It's still a little wonky but it's done!

It's done! It's done! she cried in excitement! My old blue hutch has her new (many) coats of white..... uh.. I mean FIVE coats of white.......

Here's the old tired ugly girl BEFORE I got started (above).  But nothing that is vintage is ugly right? Just needs some TLC..........  Below is after first coat of white spray paint. I had to put paper on the house as this thing takes about 3 people to move it.. and I had it right where I wanted it so wasn't about to move it again! (I did later level it up more).

I took no progress pictures ... go figure...... it got done in bits and pieces.... a little here... a little there..... ran out of spray paint... got two more cans... but wasn't covering real well.. so found an old can of primer I had that was all chunky and thick.... and doctored it up..... stirred and stirred.... and added water...... and put two coats of that primer on it! Then added two more coats of white spray paint.

So voila! Here she is! I'm been so anxious to get it done so I could show you!  She's pretty "rough"... a little wonky and crooked, but I love her anyway!

She's all dressed up for company.......

New pink glass knobs for the drawers....

Pretty pink hat mailbox that was my hubby's and mine at previous houses.... the I "heart" country banner was from our local thrift store.. just happened to see it as I was walking out the other day.

The "potting shed" sign used to be on my fence above that yellow bench I painted last year!  but hubby decided it should have a new home here. It's worn and faded so needs a new uplift (one of these days)......

What a pretty yellow "teacup" to hang on the side... I got it from the lady who gave me the hutch. I couldn't see throwing it away (as she was doing) so grabbed it up. My hubby got me the little green basket to hold my seeds and such.

Those darling birdhouses, yellow candle lamp, yellow bird, mug, two white and pink ceramic candle holders (on top) and flower pots.... also from thrift stores here in town. I want to hang the yellow bird with a little plant in it.

I think I actually squealed when I saw this little pink "ice cream chair" at an antique store the other day (about 20 miles from here)!! Can you believe it was already pink? It's really meant for my garden somewhere, but it looked so cute sitting here... just for a short time... and my little terrarium with the "air plants" just fits there, right? the chair may have to stay.

These are two little air plants I found at the local Fred Meyers store about 25 miles from here. They don't need water ladies! You just mist them every few dayswhen you feel like it, and they are good to go. The gal said they are meant for indoors, but they are dong fine in this 100 degree heat outside. Instant love.  I got the sand and rock pebbles and moss from the local Dollar Tree.. easy deal.

The little chair does look sweet sitting on the ground too, with my new (free) shrubs, thrift find watering can and green tin planter.  Yes, Bi-Mart gave away ALL of their flowers and plants about two weeks ago, right before this big heat wave hit! Most were really wilted and they just didn't want to deal with them anymore, so I got a few Ivy Geraniums (on their last legs), two lilac bushes and two Snowberry bushes, and they are all doing well and very happy in their new home. (Note to self:  tell hubby to remove that horrible ugly black cord that goes up the side of the house to the TV "dish"!!! We don't even have dish TV or anything, so get rid of it!)

There was a big empty hole on the hutch surface top. I think a little door used to be there.... so I added a little curtain to cover it up... tacked on with decorative tacks.. and now behind it I can store my little not so pretty (practical) things.  I stacked a few garden books with another little tin planter hubby found for me.. and bought a little cactus to put in it..... the pink birdy is compliments of the Dollar Tree... and the little aqua blue jar holds my plant fertilizer!

So here she is in all her glory! She's too pretty now to use for a planting table, isn't she? 

I had so much fun decorating her. And yes... I really HAVE used her as a work bench for planting my free plants from Bi Mart. The surface gets dirty but I just let it dry, and then sweep it right off. 

Of course, when it rains, I'll have to take a few things in! And in the winter, I'll remove everything and tarp it for the winter. But for now.... she's such a joy to look at..........

OTHER GARDEN THINGS:

I found a few more darling goodies for my garden at that antique store about 20 miles from Madras... I'm going to place them throughout my tubs and pots of flowers....... and I actually NEED the watering can for my front flower pots.

I think the pink chair might have already found a home at the hutch! (Rudy loved that chair.....) The galvanized watering can was in perfect condition... no holes... no rust.. for only $10! I was thrilled.

The little red bench/chair I just had to have.... just because it was so cute.... and the lid comes off to store goodies inside.... it'll sit amongst my flowers somewhere... and the chicken wire frame... already hanging on my fence!

And our "catio" is almost done! More on that soon............

Have a nice week everyone.... the solar eclipse here is fast approaching... and I"m dreading it to say the least.. our little town of 6,000 people is supposed to grow to close to 200,000 people.. who are all coming to view the (2 minute) total eclipse! Oh boy..........

Hugs to all............

Trippy...............

Hello my blog friends! 

Lake Billy Chinook - 7 miles from my home.

I'm overwhelmed (with photos of my trips)...(and when I say "trip", it could be going less than 10 miles from my home)......... I'm behind in posting (about my trips).... I'm stuck as to what to post first (about my trips)..... I don't know where to start! 

Railroad trestle, right in the  heart of Madras!

I have so many photos of beautiful, gorgeous and scenic areas that I've taken during the last year or so and that I haven't posted yet..... and I just keep putting it off because I don't know what to post first.

Some places are close to home, others further away.

At first I thought... well I should just do it in chronological order, right? But then it would take forever to get caught up to now! (and there are other more current things I would like to post NOW). What's a girl to do. I can't just NOT post them!

Lake Simtustus, about 10 miles from Madras, Oregon.

After much thought... I just decided to post some of my best photos, in no particular order, of places I've visited, either alone or with family... so I can mark these trips off my list of "blog posts to do"! 

Petroglyphs.... about 12 miles east of Madras.

So............ here goes!  First... places close to where I live......

1.  Haystack Reservoir in Madras, about 10 miles from where I live. A beautiful spot for kayaking, fishing and camping. We live in a dry area, so is so nice to have a lake close by. This was last summer with my sister and a friend. The last photo is the camp area.. very dry looking, right? but a beautiful view of Mt. Jefferson to the west.

2.  Smith Rocks State Park to the south of Madras, about 20 miles... it's a hiker and mountain climber's paradise! The Crooked River flows around the rock formations in a beautiful little canyon. These were taken last March when my son came to visit from Astoria, Oregon.

Mt. Jefferson to the west... in the distance.

Do you see the guy in the red T-shirt walking on the rope across the canyon? wowzer!

Close up of rope walker. I'm amazed.

Crooked River down below.. see the path along it and those tiny little people walking? Gives you some perspective of where I'm standing. Stunningly beautiful...........

Rock climbers heading straight UP the wall! (close-up)

Climbers from a distance.

Starting up top where I'm taking these pictures, you can walk way down a winding trail to the river and across a bridge, and then hike up the other side, way to the top of those rocks!  I stayed at the top!

That's my son and his girlfriend and her son on the bridge (this side.. .little cluster of black and pink).

Hiking back up is not for the weak of heart (and breath)!!!

Now for some further away trips...........

3.  Rife Lake and Mayfield Lake in Mossyrock, WA. This was a trip I took in June of this year to go visit my (miracle worker) chiropractor.  I used to live in this area back in 2000 and 2001. It's about a 5-1/2 hour drive from Madras, up into SW Washington state (you take I-5 North, then cut off on Hwy 12 east that heads to Yakima). Gorgeous, green area, but they get lots of rain!

Rife Lake between Mossyrock, WA and Morton, WA. 

Rife Lake - boaters love it, but was mid-week and no boats out! I was really surprised.

Campground at Mayfield Lake by Mossyrock, WA. Oh boy did I love the green there!

Mayfield Lake - lovely place to sit in the evening. Visited with my sister and brother-in-law.

Fresh local strawberries from the fruit stand down the road. 

4.  Beacon Rock State park in Washington, just across the Columbia River from Oregon. The Columbia River divides Oregon and Washington. I just had to stop here on the way home from my trip to see my chiropractor in June. I hadn't been there for a along time. There is a (very precarious) hiking trail to the very top! My oldest son hiked it once with his dad when he was about 8 years old. I never have.

Beacon Rock is about the third largest monolith (single rock) in the world!

This is an inlet of the Columbia River, which flows "mightily" as they say, beyond the trees.

Beacon Rock is in the distance. This is a view of the Columbia River and Beacon Rock (to the east) from a high spot just east of Washougal, WA where I used to live (Cape Horn is an area on a very twisty and narrow road around a rock cliff!). Washougal is east of Vancouver, WA about 20 miles.

Looking down into the beautiful farms and pastures from Cape Horn, the viewpoint I was standing on (that looks east to Beacon Rock).

Nature is not only what is visible to the eye --

it shows the inner images of the soul --

the images on the back side of the eyes.

Edward Munch (1863-1944)
Norwegian painter and printmaker

The mighty Columbia River.

5.  Cascade Locks, Oregon Marine Park on the Columbia River. This was during my trip to my chiropractor in June. Cascade Locks has actual "locks" where the ships that come up the river have to go through. There are two or three Sternwheelers that traverse up and down the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon east up the Columbia River to destinations east of The Dalles, Oregon (going into the dry country). 

I'm in the park looking East to the town of Stevenson, WA. This is a beautiful park where the Sternwheelers dock and take on loads of people who want to travel the Columbia River. 

Very popular fishing spot, but always windy here!

The Bridge of the Gods in the distance, with a big barge coming up the river. It makes a big turn as I take pictures, and doesn't come up through the locks.

Oh it's all so green and lovely and high mountains line the gorge on both sides.

Fish ladders used by the Indians for their Salmon fishing. They sell their catches in Cascade Locks at roadside stands and at one of the largest restaurants in the area. 

I think that's enough photos for one post. I just love capturing images of our beautiful country, maybe a perspective that no one else has seen with their eyes! 

Oregon and Washington are a photographer's paradise, and I can travel less than 10 miles from my home to find some of the most awesome works of Mother Nature in the Pacific Northwest!

Enjoy the weekend friends! It's still HOT here!