Refurbishing 40 Year Old Furniture



Hi Everyone....well, as usual I am having troubles with blogspot on IE. So off I went to Google Chrome. Honestly, why does there always have to be kinks in everything I try to accomplish.....to work patience in my life??? Geez, enough already!!!!!!

I had a nice week end...finally decided to paint some old chairs I have had for over 40 years....was not thinking when I took them apart....should have taken a picture...before and after. Well, here is a partial before picture. Not sure when I reupholstered the chairs....maybe 30 years ago, I am thinking this is the original paint job. So I decided to spray paint them mat black. Spray painting the pink rose came after I had sprayed them both black. Sweet inspiration.

Here I have both seats taken off and in the midst of spray painting one chair and starting the next one.

Added the pink to the chair....I really like the look....so classy....what do you think??? I ran out of paint. So we jumped in the car and took a ride to Walmart. Bought 3 more cans at 97 cents a can....Hey big spender!!!! But at least I had enough to finish the chairs and do touch up. AND maybe possibly another item if need be....whatever that may be.

Here are the two chairs.......finished. Ah....it feels good to accomplish something. I have all these ideas swimming in the head that I want to do.......but sometimes money and time do not coordinate with each other.

Here are the chairs on the front porch....finished and ready to go. Thought today we would eat on the front porch.....hamburgers and french fries....but we did not make it. Well, there still is maybe another month or so of dinning on the front porch. I want to get a new table cloth....maybe just a plain pink one....this one looks a  little busy with the chairs and all. Time for a change.

One of my other projects was to stain the porch floor, but I did not get to that project......aw...maybe next year. That is what I have been saying for the last couple of years. 

Well, time to close for today. Nothing much going this week. JP and I are going to celebrate our 40th anniversary. We might take a week end trip to Algoma...we'll see.
Cheers to you all and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Louise

Made a Few Cards Yesterday

Hi Everyone....hope your day is going good. I am having one of those lazy, hazy days of Summer. Not doing much work around the house. But come September I will be busy cleaning, as JP's family from Chicago will be coming for a visit for one day. We'll be having a cook-out, weather permitting. Other than that, not sure what else is planned.

Last weekend, JP and I went Thrift shopping and antiquing, looking for clocks. JP wants a clock that chimes, so we are on the "hunt"......guess that is what is fun about looking. 
In the mean time, I find little gems like this cute stamp above of a "cow." Was going through some old cards and found a card with a cow and the saying "What's Moo" and thought it was cute. So when I found this stamp.....had to have it. Only paid $1.49 for the stamp and the "What's Moo" is my printing....guess I don't always need a stamp.

So I made this card for a lady where JP works. She has been giving us fresh vegies from her garden, string beans, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. So I am sending this card along with JP today, to give to Carol. The inside just says "Thanks for the vegies - they are much appreciated"

Went to a friends house yesterday to make some cards. I love this one, the stamp is so funny and so true....lol! "With my luck I'll be at the airport when my ship comes in." I am still waiting for my ship to come in.....guess I must have been at the airport all this time....hahahaha!!! The card was already stamped, we colored it in with alcohol ink pens. It is layered on blue print paper, the top part of the card was run through her sissix die cuter and gems placed at the top. The dove is from a die cut.

This is a cute card. I think will try making a few more of these cards, although I just have one Magnolia stamp, a little girl holding a balloon..........these stamps are so cute, but very expensive. They come out of the UK, so there is lots of shipping and handling expenses added. In this card, she was colored with copic pens and then cut out and placed on top of cardstock  that was run through the cuttlebug and cut and placed on an oval. and then layered on printed paper that was stamped with little flowered stamps. 
Sweet, sweet, sweet.

On this card, the oval with the lamp post was embossed in black and we colored in with ink pens. Then placed on the decorative border and layered on printed and punched paper. Need to look for this punch and the punch used above underneath the ribbon. Hard to see from this point, but it is a small scalloped punch. I will be on the "hunt" for this punch and the one used in the above card. (Hopefully my ship will have come in by that time...hahhahah). I had one more card, but for some reason it was posting sideways and I could not get it to go right side up.....soooo unless I can fix it, you may not be able to see it.

Well, time to close this blog, keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Relaxing with a Fire, a Water Fountain & Hot Dogs

Hi Everyone, hope your week is going great.
Last night we lite a fire in our pit. Yes, that is a "smoky joe" we are doing the fire in. One of these days we will get a real fire pit. The conditions were perfect for a fire, no breeze, ground was wet from a fresh rain. One mosquito found my ankle. Pulled out the "mosquito candles" and off they went.

Hot Dogs getting cooked up on the fire......mmmmmm.....did they smell good. Put them on a slice of pumpernickel bread, a dill pickle and "da works" dressing. Not a bad little sandwich.

I turned the fountain on for that added "relaxation sound"

So here is JP relaxing, enjoying his hot dog and watching the fire. It was a lovely night and we really must do this again. The last time was probably two years ago. 
Life is much too short to worry about the petty things of life that can drag us down. Best just to live in the moment, getting all the garbage out of our lives. Focusing on priorities, whatever that may be.

Well, so much for today's blog. Time to go walk Kylie around the block. You have a great evening and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Lavender.....or Russian Sage???

Hi everyone.......hope your day was good!!! Ours??? Was a little tuff. There was a bad storm last night, which caused a lot of damage. Knocked down trees, limbs and power was lost to 90% of the Fox Cities.
The electric went out about 12:50am. I was just about to heat up JP's late night dinner.
I had made Lasagna Soup (batch 6) earlier in the evening so I had that ready for him. Also on the menu was fish and string beans. I had to pull out my fondue pot and heat his soup up in it.....worked like a charm.

In the picture above is my Lavender. Planted when I first moved into this house 22 years ago....the plant has gotten really big and never fails to do it's thing year in and year out. I've transplanted this lavender in two other places. This blog is basically for Patty @ Attic Clutter as she likes lavender.

Here is another shot of the lavender. I picked quite a few branches and brought them in for the winter.

Here is a bunch of lavender in one of my older vases that will probably sit in there till next year, then it will be time to change the flowers for new ones.

So today was kind of a rest day, even though the electric was off. I took Kylie for two walks today. The first one was to see why there was so much traffic going down our block....you would have thought we were on a main street or something. Well, it turned out there was a tree down on Drew St. So people had to detour down our street. A tree was down on the next block over and down 3 blocks on our street. So that is why there was so much traffic today.

I had to think about what I was going to make JP for his lunch. Egg salad....so I boiled 4 eggs in the Fondue pot....again it worked like a charm.
Heated up more soup and (already steamed) corn on the cob in the Fondue.
Oh did I forget to tell you.....heated hot water for coffee for Louise.

No electric for a day was okay.....but I might find it hard to do without electric for days and weeks on end. 17 hours was long enough. 
OH and then did I tell you, NO INTERNET for the day. I missed reading my email and blogs and catching up on everything that was going on in this world. Thank goodness I had my "transistor radio" and could listen to Rush, Sean and Mark on talk radio!!!

I did manage to watch "Life of Pi" on my DVD player till the battery went low. The movie was okay, still trying to figure out what it is about. Anyways, the DVD player stopped playing and then all of a sudden the electric went back on at 6pm.....YAY!!! So then Kylie and I went for another walk to see how things cleaned up, came back and did some work outside, picking up branches from the storm and such. No watering tonight....there was plenty of rain last night.

Well, time to close this blog. I still have to check out facebook and see whats happening there. So you all have a great evening and here's to a good day tomorrow. Keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

!!! SPIDERS !!!



Hi everyone....how you all doing???
Over the week-end we had a bit of a scare. It seems the two neighbors to the left of us were infested with these "Wolf" spiders.
At first sighting, it was thought this spider was a "Recluse" and the neighbor killed at least 35 of these ugly spiders just outside her back door. Then she came over to our house to tell us about it and that she was having the exterminator coming on Monday. If we would like to have an exterminator come to our house.
The other neighbor to the left of them had the same spiders inside their house...........eeeekkkkkkk!!! The above spider is called a "Wolf" Spider. Which bites, his venom is not as dangerous as the "recluse" but bad enough. 
So today the exterminator treated our houses, outside and inside to the tune of $80.00 for our house. Not sure what the other paid as they had insecticide bombs released in their houses...we just had the spray. I can tell, there is a slight taste in my mouth....yuck!!! We had to be out of the house whilst they sprayed and then stay out for 1 hour. So I took Kylie for a walk and then we just sat outside for awhile and listened to the fountain. No pictures of him spraying the house....camera was inside. Maybe next spring when we have the house sprayed for "Box Elder Bugs" another plague to hit us.

Here is a picture of the "Recluse" spider which was first thought to be in and outside our houses. I sure am glad we did not have this one visiting us. It lives in the South and most certainly can stay there. When this spider bites you....be so very careful because the bite is flesh eating. If you look up "Wolf" and "Recluse" spider they are similar but the "Recluse" is meaner.

I was trying to find some pictures of my thumb when I got bit by a spider from a couple of years ago. Back then even, the "Recluse" was being talked about. My thumb and arm almost looked like those pictures of people who had been bitten by that spider. If I find the picture, I will post it here. But I most definitely got bit by one of these two spiders. My thumb got all inflamed, and swelled up then a red line started following my veins. The venom from the spider went in my blood stream. I went to the "free clinic" but they would not help me. So went to my Doctor, I think he gave me some antibiotics and popped the blister that had grown on my thumb. For months later it would appear, like as if the stinger was still in the skin. Then one day....that blister came back, I started picking at it and "POP" out came that stinger or whatever it was that left it's mark. Today, you can hardly see the "war wounds" except for a dot and a cross where the Doctor lanced it.

Well, time to close, hope you all have a great day......I am trying to. Keep your chin up  for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Pelican Island and Boat Ride



Hi everyone, hope you are enjoying your summer. Here are a few pictures of some pelicans.

In this picture you see "Pelican Island" the actual name is "Black Bird Island" BUT it seems the pelicans live there mostly. One thing noticed right away was the awful smell of Birds. The island was just loaded with pelicans. When they saw us coming they scattered, all heading for the water. Only a few pelicans were brave enough to stay. Maybe they were the guards.....guarding a nest or two. (I am just guessing)

Here you see more pelicans flying off...maybe to distract us.

Getting a little bit closer here, via my zoom lens on my camera. Looks like there might be a few seagulls hanging around on the island. Well we left the birds to their island and headed back.

It was a day well spent and even though it was mostly cloudy, I did end up with a little sun burn on my forehead. Not much on my arms as it was a bit chilly and I had a jacket on.

Well, so much for my mini-vacation....they never last long, but it still was refreshing and a change of sorts. You all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

A NOTE: The previous part of this blog was deleted as per request. Sure hope the Pelicans don't mind their picture taken.

Pick Me Up, Sweetheart ♥♥♥



Pick me up, Sweetheart....I ♥ older chicks!!
So, I don't know who this baby is, but I thought he was pretty cute.
I like his shirt actually....made me laugh when I saw it!! Well, you have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

"42" The Story of Jackie Robinson

.In 1947, Branch Rickey put himself at the forefront of history when he signed Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking Major League Baseball's infamous color line. But the deal also put both Robinson and Rickey in the firing line of the public, the press and other players.

Facing blatant racism from every side, even his own team, Robinson was forced to demonstrate tremendous courage and restraint by not reacting in kind, knowing that any incident could destroy his and Rickey's hopes. Instead, Number 42 let his talent on the field do the talking—ultimately winning over fans and his teammates, silencing his critics, and paving the way for others to follow. 

So I am watching this movie right now....third time...........love it, it is one of those movies that you can watch over and over again and not get tired of it. Jackie Robinson was quite the man, called a hero by many and had a lot of guts to do what he did. He won the respect of his people, and peers with alot of class. Sad to say, he died of a heart attack at 53, he also had diabetes.   I'll be getting this movie with netflex.......but I just could not wait. U-Verse offered it "on demand" sooooo I am watching it on my TV right now.........great movie!!! I would recommend this film to anyone. 

Nothing spectacular happening. Still working on my stamping studio, moving everything around, will be awhile before I make some cards.   You all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

Cherries and Apples

 Hi Everyone, how are your days going? Keeping cool has been a priority lately. Gets pretty warm in the house, like almost 90 degrees, but we keep the air conditioner going in the kitchen and fans going in the other rooms. So it is bearable. I like when it is cool enough and I can put a blanket on to keep warm. Looks like there is a big cool-down for the next week so we all will be comfortable till the next heat-wave.

 The other day a friend called and asked if I would like some cherries......I said yes. So I went to pick them up and spent the evening cleaning, sorting, pitting and cooking them. After they cooled I put them in containers and froze them. I pulled a few recipes from the internet, Freezer Jam, Cherry Dump Cobbler and Sara's Famous Cherry Crisp are on the agenda for these cherries along with a couple of smoothies and maybe some cherry frozen pops.

 The cherries that did not make the pick landed on the ground for the birds, squirrels, chipmunks and flies to eat. Nobody touched them, so they landed in the compost pile. The little chipmunk in this picture was checking them out....maybe he thought they were too sour though.

 I am really excited, cause I finally have apples growing in my apple tree. I sure do hope they make it, the limbs are bending over cause there are so many apples in the tree. I think these apples will remain green. I have another tree that is supposed to have red apples........but that one has not produced yet. These trees are over 10 years old. So hopefully this is the year for apple pies and sauce!!!!

Another shot of the apples from a different angle. So you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.

One of these days I will get some cards up. I have not been working on cards for awhile as my studio is still all torn up and I am still re-organizing. And I have been so busy with my gardens......time just gets away. Cheers ~ Louise

Pretty Flowers in My Garden (God's Creations)

 Hi Everyone!! Hope you are keeping cool in this hot summer weather. I am sure all the flowers and vegies are enjoying this weather as this is their best growing time.....warmth makes for happy plants (for some). In the top picture is my wonderful white rose plant. I almost had JP dig it up this spring because it was not even sending out shoots of growth,  I really cut it down to hardly any stems then "suddenly" it started to grow.....boy that was a close one for this rose bush......at this blog writing it must have 12-16 blooms on it. I'll take a picture of it tomorrow.

In this second picture is my Delphinium "Guardian Early Blue" a perennial that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Hope it makes it through the winter, it's hardy to -30 degrees below.

 

 In this picture is a White  "Platycodon Grandiflorus" Balloon Flower. There is no green thumb required for this little plant and is unbelievably easy to grow. I still have to find a place to plant this little girl as she likes sun to part shade. So far she is liking it in the patio garden, as she would get the morning sun and evening sun.

 My yellow rose bush out in front of the house. This is her third year, still pretty small, but she makes beautiful blooms.

 I have liked this plant to sit on my front porch for the last 4-5 years. It's a Sonic Deep Purple New Guinea Impatiens. It always lets me know when it is thirsty and survives on the porch with indirect sunlight. Of course it is an annual and I must buy a new plant every year....but this is the one that gets this spot every year.

 So here is my $1.50 Hibiscus plant that I got from Walmart 4 years ago.....she's a going and growing strong. Although, tonight when I went on the front porch, this plant had fallen off the table and onto the floor. I am not sure if the squirrel in question knocked it over or the wind. Nothing else was knocked over, so I am thinking the squirrel was looking for some mischief cause I didn't feed him in the back yard with all the birdies. But he has another surprise for his cute little paws.....I smeared Vaseline on the shepherd hooks so he can't get into the birdie houses and eat the bird seed....lol!!!! I will let you know who won this war!!!

 Petunias in all their glory!!!

My cute little sunflowers, (I'm forgetting their name at this moment, will check it out tomorrow and let you know). So this is just the beginning of my flower parade. So many creations of God's Glory, HE sure is a God of many, many creations. 

I have some more daisies in the 'fire-pit' and some Bee Balm and a few other interesting flowers. Well, going to close this blog for tonight. Getting a little warm sitting here and I need to go into the kitchen to cool off a bit. (that's were the air conditioner is running) 

So you all have a great couple of days, see you in a few. Keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.

Cheers ~ Louise

Birdie Houses

 Hi Everyone......how is your day going, hope you are keeping cool in this very warm weather. Now remember, if you live in a state that has cold harsh winters, think back to these warm, warm days. At least in winter you can bundle up to keep warm.

 So in these three pictures are our bird houses and bird bath. This has been quite the busy place for active birdies, squirrels and chipmunks. Together they seem to feed on the same stuff. When the squirrels and chipmunks show up....we send Kylie out to chase them away, but they seem to come back when she comes in the house. I have seen cardinals, wrens and finches. Lots of sparrows though.......but that is okay, it is fun just to see the birds enjoy my backyard.

Another view of the houses. The green and white house came from Steins ($16.98) and the red barn came from Menards ($12.98). The same green and white house can be bought at Walmart ($9.97). There is still some things I want to do with the "birdie garden" but it has just been tooooo hot to spend alot of time outside. Maybe when things cool down a bit. This is much too warm for me.

Well time to close here for a bit. You all take care and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

Blueberry Pie and Planters Station

 Hi everyone, how are you all doing today? Feels like it is going to be a warm day today, already put the air conditioner on in the kitchen. The fans have been blowing all night long, so there is an ever so light breeze flowing through the house.

Well, as you can see in the above picture, we have blueberries!!! A friend brought them over on Saturday, oh yum were they ever good. I froze some, made sauce, ate some, made a salad and fruit salad bowl and oh, made a baked oatmeal with berries breakfast dish. AND this lovely pie in the next picture.

 I just kind of through this together using the left over Phillio sheets in the refrig, spraying each layer, then I dabbed whipped cream cheese on the phillio sheets, then poured the cooked berries over the cream cheese. Baked at 375 for 20 minutes and WAH-LAH a wonderful, tasty torte. It lasted two days. I certainly will make this again.

 Here is a piece of that pie.........only thing missing is the whip cream. Which I bought when we went out to the store later on in the day. The next piece of pie was even better!!!

 Here you see JP eating his pie, he doesn't like pictures taken of himself, nor does he like pictures taken while he eats.......or what he is eating....but we all know "Pie was on his agenda"!!!

 In the picture above is our new/old planting station and JP is giving it a work-out. I bought a bunch of petunia plants for him to plant. I paid $2.25 for 9 containers with 3 plants in each (27 little plants). So he planted them in 5 containers and took them to the church for decoration.

We have taken and planted zinnias around the church, but they got "weed-whacked" so we thought maybe planting them in pots would discourage the "weed-whacker" and he would know for sure he is to "STOP there are plants planted here"!!!!!

I took this picture from the kitchen window, you can see my purple clover in the forefront. Don't think JP knew I was taking this picture of him. I think this planting station will work out well for us. At least it is up high enough that we don't have to bend down. One person told me...."why do you need a planting station, just use the ground." Why yes, the older one gets, the harder it is to bend down and get on the knees!!! THEN it is hard to get up........so I say, "to each his own."

Well, tis time to cut this blog short, it is getting late, going on 12 noon. Time to get ready and take my bike into the bicycle shop to get fixed. It's a Schwinn and is over 42 years old. The tires are bad and it needs to be cleaned up. Gonna try riding it around the block for the rest of this summer.

Talk to you all later and have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Some Cards I Made Today.....

Today I went to Betty's house. She does classes in her home where she shows new techniques with making cards. I have probably been going to her house for 5-7 years. My goodness, where did that time go???? She always has some really cute ideas.......only problem, I usually never have the stamps, paper or punches to duplicate the cards made.

So the above card is a little bunny swinging on a swing....cutesy card. He is colored in with colored pens and layered on pink die-cut card stock and colored papers and green card stock, embellished with a bow and flower.

This card was especially fun to make, it has that water-color effect. Inking the stamp then going over it with a color pen then spraying with water and stamping. This is one of those cards that I would like to duplicate but don't have the stamps.
A little PS on this one.....not exactly sure why this card is encased with a larger frame, but for whatever reason, it is what it is.........enjoy!!!

This card was chalked with an oil-base chalk, made for a nice effect and was fun to make.

This card was also created with the oil-base chalk. The funny bird was masked. Stamped then covered with another bird and chalked in the red and yellow. Then the bird was chalked in blue. A very fun card to make. Again, no stamps like this at home to duplicate.

Well, that is about it for today....time to punch out for the day. You have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

4th of July Projects

 Hi Everyone of you that may be reading this blog today. Hope your 4th of July celebration was wonderful!!! Happy Birthday to America!!!!

We celebrated by doing things around the house. Finally got my little fountain going. Was trying to figure out how I could do this, then it dawns on me just to put the fountain in a pot with dirt, then I added the fake leaves and flowers to add some color......works like a charm. The neighbor gave me this fountain over 15 years ago, it used to hang on the garage.....now it has found a new place on the front porch.

 Here again is my fountain in the back yard.....oh my goodness, it is so relaxing to listen to the bubbleing sound of the fountain doing it's thing. I thought I would dig a deeper hole for the liner.......but you know, I think I will just leave it as is. You like my watering can??

 FINALLY finished the fire-pit garden......this little project was done yesterday. It took about 7 wheel barrels of mulch and black material to cover.........hopefully NO weeds will grow. We also dug up this old wild grape vine which NEVER produced grapes.....I think we had the female and needed the male....oh well. Now it is gone and I can plant some Gladi bulbs...I think there is still time to plant. Hope so, cause I still have some tomato and pepper plants to plant today.

These are my pretty Purple Clementis's....I transplanted some of these in two different spots this spring. Along side my Star Clementis on the front porch and back where the grape vine lived. Next year I will try to get some morning glories growing there also. I am very happy that the grape vine is gone.

Well, it is time to close for now, hope you all are enjoying the day. I need to get my act in gear and get some more work done, need to lose a few pounds by Monday, have a doctors appointment...ick!! Follow-up on my blood tests from January.

Keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.

Cheers ~ Louise

Happy 4th of July

Happy Birthday to the United States.

May God continue to Bless this Country

despite those that have turned their back on Him.

II Chronicles 7:14

"If My people, which are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven and forgive their sins, and will heal their land."

Many Men and Women have died and given their lives that we, today, might be free.

May we never forget what they did.

Just as we should never forget what Jesus did on that old wooden  cross over 2,000 years ago.

He died on that cross, that we might be saved from our sins. How great a sacrifice was that??? 

This Great Nation is heading in the wrong direction,

God help us!!!

Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved"

So keep looking up, for your redemption draws nigh.

Cheers ~ Louise