Must clean living room!

I've got to decide where these pieces are going.  Running out of room in the living room!

I'm getting there!

My house is starting to look like a warehouse for old furniture.  But slowly I am knocking them off one project at a time.

Here's my latest score, an old sewing machine cabinet from my friend's basement.  It has the drawers and the sewing machine.  Can't wait to see if it still works!

 

Here's the headboard of the bed I am working on.  The picture doesn't show well, but it is a  beautiful shade of robin's egg blue.

And just for fun, here's a picture from my backyard the other night.  The squirrel was pulling out all the spanish moss from my wreath.

And here's the wreath minus our friend.

A lesson in commitment, or a tough pill to swallow

Summer rowing season has been in full swing for 3 weeks. M&M missed a full week while we were on vacation, plus another day when she had to play in the band for graduation. Today was their first regatta. She begged to sleep over her friend's house Friday night and opted to miss rowing practice yesterday morning. I told her how important it was to go to practice the day before an event. There was no reasoning with her.

We got to the regatta this morning and she was not in a boat. What a look of disappointment on her face. I hope this is a learning experience for her.

Two finished projects

My girlfriend drinks a lot if wine. On the garden walk a few years ago we saw a beautiful garden with a wine cork wreath hanging on their patio. So, Linda and her sister saved me their corks and voila! Took a straw wreath and left the plastic over it so it wouldn't make a mess. Got all the corks out and hammered a nail into the end of each one. Stuck a piece of floral wire a couple of inches long in each cork and stuck them in the wreath. Couldn't have been any easier.


Remember that mirror I garbaged picked a couple of weeks ago? Well, here it is. It's been painted for awhile. Finally took it to a glass place and had a mirror put in. I think I will hang it over this garage sale table.

I love this time of year!

Here's a couple pictures from my garden. I love to walk around out there in the morning with my coffee and take it all in.

Vacation recap

All in all, it was a success. Only one day of rain. Nick got the railing put up on the deck and the screen doors in. We also got the gazebo back up for the season. Even had a chance to enjoy the place for a change. I got to the beach several times. The girls got a few cliff jumps in at Sherkston and I made it to Sherkston to see some old high school friends. One I hadn't seen since I last heard Pomp & Circumstance - 38 years ago.

Our view from the screen door on Day one.

Look how full those sconces were.

Sunset the first night.

A few beach shots:

Friends from High School:

Ann, Sue & Barb

Barb, Pete & Ann

Sue's son's tattoo of his late father, another one of my classmates.

The fireworks were awesome on the beach. The canoe club had a barge out in the lake where they shot their fireworks. Lots of people on the beach had their own fireworks and Joey blew some off at the Sagasta cottage. The group was a far cry from the cottage parties of days gone by. No beer bongs, no rowdy fires and grandchildren instead of children. But it was good seeing Rob & Carol, Fred, Joe, Timmy, Mark & Donna, Matthew and his girlfriend, Brittany and their little girl, Julianna. Last time I saw Matthew at the cottage, we was the one walking around without his diaper and now he is the one changing diapers!

A blast from the past ... some things don't change!

Hate cleaning the cottage to leave, but M&M and Clara have had enough of each other for the week and I have had enough of them! All the laundry is on the line, the refrigerator repairman is here and the garbage is at the curb. I amo heading down to Mia's (the most awesome shop where she re-upholtsters furniture and paints in shabby chic style.) She must think I am a stalker because I walk through the place and lovingly touch every piece but never buy anything. But I have gotten some great ideas and she has a chair in the window that is a match for a chair I have. It is rattan and Mia says it is from to 20s or 30s. Guess I'm going to have to dress mine up a little bit.

We made this for our yard ... isn't it cute?

View from the car ... 1 hour and 57 minutes to cross the Peace Bridge.

Back to the old grind tomorrow! Think it will feel good.

Vacation, continued

The weather has been cool, but no rain at least. The girls made some tye-die tank tops and we took a ride to the Friendship Festival yesterday. Just like Riverside Park only with Canadians. They had this cool "chalk walk" where kids entered and drew on a slab of sidewalk with chalk. There were some awesome creations. Bought another tye-die kit and some more t-shirts for them to work on today.

It wouldn't be a festival without motorcycles.

Or an Elvis Impersonator.

Two girls drawing the Canadiana with chalk.

The ride that gave them both a headache.

Remember when time at the beach meant actually going in the water and walking through the sand? Not with teenagers today! They are too busy with their iPods, TV and complaining they are bored. (As I sit here typing on my computer!) So far, I am the only one who has walked the beach and I have logged more miles on the bike than M&M and Clara have combined. They get one drop of water on their bathing suits and they get tossed in the wash. Those suits have spent more time going through the washing machine than they have in the lake!

I did get them to head down with me and managed to persuade them to stay a whole hour and a half. They started asking to leave before an hour and Clara didn't want to go in the water so of course M&M didn't go either. On the plus side, we did get those fabulous fries!

Nick returns tonight after working 2 days. I'll be waiting at the door for him. Our freezer stopped working, but I only discovered it when I found about $50 worth of meat totally thawed out. Hope he can fix it.