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Thursday, October 19, 2017

Lull in the yard activities.... this and that..... and new project......

Hi blogging friends...... it's been almost a month since I've posted so thought I'd bring you up to date! Really though... not much has been happening around here. All the activity outside in the yard and on the house has seemed to come to (almost) a screeching halt.  It's kind of a letdown.......


Our painter guy got too busy..... he's so popular now that everyone wants him to do work for them. Darn....... but since he lives just down the block from us, he does come over now and then and works for a short time, an hour here, an hour there.  When he painted our house, he told us we need gutters.... well we knew that but hadn't been able to afford having them put on. He offered to put them on, which would be included with the price of fixing and repairing (and replacing?) our rock wall in the front yard. Wow.... that has been a bonus for us! So the front ones are almost done.

Our poor front yard is a mess (yet again). How many times this summer has it been torn up????





The wall is still there, leaning outward at a precarious tilt.. and he and/or his workers have been digging behind it so they can put drains there and gravel, and make the necessary repairs. To our and their surprise, there WERE some "dead men" behind it, holding it back. A "dead man" is a big cement thing that attaches to the wall and is buried in the yard behind the wall, to keep it from tilting outward and falling down. Well the dead men obviously have not worked!




To make matters worse, our painter guy's two sons were in a car accident. One broke his leg in 7 places, and the other hurt his knee! Oh boy... that will put a kibosh in the work activities, for sure. So I don't know now WHEN the work will be finished on our wall! Frustrating to say the least, but I'm glad his sons are OK.

Here's a pretty picture to make me feel better..... Mt. Jefferson as seen from just up the street from our house.  I drive up there and just sit awhile.. when I'm feeling frustrated or overwhelmed... it helps to calm me.


And I've started doing a little crafting again..... I have a new "craft corner" in our living room. It's my house and I can do what I want, right? We got a new little (used) dining set that has more comfortable chairs, with cushions and arms and on casters. We really like it.... but what to do with the older set? We were going to sell it, but I decided to try it out in the corner of our living room, right by our electric fireplace, and beside the TV, so I can sit and watch  YouTube videos and craft at the same time! I love it there and I feel like doing more when I sit in the living room by the fire.





So I now have a new............



CAT "CATIO"....

Our catio is almost ready to use! Did I show you this before? I can't remember now, so will show you again. It's a chicken coup, but we are going to use it for our 3 cats if we go somewhere more than 1 night. For one night, we can leave them in the house, but for longer, we wanted a way to leave them in the garage, but with a way to be outside also. So we now have the cat door installed on the side of the garage, and it goes outside into the "catio" where they can get some daylight and fresh air. The garage is dark, no windows at the moment (that's on the "to do" list)............. so they can have their food and water in the garage when we're gone, without all the neighborhood cats coming inside and eating it (and sleeping in there!)..... and still be able to go outside and lounge on the catio. 



This isn't quite done yet. We are raising it off the ground. We've cut the plywood piece for the floor, I've bought the blocks for under it, and we just have to raise it up and put it on the blocks, and attach it to the house somehow. We'll have a nice rug inside and some stools/platforms for them to sit on. The litter box will be inside the garage. We can't just leave the cats "loose" when we're gone, as there are too many neighborhood feral cats that fight with ours.  I'll show you another picture when it's totally done, which will be soon I hope!

NEW PROJECT:

Hubby has a new project to keep him busy for awhile.......






HE wanted it, so it's HIS project! He promised. I don't want to deal with it (well not too much anyway). But.... I DO want the end result!  It's a 1980 Perris Valley camper made for a small truck. Pretty decent shape, but needs alot of work too, such as resealing, new vents on top, one new window, door repaired, and inside, though fairly good, needs new cushions, foam, etc. Lots of cosmetic stuff too. 

I want to get rid of the brown plaid cushions. He wants the theme to be cowboy/southwestern so I plan to recover the cushions in a western theme, using greens. And although I love lace curtains, these will have to go! I'll make some new ones. We/I also plan to paint that dark paneling to a nice off white.

Hopefully it'll be done enough by next summer to take a few short road trips. We've wanted a little travel trailer for years, but this is about all we could afford... was practically free, so that's a good price. 

The gold stripes will be painted black to match our truck. I think it will look really nice. Since these pictures, he's washed it thoroughly and it looks like new! The inside had a couple of leaks so we need to re-do the paneling in those spots.

CROCHET AND FABRIC:

I got to go visit our neighbor's mother 2 weeks ago, who has quilted for many many years. She was getting rid of most of her fabric and she knew that I sewed. She showed me the quilts she has in her home. She has made EVERY one, all by hand, the piecing and the quilting. Wow. She said she has too much arthritis in her hands now which is sad. I suggested maybe she could do the piecing by machine instead of by hand, but she said she feels that is "cheating"! 

Boy did I ever hit the jackpot! I now have bags and bags of beautiful fabric, embroidered quilt squares, some partial quilt blocks, tons of whites and off whites and some flannel! This all precipitated me deciding we need to get rid of our huge futon that takes up half of my craftroom! So that's for sale, and I've already found a nice tall bookshelf to put on the empty wall once the futon is gone. I need more room for all that fabric!  What's a girl to do?

This sweet woman (we talked for hours) also crochets, and has made GORGEOUS doilies. She had a trunk full of doily sets using that teeny tiny thread! She said she's still able to crochet. She has inspired me to start crocheting again. 

She gave me two of her all cotton dish clothes that she made, and I love them! I must admit, I've felt for years that a handmade cotton dishcloth was more for just something pretty to look at, and not using. But I was so wrong. They work so much better than those store bought things, and they dry so fast that they stay clean longer. Now I want to make some dishcloths for gifts....... so of course, I had to immediately go to the store and buy several skeins of the pretty Sugar & Spice cotton yarns. Oh me........I need two more "me's" to do all the projects I want to.

THAT'S THE NEWS FOR NOW....

Lot's to do as usual. Never a dull moment around here. I did get all my back yard pots and tubs cleaned out and all the dead stuff cut down and thrown away. I was dreading that so glad it's done!

Now I can get back to my crafting. More on that later.....






15 comments:

  1. Finding "dead men" behind a retaining wall sounds like a "mob" thing, LOL.
    I think that doing up your camper in cowboy, sounds like fun . . . wish I was there to help . . . I think we could make a good cowgirl team . . . "round it up and get her gone"!

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    1. You are funny! I had to laugh when hubby told me the cement thing was called a dead man! Yes.. wish we lived closer...you could help me "get 'er done" and inspire me!

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  2. Hi Marilyn. That cat house thing is a great idea. Love your new "glamper". I think your theme is going to look awesome. Lots going on and not going on for you. Hopefully that yard stuff will get fixed soon. I totally can relate to renovation issues with the people working. We had our fair share of things going wrong too. Have a great Friday and wonderful weekend.
    Kris

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    1. Kris, I know you can relate to having to be patient and WAITING for things to get done when others are doing it! Patient is not a word in my vocabulary! We got our "catio" totally done and I"m so happy.. it was on my "to do" list all summer. Put it up on blocks and put a floor on it and hooked it to our garage to keep it from blowing away! Now we just need to make a road trip........... cats can live in the garage while we're gone and yet get outside for some fresh air.. and the neighborhood cats won't be able to invade the garage and the food, etc. Am anxious for your next post too! xoxo Marilyn

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  3. Marilyn, it sounds like you are doing some things that you enjoy and then you can go camping!! That is so much fun. Cooking dinners is much more enjoyable than doing it at home! Love the table spot. It will make you want to accomplish some crafts for sure. My craft room is so cold now and not fun to work in so the game table fits the bill and I love being out where the action is. (I mean while hubby and dog are peacefully sleeping in front of the TV) and I can watch what I want and accomplish something too..Thanks for your visit and the cats must be really excited!..Judy

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    1. Hi Judy! Yes I do love my table in the living room! I'm using it all the time now and just love it.. warm there and can watch TV as I craft.... ingenious of me if I do say so! and yes... we're exciting to do some little road trips next summer with our camper. Hubby is working on it as I speak! Lots to do but little by little hopefully it'll get "sleep worthy"! Hugs.. Marilyn

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  4. So sorry you are having troubles with your front yard project. It seems to take forever to get that kind of thing done. I dealt with a septic tank situation, somewhat similar almost all summer. Ugh.
    So happy you found all that wonderful fabric and a friend to boot. Oh, here come the projects. She sounds like a fascinating lady. I hope you enjoy learning to crochet dish cloths. I am addicted to making them...I am at it every winter, just for fun. I use to sell them online in Etsy but don't bother with that any more.
    Can't wait to see what you do with the camper. Your plans sound great. And next summer I will be watching to see where you camp in Oregon as I really want to come down to catch some of your beautiful parks.

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    1. Hi Karen..... well we did get our rock wall done finally! I'm going to post pictures shortly on my blog. I'm so relieved. He has a few more small cracks to seal up but that's it. Kept the same rock wall which adds so much personality to our house! I got a dishcloth started the other night and can tell I'm going to enjoy making them. I love the two I got.. never thought I'd like them so always passed them up at the craft bazaars... now I'll know better as prefer them over the store bought ones.

      I'm excited about the camper too! We're getting our new vents in next week, then a new door glass... hubby has painted the lower part and has torn out alot of the inside paneling. Little by little.......... I already am checking out places to go camp! I have my eye especially on the Williamson River State Park down north of Klamath Falls as is right on the river.. I dream of sitting in my camper and looking out the back door as the river flows by! Also, there are some great lakes to camp at in Oregon too. I can hardly wait!!! Hugs.. Marilyn

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  5. You sure have had a busy time of it this summer! I love your "glamper", we have one of those, and love it! We got ours very cheap too, and it works out great to get into spots that aren't easily accessible. We also camp just anywhere we want to in the national forest and state land too. It will look wonderful once you are done renovating it! I love your new little spot to sit and craft at! I agree that it is hard to be away from the fire and family in the winter as you craft, and this works out so much better for you! Your catio is amazing, what a great idea! This will be a blessing to have once you are able to get out and camp, and not have to worry about the kitties! I hope that your house gets painted soon, and the dead man issue gets resolved! Lots and lots of projects that you have! Praying sweet blessings for you :)

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    1. Hi Marilyn.... yes lots of projects this summer! Is your "glamper" full sized? Ours is for a small truck, so can't even stand up inside, but almost. I'm so happy to just have it and to be able to have a roof over our heads if it should rain! Hubby is working on it quite abit which encourages me!

      We got our catio all done and attached to our garage, so the winds won't blow it away. Has a rug in it and cozy fleeze blankets in their "upstairs" area. They may get to use it come Thanksgiving as we are hoping to go visit my son in Astoria, OR (weather permitting). There is always the potential of snow to consider! Our neighborhood "community cats" want to use the patio too, but I keep it closed off from the outside as fear their smells will keep our own cats from wanting to use it. Sending prayers to you as you recover from your last surgery... hugs.. Marilyn

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  6. Thanks again, Marilyn, for sweet words. Hope all is well and you are enjoying the fall weather..Happy Weekend..Judy

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  7. Good morning, dearest Marilyn! My oh my, you have been a busy little bee! You certainly had a lot of fubn projects going on and oh, what a fun little ""glamper." :)

    THANK YOU for letting me know about your Etsy shop. I'm so excited that you reopened it! I just took a peek at your goodies, but must be off this morning so I will visit again tonight. I have my eye on a couple of things {{smiles}}

    Happy weekend! Hugs!

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    1. Stephanie... thank you for the kind words (and the order!). Having a shop is so so so so fun! I love it just so I can have a place to put everything I make! Yes.. always so many projects and the ideas are spinning around in my head for more things to add to my shop. Hugs to you.. Marilyn

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  8. Hello Marilyn! Once again enjoyed seeing all you and your hubby's projects. The glamper will be fun to fix up and even more to use. The catio is so creative and very cool, I might add. Your felines will be safe and content in that for sure. But I love your lil dining set by the fireplace. It looks warm and cozy and I love the lamp. Will look forward to your updates...Take care, Be well and Happy November!

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    1. Sandra, thank you for your comment. I went to see if you have a blog, but no... but did see you are from central Oregon! Are we perhaps "neighbors"??? I live in Madras and my sister lives in LaPine. I love our catio and am excited to have the kitties use it. They loved it even before it was "outfitted" with rugs and blankets. And yes.. my cozy crafting corner will be much used I'm sure. I'm already using it alot and love being able to watch TV if the urge to craft hits me! Take care.... Marilyn

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