Life Does Go On...6 Months In

Hey Everyone! I'm trying to come back. 

Finally getting my feet on the ground and starting over instead of hiding out...

It's been 6 months today since Wild Bill passed. Seems like so long ago in a different life.

I rented a very small apartment with a large attached garage. In the Illinois winters that garage will be a godsend.

Mississippi House bought in Aug 2019, sold Feb 2020.

I gave most of our furniture to the people who bought our house in Mississippi so I'm living, for the time being, with a few borrowed pieces of furniture from my daughter who lives nearby.

With all the businesses shut down, it's been hard to buy furniture so I'm taking it slow. I plan to buy a small home next year so will try to keep the furniture minimal.

Last weekend, I drove down to Mississippi with some friends and picked up what belongings I kept in a storage unit there. 

I put everything in my attached garage for the time being while I determine what stays. 

I know this 70 year-old church pew will stay. I love it. I bought it on Facebook Marketplace from a wonderful couple who became my best friends during the 7 months in Mississippi. 

Juan and Floria were truly angels who showed up to help me through the worst part of my life. I will forever be grateful that God sent them to me just when I needed angels the most.

I hope you'll come back and see me. I'm determined to get back to blogging and life and hope you will share it with me.

Thanks for dropping by!

What's Going On With Blogger?

Does anyone out there understand what's happening with Blogger? 

Appears they are no longer supporting comments, etc., but I'm not real clear on it.

Hard At Work On Her iPad 

If you have posted information about the changes they are making would you please put a link in my comments so we can come read what you have written? 

The information they are putting out is driving me crazy...and that isn't a far drive! Thanks for any links or info you can provide.

Thanks for dropping by!

Fixin' To Do List: White Wednesday

Wednesday again! Here's what I painted white this week...

All four of these victims were painted with Fusion Paint in the color Limestone. It's a warm white color I fell in love with while stalking Linda's furniture makeovers at her blog, Q is for Quandie.

TIP: Notice the sandwich baggies turned upside down under the cap? I've found there's less of a chance that your cap will stick (due to paint on the rim) if you put a baggie over the jar and then screw the cap on top of it.

This metal bin originally started out yellow. I bought a few of them in several sizes about 8 years ago. I like the bin much better now that it's a chalky white.

Same goes for this little basket. The yellow tone is gone now and it will get some dark wax this week.

Walmart sells these little baskets for a few dollars, but the colors are like Easter egg colors. You can tone them down with a little chalk paint so they don't stick out like a sore thumb.

The vintage kitchen chair and the old child's rocker already had a few licks of white paint I'd given them recently, so I just added a few new layers of Limestone by Fusion Paints.

Fusion Paint doesn't require a top coat of wax or other finish since it has something built in to create a tougher finish than other chalk-type paints.

This rocker was Wild Bill's when he was a toddler. Yeah, it's that old! When his parents bought it for him it was red and it stayed red until I painted it. 

The little rocker traveled around the family as cousins were added, even going as far as Germany when an Army uncle and family were stationed there. 

You can see on the bottom of the runners that, along the way, it was painted different colors of red quite a few times. I left the bottoms the way they were to preserve a little of its history.

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Talk of the Town 

What I'm Working On Wed: Flocks And Spots

"We of the Household" had a discussion the other day on where collecting ends and hoarding begins. Have you an answer for that?

We could not come to an agreement in general, but both thought (possibly) my chicken flock had reached past the collecting phase...possibly. 

It seems many of my chickens often have a sort of disgruntled look on their face like the one above. 

The one below is the largest one of the hoard flock. It always stands guard way up on the kitchen's glass cabinet...

This is my favorite chicken. I bought her at a shopping area called The Strand on a trip to Galveston, probably around spring of 2002, just as a storm was flooding the area and all the shops were closing up fast. She has a somewhat sassy attitude.

Here she is at Christmas time in the front room. She loves to sit on the coffee table and look at the Christmas lights.

The two in the photo below sit way up on top of the highest cabinets in the kitchen keeping watch on the cooking, which doesn't actually happen very often around here...

Here's a close up of the one on the left in the basket...

A couple more chickens are keeping the kitchen pig company on the movable cabinet, in the middle of the kitchen, while I'm thinking about where to put them. 

We're in flux right now due to switching out some of the furniture, moving some around, and adding in some new.

Now this particular chicken has probably been with me the longest and has been carried around with me for 15 years, from the Northwest to the South and all points in between. 

I don't know why I carried it that long because I really do not love this chicken.

With the "downsizing game" I play now, based on Marie Kondo's book, if I hold it and it does not bring me joy...it's suppose to go out the door! 

So I held the spotted chicken, and I thought... 

"Maybe I just really don't like those spots!"

And right there and then I did what any good hoarder collector would do...I got out the paint and got rid of the offending spots.

I painted a first coat of a color called Kembel in Amy Howard's One-Step Paint. 

This paint was the closest to brown that I had in my chalk paint stash, and my goal now is to complete projects with what I have on hand.

Please Note: I'm no expert, but I do use all types of chalk paint, including homemade. I have found different brands work better with different projects. 

First of all, I'd say use up whatever you have on hand! Second, I've found One-Step paint works well on both metal and pottery if I have it on hand. 

But then, most other chalk paints work well on those items too.

Just so we're clear, my opinion is based on my experience with the paint. I do not receive any compensation for my opinions, and I pay for all the paint I use.

Covering up the spots is as far as I've gotten with the chicken this week. I'm planning to add some dark wax to make it look aged, but I'm looking for inspiration on how to finish it up. 

If you have any ideas for the chicken's makeover, please let me know in a comment. Your thoughts and ideas are always appreciated.

Thanks for dropping by!

Joining The Party Here:
Cooking And Crafting With JJ
Vintage Charm Party At My Thrift Store Addiction
Home And Garden Thursday

Built-In Cabinet And Other Dreams

I might have mentioned we are blocking off an archway between the dining room and entry hallway. The reason is to increase our storage space and add a place to hang coats. 

Some people love "open concept" houses, but I'm not such a fan after living without many walls for over 6 years now.

Even before we bought the house, I knew I would want that archway blocked off.  

My idea is to put a china cabinet on the dining-room-side...sort of like this, but with doors instead of drawers as it will not be very deep.

Vintage Style Magazine, Spring 2017 issue

On the backside of the china cabinet will be a mudroom-type wall on the entry-hall side. Again, kind of like this, but without the built-in bench. We'll put a bench there that can be moved away when big things like furniture or appliances have to be moved in or out of the house. 

Old Magazine Picture. Source Unknown

I've dreamed of this for over 6 years, but first we had to put in wood floors (for the cabinet to sit on) and lots of other things on our To-Do list. Now, we're finally tackling that archway problem, and we've found a cabinetry shop nearby to do it.

Of course I gave the cabinetry guys lots and lots of magazine pictures while trying to explain my "vision" of how each side would function.  

I figured a picture is worth a thousand words...but you can believe I gave them the thousand words too -- just in case!

Despite the pictures and words, I really don't have much confidence that it will turn out exactly as I'm expecting! And I've made peace with that...really, I have. Three weeks to wait and then we'll see. Fingers crossed.

Thanks for dropping by!

Joining the party here:
Amaze Me Monday

Dishing And Digging It

Romancing The Home

When I brought this round metal shelf home a few weeks ago, Wild Bill's only comment was

"What the...???" 

Obviously, the man has no vision!

Yes, it's a little rusty, and yes it has a hole in one shelf...and yes I have way too many projects already in the works. 

But just look at the top of it. How could I pass it up? And I do have a vision for it!

I've been in love with this metal shelf below for years now. It was love at first sight the moment I saw it on another blog. I think my rusty one will look just as good after I clean it up a little and maybe paint it black. Lovely right?

Romancing The Home Blog

I first happened upon the Romancing The Home blog several years ago. I love that blog! She's a talented designer who had a store in the Chicago area, which was also called Romancing The Home. 

Romancing The Home Blog

So that's why I bought that old metal shelf with a hole and the rust. Can you see it all fixed up...or, are you just shaking your head like Wild Bill?

Thanks for dropping by!