September 26, 2015

While fall is in the air, it is not officially here.  However, the persimmons are in!  Here are a few persimmons we picked up today.  These are wild persimmons from one of the trees that were surrounding our farm when we bought it.  These had naturally fallen off the tree, so we knew they were ripe.  As these are astringent, you do no want to pick them when they are not falling off the tree.  Sometimes we will shake the tree to see which ones are loose enough to fall.  If you have ever eaten a persimmon that is not quite ripe, you will know what not to do in the future with persimmons!
Another project this week was finding a mirror for our front hall.  I have been trying to place mirrors in the dark spots to reflect more light.  Additionally, I am trying to add a little more elegance to our front hall before Thanksgiving, when all of the extended family will be here.  When I went looking online, I was amazed to find that the mirrors I gravitated towards cost up to $400 or more!  I really wanted a round mirror between 24" and 35" (the size of the wall.)  I really like the beveled mirrors as well, but of course they cost more.  I went shopping at the local antique store and found a mirror that was not round but was octagon shape.  I pulled out my trusty measuring tape that I carry in my pocketbook, and it was 28".  While it was a color of frame I didn't like, I knew I could solve that problem with paint.  After a look at the price tag, which said $25.00, I knew I had my mirror.  I brought it home, taped it off, and spray painted it with metallic silver.  I love the way it turned out.  I am sorry that the picture shows a shadow from the beveled edge.
Being able to go to the garden to pick your dinner is the bomb!  Tonight we picked grape and pear tomatoes, kale, carrots, peppers and grapes, so I knew a chef salad was on for dinner (along with eggs we got from our chickens.)  You just can't beat fresh food!
The front flower bed is dwindling, but the red zinnias are still going strong! I just love zinnias for that very reason, they are so hardworking! 

September 17, 2015

Life is never dull and boring.  I am loving life!  I was born to be a jack of all trades and master of none!  What I like about it  is I see no limitations.  I look around and see what needs doing and figure out a way to get it done.  Who cares if I am a specialist?  My husband is the same way.  It's so awesome!  For example, I needed a picture for our dining room in the colors of purple and green.  I am sick to death of having meaningless art and my husband takes a great picture of a passion flower which is the first flower we saw on the farm. So I decided to paint a picture of it.  As I tell my daughter,  I am not an artist, I just play one on TV.  Anyway, it turned out decent enough to hang it on our wall and bring color to our dining area in the great room space.  Another project this week has been the lamp tables for our upstairs bedroom that used to be my youngest daughter's room before she moved out and went to college.  I am trying to put together an Ernest Hemingway style bedroom as you can see by my pinterest page.  I found two end tables at the thrift shop.  One was priced at $8, and one was priced at $12.  They matched, but were in a different amount of disrepair.  They were solid construction with dovetailed drawers and more solid wood than you see in today's furniture, so I took a gamble and decided to paint them.  I knew I would be changing the hardware to match a secretary I bought, so I sanded them, used wood filler where needed, painted them black, and oila! I can't wait to see how they look with the secretary.  The other project I have been working on is some shorts for my husband.  He is such a hard worker that he tears his clothes all to pieces.  Couple that with the fact that his cargo shorts are too long so that when he bends down his knee catches the seam and rips it, and he needs some custom designed shorts.  I went to a thrift shop and found a pair of khaki pants for $2.  I cut it off at the spot that usually rips with seam allowances added, and made a pattern for a cargo pocket from an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper.    I hemmed them at the right spot and added the cargo pocket, so we had a pair of shorts for $2 that should outlast the $40 cargo shorts that you can find advertised.   I used the 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper so I could manage hemming and seam allowances.    They turned out great.


Love these shorts!