Come Play With Me

The kids went outside the other day to play in the snow. They went up into their tree house. Buddy couldn't get up there. So he waited.

"I know they're up there. I wish they'd come down and play with me."

"What's this? I see movement."

"Be careful, Baby. You can't play with me if you're hurt."

"This isn't quite what I had in mind."

Art and Friendship

Baby was writing a letter to a friend and wanted to send a picture she had colored along with the letter. She brought it to me to show me.

Can you read that? It says, "You are 99.9% sweat." I'm proud she tried to sound it out. And I didn't laugh even once. While she was around anyway.

A Request From An Aunt

Lately I have been asked by a wonderful, most special aunt that I post something. Anything. She likes my blog for some reason which is beyond my understanding. I think it may give her things to make fun of me for. Like she needs more ammunition. I'm a dork. And I don't hide it well. In fact, I don't even try to hide it.

Anyway, she wanted a post done on our Christmas tree. We went on our annual family trek to get our snowman ornaments. These are the ornaments from this year.

The Boy's

Mr Farmer's and Mine. Mr Farmer made them hold hands. ☺

Sissy's. Sshhhh, don't give away her name.

Baby's. It has red and blue led lights that flash and light up the "ice".

And finally, our tree.

All our presents are bought, mostly online, and the kids are dying. I still have to wrap most of them, though. Our one and only party was last weekend. Mr Farmers employer paid for a nice dinner and overnight stay at a nearby resort. It was a fun weekend!

Are you getting prepared for Christmas?

Pretty Antique Silverware

While making cabinet handles for my kitchen, I came across and purchased many different pieces of old silverware. Each design is so pretty that I decided to show a few to you.

Some of them are actually worn away with use. It makes you realize that older generations didn't just throw away things as they began to wear or even before they began to wear. They used them and that gives us the beautifully aged pieces to look at and admire today.

I love antiques. I love to dream about the days when they were used. The excitement someone may have felt when they bought them new. The hands that used them, cleaned them. The homes they came from. It always makes me feel quiet and at peace to think of these things, almost a hazy dream.

Anyway, here we go.

I also like to see things that were once used commonly, but are no longer.

I hope you enjoyed looking at some of these with me.

A Lightbulb Moment

As part of my kitchen re-do, I decided to change out the light fixture above the sink. What was there was an. old, cheap ceiling fixture without the glass globe. So, yeah, It was an ugly bare bulb plugged into an uglier partial fixture.

I'm one who likes decorating in unique ways. I don't want my house to look like anyone else's home. It's so much more fun to make things than to just go out and buy them. To me anyway.

I searched for something antique related to the kitchen. I found some old coffee cans. Perfect!

First, I scrubbed them to get off any loose rust. After they dried, I sprayed them, inside and ou,t with polyurethane. I let that dry. This allowed me to keep the pretty, rusted look but still be able to clean the fixture.

Next, Mr Farmer and I wired them, glued two cans together, sprayed the inside silver to help reflect the light, etc., etc.

Finally, we hung it and screwed in a cool "Edison" bulb. And here you have it.

My Dream Island

Some time ago, Mr Farmer decided we needed an island in our kitchen. I had never been a fan of kitchen islands because all I knew of them was that they had wheels and rolled. I had no use for such a thing in my way. My kitchen was big enough and had enough counter space. I didn't need more.

But I decided to give it a try. We put our recycling, redemption, and garbage cans in it. Over the past years it has become indispensable. The one we were using was just cheaply and quickly made to see if I would like it.

Now, with the kitchen re-do, we decided to build a new one. One that was sturdier and larger and much prettier. We both worked hard on it. We glued up some hickory boards we had for the counter top and built the base. In the end, it was almost too heavy to lift, even without the counter top on it.

Here it is.

It is just beautiful. The counter top has so much character and I love the beauty of wood! The cabinet was antiqued using my usual methods but in a black color. And I used antique spoons again for the handles. One side has the doors and houses the same garbage, recycling, and redemption cans. The other side is where our stools go.

Kitchen Remodel- Pt. 1

Most people know, or at least can guess, that a kitchen re-do is somewhat of an inconvenience. You have a perfectly functioning kitchen and then you don't.

First, your kitchen becomes an open book. All your cabinet insides are there for all to see. The secret places hidden away from public view are now open. There is no longer anywhere to stuff something quickly when someone comes over to borrow ant killer or sugar or a pair of slippers.

But take heart, it will someday be functional and prettier than it was before.

I will reveal more of the re-do later. When I get it finished. Hopefully before I die. But probably not.

Seasonal Decorating With Kids

Here is a progressive snapshot of how to decorate with kids in the house.

First,

 

panning out...

 

panning out....

 

And....

If I had my way, this picture would be minus the stuffed monkey and definitely minus the clothes iron. To be fair, I have the kids set the iron there to cool when they're done ironing so it doesn't get knocked over. But, I'd be ok with it getting put away once it's cool.

Fall Clean-up

It's fall. That means clean-up time around the yard and house. One of my favorite things to do in the fall is to clean my windows. This helps to let in the light we have so little of during the winter months.

I start by removing all the screens. 

I gather up all the screens and get out my dustpan brush. I brush off both sides. You'll be amazed at how much dust and dirt fly off when this is done. Or maybe you won't. Maybe my house is just incredibly dirty.

If they're really bad I've been known to scrub them with soap, water, and a brush.

I then take all my screen to the basement for the winter. I do this because I have no use for them in the winter and it lets in a lot more light.

Next, I take the hose, a bucket of soapy water, and a car wash brush around to each window. I wet it down and scrub it. I not only scrub the window, but also the window frame around it. Then I just rinse it off. I also scrub off any bird poop or other yuckiness on the siding around the area. It's amazing how this little scrub-up makes the entire outside of the house look clean!

Then, I just put away my supplies, drain and unhook the hoses, and store all my hoses and outdoor planters away in the barn.

The kids were actually in charge of emptying all the planters and gathering them all up and storing them. They enjoyed riding the old mower and pulling the garden trailer around the property They emptied the old dirt into the compost pile, took the "scenic route" back to the house, and piled all my planters and garden decorations into the trailer. We just leave them in the trailer to make it easier in the spring to bring them all back out again.