i did not have time to pack my bags for my unexpected trip.....down memory lane

yesterday an unexpected happening

forced steph and i to tear apart

the boys room and do some major

housekeeping

today we decided to

give our own rooms

some tlc

the rearranging bug has bit

me bad

not able to get away

for a change of scenery

i am making some

changes here

on the home front.

the recent death of my

80ish -  90ish year old

loveseat and

my recent spring cleaning fling

that has resulted in a

use it or lose it

state of living

which means some rearranging

is much needed.

while moving things

from here to there

and other things

from there to here

 i came across

a couple of childhood

loves

and my crib companion

45 years old this little sheep is.

loved this wee little baby even though i received her

near the end of my baby doll days.

wee babies accessories

her christening dress that i oh-so-carefully wrapped in an old fashioned sandwich bag from back in the
dinosaur days. a zipperless baggie.


and my most favorite baby doll

oh how i loved to dress her up

and then put her in her jammies again.

i remember how i use to dream about the day

i would be a mommy to real babies.

years later i would have my

dream come true and

have 3 beautiful babies.

with this man

molly just loves it when bill comes home

because he lets her do what i won't

sit on the kitchen table

here they trade stories on just what a hard day they each had

it seems they are both deep in  thought....

reading the paper together

bert decided he would be king of the ironing board

today

since it was not being used

for its intened purpose

this arty girl is off to go clean up the mess she made earlier today.....see you soon.

with rubberbands i dye to strip and bake for you while veritgo and i played hide and seek today

i am a bit slap happy this evening.

we are still adjusting to a school schedule.

we are all so very tired.

yesterday steph and i gathered fabric of the muslin variety....and if you ask my hubby it is musliM....

yesterday steph and i twisted, knotted, and rubberbanded fabric with anxious anticipation of what today would bring.

last night i gathered all of our supplies:

these....

lots of these

and then i gathered

these

and those

and those too....

today,  i thought....hmmmm maybe i should read the directions.

this is close to what the tiny print looks like with my 45 year old eyes.....it use to be nearsightedness was my only visual issue

so i had to run and grab a pair of these to read the directions...so much better...

i love my cheaters.  got loads of them for a buck a pair a target a couple of years ago and they are scattered here, there, and everywhere throughout the house.

 once i had a good view of the directions i found much to mine and steph's disappointment that we needed lots of this

we don't have lots of this.  so we will have to wait until this weekend to dye all the fabric we have gathered, bunched, knotted, banded, and tied....

i had planned to multi-task today not only our dye project, but also stripping.

yup i stripped down to the bare nakedness in the backyard.

the bare naked metal and wood that is.

so with some of this citrus-y stuff

 it was generously schmered on 3 chairs

 a window pane

 and some metal vents that have a patent date of the late 1880's (ummm....forgot to snap a photo of thoses)



but these lovely pieces of semi painted-rusted-patina metal are the backs from 2 vintage chairs that fell apart. 

as the hubs headed for the trash he stopped in his tracks and wait to hear it....he knew it was coming....my yelp....'wait....don't throw those away i have an idea!'

and so he took them apart and kept the good stuff and threw out the broken-beyond-repair pieces.

i am waiting for the weather to cool just a bit so that we can light another fire in the back and finish the burning process that we started just before the weather turned so hot.

after several hours of stripping in the backyard i gave in to the hungry-hungry mosquitos.

hours with your hands inside rubber gloves leaves an arty girls fingers looking a bit like this

ewww that feels weird

and if they weren't wrinkly enough

i jumped in and took a quick shower

i will spare you those photos!

the hubs worked and worked and worked his tush off today

after he was showered and fed and tucked in bed

i set off to  make him a treat

for tomorrow

bert wanted to help...help lick the bowl that is

please momma, if i am a good boy can i have a lick?  i know that is what he thinking.

hmmm...is that the look of disgust i see on his face...or impatience?

maybe i will get a lick after she puts the batter in these?

ahhhh...heaven....

 cinnamon-cakey-yumminess.....can you smell it?

even though we had to put off our the adventure we were just dye-ing to take today

it was still a very productive

tiring

and

fun

day

vertigo and i played hide -n- seek all day

and a few times peek-a-boo

but i have to say this is the best day i have had in over 2 weeks

this arty girl is going to bed with a smile on

and her jammies.

nighty-night

mwah.

i swear it feels like somebody is watching me........

this morning

as i stumbled half asleep still

in to the kitchen

i could swear i was being stared at.

something or someone

outside

was staring

at

me.

i have to be careful

and check the backyard

for our neighborhood

feathered friend

that eats small

critters

before i let the girls out.

i was even thinking it was the

girls

that were staring at me

since they sleep

on a pillow

by the back door.

just as i walked over

to open the door to let the girls

out to potty

i spotted

the source

of that creepy

being stared at feeling

this little guy was

sitting on the doohickey

of our french door

i figured he would hippity-hop

on his way once i let the girls out

but nope

he stayed put.

i headed back to grab my camera

assuming he would be long gone

upon my return

but nope

still there

he stayed around all morning

and afternoon

giving me a chance to

do a photo shoot.

poor bertie wanted to come outside and play

too.

the poor little guy was probably hoping

i would invite him in for a

bit since even

in the shade

the heat was beyond

miserable.

i headed back in

and looked back

to see

him looking in

i felt guilty

he almost seemed to be saying

please let me in

with those little beady eyes of his

hoping the passing storms brought a bit of relief to

the little guy

i am sure he appreciated the moisture.

the first round of storms left as quickly as they came

i love watching storm clouds build.

these are some lockets that sat over night in a vinegar/salt and mulch

mixture.  i made the mistake of not wiping the wet mulch off

thinking it would be best to let it dry for a few hours

found out the verdigris came right off as well, oops!

still like how they look, but i stuck them back in

the mulch to build up a bit more patina

think my research is just about done

and i am ready to start writing

the tutorial.

as much as i have had fun experimenting and playing

i think i am ready to move on to another tutorial.

until next time

smooches to ya.