Thursday, June 30, 2011

Coffee Sack Pillows

A while back, I bought a large stack of coffee sacks at a local coffee shop.

I love them but drew a blank as to what to do with them. This is my first attempt.



Obviously, I haven't sewn them shut. I'm not sure why I feel compelled to share my unfinished projects with you. But thanks for looking!


They may end up on the back porch. I have to keep them AWAY from my husband - they are scratchy, but the cuteness makes up for it, don't you think?


The main problem I had when making them was that, when I cut the burlap, it started to immediately unravel. If I wasn't so lazy, I would have brought out my serger. As it was, I had to do a lot of zigzagging to keep the seams together.


The crazy quilt pillows above actually did come from an old crazy quilt that was in quite bad shape.

My mother took the best parts and made pillows. And I got two!

Love them!




My husband is off to California today to be at a memorial for a friend who recently passed away.

He will be gone five days - I already miss him but I'm glad he could go to be with the family.



Many thanks for all the kind comments about my Island Transformation. I really appreciate all of you who take the time to read this blog and also have fun meeting new friends!



Monday, June 27, 2011

Psalms 30: 1-5





I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,

         And have not let my foes rejoice over me.

  O LORD my God, I cried out to You,

         And You healed me.

  O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave;

         You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

        
  Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His,

         And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

  For His anger is but for a moment,

         His favor is for life; 

         Weeping may endure for a night,

         But joy comes in the morning. 

Saturday, June 25, 2011

My Daughter's Room

Good Morning!

I have a question:


Would putting batten strips on the walls to get the 'board and batten' look be too much in this room?

My concern is that it may take away from the bead board closet. Which is original to the house.

I want to paint this room - the walls were this color when we used it as an office and I'm really tired of it.

Any input would be welcome.

Have a lovely weekend!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Prayers....

Last night I came up blank when trying to do a post on this blog. No projects completed, no cute pictures of the children...

Now, it's 4:30 am and my husband heard that a friend he grew up with in California just passed away in a drowning accident.

It chases away all thoughts of sleep - my heart goes out to his sweet family.

It takes me back to a few years ago when my husband's younger brother also tragically lost his life.

If you pray, I would ask that you say a prayer for this family, they need your prayers.

I believe this is why God sent his Son to the earth, on our side we see tragedy, a life needlessly cut short, but because of Christ's love, there is victory - he is with the Lord. 

And to all those hurting,

He has promised to be a father to them.  

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Link-Up



Just popping in to say that I'm adding my Island Makeover post to the Primp Linky Party and also to the Modern Country Style Link Party.




Check out these sites, I love some of the furniture makeovers! 

Monday, June 20, 2011

Saturday Yard Sale Finds


I'm probably the last one on earth to start collecting old suitcases.



This old tray probably came from an old refrigerator.



I got these wooden puzzles to add to my collection.



And these glasses, they look old but probably aren't. 

They'll look great on my "future" open shelves.



After yard saleing Saturday morning, I then spent a good four hours paying bills and getting caught up on office work. It's shameful how I put it off - just have never enjoyed it. It feels great to get caught up, though.

Sunday afternoon was spent with family - we always have a lovely time.

And today I took Mosby to the vet to get his staples out. The crazy dog went running down a steep bank and came up with a four inch tear on his leg. So, for two weeks now, he's been wearing a cone around his neck, bumping into everything and everybody. Hopefully all this will soon be a faint memory.

Otherwise, today has been a great monday - catching up on housework and all. Sometimes that's the best kind of day.

Have a great week everybody!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Island Completed! and Kitchen Tour


If you remember, a while back I mentioned a big project that I was working on. 

It took much longer than I first thought and was much harder. But isn't that the way most things go?

Anyhow, it's done and I'm so happy - and relieved.



It started out as an old buffet. I got the idea from Home and Harmony. I loved everything about their island.

I found this buffet for $80 and I think all said and done the total was about $235.00.

And a lot of that was paint and the finish that I used on the top.






The back was unfinished and we had to replace it and buy new base board because it didn't wrap around  the back. 

If I were doing it again, I would make sure that the back was finished.

My husband had to cut new corner pieces to cover the raw edges and this took a lot of time and trouble!





After sitting in the above condition for several weeks while my shoulder was mending, and the children were going through several rounds of strep throat and similar sicknesses, I finally got it done!




The butcher block top came from a work table that my husband had in his shop. He graciously sacrificed it, wasn't that sweet? We sanded it down and used Waterlox on it.

The glass knobs came from Lowes. I sprayed the center bolts with antique bronze paint, they were a polished chrome. I wanted them to match the door hardware.



I made the corbels by tracing the pattern from and old porch corbel that I had. I cut them on a scroll saw, which, by the way, is a lot of fun to use. Then they took some sanding and my husband carefully screwed them in from inside the island so that I didn't have to fill any screw holes.

Have I mentioned that he is very handy? I love him!



Oh, did you notice my chandelier?


I found it on Craigslist. Happy! Happy! Happy!

 Then I decided it was too much for my kitchen.

And next I decided to throw caution to the wind and live recklessly.

After all it brings such joy and sparkle to my kitchen.

And sometimes, I need all the sparkle I can get.

So, after watching a few how to videos and getting free advice from my dear husband, I hung it. All by myself!

I think every woman should learn how to wire and hang a light fixture, it's very empowering.







Here is my kitchen, all cleaned up for pictures.

I'm so happy with it. It has come together so nicely!





 See the above picture? The wall space on either side of the window will someday be open shelves. I plan to use the same corbel design for the shelf brackets.


This is on the opposite wall from the sink, our computer area. Trust me, it's not this clean now.



And here is our dinning room table with a little guy that was too busy playing to get out of the way.

The hutch in the background belonged to my grandparents.


So there you have it. Hope you enjoyed the tour!


Sunday, June 5, 2011

Birthday Party


The children have been sick so we had to cancel the party. But we still had fun with our family party.
















The much anticipated Buzz Lightyear!!


 Hurry and get Buzz out, Daddy!






Blue is his favorite color.


"To Infinity - and Beyond!"

Thursday, June 2, 2011

4 Years Old



Today is his birthday, this sweet, funny little man. 

He is such a joy in my life!

I remember this day four years ago like it was yesterday.



It was two weeks before my due date and I was ready to have my boy.

 The Pilot was wanting to go flying to a convention with a friend and since it was 8 a.m. and there were no signs of labor we decided that he might as well go.

So off he went and I decided not to waste a perfectly good Saturday waiting when obviously nothing was happening.


So,  soon - to- be "Big Sister" and I did some spring cleaning, washing windows, I think I even scrubbed and hosed down the siding on the back porch.

The Pilot called at about 11:20 (we checked our cell phone call times later ) to say that he was leaving soon, but was going to stop on the way to get fuel. Something about it being cheaper at a certain airport.
He said it would be at least two hours before he and his friend would land.

I remember I was making something for lunch when he called and I found myself a bit annoyed that he wouldn't be home as soon as I had thought. 

Looking back, I think maybe I subconsciously knew something was about to happen. I had even timed contractions that morning but couldn't establish a pattern. I had almost constant Braxton-Hicks contractions the last month of my pregnancy so I didn't try very hard.

So we had lunch and I put my girl down for her nap. (She seemed so big then, helping mommy wash windows and all, but she wasn't quite two.) 

Then I remember suddenly feeling very, very tired so I decided to take a nap also.



Now here is where the excitement starts!


I woke up at about 1 p.m.  feeling two sharp pings in my stomach, followed by a very hard, very painful contraction.

(I just realized that as I'm writing this, my stomach is getting tied up in knots, some things you just never forget I suppose.)

So I'm thinking, "Wow, my water broke and now I need to get an antibiotic." I had  tested positive for Group B Strep which is not a big deal, as long as you get a shot of antibiotics at the beginning of your labor.

I called my midwife and left a message and was debating should I call my mother to come be with Big Sister or wait awhile. My first labor was 10 hours long and I knew this one could be shorter but I had also heard of 2nd labors being longer.

I should say, I simply loved reading birth stories. I found some online sites that women had posted their stories on, and I would spend hours reading them. Natural, drugs, at home, hospital, unexpected, you name it, I had read them all.

My mother just happened to call me, and was at the grocery store a couple miles away. She later told me that she just left her cart full of food and came. I'm so glad she did.

I was confused because my contractions were about two minutes apart and very painful. I was wondering how I would be able to deal with hours of this - it was much more intense than the first time.

I still didn't realize how close I was to giving birth, I'm kind of embarrassed that I was so clueless.

I went upstairs to finish the last minute packing of my suitcase but had to stop so often because of the intense contractions. Things get a little fuzzy at this point but this is what I remember happening. My midwife called and told me to come in and I said I would have to wait for my husband to get home.
By the time my mother arrived I was starting to get worried, starting to clue in that things were happening way too fast.

After another call to my midwife, we decided to just go without my husband. All this time I was upstairs, downstairs, I couldn't hold still.
So I was lugging the suitcase down the stairs without waiting for my mom, she was getting Big Sister up from her nap so that we could go to the hospital. I called The Pilot's cell phone one more time, (I had been calling it almost constantly) and he answered! I think I managed to say,"I'm in labor, come right now" and then I hung up on him. He had just landed and they were taxiing to the hanger. He basically just left the airplane and drove home. He got home in five minutes.

 When I hung up on him, I was standing by the car in the driveway, my mother came out with Big Sister and I told her - we don't have to go - The Pilot will be home soon and I'll go with him.
 And then I suddenly knew that I wasn't going anywhere. My mother was pleading with me to just get in the car so that I would be ready to go. But I knew I couldn't make it. I hurried inside calling over my shoulder to her to call 911. I think it took a few moments for it to sink in for her, but she did call and was on the phone with them for the birth. 

The Pilot came in just before Big Brother was born, he actually delivered him, and I was so glad he made it.

 Big Sister was right there, and I heard her say,"Baby! Baby!" in an excited way. I was relieved that it wasn't scary for her.
   
Little Brother was a little blue and pretty quiet. The Pilot ran upstairs and found a bulb syringe to suction him out and then the paramedics were there.

By this time I was worrying about him since I didn't get my antibiotic shot and was anxious to get to the hospital. He did get oxygen on the ride in, and had pinked up nicely by the time we got there.
At the hospital, we sat there trying to piece it all together. By looking at my phone call times and when my mother called the paramedics, we decided that he was born at 1:40. Just about 40 minutes after I woke up from my nap. 

I am so thankful my mother was there, thankful my husband got to deliver him, and thankful there were no complications.

I felt great, that's what a 40 minute labor will do for you, no time for your body to get tired and worn out.

What I learned from this was that our bodies are amazing and when things work the way they should, childbirth is a beautiful, natural thing.
And that there was no holding back this boy, he was ready to meet the world!

So, Happy 4th Birthday to my sweet son, who from the moment he arrived, brought such excitement and joy and continues to surprise us still.