Back from Florida

Good morning all. I made it back from Florida about 12:30 a.m. Monday. Yesterday I spent unpacking and napping. The weather was, to say the least, not very nice. All in all we had a good time. We used my sister's good camera to take all the pictures, so I will be posting more pictures later. Here is a picture of Sadie. I opened the hotel door put my pillows on the bed and she thought she was home.

Me and My Hound are Southbound!

Well my friends, as you know I have been counting down the days until my trip to Florida. I am getting to leave a day early. So me and my hound Sadie and my sister and her hound Boris are heading south! I plan to be at the beach Friday!

There are so many fun things to do. Friday evening is a cookout and our group is sponsoring an Ice Cream Social. There is also a Scavenger Hunt. Saturday morning brings a get acquainted stroll through DeFuniak Springs historic district. A Refloxology and Massage Classes - hands-on demo and instruction on hound massage. In the afternoon there will be PawCasso prints - art for you and your greyhound, Easter Egg Hunt - lots of eggs with lots of goodies for humans and hounds. There will also be a Wine tasting and tour of the Chautauqua Winery in DeFuniak Springs and dinner, followed by the Greyhound Pets of America/Emerald Coast Chapter Fabulous Fashion Show. The events Friday and Saturday are right at the hotel, so you don't even have to leave.

Sunday's events are at Ebro Greyhound Park, Ebro, FL. There will be vendors, raffles, live auction, games, solo sprint on the track, senior stroll, nail trimming, Barks a Million (books and baked goodies) . Then the long drive back home. Sadie and Boris both used to race at Ebro, so it will be fun to see their reaction to the surroundings. I'm sure I will have lots to post about when I get back!

Were I Do Laundry (Part 2)

Here is the second part to My Laundry Room Post. This clock is a makeover. I had several feet of wallpaper border left over. So I took the clock apart and turned it over and pasted a piece of the border on it. Then I stencilled numbers, the paint wiped off easily, so I sealed it with a couple of coats of clear spray. Now that I am looking at it, I hope it is the picture that is crooked and not the clock.

On the shelf above, I have an old Dutch Cleanser crate. There is an old iron, a container with some "Shinola", some old clothespins and a couple of other bottles. But my favorite is the bottle with the sprinkle top. I remember when my mom used to have one of these. She would use it on my dad's work shirts. She would sprinkle them with some water and then roll them up and put them in the refrigerator drawer. I never did figure that one out.

At the shop where I work, we carry these great cards from a company called Of Purpose and Spirit. This lady takes these great primitive photographs and makes cards from them. These 2 are from a cabin scene. The top one has a prairie dress, an old quilt and a basket of wool. The bottom one has a rope line with some linens drying on it.

I found this in some junk that I had. Don't even remember where I got it from. I finally figured out a way to hang it up. I used one of those plate hangers. It appears to have been bolted to something, my guess is an old wash tub. I am tryint to figure out how to get some good pictures of the entire room. Maybe later. That's my Laundry Room! Even though I have a great room, I still hate laundry!

Where I Do Laundry (Part 1)

I have been working on my laundry room for several months now. It is a very generous sized room measuring 12 feet by 13 feet. Lots of room for dirty clothes in here. Of course, I had to convince hubby to put down linoleum, that had to be his idea. That is one reason it took so long to get things done. Do you notice that men have to have several hours to do a project. They also have to think about it forever and make a plan. Not us women. Like this morning, I finished hanging up pictures and making a curtain. All done before I went to work. I will have to do this in a couple of posts, so check back soon.

I made this rack from old clothespins and an old piece of wood. It came out of my neighbors house, it used to be under the plaster. I think it is called lathe??? Anyway, I thought it would serve as a place to hang up the sock that is missing its mate. Of course, it may never be found. But darn it when I do, I will know where the other one is.
My collection of stretchers. I had the glove forms for a long time, but have been adding to my collection for a couple of months.

Next to my rack with the stretchers on it is my coat rack. Well, I use it mostly for leashes and muzzles. Plus it has a chalk board for reminders. Right by the back door.

This wall has a couple of wash boards that were my husband's great grandmothers. The clock is an old clock that I had that I revamped. I will show you the up close in the next post. I better get ready for work. Have a good day!

My Reading List

I was guessing that I followed about 100 blogs. Well, I decided to put my list on the side bar. Oh my goodness, 102. No wonder I spend so much time on the computer! But they are all so good, I can't bear to part with any of my friends!

I've got the Blues

Does anyone else get themselves in a funk from time to time? I can't explain why it happens, can't even stop if from happening. I just think sometimes, when is it time for someone to take care of me for a change? I guess as a mom/wife, you just want someone to appreciate you from time to time.

Planting Holly Bushes

I have been researching varieties of Holly bushes. I really want to have some that I can cut from for Christmas decorating. I also want a big one that will grow into a conical shape. My neighbors have some large ones and they are so beautiful. The shrubs in the front of our house took a beating several years due to the ice and now we have bare spots and two big boxwoods. I want to totally revamp the front landscaping.

I purchased one like this, it is a Castle Spire. It is supposed to grow about 8-10 feet and grow in a pyramid shape. Of course, it is small right now. I just have to figure out the right spot to put it.

I think I am going to purchase some of the Blue Princess in the front of the house. I also have to find a spot for the "male" bush. This is where I get confused. Does anyone know if they male bushes have to be the same variety? Any advice or tips, e-mail me at macmadday@aol.com.

I'm So Far Behind

Friends, I have been without internet since Sunday! Yikes, I think I need Internet Anonymous or something like that. I can't wait to get time this evening to catch up on all of my blogs that I follow. I have 3 whole days worth of catching up to do!

Several years ago I checked out these books by Time Life from our local library. They are a series called American Country. I absolutely loved them and have checked them out several more times. I picked up the volume titled "Country Decorating" at an antique shop last fall and got my interested going again. My curiousity got the best of me the other day while searching e-bay and look what I found! A set of 12 for $21.95. That works out to be under $2.00 each. I can't wait to get them. In researching them more, there are about 12 more that I don't have. I am going to try to get the complete set. They have such great pictures in them. The Country Decorating volume that I have even gives old painting techniques. I don't normally buy too many books, but these are definitely worth adding to my collection!

My Corner Cabinet Redo

I finally got my corner cabinet and table painted. It was barn red and I decided I would like it black. I have been painting a lot of things black lately.

I like the way it looks against the log walls and especially against the Hancock Grey (Benjamin Moore) walls. I opened the doors to show you my sheep collection.This is a sheep mold that I got at the World Wide Mission Shop for $2.00. Here are a couple of my restaurant creamers. At Christmas I put bottle brush trees in them and put them on my window sill.The next shelf I have some sheep that we make at the shop where I work, The Heart of Newburgh. We used to wholesale these to shops, but we gave that up several years ago. They are made from plaster and paper mache and we used vintage chocolate molds. I painted these myself.

On the bottom shelf, I have some reproduction german sheep. I still need to add a black sheep to my family. I need to either move the cordless phone/answering machine or come up with something creative to hide it. I need to add a few more accessories on the top. Any ideas? I would love to hear them.

What's That Noise?

I was getting my stuff ready for work Tuesday and I kept hearing this scratching noise. What the heck? It was coming from under the island in the kitchen. It sounds like someone clawing at one of the baskets that I keep under there. I pull back the curtain and low and behold, look what I found...
Heard of a tisket a tasket, well this is a Daisy in a basket. My daughter's cat, what a mess. This one of her favorite spots to nap!

Vote for my Baby

Well, Karma is not actually my baby, but I sure do love her like she's mine! Most of you know that I am involved in Greyhound adoption. Karma belongs to the president of our chapter and she is such a photogenic thing. She has already been on the cover of a Greyhound Calendar and is Miss April.

Now she is campaigning for all her buddies who need homes. Right now, Bissell is having a contest and the grand prize is the pet's photo (Karma) on a future BISSELL package, plus one of their carpet cleaners. But the BIG reward is $10,000 donation to the pet's cause, which would be Greyhound Pets of America Tri-State Chapter. That would help a lot of puppers. So here's where I need your help. If you click on her picture in the sidebar and it will take you to the page to vote for her. So PLEASE, take a moment and vote for Miss Karma. All the hounds would appreciate it. Thanks again!

Second Time Around Tuesday

Thanks to Diane at A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words for hosting Second Time Around Tuesday. This week I am showing you a cabinet that I made, well I had the idea and had to have my husband construct, out of an old window.

My daughter was nick-named Doodlebug when she was a little girl. She also had a liking for lady bugs and has collected them for most of her life. Even though we re-did her bathroom in a parisian theme, we painted ivory over the green paint to go better with her re-do. It is kind of tucked back in the corner above the toilet. Someday, I will make it a little more primitive, unless she takes it with her when she moves out. I think that will be a while, since she has a couple more years of college. Cheers!

My New Best Friend

I first heard about Briwax from Janene at Primitive Lifestyle and immediately started searching the web for a source. I actually found it at the Ace Hardware online store. Hey, we have an Ace Hardware in our town. So off I go to see if they had it in stock. They didn't carry it, but the lady at the service desk said she could order it for me at the same price and I wouldn't have to pay shipping. I said "I'll take it!". Two days later, I go and pick up my can of dark brown Briwax.

I tried it on a painted cabinet of mine that had a few spots where some bug spray had taken off the finish. It took them off and made the cabinet look a little better.

While I was cleaning out the garage today I found the bucket pictured above that I had painted ivory. Not happy with it, I applied a coat of my Briwax and I love it!

I think I want to use it on everything. I think I will use this in place of a clear spray topcoat on my painted pieces. It is my new best friend. Thanks Janene!

A Cute Bookmark

I got several things done today, but as usual, I forgot to take pictures. I did take a picture of this cute little bookmark that I made for my daughter. It has a "Parisian" theme. She loves anything with the Eifel Tower right now. We are making over her bathroom with a Paris theme.

I used a piece of ribbon about 12 inches long. I also found these cute theme packages of charms by Blue Moon at Michaels. On the ends of the ribbon I used ribbon clamps, also purchased at Michaels. There are different sizes of ribbon clamps to fit different widths of ribbon. My second bookmark will be made with the charms that are a sewing theme for my oldest daughter. Darn it, I forgot about myself!

My Thrifty Finds

As promised, although several days late, are pictures of my finds at the consignment shop. This new consignment shop, called Kim's Consigned Designs, is by far the nicest consignment shop that I have been in so far. It is such a big space and things are nicely displayed and the prices are great.



My first deal is this little kids sewing machine. It is a replica of an old machine, brand new in the box and was only $8.00. I have been looking for antique toy machines for my sewing room, but those prices were scary. So I thought this would be a good start. It even has a little foot peddle. So cute!


My next find was this little chest. I think it used to be a larger dresser at one time. But for $10.00, I am going to put some legs on it and use it for something clever. Not sure what color to paint it though. I seem to be painting things black these days, but I am going to try a different color, I think. Anyway, those are my thrifty finds! Enjoy! I don't know when I will get this painted, I have set some other goals of things to finish first!

It's Monday

I know I said I would post the rest of my thrifting finds on Thursday, but I haven't gotten around to pictures yet. I had to go back to pick up one of my purchases and didn't get back until Saturday afternoon. I will try to get my pictures up this evening.