An uncracked stovetop

We finally replaced our flattop range! We had been living with ours having a huge crack straight through one of the burners (how that crack GOT there is a story I'll forego here, as I try not to say mean & nasty things about the mister when he's not around for me to rage on in person!), because trying to replace just the glass top was almost just as expensive as relacing the whole kit-and-kabootle...so, the cheap thrifty sort of folks that we are, we drug our feet procrastinated shopped around until we found a good deal...

Not only did we get a flattop range, but we also replaced our top-freezer fridge with a side-by-side. As you can see, (BTW, pls excuse the photo image, as Murphy jaws-of-steel ATE our digital, so the only 'camera' I have currently is my phone!)
The stove is black and the fridge is white, so they don't neccessarily "match", but that really doesn't bother me, so I'm okay with that.
Now, the thing is to get the fridge from the dining room into the kitchen, where it belongs!

A touch of color

The only thing currently 'blooming' in our yard

WFMW: Backwards Edition

This week, they're doin' things a little different at Rocks In My Dryer, and today's Works for Me Wednesday is giving the participants a chance to ask "what works for YOU?", in hopes that we can perhaps get some solutions for our own pesky little problems around the house.

So...my first question posed to all of you is: Where do you store your bread??

I have a rather small galley kitchen, which gives me very little cabinet and counterspace, so a breadbox takes up too much prime real estate, and I don't like to store my bread in the fridge, because...well, because I don't like cold, hard bread. Currently, the breadbox is stored in the pantry, but again, the space it takes could be better utilized for canned & dry goods. So, tell me; Where do you keep *your* bread??

Another conundrum here in paradise: Where do you keep the pet supplies, specifically, leads, toys and treats? The leads currently hang from a hook next to the kitchen door (where we take them outside), and that's acceptable for me, but what about the balls, and bones, and socks, and stuff?? What's the best way to keep them accessible to the hounds, but not strung all over every floor in the house? Is that even possible, or am I a dreamer?? What about treats?? How and where do you store them?

Please do leave me any comments, tips, or distractions that address these problems for you...and while you're at it, why not post a question of your own...who knows? You just might get a solution!!

Weekend Plans

Well, we had some serious rain & wind at the beach for the past couple of days, and alas, it looks as tho all our yard work was for naught...

...It doesn't look like Schnookums minds a few twigs, tho!

Anyway...with all the heavy winds, alot of my potted tropicals were blown over, and as you can see, we have small branches, twigs and bundles of tree moss littering the entire yard. I've uprighted all the plants, but its still a mess out there - well, at least now I have *some* plans for the weekend!!

Garden Flour (WFMW)

Like I said, this past weekend we trimmed all the oak trees on the property of their damaged and low hanging branches, and that gave us a huge pile of wood to dispose of.. what to do with allll that debris?!

Well, yesterday the mister brought home a little electric woodchipper that he has borrowed from a workmate, so that we might convert our big pile of branches and twigs into a more usable pile of wood mulch with which to create the two garden islands I envision in our backyard...

Now, *I* know where I want these islands, and *I* know what I want them to look like when they're finished...but how will *he* know where I want him to deposit the mulch he's created?? Well....I've decided to mark where I want the borders of the islands to be with a line of white flour that I can secure from the kitchen pantry. Non-toxic, environmentally friendly, the 'chalk-line' will be easily visible and easy to visually 'correct' the shape I want to achieve. Plus, its a thrifty fix, and readily available so I might actually get it done today!!

That Works For Me!!

Weekend Gardening

The weather we had here at the beach over the last weekend was beautiful; perfect for dinners on the patio and reading on the porch. Not so condusive to completing indoor projects, but the slight respite from the 90-degree temps. was perfect for completing some long put-off yard chores that were overdue for tackling!

Sunday afternoon (after watching my team lose their opening game at home) the mister and I spent trimming, sawing, cutting and removing much of the overgrowth that was threatening to engulf us if we didn't soon take action:

I trimmed up all the errant tendrils on our jasmine trellis, and the mister trimmed back all the dead and hanging branches from large oak trees....

we trimmed up the banana trees, and the hybiscus bushes;
I had to tie up my tall blue flowers (anybody know what they are?)









We transplanted some century plant runners to a better spot, moved several potted palms to better, sunnnier locations, and we even cleaned off the driveway!!



All in all, I'd say that was a pretty productive afternoon! If the weather continues to cooperate, the plan is to finish the front area this week including; sweeping the front porch, pressure-washing the patio, re-place all the potted plants & furniture to the patio, rake out the walking path along the side of the house that leads to the bench (must replace wood slats; two have rotted thru), transplant overgrown ginger (??) and ferns (where?!)...

And....I think that's probably a lofty enough goal for one week!

Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade. ~Rudyard Kipling

WFMW : Brand-Loyalty edition (and, my 1st)

Okay….so, have you checked out Rocks in My Dryer? Every week Shannon hosts the “Works for Me Wednesday” blog carnival, where bloggers post helpful household tips that they find useful. I’ve been clicking around over there for weeks now, and have found all SORTS of good stuff – I’m talkin’ everything from recipes to how to store your paint rollers; cleaning tips, cooking secrets, arts & craft projects….I’ve picked out lots of useful info, but I’ve never played along. Until today.

See, today is the Brand-Loyalty Edition of WFMW. Today, the object is to post about the brands that have our loyalty, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to jump right in! And, after much thought and consideration, I realize I’m just not a very “loyal consumer”; I’m a cheap thrifty shopper, and I find that with most things I’m happy with a generic/store brand, or even a home-spun solution. But, there are a few brand-name products that I am loyal to:

~Dawn dishwashing foam; We do have a dishwasher, but I think in the 10 years we’ve lived here, I may have used it a half-dozen times. With just me and the mister, I’ve always done the dishes by hand, and have used Dawn liquid for as long as I can remember. The new dishwashing foam, tho, is absolutely wonderful!! Just one pump onto a damp sponge and you can wash an entire sinkful of dishes, so the bottle lasts forever!! Luv it! Luv it!!

And, speaking of wonderful …I love Clorox Oxi-Magic multi-purpose spray. I have a ceramic tile & grout kitchen countertop, and this is the best product I’ve found to remove the stains, rings, and smears without leaving a residue behind. Plus, it smells good!

I absolutely have to have Cottonelle TP; I like that its unscented, that its not too thin or tissue-paper-like, and I especially like that it doesn’t leave lint on my bum! (I hate that!!)

That’s really all I can think of, in terms of non-edible brands – food, now, is a whole different matter, altogether!
We’re die-hard Coca-cola fans in this house, no other cola will do! Then, there’s JIF peanut butter, Heinz ketsup, and Hellmann’s mayonnaise.

Do *you* have brands to which you're loyal? Certain instances where only *that* brand will do? Why not post here and tell me about 'em...heck, why not create a little WFMW post of your own, and head on over to Rocks in my Dryer to play along?!

What a difference a year makes

My fig tree is finally starting to look like a "tree" instead of a small bush. I can't find any pictures of it the first year it was planted, but even *last* year, it was much smaller:



I'm just so pleased!!



(And, Dolby's gotten much larger in the past year, as well...)

Tabletop Wall Clock

Oh...and just so you know, I *did* finally finish the wall clock I was making;



...Only, we've hung it in the living room instead - it's more convenient.

The Living Room Walls

LoL...and, here we are literally YEARS later, and not so much more has been accomplished...I had some serious difficulties with this "new" blog set-up; for a while, I couldn't post pics or edit the layout or nuttin'!! (I'm *sure* it was ALLLL me!)

Anyway...I seem to be back in business here, so I thought I'd sorta keep faith with the "old theme" and post some pics of the living room re-do..which we're actually still in the process of...but, you get the idea!! And, without further adeiu:

I started the walls by texturing and painting the top 2/3 identically to the way I finished the dining room walls from floor to ceiling. This was a long, drawn-out, labor intensive endeavor, but the final results (in *my* estimation) is worth the effort!
Then, we purchased 4x8 sheets of finished 1/8" lawan (??), which we cut into 2x2 sections, to be used as diamond-shaped panels to span the lower 1/3 section of the walls (stained alternately in Golden Oak & Cherry), to ultimately create a sort of 'checkerboard' effect:



As you can see, we haven't finished securing all the pieces in place (which is simply liquid-nail and a few well-placed finishing nails), nor have we added the chair-rail. Truth be told, we haven't even finished cutting and staining all the panels, but its coming!! Slowly, but surely, progress is made...

The Dining Room

On the other end of the kitchen, in the north corner of the house, is our dining room. We textured the walls with a fresco look by applying a coat of mud to the surface, then 'dragging' it with a trowel, after which we painted the entire area (including the textured ceiling) with a light beige color (again, the "jumpin' jiminy") then ragged three different shades of brown ("umber", "burnt seinna" and 'hazelnut") over the top.
It really gives a nice old-world feel to the room, adding some interest to the small space (10x14), while providing a neutral backdrop.

Next is the veiw into the dining room from the living room (facing the west wall).
The kitchen entryway would be just off to your left....





As, you can see, we have an ecclectic mix of old American tastes,and luckily, we both share that affinity. Our dining room table was not in *that* shape when we acquired it; Thankfully, Billy has an exceptional talent for furniture repair/restoration, so we repaired it, stripped it, stained it, waxed it, and now we both love it!! (that was one of our first projects we did together, and still one of my favorite pieces)
The chairs (we have six) were acquired seperately, but they are also of oak, and of the same time-frame. I reupholstered the chair chair seats with a reminent bolt of fabric I liked, on sale at Jo-Ann's.

The drop-leaf table in the corner is yet another estate sale find (working there had its advantages, too) And the "bar" in the opposite corner is actually a mahogany sheet-music chest that we picked up at a yard sale.




And, this is the wall where my built-in shelves will be (eastern wall, facing into the living room). As you can see, Billy has finished the framing for them, but they are an "In Process" project. We are planning four open shelves on both sides, as well as an enclosed shelf on the bottom with tin-faced door fronts.



And, finally, just a pic of the clock I am making to hang in here; when I finally break down and purchase the clock workings, that is.

Bathroom

SO, if you enter the hallway from the kitchen, Diagonally across the hall lies our only bathroom. Because its rather small,and also because of its proximity to the kitchen, we have used a similar color scheme throughout both rooms, but where we accented the cobalt blue in the kitchen, We've highlighted the hunter green in the bath, instead.


We've used the same floor tile,
as well as the threshold border tiles,
And, we added the ceiling beadboard and natural wood trim to the door and window frames in both spaces also.

ALthough we've left much of the wood stained only with golden-oak, including the chairrail and towelbars, we chose to pickle the beadboard on the lower half of the walls with a wash of green paint (Ralph Lauren, "polo green") prior to staining.

I used the same green paint for the sink cabinet, the interior door, and the linen closet wall, as well.

Because the tub,sink and toilet are white, we've opted to leave the linen closet shutter-door, and the interior window shutters white also (along with the window sash), and the sink fixtures have white porcilain handles that read hot and cold. (the handles of the kitchen sink fixture are also white porcelain)

The top half of the walls were wallpapered with paintable, textured paper, and then painted a nuetral color to blend in ("Jumpin' Jiminy" by Do-it-Yourself)

The shower curtain and the wallpaper border are what incorporate all the colors into the room, (green, maroon, blue,purple, beige, black and gold ~ yeah, I know it 'sounds'like alot in that space, but in reality, its not at all overpowering) along with the hand-crafted sealife metalworks made in Mexico and purchased at the Old-World Pottery Shop in St. Augustine.
(Aren't they just too kewl?! ~ I *especially* love my seahorse)

The dried flower arrangements, both the one on the floor and also that on the shelf above the commode, also help to tie all that color together.

And, so...looking in from the hallway, facing south from the front of the house, looking into it ~






~there's our bathroom; all 11 ft by 8ft of it. (Those dimensions are deceiving, however, because if you deduct the space for the tub and linen closet, its more like 8x5)

And, finally, a shot looking out into the hallway, and again, you can see thru to the kitchen. (You can also see that we haven't stained the interior doorframe in the bathroom yet, either!)

Shhh...but, I also want to remove the tub altogether and tile in a walk-in shower in that same space....another project for another day....