More Pics!

Raindrops on roses . . .

and berries . . .

(you thought I was going to say whiskers on kittens, didn't you?  I'll get to that)

and leaves . . .

and webs!

And now for the whiskers on kittens.

Out With The Old . . .

Guess who got a new camera!

My old hand-me-down camera was deteriorating so it seemed like it was time for a new one.

Guess what I've been doing!

A Little Privacy Please!

Yes, it's been a while.  Yes, a lot of progress has been made.  Yes, I'm skipping over a lot.  GASP! 

 I couldn't resist.  If you've been following the posts on the renovation you may remember this post.  Today's post is a follow-up, specifically about my bathroom door.

First, a little background.

Having limited space to work with, I really liked the idea of a sliding door.  This picture also got me thinking about the darkness of a room without windows.   

Okay, a slider with glass it is.  (click link above for more information about the door I found)

Now to find a creative and affordable solution for making it bathroom friendly.  And, I might add, no longer the subject of  much teasing!  If I had a dollar for every time I heard the comment, "It's not very private!". . . 

Most of the time, I just look at the pictures on Pinterest, but this one warranted further investigation.  Turns out it's just clear contact paper and paint pens.  That simple!

After testing, I decided the contact paper wasn't quite opaque enough.  At least, not on its own.

So while I was trying modify the above plan, I was also trying to think of some design options.  This picture of curtains made out of old hankies started the wheels in my head turning until -FLASH- the light bulb came on!  

Actually, it was more like, DUH! 

I'm a quilter! 

Quilt blocks!  

DUH!!!

Next step - implementation!  

Oh wait.  One more test. I needed to see if my medium of choice would work.

I had decided on tissue paper applied to the contact paper with an old standby . . .

Did you know that this stuff has been around since 1967?  I remember using it back in the 70s.  We were on kind of a Mod Podge kick for a while there.

With a successful test completed, I turned to my EQ6 computer software for the design process.  It has a gazillion blocks in its library and lots of different ways to modify them.

I picked out a bunch, colored them and recolored them.

Then I arranged them and rearranged them.

When I was pleased with the layout (for a while) I printed out each block as a template.

Here's my work station all set up.  

Here's my assistant.

Here's my method:  After using the template to cut the pieces of tissue paper needed,  I layered a square of contact paper over it and taped it all down to the desk.

Since the Mod Podge dries fairly quickly, I spread only enough for one piece at a time.

Placing the paper in position was a little fiddly.

Once all the pieces were in place, I covered it all with a layer of Mod Podge.

When the first block was finished and placed on the door, it seemed to lack something.  So I decided to try outlining each patch with a black Sharpie.

Exactly what was needed!

Fini!

This is with lights on outside only.

Lights on inside only.

Lights on both sides.

I am well pleased!

Sunday's Song

Last week we sang this lovely setting of How Much I Owe.  The text is an 1837 poem by Scottish poet Robert Murray McCheyne.

(This link will take you to the music publisher's site.  To hear the song, click on the top icon to the left of the purple picture.)
Title How Much I Owe - Search Results at Stanton's Sheet Music

When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glaring sun,
When I stand with Christ on high,
Looking o'er life's history,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know-
Not till then -how much I owe.

Chosen not for good in me,
Wakened up from wrath to flee,
Hidden in the Savior's side,
By the Spirit sanctified,
Teach me, Lord, on earth to show,
By my love, how much I owe.

Oft the nights of sorrow reign -
Weeping, sickness, sighing, pain;
But, when fear is at the height,
Jesus comes, and all is light;
Blessed Jesus! bid me show
Doubting saints how much I owe.

When I stand before the throne,
Dressed in beauty not my own,
When I see Thee as Thou art,
Love Thee with unsinning heart,
Then Lord, shall I fully know -
Not till then - how much I owe.

Who's That Knocking At My Door?

I should probably start a recurring post called Tangent Tuesday.  Although, I don't know if I could confine it to one day a week.  It seems to happen quite often.  Today's post was intended to show off my new door but the title above immediately sent me off on a tangent.  And that's where I'm going to start, so if you want to skip to the door you'll have to go to the next page.

back,  l-r:  Uncle Maurice, Aunt Ruth, Mom, Dad, Me.
front l-r:  Great-aunt Amy, Great-aunt Ruth, Aunt Carol, Aunt Miriam.

The little lady in the red coat was my great-aunt Ruth.  We refer to her as "Little Auntie Ruth" to differentiate her from our Aunt Ruth, mom's sister.  Confused yet?

Two of my six siblings, Susan and Brian.

Little Auntie Ruth used to live in this little trailer on our property, right next to our house, from the early 60s to 1971, the year she died.  There are lots of memories I could share about her, but the one that connects this tangent to my door is the way she answered her door. When we knocked, she would come to the door singing this  little ditty:

I've asked around to see if anyone knows where it came from but it was probably something she just made up.

Okay, that's the tangent.  Now, the door.

Workbench Update

The workbench has a new home.

And it has been reunited with many of Dad's tools and tool boxes.  Looks like a perfect fit, Brian.  Enjoy!

Each little bird that sings...

. . . and sings and sings!

This Sunday's Song is brought to you by the state bird of Georgia.  I just spent two weeks in Pembroke, Georgia, visiting my daughter and her husband.  One of the delights of my time there was waking every morning to the sound of the Brown Thrashers singing outside my window.  Now, I am a morning person and I try not to judge non-morning people but, I don't know how anyone could not enjoy a wake up call like this.

A Woman's Prerogative

It's probably not very "PC" to talk about the changing of one's mind being a woman's prerogative but, hey, I'm claiming it. 

 Last fall, the plan was to repurpose these two work benches into one large quilting/crafting work area. I really wanted to keep them because they were my dad's.  In fact, the one in the top picture was from our old house.  How Dad managed to get it into this basement is a bit of a mystery.

Well, after putting them back to back and trying it out for a while, I started to see some drawbacks to this plan.  They were a bit too big and cumbersome.  And HEAVY.  I like rearranging my furniture and these would not lend themselves to that activity.  And all those drawers - I couldn't remember where I put what.

So, plan B.   B for Brother.  B for Brian!  

Brian said he could use the long bench so a few weeks ago he came and got it.

He came and got it - sounds so simple!

Actually, it went pretty well.  Our brother-in-law, Dana, also came to lend a hand.  We removed the drawers, the top and part of the back.

Then it was just a matter of getting it out the door.  Oh, and over a four foot concrete wall about three feet from the door!  And all done by two old guys with bad backs.  

The last major hurdle was getting it to, and on the truck.  Dana channeled his inner ancient Egyptian and rigged up some skids to make it easier to get down the hill to the road.  Brian backed the truck up onto the sidewalk and they just plopped it right on!  Well, not quite.  But almost!

Mission accomplished!  At least, from this end.  I never heard how things went at the other end of its journey.  I'm assuming it made it safe and sound and is ready to serve for many more years to come.

Bargain Basement

Does that conjure up an image in your head?  It does mine.  I remember when the bargains were found in a store's actual basement.

The bargains I'm referring to, however, are not FROM the basement, but FOR the basement.  Check it out!

Breaking News

Let's see - I could say we're sinking to new lows around here.  Plumbing the depths.  Hitting rock bottom.

Take your pick.  Or pickax.

Snow Fun

Just playing around with Picmonkey and my tatted snow crystals.
Cropping, adding, reversing, fading . . .fun!

A Winter Walk

I'm back.  Between the holidays and illness, it's taken me awhile to get back into the swing of things.  So let's ease into it with a walk to enjoy a crisp, sunny winter day.

I find it fascinating how frost interacts with different surfaces.

The water may look inviting, but that's actually a layer of ice on top.

And it's probably best to avoid our "hippo".  For the record, I did not even see him until I pulled the pictures up on the computer.

A little warmth on this chilly day - the fiery branches of a Red Bark Maple.

Frost, ice and bare branches:  clearly, this is winter.

And yet, a hint . . .

. . . of the promise of spring.