Happy New Year

It's a greenhouse

WOW!!!! It's almost done. Still needs it's door and a floor, but that won't be anything compared to building it. The directions were awful. My dear husband was very frustrated - but he persevered. It took the better part of 5 days. But I am SO excited about it. Hopefully, I'll have some things moved into it by Sun if it doesn't rain every day.

Pre-holiday project

Since our home is small, we use all spaces. The Christmas decorations have always been stored under the stairway. Accessing this space meant pulling out some of our clothes, shoes, crawling in on hands and knees with a flashlight and pushing, pulling things around. In the lower pic, you can see the space between the vertical boards in the back of the pic. I also shoved things through that space which was really hard. After years of this nonsense, I had the idea of putting a little door in the bedroom side of the wall to this area. So after getting everything out this year to decorate and bumping my head, getting frustrated, I decided it was time to do something. So without my husband even knowing what I was doing, I took a hammer to our bedroom wall. We had recently purchased this old bead board door and my husband cut it fit our little space. It really was a pretty simple project and I am SO happy to have it.

Happy Holidays

old Santa friend

Years ago there use to be a great dump (Gerber Dump) in our area. It's gone now unfortunately. It wasn't just a dump, it was a wonderful salvage place. Piles and piles of stuff everywhere. You could get lost and spend hours going through all the piles. I found this Santa there and he was 50 cents. On the back, whoever painted him dated him in 1960. It was about 30 years ago when I found him. So every Christmas since then, he has hung somewhere in our home.

white ironstone

I love white ironstone and I appreciate the browning and crazing. Most of the ironstone I have was found on sale or at flea markets or yard sales where it was quite reasonable. However, the little pitcher on the left was purchased at Sienna in Petaluma. Although it was a bit pricey for me, I just fell in love with it. The pearls are old jewelry. I dismantled the piles of old damaged pearl necklaces I've picked up at yard sales over the years and strung them on wire to be used as garlands.

Looking forward

This is a new project I am looking forward to incorporating into our yard. I seem to have this attraction to metal beds. I found this locally and kept looking at it and thinking - I don't need another bed. I have a metal crib that is probably 100 yrs. old and a metal head and foot metal bed frame and the old springs. (I believe both have been pictured on my blog previously.) This one looks like it is a youth bed size with side rails. It looks as if it could be from the 1930s maybe. Finally - with the price lowered to something I just couldn't pass up - I got it. It only made it into the yard and then the snow came, so there it sits. I want to use it in the yard with plants, but need to wait for the greenhouse to go up before I plan further. Also - I believe this extended freeze with temps in the teens will be taking a toll on my garden and there could be many changes this coming spring. Things are always changing in the garden. Which is really the fun part.

Riverwood Primitives

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT RIVERWOOD PRIMITIVES. AS WELL AS BEING AN INSPIRING BLOG, JENNY IS HAVING A HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY. POST BY 12/11.

Snow, snow, snow

It was so beautiful and quite this a.m. early. Then there were the double BIG flashes of blue light from the nearby transformer and the house shuddering from what apparently was this big electrical surge and even though we had electricity, we were told to shut down all our circuit breakers. OK - no electricity, no water (we're on a pump), and the cable had already gone out. But we had heat and that was good. And we had a phone because we maintain a land phone line because we don't have cell service where we live. A large oak fell on the electrical line and PG&E were really good about getting out here fast considering how busy they were and we are up and running again. It is suppose to be very very cold tonight and icy (well, 20 degrees, that is cold for us and my plants).

Patient German Shepherd

OK!!! I did it. I couldn't wait any longer. Kira, our German Shepherd, is always mildly concerned when I start tearing things apart and moving stuff. But she was very patient -- not happy -- to pose for the picture. Putting up our Christmas tree each year is like visiting old friends. Our collection of ornaments covers 3 generations: my parents, mine and my children. The little angel in the 2nd to the bottom pic was on my parents tree when I was little. I have a set of old ornaments that my mom sent me to the five and dime to buy when I was 7. Different time - huh? Not many 7 year-olds get sent to the store alone these days.