iPhone 911!!!

I got up early to talk to Abbie this morning.  He usually leaves at the butt-crack of dawn and I'm still snoozing.  We talked, discussed a few birthday things for Jackson Wynn, and I laid back down.  I was checking the weather on my iPhone in bed.  It was storming and I wanted to know if it would get bad.  He came in to kiss me by, leaned down over me and after the kiss, my phone was dark.  Couldn't get it to turn back on.  After doing some housework, I googled it and found out that you touch the home button and the power button at the same time for about 5 seconds and it will come back on. 

I don't know what happened, maybe it was the kiss, or something in Abbie's pocket.  I'm glad it is working again.  I'm syncing it now and downloading a new version of itunes or something.  I don't want to lose all my info and photos.

Lazy Days of Summer

This is the second week we haven't had swim team and it has been LAZY!  We've watched some of our favorite movies, played outside, swam, taken Mo for walks at the park and hung out in our jammies.  It has been great, but we can't stay idle forever.  We need to get back on track.  Abbie has been working some late nights because of IT problems at work.  He has a business trip coming up and then we go on vacation.  After all that hubbub, we'll need to get back on schedule so school won't blast us out of bed completely.

Today, we slept in, hung out and I did housework and played with the guys.  We tried to swim and within three minutes of getting wet, it started thundering.  Then it went from a completely lovely day to something wicked this way comes.  Big storm, lost power, lost of thunder and rain.  And it came from the northeast, so from the totally wrong direction.  Strange weather patterns we've had this year. 

We got out, ran in and waited it out.  Played and talked.  After, quite a while after, we went back out and I let the boys swim again.  I wasn't going to get wet again, so I trimmed back my herbs and started some clippings indifferent pots. And here's what I found while trimming my mint.

This is the second time I've spotted this rare pink grasshopper.  He's munching on a fallen bloom from my mint plants.  I had tried to get photos with my iPhone the last time I saw him, but they didn't turn out.  This time I ran in for my real camera. 

Mo continues to do well.  He's getting hair more and more.  I hope it all comes back.  If not, he'll be one shivering pup this winter.  Small dogs don't do well in extreme temps, so I'll have to buy him some kind of sweater.  Abbie will have a cow - owning a dog who wears clothes.  He'll be humiliated.  He's already making "yappy dog" jokes.  He doesn't yap much though, just when he sees people out in adjacent yards.  Here's a few shots of today.

This kid is a survivor.

And I got pics of the boys, but that is a whole other post.

Switchflops and Sewing and Backyarding

Last spring I bought a pair of Switchflops at the pool/spa store.  My husband didn't want me going with him to get the water tested after that.  But, I got a pair and some straps.  Then, I found them even cheaper at a drug store here in town - they were called Sierras flops and the straps fit between both kinds of shoes.  So, I have a dressy pair and a casual pair, and straps.  I want to try making my own straps, using instructions found here. 

How To Save With SwitchFlops By Making Your Own Straps

SwitchFlops have several different bases. The real savings come with being able to change out the velcro straps. As a matter, of fact if you are crafty you could probably do the same thing with a regular pair of sandals. I will show you how to make your own SwitchStraps or alter sandals that you own right now.
The straps for these sandals are probably a little bit pricey for me cause I have 5 kids but the idea is really cute. However, if you want to make your own here's how:
Materials:

• Measuring Tape
• Velcro
• Ribbon, Buttons (whatever creative items you can find to use)
• fabric glue or glue gun

1. Measure the sandal strap.
2. Cut two pieces of velcro using the measurement you did above.
3. Glue the ribbon, buttons or whatever other decorative items you use to the velcro in a "v" shape.
4. There you go, velcro it on to your sandals.

By the way, you can put velcro on existing sandals too if you like and follow the instructions above to make straps for it.
I will be listing a video for it on YouTube shortly.

Okay, also on my "to do" list for this spring/summer is to learn to make drapery panels for my huge windows.  I can't find curtains that I like and they are very expensive.  The windows in the living room and kitchen are rarely covered, so I would really need only dummy panels.  I also have some Pottery Barn fabric that matches my duvet in our master bedroom, and would like to make drapes for that room, but can't afford to screw up the fabric.  So, I want to buy an inexpensive sewing machine and try to make drapes.  And if I can pull that off, I might even try some simple roman shades for the smaller windows in the bathroom, kitchen and play room.  Think of the money saved if I can learn how to sew a huge square of fabric with a liner.  And it will be exactly the fabric I want, not some pre-measured, overpriced thing from the internet or a store.

I've already been stalking fabric online and have found some nice things.  Now to get busy and get to work!  Not to mention the work I want to do in the back yard.  I just need some pavers and a lot of dirt.  Then, get some things moved around and get the hidden bulbs out of the garage to drop in.  Of course, Abbie has no idea I'm planning this, but like the rest of my outdoor endeavors, once I spring it on him, he will get into the spirit of the thing after seeing the possibility of how it will turn out.

Bulbs

It got to 70 degrees today and my porch was looking a little winterized.  I needed some green out there!  So, I went out to get some daffodil bulbs.  I ended up getting those and also getting some other bulbs and some pansies to fill in where the snow has gotten some of them.  They were ultra cheap and will perk things up until the spring bulbs come up.

I already have bulbs around my crepe myrtle and they are poking up.  My bed in the front of the house is looking a little beaten down.  I hope my Lenten roses come back. I haven't even looked around out back, but some of the bulbs I got today are for an area back there.

I also saw this post and was instantly drawn to the chicken feeder planted with bulbs.  All afternoon long, my mind kept going back to that image.  Lissa's home is so beautiful and I give Humble Pie a peek daily.

So, I went on with my day and was finishing up my potting this afternoon as the boys played outside.  I looked in the garage for something that was rectangular.  No such luck.  I had a quick inspiration - I would go to the local thrift store and give myself five minutes to streak through and see if I could find something that would work.

While inside, I found some fake terra cotta planters that were made of stiff foam.  Not quite it.  I was praying for God to guide me where I needed to go in the maze of booths.   That is when I found this.

About 16 inches long and 4 inches wide.  Some kind of brass finish, though it wasn't solid brass.  The finish was in good shape, but there were spots that wouldn't buff out, so I decided to paint.  I thought white with some glaze would bring out the details.  Since the boys were playing well together, I decided to give it a go.

Here it is primed.  I liked it so much, I thought about leaving it that way.

Then I decided to have a look at the bottom and maybe give it a few squirts of paint. Glad I did...



Since I had some cream colored spray paint from my music chair project, I used that and immediately liked the warmer tone.  Balancing the planter on another spray paint can was really helpful.

Now to decide what kind of glaze to add.  I want to give it about 24 hours before glazing.  The painting steps are quick and simple.  It is the waiting between steps that takes patience.  I'm thinking a blue/grey tone for the glaze.  It won't take much - just to make the corners and details around the rim pop.

And, after all that playing, Jackson Wynn came in and made a nest.  He was asleep within minutes.  John Campbell snacked around some and then headed into the bedroom.  He's eating a lot lately - definitely going through a growing spurt.

 My sweetie pie!!!

Music Chair

We've almost finished the little music chair I got at the Salvation Army.  All that's left is permanently attaching the seat.  Abbie replaced the seat bottom by tracing a pattern with the old wood.  We sanded and filled in a few spots.  Then, primed and sanded and did about three coats of cream paint, sanding lightly between each coat.  I'm doing pretty good at sanding and Abbie has the wood filler and gluing down.  We need to work on our spray painting.  We had a few drips on each coat, but sandpaper takes it right off.  I thought about glazing it but wanted to keep it simple.  The chairs in the background are next on my list.

My husband likes natural wood - he wants to see the grain.  We have a ton of oak in our house - all the floors and cabinets.  It is just too dark for me.  I enjoy the floors, but would like to paint or at least re-stain my cabinets.  This chair was a pretty shade, and I would have kept it natural if it weren't for the damaged veneer on the lyre.  I've never been much on white painted furniture, but I like how the cream color turned out.  It is cloudy today and the absence of sun isn't helping my photos.  I love the pretty, happy shade of blue.

So this is my official music chair.  I'll give lessons in this chair and practice in it.  To see some really good makeovers, click on the buttons below.  It's a party!

Fabric for Chairs

I'm loving this Robert Allen Kiki Pinata.  I think it would do nicely in the kitchen chairs.  I need to find something coordinating for the windows.  We have a ton of windows in our kitchen, so I need to find something I'd love to keep for a long time.

Still looking...

Boys, Blooms and Basketball

John Campbell coming out of the tunnel.

Go Magic!

Dribbling - he's a natural at rebounding and getting the ball to the other end of the court, then he'll pass to one of his teammates.

,,,,

My African violets are blooming - well, one of them is blooming.  This violet was started from one of my mother's.  I still have the original and have started several from it.   And I have things poking out of the dirt in the house.  Also, my Thanksgiving cactus is blooming - so is it a Valentine's cactus now?  Spring is sending us hints that it is time.  And I'm so ready.

My sweet potato vine has survived the winter so far.  In a few weeks, hopefully, I'll be able to plant it outside and see it take off - and be able to share it with my sister and friends who want a piece.

John Campbell brought some sweet peas home in a plastic bag.  I hope they make it.  I'm not sure what I was supposed to do with them, so I stuck them in a pot with some baby violets.

I've had this plant since my mother's funeral, and it has gotten leggy, almost died, and then I rooted some small leaves and it is coming back.  It is a fun plant, but doesn't look good if it gets scraggly.

My ferns are also coming back. Little baby fronds poking up out of the dirt. I hope they all come back. So far, I still have one pot that is not doing anything, but I can transplant and share if I need to.



























And here are some shots of all the boys playing and having fun when Carrie and Harrison came to visit.  We really enjoyed having them.