Just Another Lazy Day in the Texas Hill Country

The most exciting thing to happen today is a new kitchen faucet was installed.  The old one, maybe 4 years, has been a constant irritation since almost the get-go.  We'd have to position it just right or it dripped; and when you you use rainwater for household use, every drip is precious, particularly when you are in the Texas hill country where we may have a drought one, two or three years in a row.

Before

After

This one is much more complimentary to the backsplash than the other faucet.  I actually bought that one before choosing the tile.  Not very good planning, I admit. 

Then for a little levity, I took a picture of Maggie relaxing in her chair.  Poor thing, Luc makes sure I give most of my attention to him.  :D  

You might have noticed that all my furniture is covered with something.  Why?  Because it is washable and I don't fret over the fact the dogs are on the furniture.  I also removed the bedspread from our bed and replaced with washable (kind of ugly) blankets/covers.  There was time I freaked out if a dog jump on the furniture; but as life goes on, one mellows out.  BTW, Maggie was kind of indecent....hope you like the flowers.  lol

Until next time, God bless.

PS:   This is the 399th blog entry!  I didn't know there was so much to write about.

Collections

Rae at Weather Vane started this with a question as to what do you collect? Rae has some wonderful Disney coffee mugs. I have a small collection of dinner bells. I had three bells on the china cabinet but could never arrange them in a way that was pleasing. This past summer I decided to add to the collection - the two ladies are recent. Unlike tea cups, dinner bells are still reasonable and I haven't heard of anyone collecting them. I plan to add more.

How about showing your collections in future blog entries?

Until next time, God bless.

What Is It?

The answer to the "what is it" question on SOOC Sunday is a vacuum: an animal vacuum to be exact.

As some of you may know, I cracked my right ankle last month, could not drive, and was confined to the house. Luc, our Lab, sheds a lot. When on the go, the regular vacuum was good enough even though for years I really wanted to get another specifically for pet owners. Being cooped up for well over 4 weeks, I started obsessing on long, white doggie hair. A vacuum for pet hair moved over from a want to a necessity.

On the very day the doctor gave the okay to remove the "boot" to drive, I went straight over to Home Depot to check out the vacuums. Hours were wiled away on the net searching for the best vacuum to address this problem. Finally, after reading pros and cons from sites all around the net, I settled on the Dyson Dc25 Animal. Since its arrival Tuesday of last week, I've run it at least once a day and sometimes two and three times. It is light and easy to use. The directions on one or two things could use a little improvement; but after fiddling around, I got the hang of it.

I'm not one to go on about an appliance, but this one is good. It is the best I've ever had and so am quite delighted.

Until next time, God bless.

A Continuation of the Folding Screen

Since there was material left over from the folding screen, I was able to turn an item that I did not like in its original use into something I did like.

This bonnet set atop

this armoire.

The antique oak armoire was purchased just prior to the completion of the house in 1984. For some reason, I did not like the bonnet on top of the armoire but did not want to throw away. Some twenty years plus later, I found a way to use the bonnet, i.e., over a small hallway into the master bath from the bedroom. You cannot say that I move swiftly, but I started watching HGTV regularly and somehow the idea came to me on what to do with the bonnet.

The back side of the bonnet looked rough and would be seen. Aha! Cover the part that would show with the faux leather and do a design with the decorative nail head strip, following the old adage of "let nothing go to waste." :D

Until next time, God bless.

Is This Pathetic Or Not?

It is cold and rainy here in Central Texas today.



I made the dogs go out for doggie business about 10-15 minutes prior to taking this photo. Aren't these the most pathetic looking doggies? Could you ignore this? I can't. Needless to say, I let them back in and sentenced them to their crates until dry. On a happy note, Luc and Maggie got a treat. Going into a crate for Maggie is close to abuse; Luc not so much. He loves his crate at night; but during the daytime, he thinks it is better to be on the couch, wet or not.

Until next time, God bless.

Make Your Folding Screen

Our house has an open living space, i.e., living room, dining and kitchen combined. When building the house, I was concerned that a wall or half-wall was not constructed to hide the refrigerator. I did not make an issue of it. We painted our original fridge to blend in with the dishwasher color. But as time went on, the dishwasher was replaced as well as the fridge, which was at least 17 years old when the house was built. I couldn't find a fridge in a color I wanted and so chose a bisque color with the idea to paint later. I found all kinds of reasons to not paint and there it stood -- sticking out like a sore thumb.


I searched online for months for a suitable folding screen in a height that would hide the fridge. If I found one, it was too expensive; and if I found one that was priced just right, it was too short. Meanwhile I kept going to HGTV and DIY sites for instructions for building a folding screen. I got the general idea and then made one that I wanted.

I chose to use MDF boards; however, I suggest using something lighter. I think natural wood is probably lighter. The fridge stands 68 inches high and had Home Depot cut the boards at 69 inches. I used three 1x12's and one 1x6. A dry wall texture was applied to one side similar to the technique used on the walls, allowed to dry, and then painted in a matching faux finish on the walls. On the reverse side of the screen, I covered the panels in a faux leather using a staple gun to attach.



On the painted side, I used a gimp fabric trim to hide the staples. Use fabric glue on the ends so the trim will not fray. The boards still looked kind of blah and added a design using a decorative nail strip, bought from the fabric center at Wallmart. Attached hinges at the top, middle and bottom of the boards, and voila! I had a folding screen to hide the fridge from the rest of the room. :D


To recap the materials needed:

3 - 1 x 12 inch boards (including the air space behind the fridge, there was 35" to hide)
1 - 1 x 6 inch board (this smaller panel was used to place behind the fridge to give more stability to the screen)
Dry wall texture material, application tool
Primer for the dry wall side and paint for the faux finish
Fabric for the panels
Trim to hide staples on reverse side
Fabric glue
Staple gun and staples
Decorative nails for design
Hammer

Until next time, God bless.

Happy Days Are Here Again

Dawn is breaking over Texas with the new moon refusing to give way.



Isn't this sky glorious?! There is a snap in the air.


Happy days are here again because I have water!! I am soooo excited. Three days without water is a real bummer. The dishwasher is running and the sink is filled with the overflow. Why we are even discussing whether or not to take a trip to Israel in April -- not that a vacation has anything to do with running water, but it is upbeat we are. Now, the question remains as to whether or not I will commit to getting on a plane. I'm upbeat, but not that upbeat and certainly am not crazy.

The plumber told me that he had 4 trucks running all day Saturday and into the night. He did not mention how many were on the road Friday, but they, too, worked until about 9 or 10 PM. Broken water lines were everywhere -- outside, inside, well houses, in walls and ceilings. Ok, you people in the North, laugh all you want. We don't know what to do when a real cold spell hits us. You should see us drive when there is ice or snow on the ground. lol

God is good and today is marvelous! Just think of all the things water does for you -- coffee, hot tea, wiping down counter tops, washing face, brushing teeth, baths -- you get the drift. It is good to do without a modern convenience every once in a while; you get an attitude adjustment.

Until next time, God bless.

Brrr - Baby, It's Cold Outside

The cold front came through our part of the country Thursday night. I saw the temperature dip to 17 degrees, but add the wind to that and I do not know just how cold it really was. Come Friday morning I had no water. In all my 28 years of living in this part of Texas, I did not drip the faucets nor did I put lights on the water pipes. I have paid dearly for that oversight in that no water from either the well or the rainwater collection entered the house.


I broke the ice in this tank three times Friday so the cattle could get water. A lone goldfish lives here -- maybe, it is lived here. It is good to keep some fish around in standing water to eat mosquito larva. :D


This is an after-Katy-close-the-barn-door-effort to unfreeze the pipes. Ultimately, I had two lights, two heaters, and a black heater tape. Unfortunately, the electric breaker kept cutting off. There were at least 35 trips to the rainwater collection area Friday and about 10 trips to the well house. Yesterday with the aid of the sun, a heater on the other side of this wall, the use of a hair dryer at the well house, 100+ feet of heavy extension cords, and about 25 trips to and fro, water could be heard moving through the pipes, but no water into the house. Why? The one pipe (maybe it's two pipes) transporting water from either the well or the rainwater broke just before going underground. It is complicated with a two source system so one can switch between the sources. In fact, we'll discover just how complicated when the plumber arrives today. :D

The good news is that I had on hand 5 1-gallon milk cartons filled with potable water. The well water broke free early yesterday, and I was able to refill from a direct well faucet connection the milk cartons and the water tank for the cattle. :D I discovered I had a carton of 12 1-liter bottles of water in the hobby room in the barn. Aha, that meant we could have coffee, hot tea, wash face, and brush teeth! More good news: the front was dry - no standing ice or snow on the ground. I got more walking exercise than usual going back and forth from the house, rainwater room (actually the feed room in the barn), and the well. I worked up an appetite -- the bad news.


This is Little Bit. She is about 2 weeks old and quickly learns a harsh lesson of cold, cold weather. She looks to be handling it well, don't ya think?

Lessons to be learned: sometimes you just do stupid things; always, always, always drip faucets; keep at least 5 1-gallon milk cartons filled with water; and at least two cartons of 1-liter bottled water on hand.

Until next time, God bless.


PS: Pray that we have water into the house by noon today. :D

New Year's Eve 2009

Waiting for the clock to strike 12, and it is goodbye 2009!

I must admit that I'm glad to see this year go. It has been a good year, but also I've been plagued with little nitpicking physical ailments. Ugh. It is patch, patch, patch after 60.

I've done some exciting projects this year from building a Backyard Botanical Garden as a first veggie/herb garden, to making shades for the utility room, to learning to weave on a loom at The Old Oaks Fiber Arts Center, to redoing the front bath and designing the fused glass back splash, which is on hold since I need to get to the glass shop to use the sandblasting machine. I cracked my right ankle bone on December 15 and am very hesitant to drive with the "boot." Hubby is my source of transportation. I have to gauge my trips, grocery list, etc., and going to the glass shop is not on the trip list. :D



I love to do projects/crafts because I avoid doing those things I really dislike, such as filing the mail. I can hide it in the desk drawers. In getting ready for 2010 and since there is no escape, I'm filing the mail. Things are going to be so organized for the New Year! What chore do you put off?


My stomach has not quite settled down from the virus that hit early, early Christmas morning, and I decided to make chicken noodle soup. Saltine crackers are getting old and chicken soup just about cures everything. lol And, since I am somewhat home bound, I asked hubby to get some egg noodles at the grocery. However, I did not totally trust him to get the correct item and found this egg noodle recipe online. The lack of trust panned out; he came home with elbow macaroni.



The soup and homemade egg noodles turned out very good. Here's the soup recipe:

1 whole chicken
1-2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 cup carrots
1 medium red potato, sliced very thin and chopped

Almost cover the chicken with water, add the onions, garlic, and bouillon cubes. When the chicken is done, remove the bones and return the chicken to the broth, add carrots, potatoes and noodles. Cook for about 30 minutes.

Do you have plans for this evening? I hope you have the very best New Year's Eve.

Until next time, God bless.

Bathroom Re-do Update V

The bathroom has finally come together with the exception of the back splash. My first fused glass, back splash design was too complex for my skill level, so I've had to go back to the drawing board. I have several ideas which I'll start working on next week. Once a design is decided upon, there are ten 4 x 6 inch tiles to assemble, fire in the kiln and install around the vanity top.

This is the before. Pretty drab, isn't it. lol

This is the suggestion from Layla of The Lettered Cottage.



I changed it for this look after playing around with Behr's Color Smart.


The brown trim on the shower curtain ties to the mirror. The white curtain ties to the white fixtures and tile.

Several years ago, I removed the usual 4 x 4 mirror over the vanity and replaced it with this mirror which hung over my mother's dresser. I had it reframed in mesquite.

The antique, leaded glass window with a touch of red.

The red in the picture ties back to the leaded glass window.

Whew. The hard work is over and the rest, i.e., back splash, is going to be fun. There are few more details to complete, i.e., changing out the light switch plates for brushed stainless/nickle ones, pick up two stainless door pulls, and, ugh, replace the grout around the bathtub.

Until next time, God bless.

Bathroom Makeover IV

I am almost done. A few more touch ups are needed. I may should have put a second coat because I've found quite a few places that were missed, but to tell the truth, the bath is so small and a real pain to paint. I spent a lot of time moving the ladder after first finding a place to put the paint so as to not accidentally knock it over.


I did not do the best taping job. I bought a small sample of flat white paint and used a flat, square artist brush to cover the brown paint on the ceiling.

Not perfect, but much neater.

Installed the new light fixture. Gad, what a difference when compared to the old one. I've been wanting to change it out for years but did not have the courage to do it myself. Well, I did it myself today. Just hope the house does not burn down. lol

Found this picture at Bed, Bath & Beyond. The red ties to the red in the leaded glass window hanging in the bathroom window.

Ahh, new towels and towel rack. Had a difficult time getting the rod to stay put. In fact, there was a flaw in it; but since it fell off the wall a couple of times, it took some paint with it. This is one of the touch ups planned for tomorrow.

The plan is to finish up tomorrow. I painted the shower curtain hangers a dark coco brown and am waiting to make sure they are completely dry before hanging the shower curtain.

I think I am going to love the final product. It is worth the effort. I've been wanting to redo this bath for at least five years. lol I just couldn't get inspired.

Until next time, God bless.

Bathroom Redo Update III

I surprised myself by staying on schedule to paint the walls yesterday. I was concerned that a second coat might be in order but found that Behr's paint touches up beautifully. When pulling off some of the tape, I found more spots that required touch up and used post its to mark the spots.

These towels are for "looks." I'm going to get a bigger basket to place on top to hold the towels hubby will be allowed to use. lol As you can see, when the tape was pulled off, a touch up is required next to the cabinet.

The texture is somewhat rough and found a few places that need more paint. In my haste to clean up yesterday, I took the ladder out to the barn. I'm waiting until the rain stops. When the rain spigot opened last month, rain just keeps coming. We've had over 3 inches this morning with no stopping in sight. Not that I'm really complaining with the drought we've been in the last 21 months. I just wish we had another rainwater collection tank.

Aha, more touch ups. And since everything is cleared out, I saw the mildew along the tub. So, before this bathroom is finished, I'll have to scrap the caulking around the tub then re- caulk. Ugh.

Until next time, God bless.

Bath Redo Update II

I knew that I've changed the way I do projects -- at a pace that suits me instead of being totally obsessed until a project is completed. However, the photo dates from the blog has almost put me to shame....but not quite. :D

This photo was taken February 20, 2009 and sent to Layla at The Lettered Cottage for an online design consultation sometime around the first of April or May.


Layla sent back this suggestion sometime in June 2009.


I mulled over her suggestion but played around with Behr's Colorsmart program and decided to go in this direction.

This photo was taken August 30 while I was working on the shower curtain.

I started taping the walls on September 16, 2009.

I kept dragging my feet before painting the cabinets. There was an aversion to sanding inside the cabinets. The cabinets took three coats of paint inside and out. It was not until yesterday that I finished taping and painted the edges. Hopefully, the walls will only require one coat of paint. The walls are on today's, Sunday, October 25, schedule. :D During the intervening days, I bought towels, baskets, towel bars, a picture, and gray bath rugs.

This light fixture is to be replaced with a brushed nickel, 3-light fixture. The towel bars are a brushed nickel.........just waiting for me to finish the walls.


I've picked out a brushed nickel/stainless light plate and hope to replace these ugly cream light switches and plugs. I plan to call an electrician to make the changes. In addition, I still have to design the backsplash to do fused glass tiles. I've been looking around various decorating and fused glass sites to get some ideas. I bought the glass September 2008. lol But, as soon as the walls are finished, I'm going to get serious about the tiles. The first design idea will not work, so it is back to the drawing board.

I must say that it is much more pleasurable to take one's time when doing a project; however, I did not realize just how long. Blogging, however, about various projects, etc., does have its good points; but then again, does it?

Life is good, isn't it!

Until next time, God bless.

Bathroom Update, Part I

First off, let me say it is a beautiful morning here because the temperature is a cool 73 degrees. Fall is in the air! I had forgotten just how cool 73 degrees could be. Now, if we only get some rain, then it would be perfect.

Our house was built in 1984. I tore down the wallpaper, textured and painted the walls, replaced the original flooring with tile, replaced the vanity top with Silestone, a vessel sink, and the original faucets with one of brushed nickel. I've been at a stand still since last September. Did I want to repaint this bathroom a red or some other dark color? This bathroom is small, so would it be too dark and close? I made a shower curtain, topped it with a beaded trim valance. It did not work. The bathroom remained blah. Out of desperation, I contacted Layla of The Lettered Cottage, sent her some photos and asked what did she suggest.



As the shows on HGTV do, here is Layla's basic redo suggestion. The red ties to an old leaded glass window hanging in the bathroom window and the brown ties to the mesquite framing around a mirror from my mother's house. The walls can either remain a Swiss Coffee color or be painted white. I'm leaving the walls to last since I hope I will like the existing Swiss Coffee color; but, if not, the walls will be redone in a white: one step at a time around here, live with it for a while to see if I like it.


I spent hours online trying to find some brown trim. There is not much out there in brown. However, I stopped by a really cool shop here in Dripping Springs, Cowgirls & Lace, and found this wonderful trim. It was the only solid brown trim in the shop, and it was the last on a roll. I needed 6 2/3 yards; the roll had 6 3/4 yards. Is that luck or not?!



The trim is basted on the shower curtain for the time being. I haven't decided whether or not to use fabric glue or the sewing machine. Since the curtain is to be in the bathroom, I'll probably use the machine to attach the trim.


I did not get the matching Sileston back splash because I want to do fused glass tiles. Pay no attention to the color, but I have been working on a 4 x 6 tile design. It is a matter of will I be able to do in glass what I can design on the computer? BTW, those switch plates have got to go. :D


This is the plain Jane vanity cabinet. I'm going to add some legs at the bottom to give the illusion it is a piece of furniture, paint it, and add new handles.



This is the cabinet over the commode. The redo photo shows the door off. I can tell you that there is going to be some big time reorganizing for me to remove the door. :D Every inch of cabinet space is spoken for in this house.


I picked up some paint samples at Home Depot the other day. Behr Paints has a Premium Plus which is a combination primer and paint. The samples come in a flat gloss; but, of course, the paint comes in eggshell, satin, and high gloss. I'm thinking I will do the middle color in a satin gloss because if I do not like it, I can easily go darker.


I had company when taking the photos last night. Nasty little creature, isn't it? I promptly picked up my weapon, the fire place shovel, brushed him to the floor, and dispatched him. You don't want to smash them on the wall; you can never completely get rid of the remains. lol

Today, I'm going to permanently attached the brown trim to the shower curtain, sand the cabinets, tape the wall around the cabinets, remove the cabinet door, fill the hinge holes, and possibly start painting. However, you know what is totally neat about being retired? What isn't done today can easily be done tomorrow or the next day or the day after.

Until next time, God bless.