The little frog from inside the house
Not the best picture -- the chair is a reflection; he's not King Kong!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
A Nighttime Visitor
For the past 3 nights, this little green tree frog has been on our front door. He's just a little guy -- 1" long -- and he's so cute! The first night he visited, I tried to pick him up (if you know me well, you know I can't resist holding frogs and toads) but he hopped away -- about a foot per hop -- pretty good for a little guy! Now when he comes to visit, I just look at him and leave him alone.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Boo Hoo!
I'm not a 'lucky' person. . . I never win anything and seldom find bargains. When I was up north, though, I found the most lovely off-white Franciscan Coronado salad bowl (the big serving bowl, not an individual one) for $8! It sells in most places for $45+. I was so excited and snapped it up! We've been using it as a fruit bowl on the kitchen table . . .
. . .until Sunday afternoon. I picked something up off the table, it got caught in the tablecloth and the cloth and the Franciscan bowl ended up on the floor.
Here's a stock photo of what it used to look like (only in matte off-white):
Here's what it looks like now:
By the way, the table in this picture is the old kitchen table from my growing-up house (my parents replaced it when I was little with a MODERN fake wood formica table and black upholstered bus-drivers' chairs). I mostly remember it being in the basement and my grandmother and parents using it as a work table. I found it in my aunt's basement last year & grabbed it (though my family all thought I was nuts). I so love it (complete with one of the old red plastic upholstered kitchen chairs) -- it makes me happy every time I see it!
Anyway, back to the point. I'm gluing the bowl back together one piece per section per day (so the glue can set). I've already joined 7 or 8 pieces, but it's a painstaking process -- it's a good thing that I have lots of patience and enjoy a good puzzle! I'll post a picture when it's all finished. In the meantime -- BOO HOO!
. . .until Sunday afternoon. I picked something up off the table, it got caught in the tablecloth and the cloth and the Franciscan bowl ended up on the floor.
Here's a stock photo of what it used to look like (only in matte off-white):
Here's what it looks like now:
By the way, the table in this picture is the old kitchen table from my growing-up house (my parents replaced it when I was little with a MODERN fake wood formica table and black upholstered bus-drivers' chairs). I mostly remember it being in the basement and my grandmother and parents using it as a work table. I found it in my aunt's basement last year & grabbed it (though my family all thought I was nuts). I so love it (complete with one of the old red plastic upholstered kitchen chairs) -- it makes me happy every time I see it!Anyway, back to the point. I'm gluing the bowl back together one piece per section per day (so the glue can set). I've already joined 7 or 8 pieces, but it's a painstaking process -- it's a good thing that I have lots of patience and enjoy a good puzzle! I'll post a picture when it's all finished. In the meantime -- BOO HOO!
Saturday, August 07, 2010
I like cicadas
I know that lots of people are creeped out by cicadas (17 year locusts) -- both the way their shells look and the way they sound. I like them though!
I'll never forget climbing in my favorite tree in the front yard when I was bout 8 or 9 and putting my hand on a cicada shell. I was so freaked out that I almost fell out of the tree! Ever since then I've been fascinated with them and the sound of their droning takes me right back to my childhood.
Every year, a few of them emerge at the base of the pine tree right next to our house. We hear them for a few days and sometimes see the shells. Two days ago, I got to see an adult right after it had emerged! It was so cool that I had to take pictures and share it.
The just-emerged adult
The shell, left on a leaf
I don't know why I do it, but I always save the shells that I find. I think it's a little sad that a creature lies dormant for 17 years, only to emerge and live for 6 weeks. Maybe it's a throwback to the shell that almost drove me out of a maple tree all those years ago.
I'll never forget climbing in my favorite tree in the front yard when I was bout 8 or 9 and putting my hand on a cicada shell. I was so freaked out that I almost fell out of the tree! Ever since then I've been fascinated with them and the sound of their droning takes me right back to my childhood.
Every year, a few of them emerge at the base of the pine tree right next to our house. We hear them for a few days and sometimes see the shells. Two days ago, I got to see an adult right after it had emerged! It was so cool that I had to take pictures and share it.
The just-emerged adult
The shell, left on a leafI don't know why I do it, but I always save the shells that I find. I think it's a little sad that a creature lies dormant for 17 years, only to emerge and live for 6 weeks. Maybe it's a throwback to the shell that almost drove me out of a maple tree all those years ago.
One woman's trash...
Last weekend Jim and I made a fast trip to a sale at a home I'd been to before, where the lady had lots of vintage items, priced well. It turns out that her husband passed away earlier in the year and she's getting rid of lots of stuff, on the way to selling her house & property.
I got a great little toy sewing machine that will go to Crit (and, hopefully, little Lil will learn the joys of sewing on it).
I also got an old (1960s) quilted plastic sweater box for $1, that I really like.
Jim got a director's chair with Pioneer (like the sound people) on it that the lady said was only given to the roadies and performers of rock bands like the Who. When I asked her how she got it, she smiled (quite coquettishely) and said "that's a another story".
The greatest treasures of all, though, were absolutely free! I saw some swan planters outside of her barn and asked if she'd sell those. She said, "Oh, honey, you can have those! There area 5 of them and they're all cracked because I keep hitting them with the lawn tractor. . . I'm not very good at that. . ."
So I took them! There was a male swan, 2 females and 2 babies. I used the male and one of the females in my flower beds. You can't tell they're plastic (and not cement) until you get close to them and you can't see the cracks at all. Here's the way they looked before and after:
I got a great little toy sewing machine that will go to Crit (and, hopefully, little Lil will learn the joys of sewing on it).
I also got an old (1960s) quilted plastic sweater box for $1, that I really like.
Jim got a director's chair with Pioneer (like the sound people) on it that the lady said was only given to the roadies and performers of rock bands like the Who. When I asked her how she got it, she smiled (quite coquettishely) and said "that's a another story".
The greatest treasures of all, though, were absolutely free! I saw some swan planters outside of her barn and asked if she'd sell those. She said, "Oh, honey, you can have those! There area 5 of them and they're all cracked because I keep hitting them with the lawn tractor. . . I'm not very good at that. . ."
So I took them! There was a male swan, 2 females and 2 babies. I used the male and one of the females in my flower beds. You can't tell they're plastic (and not cement) until you get close to them and you can't see the cracks at all. Here's the way they looked before and after:
Before
After
This is the ultimate in GREEN (reuse, repurpose, recycle)! What have you rescued or repurposed lately to use at your house?
This is the ultimate in GREEN (reuse, repurpose, recycle)! What have you rescued or repurposed lately to use at your house?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
