Staying Home

 When we first got the stay-at-home policy, I was so thankful.  I was glad for the opportunity to be able to stay at home.  The chance to be able to just stay here and not HAVE to go out every single day has truly been a blessing to me in lots of ways.  

One of the things staying home has provided me is the blessing of simply enjoying the front porch.  Last year I gave Mike new porch rockers and a new porch swing.  The ones we had were older than vintage.  They had been on his grandparents' porch before they graced this front porch and time had done what time does to wooden porch furniture. Slats in the seat of the chairs and bench were broken, the back of the swing had pulled away from the seat, countless coats of paint had begun to chip and wear away and they just didn't seem safe anymore. 

The image above shows a bit of what time had done to the rockers and swing.

So, last fall after Mike said not to give him a gift for his birthday and I said not to give me a gift for my birthday, I took it upon myself to bend the rules a little bit and give him rockers and a swing for his birthday and say that it was his gift to me as well.  I shopped by surfing the net and finally landed on something that I liked and thought would take on a similar profile to what had always graced the front porch.  

The new porch rockers

The rockers are not those tall, 'Cracker Barrel' rockers and have a lower profile like the old ones did.  They have a wide seat that provides plenty of room and comfortable support.  When they arrived in their flat boxes, I could hardly wait to pull the pieces out and put them together.  I love the woven seat and back.  I love the color of the wood.  I just couldn't have been more pleased with the new rockers.  

Shortly after, I also ordered a new porch swing using the concept of a Christmas gift exchange as the excuse for this purchase.  I knew that I wanted something a little longer than the previous swing so that two adults can comfortably sit on it. So, again, I surfed the net and found one that was simple and had a similar curve to the arm as the rockers.  It came unstained and I had to think for a while to decide if I wanted to paint it or attempt to stain it to coordinate with the rockers.

Stain won out and I set to work.  Then, after giving it a week or so, I oiled down the rockers as well as the swing with some of the oil finish I use on the butcher block counter top we have on the island as a protective coating.  It weathered the winter well and I gave it a new coat of oil this spring.

The front porch has sort of turned into an oasis for Toby and me this summer.  We both have enjoyed hours out there.  He stretches out for a nap on the rug and I sit in one of the rockers or the swing and read a book or nap.

The addition of some ferns and flowers have truly made it seem like a summer oasis. I've so enjoyed the beauty of the green, the dark walnut-wood color of the furniture, and the shade.

It is friendly and welcoming as well as relaxing and comfortable whether we are napping or just sitting and watching the world go by.

A tall ice-cold drink in the afternoon or a delicious cup of coffee in the morning will usually be enjoyed right on the front porch.  I've enjoyed the space so much, that other instances of metamorphosis have taken place and even more will be coming.  That's another story for another day, though.  Right now, I hear the front porch calling to me and maybe I'll let Toby tag along!

Change

I do not deal well with change.

Toby's groomer closed up shop because she had to have surgery.  So, we were forced to find a new place for him to get spiffed up.

He seemed fine with it.

I think I needed to give a bit different instruction when I left him, though.

I should have told the new groomer to trim his hair much shorter than I did, evidently.  And there is another matter...

He is dealing with it very well.

Even trying hard to look quite distinguished.

I just think that kerchief looks silly, though.

Let me just say that and nothing more

Yesterday was not a pretty one.

Let me just say that and nothing more.

Well, let me just add this part...

At the end of my school day...as I was walking to my truck...I happened to glance down at the ground and saw - not one, but two - yes, two pennies lying there.

"Find a penny.  Pick it up.  All day long you will have good luck." That phrase sing-songed  in my head till I stopped and picked them up.

So, the day wasn't totally awful.

Today is looking better.

I got to sleep late.  Well, sort of...

I woke up at 3:40 A.M. and my old body was aching and my head was stuffy.  So, I took a couple of pain-reliever tablets and an antihistamine, grabbed a quilt and went to prop myself up on the couch to try to sniffle and go back to sleep without waking Mike.

However, good old Toby had other ideas.  He knew I didn't get back in bed.  How?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Maybe he didn't hear me snoring breathing right there in the bed near his crate.  Who knows?

Just as I was about to doze off...Toby started whining and yipping and begging to be let out of his crate.

So, I went back in there to him and pointed my finger at him and told him in a firm and authoritative manner to hush.  (Translation: Me standing in front of his crate, wearing one of Mike's t-shirts with my hair sticking out in all directions like Medusa, growling at him to shut up or I would make him be really sorry that he woke up Mike...and there may have been an expletive...or two.)

That worked.

Until I got snuggled back under the quilt and situated in a propped up manner on my pillows and just about dozed off again.

Then, I had to stomp back in there and repeat my reprimand and add in a kick to Toby's crate and closed the closet, the bathroom, and the bedroom doors.

I doubt that worked either, but I didn't hear him anymore until 9:00 A.M. this morning!

Mike was already just about finished with his morning feeding chores.  So, I offered to make sausage, biscuits, and gravy for breakfast.

I puttered round and was ready for the milk to make the gravy.  So, I went out on the porch to get the milk and juice off the table and waved at Mike as he came out of the barn.  As I stirred up the gravy, I noticed that the milk had a few ice crystals in it when I was finishing up that gourmet meal.  So, Mike and I conversed about the chill of the morning and I set the gravy on the table just as he had removed his barn boots, washed his hands, and was sitting down to eat.

What a team we are!  Synergy!

Wait, you say...What?

Yes, the milk and juice and all of the cold foods were stored on the back porch last night - most in coolers but the milk and juice jugs just sat out on the table.  Oh, did I forget to mention that our refrigerator stopped working night-before-last?

Yes.  Yes it did.

Learning with my new camera

I am spending a bit of time each day learning with my new camera.  I took a few shots before I put the Christmas decorations away and I just keep marveling at what a wonderful job this thing will do with no expertise or practice.

I usually put the kitchen Christmas tree on the chopping block but this year, I just couldn't change this little vignette...

It kind of shows where I am in self-discovery right now.  I asked for the crocheted wash cloths from my daughter, Bridgette, at Goody Stuff because the ones I had were getting pretty yucky.  So, she gave me this stack tied up with a piece of raffia for my birthday back in November.  I thought it looked so sweet, I just couldn't bear to mess it up...for over a month!

The herb pots right behind the wash cloths might  be called a gentle nudge from my Granny.  The blue and white container was hers.  It is one of the things I was lucky enough to get from her estate.  (along with: Treasures for the Roadshow, More than a Family Tree, More Pieces for the Roadshow, and a quilt.)  I almost bought some African violets to put in it because she grew some of the most brilliant and beautiful ones ever.  Then, I decided that I needed to venture into growing my own herbs.  So, I have a couple of tiny pots set inside that container and I'm giving it a try.  The jury is still out on whether this is going to become a life-long venture!

The bowl to the left is one I picked up on clearance somewhere and just liked it.  I generally keep Granny Smith apples in it because I like the look of that green apple color against my favorite blue and white designs.  After seeing on Pinterest where some folks had dried some oranges, I thought I'd give that a try.  Not a total Pinterest success but it wasn't a total fail, either.  I may give it another go at some point.  During the fall months I added some little boo pumpkins as decor.  So, for the Christmas season, I added some jello molds, metal cookie cutters, and a strand of cranberry red beads.  I thought it looked festively beautiful!

I absolutely love how my camera picked up the lusciousness of the colors in this collection and it makes my heart smile to see these things looking spectacularly beautiful because it was such a simple conglomeration and it features some of the things I really love.

Isn't this a sweet shot of Toby?  He is sitting where he spends so much of his time keeping tabs on our little world...right in front of the French doors of the kitchen.  I love how the photo picks up the soft velvety texture of his coat and how the shadows and highlights are picked up by the natural light.  (I also love how it doesn't show the smudgy dog-nose prints on the windows!)  With my point-and-shoot camera and with the phone camera I could never get this kind of depth and the beauty of Toby didn't show up as well because he is so...black.  So, this camera might really make some other things look just as beautiful as I see them, too!

And here is a perfect example of something I see as beautiful.  The guys made fun of me when we were unwrapping our Christmas gifts but I don't care.  Each year I collect all the glittery, wire edged ribbons off of packages and stash them away.  This box has been their home for the past two or three years.  I simply coil the lengths of ribbon around my hand and smash it flat and stack the pieces in this little box.  Then, when I get ready to wrap gifts the next year, I pull out the little box of ribbons and use them again.  I know for certain that some of these lengths of ribbon are more than eight years old.  Yet, our gifts still twinkled and looked beautiful again this year.  I didn't even have to add much new ribbon to the stash this year.  Didn't my new camera make this stash of ribbon look neat and tidy and really just sparkly beautiful?  That is how this stash looks to me, too!

This is a photo I made to share with Lillie in our Google Hangout right after putting the Christmas decorations away.  She was supposed to be cleaning her bedroom and I was trying to encourage her by showing her my own cleaning progress.  I think what I like most about this new camera and lens is the capability to focus on different things.  When I was wishing for a new camera, I read a blog post by Karianne at Thistlewood Farms where she talked about bokeh (photography language for that fuzzy, out-of-focus "stuff that makes your heart beat faster").  The photos I took to share with Lillie featured some of that bokeh.  In the photo above you might notice it in the bottom left corner.  And in the one below you can tell that the books on the coffee table were the center of my focus and the bokeh is pretty much all around the books...

Now, if I can only learn to control that and focus on exactly what I want to highlight and keep the bokeh on the things I don't want to highlight...

Doctoring

Toby has an ear infection.  We think he might have picked up ear mites somehow.  YUCK!  So, I got some medicine to put down into his ear to treat this.  First, let me say that giving a dog medicine is nothing like when I was living on the farm and we had to treat a calf or cow or lamb.

Our daughter-in-law, Bonnie, of Bonnie's Barnyard fame, brought me the 'paste' for treating Toby's ears.  She warned me that when she had used it on her dog's ears there was a huge mess.  So, I was prepared.

The first treatment went well.  I don't know if it was because Toby felt poorly or because he was ignorant and had no idea what to expect.  The bright yellow liquid-y-paste dried to a powder and made him look funny with yellow powdery ears and he was quite unhappy with me after I treated him but we could tell he felt better after a couple of hours.

Today, I anticipated a bit more resistance from him with the treatment.  However, I didn't realize just how much resistance I would get!

Here is what was slung across the deck when I was trying to keep from getting snapped at and hit the moving target of the sorest of his ears.  Actually, this is after I wiped up what was slung across the deck!

Here is how he looked after I had wiped up what he slung all over his side while I was trying to keep from getting snapped at and hit the moving target of the sorest of his ears.

A happy camper he was not!

While I was treating - I went ahead and applied the spot on flea/tick drops that are applied to the top of his back just behind his neck and the area just in front of his tail.  I figured if I was going to make him mad, I may as well do it all at one time and get it over with!

He sulked around for a while and didn't like the fact that I also made him stay out on the deck for about an hour waiting for the paste to dry.  Then, I went out and brushed the powdery residue off his side and back and rubbed him down good till it just looked like he has a bad case of dandruff.

He paced a bit and then would come to the door and look through the window with a pitiful expression on his face.  I was not deterred, though.  I figured the vitamin D from the sun would be good for him and the temperature was a comfortable one.  I even went outside with a book and joined him for a while.  He was not fooled.  He wouldn't even come near me till I sneaked up on him and caught him by the collar to give him his brushing.

Then, we came inside.  The sulfur-y smell lingers - even after I washed my hands with a couple of different soaps and applied a smelly lotion.  He doesn't like it any better than I do, either.  He has tried several times to wipe it off on the rug like this...

  

I think three days from now when it is time for the third treatment it is going to be a two-man job!

Poor Toby!

Projects because...It's a boy!

We are patiently waiting for our newest family member to join us and the wait is just a few weeks away.  Recently, my daughter, Bridgette, and I went to the western part of the state for a shower honoring the little man and his folks.  I worked on a few projects before-hand and even posted a little hint about that HERE.

I decided that I was going to take my inspiration from a fellow blogger, Suzanne, over at Just Another Hangup.  I used her ric-rack receiving blanket tutorial to guide me.  Then, with a gift card from my friend, Margaret, I went shopping!  I browsed JoAnn, Etc., Hobby Lobby, and even a local quilting store.  I found several fabrics which would make sweet, cheerful, one-of-a-kind receiving blankets and brought my haul home.

red trucks with a black dog, black gingham, and bright red rick-rack

When Bryan was just a little fellow, he loved dogs and almost every dog he met became his friend.  We lived near a busy road, so a country dog did not last long at our house.  Still, we would visit folks and he would say, "They have a nice dog, don't they?"  Eventually, we buried an underground wire for a Radio Fence after my dad forced a homeless, unwanted mutt upon us brought us what was soon to become a welcomed friend but that is a story for another day...

I drive a red truck.  I also have a rambunctious, over-sized jump-upon-whoever-enters spirited, friendly, large Schnauzer/Terrier mix black dog who really is a nice dog.  No, really he is nice.  So, I thought this fabric was just perfect to make a gift from Grand B.

Since most of our family was farm-raised right along-side dairy cows, market lambs, etc., I thought this cute E-I-E-I-O print was appropriate.  I found a nice, soft, blue plaid to serve as one side of the reversible blanket and added rick-rack in a soft blue.

Here is a closer look at the farm print:

Notice that the letters are a small windowpane check.

Bryan was on The University of Tennessee at Martin's livestock judging team and since he graduated, he has been asked to judge several livestock exhibitions.  He seems to enjoy the task, and besides, it usually brings him in contact with one of his loves - a funnel cake!

The final set of companion fabrics I put together featured an all-over print of white-tail bucks, the woods, and turkeys - another set of Bryan's loves.

The companion print I chose for this one was a soft grey flannel with hoof and turkey tracks all over it and added some soft grey rick-rack.

Besides the selection of the fabrics being something a bit less than traditional soft blues, greens, and yellows that many boys' items are made of, I also decided I wanted to personalize each blanket just a wee bit.  So, I started by folding and cutting the fabric and using the same sort of fancy template for curved corners that Suzanne's tutorial recommended.  Then, I went ahead and stitched the rick-rack onto one side of the blanket fabric.

Next, I commissioned my daughter, Bridgette, to put her new business, Goody Stuff,  into practice and embroider a couple of designs.  (Yes, again that was a shameless plug.)  She did a marvelous job and I was so pleased to offer these blankets as a gift at the shower.

The busy wildlife print got a simple grey silhouette of a buck and the family last name.  No, I couldn't just ask for a monogram because as yet, the little man doesn't have a first name.  We have all made several suggestions but something always seems to be wrong with each...

No, the initials spell out something unacceptable.  No, he will be in third grade before he can ever write his own name.  No, I worked with a student who had that name and I sure don't want the little man to grow up to be like that!  No, I went to school with that guy and he was a big goof-ball.  No, I have a customer with that name and he is a real pain...I think you get the idea.

When it was finished, I thought this blanket would be my favorite because it looks so much like fall when the little man is due to be born.  Then, I saw this one:

Somehow, Bridgette found a cute cow that looks very similar to the fabric's print and embroidered it on the 'plain' plaid side.

Again, it is so unique and personal.  Nobody will ever have one exactly like it.  Plus, it is soft, well constructed, and large enough to really swaddle a baby or to just lay out for a pallet or nap cover.  When I saw this one, I thought it would probably be my favorite one.

Then, I got the idea to incorporate an old-fashioned technique that my mother, grandmother, and a friend from college had used years and years ago.  I cross-stitched on the gingham using the little squares as a guide for my Xs.

Isn't that pop of red juxtaposed with the black fun looking?

I just loved the shape of the truck.  So, I took a photo of the print with my iPad.  Then, I enlarged the photo some.  Next, I placed that picture into the Educreations app with a graph paper overlay.  I 'instantly' had a cross-stitch pattern to follow!

Of course, it became my favorite!

Honestly, I don't see how a favorite could be determined.  Here are some close-up shots of the two embroidered designs Bridgette added:

Wildlife/buck

Smiling Cow

Bridgette also created a burp-cloth as a companion for the truck/dog blanket using her embroidery-machine talent:

Didn't it turn out sweet?

I had barely bought enough fabric for the other two blankets, so there was no left-over to make a companion burp-cloth for them.  To present them at the shower, I folded all four to best show off their personalization features and stacked them into Bryan's well-loved yellow Tonka truck.  Remember those big yellow metal things (now called vintage) that would hold half a driveway full of rocks and dirt?  Then, I wrapped some clear basket wrap around it and tied it up with a green chevron and burlap bow.  It was so cute.  No, I forgot all about getting a photo of it.  Rats!

Now we are just waiting for the little man to make his appearance and we will be cuddling soon!  Sometimes my projects turn out so wonderfully that I cannot wait to share - but this one just had to wait a little bit to keep the surprise for the shower.

Shaggy no more

Toby got a haircut and he is no longer shaggy.

Mike and I always love it right after he has been groomed.  He smells fresh and clean.  His coat is shiny and soft.

Plus, he looks so much more distinguished.  Mike always calls him Sebastian on the day that he comes home from the groomer because he looks so much more distinguished.

You can tell it really makes a difference to Toby, too.

I mean, he changes his routine so much.

I wish I was freshly-shorn and looked more distinguished and polished like him!

Independence Day Celebration and Zucchinis

Well, the nation's birthday celebration sloshed by me.  Mike had to work.  Yuck!

He said, "Maybe if we work on July 4 we can have off Saturday AND Sunday."

I paused only briefly to think about that.  Don't you think something is wrong if he has to work on a national holiday in order to have two days off that he is supposed to have off anyway?

My gripe session about that is over but I would like to have caused a few fireworks with the powers that be over there at the warehouse!

Anyway, yesterday was a sloshy, mushy, rainy day here at the ole homestead.  So, Toby and I spent the day in the kitchen.

Yesterday we had put all of that bushel of yellow squash in the freezer.  Lots of slicing, blanching, chilling, and bagging going on over here.

This was only the first batch...

Then, today, we (meaning I) began work on the bushel of zucchini.  I sliced up some zucchini and dipped it into buttermilk and tossed it into a cornmeal mixture and laid the slices out on a wax paper/cookie sheet.  You can see a tutorial HERE.

I also made Lemon Zucchini Bread using a recipe by NancyCreative.  It is absolutely divine!

Lemon Zucchini Bread with Lemon Glaze

I tried another zucchini bread recipe that my friend Joann G gave me.  It is delicious and she says it freezes well.  You can see that recipe HERE.

I pinned a couple more recipes on my Recipes to Try Pinterest Board that I'm going to give a try.

On another note, Bridgette and family have gone on V-cation and Lillie and Lydia sported their 'zucchinis' (really it was a tankini but guess what was a more familiar term...)  today and went to the hotel pool!

Finally, when Mike got home from work at about eight-thirty, he told me to look out front to see what was going on and this is what I saw:

Yep, there was a roadblock set up right in front of our house!

Stephen and Bonnie fired off a couple of fireworks up on the hill - a warm-up for Saturday, I guess.

Here is what Toby did all day:

Then, when folks started shooting fireworks all around us, he had to look out the window of the back doors and give a few woofs!

Hope your day was exciting and festive.

Transformed!

Toby got a haircut this week.  He went from being a shaggy mutt to...

...a Schnauzer!

Grace, the groomer, said she could tell that he had experienced that sort of haircut before because he was cooperative with her and didn't even flinch when she was trimming his eyebrows.  (I was so thankful to hear that he was cooperative and well-behaved because...well, let's face it, he isn't always!)

Mike thinks the new 'do makes him look quite sophisticated and was calling him Pierre and Jaques and names like that.  I just think it makes him look cute.  Don't you?

Bad Behavior

A couple of weeks ago, SOMEBODY was exhibiting poor choices.  His behavior was not acceptable.  I was ultra disappointed.  For three afternoons in a row I came home to find this:

SOMEBODY had jumped around enough to tear up the black plastic liner in his crate the first day.  So, I ordered a new one.  The next day, SOMEBODY had jumped around enough to get the crate to move all the way across the floor where he could reach the towel that was hanging on the closet door knob.  He had pulled the towel through the holes in the crate and yanked and chewed on it till it was wedged in and what was left had to be cut out.  The third day, there was a repeat performance with a different towel.  The fourth day, another repeat.  The fifth day, the crate was place on the rug.  The new plastic liner was installed.  Two cable ties were anchoring the back of the crate to the shelf brackets.  SOMEBODY's behavior dramatically improved!

Overnight Guest

Mike and I recently had an overnight guest.  Well, really, Toby recently had an overnight guest because he is the one who spent the most time with her.  He is the one who seemed to be joined at the hip to her.  He is the one who treated her with the most honor.

Making a nest...

Sorry for the small photos but Mike took these with his cell phone from across the room so as not to disturb all the important bonding and nesting that was going on over there.  From the time Lydia walked in the door till the moment we walked out the back door to meet her mother, Toby was her faithful companion.

In these pictures, Lydia was reading a selection of poetry to Mike and me when we weren't engrossed in television.  She had positioned her pillows...just so.  She had situated her coverlet...just so.  Toby had also draped himself at her feet...just so.

Every now and then she would have to pet on him and talk to him in a sugary voice.  Saying, "Your a good boy aren't you Toby, buddy?"

Then, she could sit back engrossed in her reading and the television program being broadcast.  She was very business-like. 

We loved having her stay with us for a couple of days and nights...almost as much as her buddy, Toby!