friendship

The dictionary defines friend as someone you know and share a bond of affection with out side of family or romantic partner.  I define friend as someone who is there for you through thick and thin and tons of fun to be with most of the time.  Kind of like marriage, for better or worse.  Growing up moving all the time it was difficult  for me to make friendships that were lasting.  When I got married and moved here that  changed.  Yes some friends have come and gone.  People move, interests change, people change.  That's why the friends I have had for years are so dear to me.  Every year I try to have a "Oh darn school is starting again" girlfriend party.  Since school starts in a couple of weeks that's what we did last Sunday night.  We ate and visited, solved all the problems of the world and remember the past .
We as a bunch are a very mixed group in  a lot of ways, very alike in others.  We are married, widowed and divorced.  Still working, retired and somewhere in between.  We have 14 kids between all of us, most grown, one still in high school.  We are mostly teachers, with an entrepreneur and administrative assistant thrown in.  Those that are retired are busier than those that still work.  If not there, we are hurtling toward social security at an alarming rate.  We are fabulous  women, mothers, cooks, artists, quilters, gardeners, organizers, computer geeks and grandmas(the best job ever!)  Most of all we are there for each other.  When K lost her husband, we circled the wagons, stayed with her, fed her  and generally tried to make her life easier.  When I had knee replacement surgery they were there with food, books, trips to therapy and even pjs.  I could go on and on.

 Here's the cast of characters: 

KF  Not your sterotypical librarian, she runs around like a crazy person and is the easiest person to get along with I've ever had in my life.  We raised our kids together, they grew up, we didn't.

KE, Retired, funny, loving and sweet.  She's deaf so don't try to talk to her when she's driving.  She gets busy signing or reading your lips and forgets she's driving.

MS, the baby of the group, only in her forties.  An art teacher who never left the 70's.  She's the one most likely to be in tie dye.

JL,  Self employed and works way to hard, fabulous quilter.  An ex cop who acts really tough and is intensely loyal .  The person I'd most likely call if I needed help in the middle of the night.

NC, I've known her for years but only have become good friends in the last couple.  She's funny, caring and lots of fun to hang out with .  We're the shorties of the group and  I need a ladder to get into her huge SUV. She has to drive a lot on our adventures, she has the biggest car..

VE, sweet, quiet and loves to read. I'd like to think she and I are the most alike,but I'm not nearly as quiet or as sweet.   She once had to house my family for nearly a week in an ice storm.  My twins were toddlers and we ended up using her dish towels as diapers when I ran out of the real thing.  Now that's a friend.

KC, the friend I've known the longest, she was my college room mate.  We've stayed in touch through the years and when she gave up working we reconnected in a whole different way.  Now I keep getting her involved  with our adventures.

I have been blessed to have many people I call friend, my neighbors, my church family and friends that live far away.  Aside from my family this group and a couple of others, are the folks I would most like to be stuck on a desert island with.  It would never be dull.

Cherish your friends ,they are special.  I know life can  get in the way, but make the time to keep those connections going.

almost instant decorating

I've never bothered with coasters before, but my parents gave us a beautiful leather top coffee table and the least little bit of moisture leaves a mark.  Now you know me, I'm not going to go out and buy a set of coasters, so here's what I came up with.  These are  tart tins I bought at a RS six for a .25. I thought I would decorate them as Christmas ornaments but changed my mind.  Cans and glasses fit great and no more marks on the table. 
Open your eyes and your mind to what you already have.  Just because something was made for one purpose doesn't mean it can't be used for something else.  What would you use a tart tin for?
Does anyone even make tarts anymore?

junk sign

 My kids know to never throw anything away without checking with me first.  This piece was the side light to a door son Ronnie was replacing.  I brought it home, cleaned it up, and got the caulk off. , I dampened news paper cut to size  and layed it on the the glass so I didn't have to tape.   Then I  painted 2 coats of outdoor black on both sides of the frame. I then applied a coat of matte Mod Podge on the side of the glass I was going to paint on, just to give  a little tooth to the surface. 
I printed the saying "Life began in a garden" , on my computer.  I cut and  taped the words together and working from the middle out, positioned the words on the back side of the glass.  The blue tape was where I wanted the bottom of most of my letters to be and is also on the wrong side.
After everything was in place I painted the letters with outdoor acrylic black paint.  When it was dry, I gave the words a second coat  Let all this dry overnight. This was before I had my Cricut.  Now I would just cut a stencil and make my life easier.
The next morning I applied 3 coats of Mod Podge.  That's what gives it the filmy look.  I probably will reapply this every spring to keep the paint from peeling.
AH used eye bolts and hooks to hang the sign from the cross beam of our pergola.  We thought chain would swing too much.  This thing is HEAVY so we used heavy duty hardware.  We really don't want anyone to get hit on the head.
The lesson here is taking a second or even third look at everything before you toss it in the trash. Or call me, I'm always looking for new projects.

a hot summer day

A couple of weeks ago my two youngest granddaughters 6 and 8 came to stay with us for several days.  When we were talking about what they would like to do while they were here, the first thing they mentioned was going to see the girls with the horses. Our preachers daughters had stayed with all 5 grand kids while the adults went to celebrate my birthday a few months ago.  Fancy restaurants and little kids are not a good match.  They had talked about their horses so naturally my granddaughters remembered that.  It was in the high 90's with a heat index at least 115.  These lovely young women were so welcoming and kind.  They let my girls hold and pet the rabbits, cuddle kittens, feed apples to the horses and most important took
them for a ride.  I deeply appreciated the time and care
they took to give the kids a great time.
My girls are from the big city.  They rarely have the
opportunity to see nature and farm life, so this day
was a huge thrill for them.  They talked about horses
the rest of the week.  So to Marney, Chloe and Baleigh
thank you so much you made two little girls very
happy.

Living in a rural area it is hard to remember that more and more kids are growing up without seeing animals, farms and even where their food comes from.  I find this sad because the kids miss so many opportunities to experience new things.  If you have the chance, take your kids or grand kids out into the country to see rural life first hand.

Later that evening AH took the girls for a wild ride on his Harley.  They loved it, grandma was not thrilled by the lack of a helmet.  He did go very slow and just around the block.  I didn't get a clear shot of my other grand daughter because the lens of the camera kept steaming up from all the heat and humidity.  I hate to say it but this summer has been so unrelentingly hot I'm ready for fall.

reveal part2

 Whoops! the pictures were behaving badly so I decided to do this in 2 parts.  The first picture is a little hint.  I always leave big pieces like this cabinet away from the wall a few inches.  You can use it for additional storage of pictures, frames or table leaves.  This is only away from the wall about 4"

The knock down cabinet has been moved and carefully so as not to destroy anything fitted with shelves inside.  I use it to store gift wrapping supplies, dishes and miscellaneous stuff.  The baskets on top were spray painted and hold linens.

This is the cabinet I use  to store most of my good china.  It's early turn of the century and holds a ton of stuff beautifully.

This is the small blanket chest that I painted earlier.  I've accessorized it with grunge painted candle sticks and a wooden box with a few pretty dishes and pictures.   still need to come up with art work for the wall above.   The doily was made by AH's grandma years ago.







So that's the room, I hope you like it.  Now for the grand total of what I spent.  $00.  That's right nothing.  Here's how I did it:  The wallpaper was a free cycle find, the paint was an extra full can that my parents had.  It was cream so I just added blue and green acrylic paint until I had the color I wanted.  The fabric was leftover from making  my mother's new window treatments.  My sister found it at a RS.  Everything else are things I already had.  I painted, stitched and re purposed all of it from my stash.  Yes I am a pack rat, it's genetic and addictive.  I also have a huge supply of craft and sewing supplies and plenty of decorative accessories.  Anybody could do this.  If you have a room you want to redo.  Make a plan, but keep your mind and your eyes open.  Hit the sales and thrift shops, always check the clearance racks.  Start by finding pictures in magazines or  on the Internet.  Pick up samples for paint, stain or flooring.  Keep a notebook of samples and measurments in your purse.  I use a zip top sandwich bag for each room I'm working on. Buy what you like when you find it otherwise it will probably be gone and don't be afraid to change what you don't like about a piece.  Paint is cheap and sewing is easy.  If you don't know how check the Internet or bribe a friend.  If you don't like something later you can always sell it at your own RS later, donate it or call me, I love a bargain.

Starting on the adjoining bathroom this morning.  Stay tuned.

the big reveal

For those of you that have been reading for a while you now get to see the big reveal of my guest room redo.  If you're new to vintage cottage I started redoing this room over the fourth of July weekend.  Look at the decorating sections of the blog for additional pictures and projects.  I wanted a to redo the room to be lighter, brighter and less cluttered.  It still needed to function as a guest room and keep all the storage.  The room is hard to work around.  There are 6 doors and 2 windows, it is off the main bathroom, goes into the kitchen and the office is through another door.  The storage pieces are huge and the bed is queen size.

The first thing I did was strip the wall paper on the one wall, repaper and paint all the trim and the other 3 walls.  The first picture is the wall paper before, pretty but I was over it.  The cabinet is an antique that used to belong to a dear friend   It is known as a knock down cabinet.  It collapses into pieces that end up as a pile about 8" high.  It would have fit in the floor boards of a covered wagon and  is solid walnut..

The next pic is the small dresser I painted (check previous post).  This hold most of my grand kids toys, books and puzzles.  The front cover is burlap and slides on a small rod.  You can see the wall paper I've used it's really a dark aqua.








My ever present helpers, Harley and Callie.  Anything I
 did in the room they were there to supervise.

The walls look bright green, but are really a soft aqua.  It was early in the morning and the room faces east.  The cabinet is filled with dishes.  The basket is filled with quilts.  The shelves next to the cabinet hold my decorative vases, candle sticks etc.  This was originally a door that went outside.  It was closed in and we finished it out and put in the shelves.

A better look at the shelves.  I've done a little tweaking since this was taken.  The shelves are narrow but they do hold a lot of stuff.  Since I am the self proclaimed Queen of Stuff, I need all they storage I can get.

 The window treatments are lace panels and a butterfly pickup valance.  Instructions are on this blog.  It's a simple rectangle with hems at both ends held up by a tassel in the center.

The next picture shows my oak china cabinet that holds most of my good dishes.  It's turn of the century and I love the way it looks.

 

 A closer look at the quilt shelf and some of my collection of pitchers.  My mother made the quilt and didn't like the colors.  I think they go great in here.

 

Harley on the finished bed.  He thinks it's his special space especially when the sunlight is streaming in.
 A close up of the bed.  It is on bed risers for added storage.  I tucked lace panels under the box springs so the skirt would look long enough.  I added a white bed skirt, a white bed spread that looks like lace pieces sewn onto it.  I made 2 24" European shams in plaid to match the valances, 2 ivory shams and pillows in antique his and her pillow cases.  I then added a burlap roll and a small rectangle from the plaid of the shams.  The blue at the bottom is an antique bedspread I've had for years.

These matching pieces were the inspiration for the color scheme in this room. They were a RS find for $4.00.  They are lamp bases but as soon as I can I'm going to turn them into plant stands.  I'll paint a pizza pan to look like copper and attach it to the top.  This is the room I keep most of my house plants in in the winter.

.

This is the wall above the bed. I filled it with an antique mirror, shelves and an interesting carved sconce that I grunge painted.

tomato and cucumber salad

This is a Midwest classic, with my twist on it.  When the tomatoes are ripe there is nothing that says summer quite as well.
Here's what you need:

tomatoes 2--3
cucumber no need to peel it if it's out of the garden
onion
vinegar I use cider vinegar
olive oil
salt and pepper
 Chop all the vegies into about 1/2 chunks, except dice the onion fine.  I used 3 small tomatoes, 1 large cucumber and about 1/4 of the onion.  I love raw onion but it doesn't love me.  .

Add about 1/4C of vinegar and 2-3T of oil.  Measurements are not important in this recipe just how it tastes, add salt and pepper.  This is even better if you let it sit for a few hours and serve at room temp.  Ice cold does not do good things for tomatoes.
Another heat wave is covering Illinois again, stay cool and check on your elderly neighbors and outdoor pets often.