Woohoo, found a 5 foot snake in the tall ground cover yesterday while walking the yard with the gardener...he jumped and screamed like a teenage girl! Macbeth came to the rescue and stood between us and the snake. The snake was smart and retreated to the other side of the fence. Macbeth was smart enough not to chase him. All good. Now I don't mind snakes but it did give me reason to spend more time on the porch! Maybe that is why the little guy in the photo hangs out here has well....(he is the perfect color for my porch!)
The porch - the real reason for today's post. We gave away our deck/porch furniture when we went overseas. I have been shopping around for the past few months and haven't found what I want. What I want is my porch that doesn't look like everyone else's in the neighborhood. I also don't want to spend a fortune...seems like those two plans were at odds.So I took a page from that home show that only uses stuff you already have (except I allowed myself a $100 to buy paint and repair stuff since we couldn't ship that and so have zilch in the garage....) This has been a lot of fun! I'm using colors I love (I know I do because when I was emptying a box of stuff in the garage I found color chips from 6 years ago that match what I am using now!) And it is color...I am so tired of brown, black and beige I could scream!
So what have I done so far...I painted some old wicker chairs lilac (before and after shot above.) I painted a discarded iron table bottom a textured black. I primed a 3 foot by 3 foot piece of wood and broke up lots and lots of chipped china to make a mosaic table top. I found a small canvas "rug" I painted years ago and some tin folk art for the side of the house. Fun no? So far I have spent about $40...couldn't even get a decent chair for that!
I am debating with myself on the china...I definitely want to go with the smaller pieces but do I only want to use the china? It was starting to look a bit girl-y...so I tried tossing in some beer caps and buttons and beach glass....definitely shook it up a bit....I'm going to wait a day before gluing it down to make up my mind. Besides I have to smash some more china (very therapeutic I may add....) Also there are a few pieces that I have to use the nippers on to make sure I don't lose the pattern like on this china mark....
Still lots to do but it is way more fun than shopping (who would have ever thought I'd say that!) The basket quilt came out of it's bath in good shape. There are still a few stains but I'm going to wait and decide how much they bother me. It may do more damage to try and get them out. At least it is clean and smells good! Important in a quilt! Photos later...still a bit damp in spots and is doing its final drying in the dining room....
oh and here is a Brownie photo for Dianne....I suspect Brownie was out there hunting the little lizard...oh, dear. Both cats like to hang out around the lavender plant...wonder what it smell like to them?
10 comments:
What a lovely sunny day! I have always loved the look of mosaics, and I can't wait to see what you do with yours. It's one of those things that seem to never get started for me because I have so much on my plate already. Maybe someday! Until then, I'm so glad I can enjoy it through your lovely pictures!
Cheers,
Dionne
PS - I'm glad Macbeth is so brave, and clever!
cute cat. I hadn't seen any green lizards so far this year - plenty of brown ones and they kind of change colors so that sometimes they actually look blue.
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
Sio: The part where you said "Besides I have to smash some more china (very therapeutic I may add....)" ~ indeed! That cracked me up.
And *karendianne is so happy to finally see Brownie! Look at those are you bothering me ears? Very funny! I love her little blue collar, too. It's so cute. :) Not that I don't enjoy seeing Goldie basking on the deck/ porch. She's such a hottie!
macbeth is my HERO - ebony would have cowered behind me or yipe-yipe-yiped as she ran the other way - she's even afraid of the power cord to the lawn mower ... goldie and brownie are gorgeous kitties!
fun to see you doing the mosaic project you've been thinking of for so long. I've come fairly close to two snakes while taking walks here. eeeuw
Look after the cents and the dollars will look after themselves. Great ideas.
Smashing china happens a lot in this house, though not intentionally!
I love your table idea. I have always wanted to do that.
Frownie Brownie does not want the photo taken. Evidence that she has been tamed.
Yes the breaking of china does sound therapedic but they looked so beautiful.
You are having a burst of creative energy...send some my way!
Wow...very different wildlife to what you would have seen in the UK :o)
Love the mosaics...they're going to look great.
I love your mosaic project. I have had a similar project in the back of my mind for over a year, but can't seem to get started, you made me bring the idea forward again, thanks. I can't get that snake out of my head, 5', what kind was it. We don't have snakes that big in Washington, I don't think, I would never go out in the yard again. In fact, worms freak me out more than snakes usually. I'm a woos!
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