Friday Favorite - Simple Enjoyment

In the "Trying To Be A Better Blogger and Post More Often" category, I've had the idea of featuring one thing that's brought me joy during the week for a while but I never followed through.  I regularly find myself looking at something I'm using and thinking, "Gee, I love this".  They are almost always vintage items I've had for years, but sometimes I discover that things I didn't know I needed are amazing additions to daily life.

So here goes, my first Friday Favorite: My Dish Drainer.  Exciting beyond belief, right?  But honestly, every time I look at my dish drainer recently, I smile.

I have a dishwasher that I could (but don't want) to live without.  Our '50's bungalow didn't have one so I was more than a little excited when we bought a new house With A Dishwasher. 

Although it turned out to be a dishwasher that I'd turn on then leave to grocery shop.  Or go upstairs and use the sewing machine.   Or wander outside to pull weeds.  Noisy, much?   We never started it up when we wanted to have a conversation or watch TV or eat dinner.

There are some things that are not meant to go in dishwashers though--like wooden knives and cutting boards, aluminum measuring cups, melamine bowls--so they get washed by hand.

After twenty-five years of noisily but efficiently cleaning dishes, Dishwasher #1 began having issues (I can relate) and a new quiet model has since been installed (thankfully my husband has not replaced his older and noisy Wife #1). 

Those wooden/aluminum/melamine items still have to be washed individually though.  Hence the dish drainer. The current one is as old as our granite counter tops. Well, not as old as the granite pluton that spawned them originally. 

That would be silly since plastic didn't exist then.  

Neither did humans, now that I think of it. 

When we gleefully demolished our ceramic tile and grody grout a few years back, we bought a clear plastic dish drainer that wouldn't obscure our amazing smooth granite counter.  Years of cradling wet dishes left the rubber with a cloudy residue from unknown minerals in our generally fabulous water straight from Lake Tahoe.  Not pretty 'though still fairly see-through.

New Year, new eyes.  As I dried the dishes recently I actually looked at the drainer, saw the residue and made a change.  Not by buying a new drainer--applying a bit of elbow grease showed how easily the cloudiness could be eliminated.  A baking soda paste and a soft cloth revealed a clear, good-as-new surface.

So humble dish drainer, thanks for making my dishwashing chores a bit more beautiful and satisfying.

And the moral of the story (it occurs to me as I type) is that I have the power to improve life in lots of ways if I just open my eyes and make the effort.  I'm betting it works on people and relationships as well as dish drainers.  Grin.

Stay shiny,

My Cool Old Horse

Last October I bought a cool old horse at My Friends and I in Niles.

The horse caught my eye immediately.  I loved that it was a draft horse (my ranching family has a history of draft horses: my grandpa's Star that my mom drove during haying season, my uncle's Belgian mares, and a hitch and wagon owned by some cousins currently.  I loved the patina--but a bargain it wasn't. I walked past it a second time and found myself envisioning a Christmas tree being hauled home and was tempted, but the price still made me think twice.  Well, the third time I passed it...I gave in.  If an object is calling your name that insistently, what else can you do?

When I got to the register, my saleslady said she was glad someone wanted it.  She just thought it was a cool old horse so she'd obtained it for her booth.   I laughed when I saw my receipt.

(It's a bit faint, but it says "cool old horse".) Yeah, that's the price too.

Getting a Christmas tree for my draft horse to pull was easy--Walmart has bottle brush trees in various sizes and guises every year. 

You might notice that the tree it has a very realistic trunk.  I just pulled off the white plastic base, used my pruning shears to cut a branch the appropriate length, drilled a hole in said branch and glued the tree wire into it.  Easy upgrade!

Next project was giving the horse a harness.  I Googled "horse collar harness images", then grabbed some Sculpey and shaped my own version.

 After baking it, I painted it and then rubbed it with dark shoe polish--it looks just like leather!  All of the sudden you can see my cool old horse leaning into her load.

For the holidays I used doubled-over brown binding tape as traces (the straps that attach to the load being pulled) to let my cool old horse haul the tree home from the woods.

I plan to find some leather shoelaces to create traces as well as attach a swingle tree for a bit more authenticity.  Don't you love the evocative sound of "swingle tree?"  You can almost tell what it is from its name:  a wood piece between the traces and the tree   There would actually be several more pieces to a working harness but a harness, traces and swingle tree will do the job.

I'd been on the lookout for a vintage pickup that needed a Christmas tree on top but obviously the Universe thought I should use a horse instead. Good call, 'Verse.

 Stay shiny,

Last Year's Projects: Rescuing Jenny Lind

She wasn't a roadkill.  Just a damsel in distress.  Wait, I'm getting ahead of the story.

It helps when you volunteer at the PTA Thrift Shop because you get first crack at the goodies as you unpack them.  Sounds great, right?

Remember that saying "No good deed goes unpunished?"   Lavender-blue dangly earrings--check.  Flannel-lined sleeping bag like the one I had as a kid--check.  Vintage Jenny Lind bed--check.  Jenny was a find with a capital F and more than a bit of a bargain at $7.50 but still dangerous to those of us with more vision than sense.

Still, there are times you grab the deal and hold your breath until you're safely away.

In my defense, I didn't price it--some other volunteer mom did and the finish was disastrous.

On the other hand, that was in 1987 dollars and she's been stored since, so maybe she wasn't quite the bargain I'd intended? 

Tell me that I'm not the only one who's held on to a project for eons.

I always meant to re-stain the bed, but the thought of all those turned-wood posts meeting sandpaper effectively discouraged me from starting.  Then we moved Nevada from SoCal and she's been tucked away in our garage ever since.  Waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting.  Not unlike a princess asleep in her tower.

A very messy, garage-like tower with large gargoyles office desks lurking in the shadows.

Pinterest to her rescue.  A very playful, adventurous yellow or red or aqua rescue--I absolutely knew no white knight paint would suit her.  As a bonus, if I painted rather than re-stained her I wouldn't need to sand even one spindle.  That's a win/win, in my book.

I fell in love with this bed from Land of Nod currently "on sale" for five hundred down from five hundred ninety-nine (allow me to interject an exclamation mark at both those prices here). Inspired, I bought a subtle Robin's Egg Blue paint sampler from the Paint Mart and was ready to begin the transformation.  Sort of like a fairy godmother. 

That was the plan.

It always seem easy at the start, doesn't it?  Then reality interrupts that pleasant easy DIY daydream.

I was NOT pleased when I wiped off all the dust and spider webs and found my damp cloth was brown.  And not from dirt either. I had not bargained for bleed-through at all. (I did think it was odd though, since the old stain wasn't of the reddish/mahogany variety and I wasn't dealing with veneer.)  But the second cleaning gave me a brown towel again.  ARG!

Bear in mind that I worked on this project as a way to avoid the elephants in my garage (aka the two huge office desks that take as much space as a Mini Cooper)--not trying to give myself another headache. 

This story has a happy ending though.  Turns out the original finish was in such poor shape that I was actually wiping it off with a washcloth.  Crazy good!  I was able to use a medium sandpaper and "flick" the entire bed, spindles and all, down to bare wood without breaking a sweat.  Might have taken a whole hour, at most.

The only way it could have been easier was if the finish disappeared when I gave it a stern look.  Or waved my Fairy Godmother wand.

The result may be my favorite painted piece of furniture of all time! 

It is just the most perfect color possible.

 Pictures don't do it justice. 

The ironic part is that after all these years I don't intend to keep this sweet bed for myself!

   Why?  Well, I don't foresee a vacation cabin on a lake in my future.  Or a home with a loft where I can put multiple beds covered in homemade quilts for all the grandchildren. Some dreams you just have to let go.  And I already have a cutie-pie red iron bed in our guest room. 

So next summer (sniff, sniff) I'll take some evocative photos of an aqua Jenny Lind dressed in lace and ruffles in our flowery backyard and then with a great deal of reluctance (sniff, sniff), I'll post her on craigslist (for a bit less than the Land of Nod price).  Somewhere out there is a sweet little princess who needs the perfect bed for her tower.

The other happy ending...I was so happy with this project that I did actually finish the  two gargoyles elephants desks before the snow flew!

Stay shiny,

 
Party Central:  My Romantic Home
French Country Cottage
Miss Mustard Seed
Remodelaholic

My Guideposts--Number104

To live content with small means; 

to seek elegance rather than luxury, 

and refinement rather than fashion; 

to be worthy, not respectable, 

and wealthy, not rich; 

to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, 

act frankly; 

to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; 

to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, 

await occasions, hurry never. 

In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony. 

~William Henry Channing

 Stay shiny,

Research--Laying a Foundation for Success

How high-falutin' does that make me sound?! 


Mindful is a great mantra but it's only a place to start.  I could see the possibilities for better health, less stress, stronger relationships, and a fulfilled spirit--and I had some ideas.

This (Be Inspired/Be Inspiring) was a good starting point last year and I achieved some successes but I know I could been more inspiring if I'd had a stronger focus.  Or anything like a plan.

So...I've been spending time picking other people's brains.  Motivational-speaker-type brains.  It's the beginning of a New Year--like you hadn't noticed and needed me to tell you--and it's hard to tell if there's more people trumpeting Losing Weight or Making Resolutions solutions.  There are a lot of amazing people out there with some great ideas who want to help us live happier and better lives.  I'm sure they wouldn't mind us lining their pockets with a bit of lucre (the clean kind) but they are also willing to share plenty of free info.

I'm processing a truckload of their advice--I'm keeping the emeralds and blue topazes and throwing back the diamonds and rubies.  That sounds ever-so-slightly insane if you're a diamond and rubies sort, but now you know what jewelry makes my heart flutter.  Same thing with ideas. Or decorating trends. Or husbands.  Gotta go with what's right for you.

Currently:  evaluating last year.  Making a list of wins.  Deciding what I want to be thankful for as I look back on 2015.  Thinking a whole lot.

Stay shiny! (I'm in the midst of a Firefly marathon and can't help myself.  Kaylee fan!)

My Mantra for 2015

My inspiration word for 2015.

I read this in an email link on the very last day of 2014...

                      "most of the time we live without intentionality,  

                  and that's when we look back many years later and say, 

            'Where did it all go?'

         It's time to live as if it mattered."  

That resonated with me since the days/weeks/months/years have been flying by. 

As in *blink* and another year has vanished.

Not only gone, but leaving me wondering what I have to show for it.  What have I achieved?  What have I contributed?  What have I improved?  For myself and for the world?

And where do I want to find myself in a year?  Life is short and there are no guarantees. 

So living in the moment is going to help me be more aware of the choices I am making throughout the day.  And those days will add up to weeks and months and a year of being more focused on my goals.



Mindful.  That's my inspiration, my compass, my goal.  I can hardly wait to see how this affects my self, my mind, my spirit, my relationships, my organization. 



 

The Best Things About a New Year

I loved the quarter system in college.  Every nine weeks I got to buy new spiral bound notebooks with not a mark in them.  No matter what grades I'd earned in the previous quarter, there was the possibility of straight A's. Unknown professors with different styles of teaching.  Subjects that I'd never considered taking--like design, environmental horticulture, beginning art, veg crops or Chinese history--offered diversity.

I love fresh starts, possibilities uncluttered by baggage, the space to dream large. 

Then too, it's amazing at year's end to look back at what I've accomplished--especially since I frequently astonish myself by the volume I've completed.  Then there are always those high-priority tasks that somehow go begging for years.  I'm both encouraged and motivated.

Although I spend a lot of time during the eight months when I can actually hand's-on play-in-the-dirt in the high desert thinking about plants, it's that slim slice of time every year as I put the garden to bed when I learn the most.  It's enlightening, taking stock of failures and successes, planning for the future. 

So I'm looking backwards at 2014, even while I'm hanging up that new calendar.  I'm rummaging through the drawers and closets, discovering unfinished crafts and ideas and then curling up watching Firefly (for the fifth time) as I quilt, embroider, stitch and hem.

I'm just--just barely--disciplined enough to enjoy the satisfaction of completing a wall-hanging and packing it away until next autumn. But, trust me, my brain is busily and enthusiastically planning an assault on myriad fronts.  Some painting, lots of embroidery, sewing and more sewing.  Definitely planning for next Christmas--it's never too early and sometimes even a year ahead can be a bit too late!  Some big tasks, some itty-bitty ones.  Some for my own satisfaction, some as gifts, some as just a way to work out a challenge.  A visit to the garden store for seeds is in order.  Gift certificates to be redeemed.  Christmas money to be wisely used--membership at the scrapbook store so I can use workshop space and tools throughout the year, perhaps some new tools (because Santa somehow forgot to pack the requested clamps on his sleigh), and let us not forget some new boots to stomp out the cold weather blues.

So farewell, old, and welcome, new.  Twenty-fifteen could be the best year ever.  The potential is there.  It's fresh and shiny and just waiting for us!

May some of our dreams come true, may there be more happy than sad, may we choose to grow in wisdom and grace as life teaches us new lessons.

Happy New Year from my cottage to your casa,