Merry Christmas to You!!

What does Christmas mean to you?

A time to reflect back on your childhood/family memories?

Gathering with friends and loved ones for
 wonderful food and good cheer?

Shopping for that 'perfect' gift?

Whatever Christmas means to you, 

I hope it will be a special one!

Wishing you a Wonderful & Merry Christmas!

BELIEVE!

XOXO

You can take the girl out of the country......

I wasn't raised as a 'country girl', but I had plenty of relatives

 that lived there and I always looked forward to visiting them.

Venturing into the big old barns, getting to feed

the calves and baby pigs, and playing in the

upper haylofts, was so much fun!

 Later on as a young wife, I entered the livelihood

of  'farming' and quickly found out

it's not all fun and games!

 

I'm not sure that's where my love of the 'farmhouse-style'

originated, but I am hooked on it now!

I'd gone through all the previous trendy décor years -

Country, Retro, and 60's Modern,  

Country Style

Modern Style

but around the 'Shabby Chic' era, I found my style! 

That style has evolved into Farmhouse Style!

 

My latest project! 

 

This chicken crate was a fun 'find' from the Nebraska Junk Jaunt!

Can you see it behind the stack of other 'finds'?

 

They used these crates to haul chickens in!

(I won't mention that they were on their way to market!)

 

Anyhoo......

I've been wanting one for years to convert into a coffee table!

It had already been washed clean, but I scrubbed it anyway.

Then I painted it using a brush - wishing I had a paint sprayer!!

 

I had 4 old dining table legs waiting for a project, so I

cut the bottom part off and attached them to the crate. 

 

 And here it is.......

 

Despite a few challenges, and a couple trips to

Ace Hardware, it turned out pretty good!

 

"It's not for everyone!" (Nebraska travel marketing phrase!) 

 But, it fits my 'farmhouse' décor style just fine!



 What's your style?

 

Be happy and stay warm, my friends!

 XOXO

One down.....three to go!

Hi! Welcome back to my crazy world!

I've been super busy trying to get furniture projects

done before it gets too cold in my garage ...

 

OPPS! TOO LATE...!!

 

Even with my little heater cranking out as much heat as it can,

 (and 20' high ceilings where all the heat goes!)

it became difficult to apply paint.

 

So, guess what?...

 

I move  lug all my supplies and my project up to my condo!

Thankfully, there's an elevator, but I still have to haul it all

to the other end of the building to my place!

I work on multiple items at a time so it gets kinda crowded!

 

 

So you're saying to yourself "why would you do this?"

I ask myself the same question!!

 

This is one of the pieces of furniture I brought back from

the NE Junk Jaunt...

 

I'm calling it a desk, but it could be a vanity...

 

I kinda had my doubts about the removal of the old varnish

being a quick and simple job -

is there such a thing in the 'junky world'!

The old finish was the kind of varnish that bleeds RED

no matter what you do or how many coats of paint you use!

 

I just had to work with it! I used a medium gray chalk paint,

which did a good coverage job with just a tad bit of 

 a reddish highlight in some places to make it look

 like I planned it that way!

 

The top was in pretty good shape,

 so I just sanded and re-stained it.

 

 I glued together beaded board slats

and used the back side to look like

"SHIPLAP!" 

and attached it to the 'harp'

to give it a funky, unique look!

I think there may have been a drawer

missing, so I did the easy thing

and made it an open shelf!

 

This is just an idea for a fun way to decorate

this piece! Or you could hang photos or notes!

Make it your own style!

 

 

Okay! Yay! One down....

Now on to completing the next one!

It's almost done - I'll be posting it soon!

 

Sneak peek!



Stay well, my friends!

And, have a wonderful day!

XOXO

Slow Down Enjoy the View

We are fortunate to live in an area with some

of the greatest natural wonders - the mountains,

the discovery of mineral formations deep inside caves,

 and the natural hot springs waters that are full of

healthy and healing qualities, to name a few.

 Another marvel feature is the Glenwood

Canyon highway (I70),

 although not a natural phenomenon,

it's known for being a  milestone

in the Nation's transportation history.

A 12.5-mile-long network

of viaducts, bridges, and tunnels constructed through

 an extraordinarily narrow, environmentally

sensitive and scenic gorge.



 

 

This roadway is the gateway not only to our town,

but the Western Slope of Colorado. It's

heavily traveled by thousands of vehicles, commercial

trucks, RV's and motorcycles each day.

The winding, narrow curves of the highway snakes it's

 way through some of the most beautiful scenery and

 unbelievably stunning rock formations.

Surrounded by steep rock walls, that

can cause havoc with mud and rock slides

in the spring due to thawing temperatures and

any other time due to heavy rains. It can be challenging

and dangerous, as well.

 

 

It is for these reasons that speed limits are necessary.

50 mph has been the posted speed limit for years.

Even while trying to navigate the curves at that speed

it's difficult to see and enjoy

all the beauty that the canyon has to offer.

 

 

Most people cruise through here at much higher

 speeds seemingly unimpressed with the

 stunning views constantly changing depending

 on the time of day or season.

 

So, now there is news that the speed limit

will be increased to 60 by the end of this year!

Great - now those people already going

that speed will go at least another 10 over!

It seems everyone's in a hurry

 to get somewhere!

 

 

Is it just me, or because I'm 'older' ??

I get annoyed with people speeding up

behind me, when I'm already going over the

posted speed limit, to get me to go

faster or get out of their way!

I just want to say slow it down!

Take the few extra minutes

it takes to be less stressed 

and enjoy the views -

no matter where your

travels take you!

 

 

You'll be surprised how

many amazing sights you missed

when speeding by!

 

XOXO





NE Junk Jaunt!

I spent the 3-day weekend at the
   Nebraska Junk Jaunt - a 300 mile loop
covering the middle of the state.

A true 'Junker' starts scouting for sales at the crack of dawn!

I'm not THAT ambitious -

but I did see this bright Nebraska sunrise!

Traveling along the Interstates may get you

 to the places you want to go faster, but navigating the

country back roads in search of  'junky treasures'

is WAY MORE INTERESTING!

 

Sure, you might see a lot of this...

 



And encounter some of this...

 

Railroads seem to be prevalent
in almost every NE town.



This could be a bit of a wait,
 with a LONG string of cars full of coal!

 

On country roads you'd also get to see this...

 

 a few biggo barns - most of them not being used...

 

 

and a lot of these abandoned farm houses,

thanks to big corporate farming.



 



 

AND THEN - I SAW IT!
A SIGN FOR A JUNK JAUNT SALE!
 

This was my first stop!

WOO-HOO!!

Rusty, crusty, dusty treasures!

Really old (and uncomfortable!) tractor seats!
 

Old farmhouse furniture - so cool!
 

DOORS! As you may already know, I have an

unusually strong attraction to old doors!


 

Another back-roads place full of 'junky finds!

In two days of back road driving, I visited
about a third of  the 35 participating towns,
 and a select few 'junky' places
in each one!

I ended up with a few special finds
most of which I intend to
re-do for myself!

Marathon junking can be exhausting!
After a full day of driving, enjoying some
very scenic country, and seeing fabulous junky stuff,
it's great to get back to the hotel
to relax and unwind!

A beautiful Nebraska sunset is the perfect end

to an exhausting, but fun 'junky' day!



 

 

 

XOXO

Blood, Sweat, and Tears (not the rock'n'roll band!)

I put a lot of thought into each one of my projects.

It takes time to figure out what repairs

are needed and how to fix it!

As I'm working on those things,

my mind is creating a finished image

of color, finishes, and embellishments.

 

The 'Trash Day' cabinet was my most recent challenge:

 

The biggest issue was the

doors were missing antique swivel hinges.

Efforts to find replacements

weren't successful.

Luckily, I know an expert

who can fix anything

and he solved the dilemma!

 

GOING TO A NEW HOME!

Once destined for the landfill,

this antique cabinet

will be useful once again!

It will have a long happy life

with it's new owners!

 

Don't you just love HAPPY ENDINGS!





XOXO

Life is short - eat dessert first!

Rustic tarts are very popular now - I've discovered that I much prefer to make them than pies!
They're also referred to as 'Galette', which makes it sound even MORE decadent! It's quick, no need to be perfect, and oh, so yummy!

Here's one that sounds good...

Apple Tart

What a great Fall dessert!

 

It looks so good, you can almost SMELL it! Yum!

 

 

 

 

 

I love these tarts - they're the perfect size.

My favorite Rustic Tart, so far,

 is made with fresh peaches and blueberries...

 

See, they don't have to look perfect!

 

I make it even easier (and quicker!) with

 pie crust dough from the

refrigerated section at the grocery store!

 

For the filling:

 

* 4-5 Peaches, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices

*1 Cup fresh blueberries

*1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar

*2 TBSP flour

*1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon

*1/8 tsp Fresh Nutmeg

*A pinch of Kosher Salt

*3 TBSP Peach & Mango Preserves, warmed up

 

Mix together and place in center of

pie crust, then fold up the sides

pleating every now and then.

Brush with warmed

peach & mango preserves.

 

Easy Peasy!

(And delicious topped with ice cream!)

XOXO