Metal and Leather Rooster
Handy Husband and I were married for eight years before we had children. In those years, we worked hard. We played hard. Our lifestyle was not conducive to having a conventional, living, breathing pet. We did have a metal rooster though. We even named him and I’m not embarrassed to admit that. I should be, but I’m not. Meet Roddy. He’s from a little farm I like to call Pier 1. Maybe you’ve heard of it? I like Roddy. He’s a keeper. However, sometimes when I walk by Roddy his metal tail feathers rattle and then I don’t like him very much. No girl needs to be reminded that they…
Piano Harp Art
Every once in awhile an idea in my head, a wild hair, really, turns out even better than I hoped it would. And I’m SO EXCITED ABOUT IT going to play it cool and tell you how my idea to make piano harp art came to fruition. When we took apart the upright piano that had been left in our house when we moved in, I knew I could use the parts of the piano to make unique, statement-making art for our home. Of course, the pièce de résistance of piano parts is the harp and that was the hardest part to extract. Murphy’s Law. The piano harp is the part of…
Happy List: #136
Hello, hello! This week I’d like to give a shout out to kind neighbors. One of my neighbors, who recently brought me muffins and a mum, stopped by to check on me. She noticed that our American flag was flying upside down and, apparently, that is a sign of distress. She left her car running in her driveway and her door open to make sure I was okay. In our case, it was just a sign of a flag that was long, long overdue to be replaced and had ripped out of the grommets. We violated so many rules of flag etiquette, but rest assured, we will dispose of the…
Travel: Opus 40
Do you still experience wonderment as an adult? I wouldn’t say it is routine for me, but every once in awhile that feeling of wonderment, awe and admiration all bundled together, hits me and it is like all my senses light up! That’s what I experienced when I visited Opus 40 near Saugerties, New York. What is Opus 40? Opus 40 is an 6.5-acre earthwork sculpture park. Visitors can walk up, down, and all over this man-made sculpture. Its highest point is a monolith that rises 16-feet above ground and its lowest point is 3-stories below ground. Opus 40 was created by ONE PERSON, actor and sculptor, Harvey Fite, who…
Taking Apart a Piano is Hard
Taking apart a piano is hard. Really hard. Can you believe that me, of all people, even uttered those words “taking apart a piano”? It sounds blasphemous. I assure you I have not abandoned my decades-long love of the piano. Nor did I take apart my baby piano. Heaven forbid! I took apart a piano to which I have no emotional attachment. Because that makes it better? Here’s what happened… Please note this is not a tutorial. There are plenty of those on the internet. This is more of a cautionary tale should you decide to embark on this journey. A piano was left in our house when we moved…
Happy List: #135
Hello! We all made it to Friday! I think that deserves a pat on the back. This week on the blog I shared a mushy story. Scratch that. I shared TWO mushy stories. This one about DIY and love and this one about flea market finds and love. The two most important men in my life each had a starring role in these stories. As it should be. Here’s the Happy List! PIONEERTOWN MOTEL I’m dead from the cuteness. (image: Pioneertown Motel) This is the registration office for Pioneertown Motel in California. Back in the day Pioneertown Motel housed movie stars like Gene Autry while they were filming. If you love…
The Best Flea Market Score
Not only did I recently find the best flea market score EVER, it happened twice at the same flea market. I know, I know. I don’t think you can technically have two “best ever” declarations in the same sentence. Alas, it won’t be the first or last grammar violation on this blog. Now, while I’m still riding the high of the moment, I am well aware that the best flea market score to me is not the best flea market score to someone else. And thank goodness, right? Otherwise, they’d be walking home with my finds and I’d be walking home sad and empty-handed. Actually, I’d be driving. New Jersey…
When DIY Equals True Love
A friend messaged me last weekend and asked if I was doing anything fun. Well… I guess that depends on your definition of fun. If fun means taking down the ugliest fluorescent lights in your kitchen before they actually fall out of the ceiling, then it’s practically been a party at our house. And I’m not joking about the part where one of them was falling out of the ceiling. Taking down the lights meant that we had to deal with the world’s worst drywall job and, honestly, that hasn’t been so fun. Of all the home improvement jobs, drywall sanding is the thing I enjoy the least. “No, kids.…
Happy List: #134
Hey, hey! It’s Friday! The 13th! This week on the blog it was all about the exterior of our house. I shared the surprising way we had a whole bunch of brush removed from our property. That alone probably raised our property value. I also shared my newly painted front gate and how long it took me to paint it. It definitely wasn’t an hour. In other news, I’ve been trying to do more stories on Instagram. I even showed my face this week. Twice. Crazy stuff. If you’re on Instagram, I’d love to connect with you there too. Here’s the Happy List! SWEET POTATO SAUSAGE BREAD KNOTS It is…
I Painted Our Front Gate
Try not to be jealous, but we have a gate to nowhere. Well, not nowhere. If I walk from my front porch straight down the uneven sidewalk (thanks a lot, tree roots!) to the gate it leads to my mailbox. Two steps past the mailbox is certain death. People drive way too fast on country roads! I could also walk around the driveway to the mailbox and never have to use that gate or trip on the uneven sidewalk, but where’s the fun in that? I suppose if you want to get technical about things (apparently, I do today,) it really isn’t a gate to nowhere. It’s just a plain…
