Day to Remember

2009-09-15T09:31:00.003-04:00

You're invited to view a slideshow of our most recent visit to The Genesee Country Museum located in historic Mumford, N.Y.
My Mother-in-law Joan worked there for years prior to her death in 2003. Sadly, she was killed in a car accident one foggy morning on her way to spring orientation for the museum.
We will never know what caused the accident, to this day we still have no answers.
So, we go there to remember her.
Our daughter Rachel took the photographs, this is her way of remembering her Grandma.
I hope you enjoy them.
Sincerely,
Debra

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Our 25th Wedding Anniversary

2009-09-14T17:44:00.001-04:00

Twenty five years ago today, I married my best friend. The man of my dreams.

I knew from the moment that I met him that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

My parents loved him too…Even my Dad!

And his parents became mine…

We have had two beautiful daughters.

Rachel Jade…

And Emma Marie…

They are the loves of our lives…a symbol of our love.

So today, I look back on the last 25 years knowing that I am one of the lucky ones…

Happy Anniversary Richard…I love you.

Debra

To paint or not to paint??? That is the question.

2009-09-11T15:23:00.003-04:00

Hi guys, I really need your advice on this one…I have this pencil post bed, and I am thinking of painting it black. What do you think? If I do paint it, should I distress it too or leave it solid black? Right now, it matches my hardwood flooring (you can’t tell from this picture though) and some Shaker cabinetry that is also in the room that hides my TV, which is directly across from the foot of the bed.

So, here is my bed now….

It’s a honey colored stain over pine and my floors also have this color in them…(the floor looks darker in the photo above…it’s more like the picture below) and this is the Shaker Cabinetry that I mentioned that is across from the foot of my bed.

Now you can’t tell from the pictures, but they are pretty much identical in color it’s just that I used the flash when taking the picture of the bed. Which really makes the green wall paint look terrible by the way…it’s more like in the cabinetry photo above.

So here is the dilemma…If I paint the bed, then I think I need to paint the cabinet black too, right? Oh, I should mention that I plan on re-painting my bedroom soon too, to more of a creamy candlelight color.

Oh, did you happen notice this?

It’s a Preachers bench I just picked up off of Craigslist for a whopping $20…It’s missing one spindle, and needs some tightening here and there, but thankfully my bro-in-law is a woodworker.

Oh, Phil…. ;)

I just love it…and I’m thinking the bed would blend better with this too if I painted it.

The chair in the corner I got off of Craigslist for $50…it’s like brand new and reclines…I also picked up these three Stitcheries for $20.

Have I mentioned how I just love Craigslist???

The woman I got these from is getting divorced for the second time and was moving into an apartment so she had to part with a lot of her prim goodies…You should have seen some of her furniture…Just beautiful… Made me sick. Anyway, I felt so bad for her…She said she just always ends up choosing abusive men for some reason :(

Thank god I have my Richard…whom I will be married to for 25 years on Monday! I’ll post pictures of our wedding day next week…God I was so young…19….So now that you’ve done the math…you know how old I am…. ;)

Anyway, here are the three stitcheries I got from her along with the chair in the picture above.

Now there’s one more dilemma in this post that I need help with…Notice I do not have a dust ruffle on my bed…That’s because the slats that hold up the mattress do not allow it…It’s driving me crazy! So, anyone know how I can modify a dust ruffle to work here? I was thinking the only thing I could do would be to use Velcro somehow…Any other suggestions?

So there it is…Do I paint my bed and the cabinet too? I just love Kris’ (Simply Prim) Stepback Cupboard she just made for her bedroom and the distressing on it. Or maybe I should paint the bed solid black and just paint and distress the cabinet??? Or not paint the cabinet??? Hmmm decisions, decisions.

Oh, and let’s not forget the dust ruffle debacle. Have I officially confused you all yet?

Well, thanks for any suggestions you might have for me…Hope to hear from you all soon as I hope to get started on this soon before I chicken out.

Sincerely,

Debra

Journey into the lights

2009-09-03T09:09:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone…No, I’m not dying…My 16 year old daughter Emma is a huge Journey fan…my oldest daughter Rachel loves Aerosmith. It’s amazing to me how my kids love the same music I did as a teenager…then again, I now love the music my parents listened to, or should I say tortured me with on those long 3 hour long car rides to our cottage every weekend while I was growing up. So, this past Saturday night, Emma and I went to see Journey at a nearby venue . They now have a new lead singer from the Philippines, it is absolutely amazing how much this guy sounds like the original lead singer Steve Perry. Apparently he was discovered on YouTube, someone saw him, told the remaining Journey members and they offered him the gig. This guy grew up dirt poor, now, he is living the dream. Anyway, here are a couple shots of the concert. Our seats were in the front 100 section, 10th row…Got the tickets off Craigslist for $80 a piece. (Love Craigslist)…except the guy who we bought the tickets from has been stalking me ever since…He keeps emailing me, and Instant messaging me me! Ewwww! My daughter is now going to make me invisible to him while I’m on the computer since the concert is over now :) Creepy!

Emma below, waiting so impatiently :)

It really was a great show!!! All the way home…a 1 hour drive, all I heard was" “That was so awesome”… while listening to even more Journey!

Now into the lights…I’ve mentioned before that I love to shop at Thrift stores, Goodwill etc…When we built this house we did a lot of the work ourselves to keep costs down…That meant using lighting that I wasn’t necessarily crazy about at the time, but would upgrade at a later time…Well this is a chandelier that I had hanging in my front entryway…I always hated it…Not very prim huh? Way too contemporary for me, but it served its purpose for 8 long years.

So the other day while at a local Thrift store, I came across this chandelier for $4.00…It wasn’t assembled so I did that myself. I love it so much more than what I had hanging there. So, here is my big bargain from last week. So much more prim. I just added the berry rings I had here and I’m loving it…the price too!

Speaking of bargains and lighting…I absolutely love Craigslist…I have found some of my biggest bargains there...Two of them being other chandeliers in my home so I thought I’d share them in this post also. This was my first big/huge bargain off of Craigslist, a Lt. Moses Willard chandelier retailing for over $350 on line, I got for $60! This hangs in my kitchens eating area.

Then I found this…another Lt. Moses Willard chandelier, again retailing for over $300 for $20!!!!!! This hangs in my dining room. People just don’t realize what they have, and list it for practically nothing. The woman that listed it said she had so many emails about it when I picked it up…Hmmm, I wonder why????

So, that’s it for today…I have to get ready to go school shopping with Emma, I’m sure I’ll hit the thrift store too…I’ll let you know if I find any more bargains. Keep your fingers crossed.

Sincerely,

Debra

A Few Goodies...

2009-08-25T08:19:00.012-04:00

Let me tell you...I have been having a helluva time getting used to this formatting process for posting. I've got to be doing it the hard way here...hopefully over time, and with maybe some advice, I can figure this out. I'm having to upload all my images, in reverse order of how I want them to appear in my post and then add my text in between pictures! Is this normal??? Help!
Anyway, I found a few goodies on Saturday. Usually every weekend, I stop into a small town just south of mine to hit a couple of my favorite prim shops. I bought a couple of these little grungy mason jar candles about a year ago...Love, love, loved the scent...It's called Olde Saltbox and smells just like you've walked into one...this scent is so hard to describe..I've never found another scent like it. Well, the candles would not burn properly...they kept extinguishing themselves for some reason. I called the company that makes them and they said they were having a "wick problem". So, in order to still fill my house with this wonderful scent, I ended up spooning the wax out and placing in my tart warmer...it works fine, but it's kind of a hassle. I tried to place an order with them for some additional candles, but they would never arrive. I tried 3 times...gave my debit card number each time and nothing...I spoke to the prim shop owner and she said they weren't sending her wholesale orders either. So this wonderful lady, took a 3 hour trip to near Albany to personally go to this shop and get these candles for me and more for her shop! I was thrilled!!! She got 3 more candles for me! Only 2 are pictured as I was trying to get one to burn...it didn't) Oh well, back to spooning. She also surprised me with this reed diffuser in my Olde Saltbox scent too...It's amazing!

So, after getting my candles, and on the way to my next prim shop, I hit a yard sale where I found her for $2...The woman having the sale is a retired teacher, so she had this adorable Schoolmarm doll. She has a blackboard under her arm, a school bell around her waist & basket in hand...Too cute.

Just look at that face. She's about 2 feet long too...

So, lastly I hit Country Junktion...probably my favorite local prim shop...There's something new there each week. I got this Crow make-do with rusty star for $5.

And this Bird make-do on an old rusty bed spring for $11. She rocks! Literally. :)

And then I came across these little pumpkins...I only bought one as I'm going to try to make my own...They reminded me of the tutorial Char just did on making fabric pumpkins...except these little guys have a square nail used for the stem. Love that. This was $2.50.

So my bird make-do & little pumpkin ended up here..

Speaking of Char's pumpkins...my Dad dropped off this Chenille bedspread my Mom had so that I can make some...Can't wait to start.
Time to get working on something...

Sincerely,

Debra

Welcome to my blog!

2009-08-21T19:38:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone,
My name is Debra and I live in Churchville, New York which is a suburb of Rochester in Upstate New York. I have been following many of your blogs for about a year now while trying to recover from a nasty wrist injury. I have had four surgeries on it in the last year, the last one being a total wrist replacement 3 weeks ago.
So while I have been unable to work, I have been reading a lot of your blogs and I have to say it has been like therapy for me. The eye candy is amazing!
You have made me laugh, cry and inspired me to continue to do some smaller projects for my home. I have always been drawn to colonial type decor. Although I could never live the actual lifestyle as our ancestors once did (me without electricity, I don't think so!!). I just love the simplicity of it all.
I am a self confessed Craigslist, Thrift Store and Garage sale junkie. I am a huge coffee addict and I love Yorkshire Terriers.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my blog as much as I do all of yours. I have to say, this is very intimidating for me...I mean your homes are just beautiful...Can mine even compare? I doubt it...but it's home.
Sincerely,
Debra