Pocket Project

Hello, friends, how's your Monday going so far? We have rain threatening, but it'd be nice if it would quit being coy and just come on down.

Today I'm showing you a small project. It was easy and is a nice little gift for someone or to use yourself. If I were still working, there would always be one in my bag. It started like this:

Your basic candy tin with hinged lid. A little paint, paper and trim transformed it to:

My gosh, does that table need to be refinished in the worst way or what? Anyway, with the addition of these:

thread, scissors, tape, thimble, safety pins, we ended up so:

The lid is lined with felt to store needles and straight pins and voila! A handy portable sewing kit for emergency repairs. Easy and with little to buy. Most of the embellishments and contents were gathered from around the house. This reminds me of my childhood (when dinosaurs roamed the earth) and we made similar mini first aid kits out of bandage boxess, back when those came in tin containers, not cardboard. 

I hope this gives your an idea or two. Have a wonderful evening.

Michele

Dear to my heart

Hello, friends,

As you know, Mr. B and I are nuts about cats of every description, so I thought today would be a good time to share some special cat places for anyone else of the same persuasion. 

The first is Freekibblecat.com, found here:http://www.freekibblekat.com/. It offers a trivia  question each day. Whether your answer is right or wrong, you've donated ten pieces of kibble for shelter cats. There is also a wonderful slide show each month, pictures relating to the question asked, as well as a daily "What Makes Me Happy" photo where people share their kitties with everyone. 

The fine folks at Alley Cat Allies http://www.alleycat.org/ dedicate their time to improving the lives of feral and stray cats. National Feral Cat Day is coming soon on October 16 and they have big plans for it.

If there is ever a place guaranteed to cheer a person up, it's The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee:

http://www.theittybittykittycommittee.com/

I've had this book for several years:

but the authors have a website, too. It's at http://www.thecatshouse.com/ and so much fun to visit. It would be wonderful to implement some of their ideas for our furry friends, not an option now, but maybe someday.

Of course, this is only a tiny fraction of what's out there for cat lovers, but it includes some of my favorites. If you're as foolish about felines as we are, enjoy!

Have a wonderful weekend. We're heading to Schulenburg for a reunion tomorrow. It should be fun.

Later, Michele

The end, I promise!

Hi, folks,

One more day of fall and I promise I'll quit till 2014. It takes a lot of imagination to do this when it's well over 90 by afternoon each day. It's a good thing I have help. I got down the birdcage and wasn't feeling the love, so gave up on that idea. 

I did want  to use the new Mercury glass compote, so filled it with spicy potpourri. 

Flossie, sniffing it suspiciously. Which is why it ultimately wound up here:

Oh, the irony of setting it on top of the cat shrine!

This was moved to make room for it. Flossie gave it an inspection, too.

I 

I ended up using the big glass cloche with a gourd, moss and more acorns under it. This should take us up to Thanksgiving well enough. I'm done with the season change. Tomorrow there will be a different subject, I promise!

Have a great evening.

Michele

Still decorating

Hi, all.

I'm still stubbornly working away at fall, even though it's over 90 right now. Maybe if I refuse to admit it's still summer, the weather will eventually give in and cooperate. It's worth a try. 

Here is the wreath from last year refurbished with a little more foliage:

Over on the picnic baskets by the cross wall:

There is a metal wall piece and one of my little chairs with a big paper mache acorn in it, the top is covered with real acorn caps glued on.

On another bookcase a tin container full of autumn foliage, the wonderful greeting card from my friend Betty I framed and a cute, if ineffective squirrel nutcracker. 

Last night Mr. B had a terrible time at the end of his work day and on the commute home, so I didn't bother to ask him to get the birdcage down to work on it. Maybe that will happen tonight and I'll figure out something for the dining room table. Meanwhile, Mother Nature?? See, it's nearly the end of September. The season has changed. Why not give us a break and a little relief from over 90 degree days? TIA!

Have a good one,

Michele

Fall, Take Two

Hey, everyone, I hope your week is going well. This can be a hectic time of the year, especially for those with children. There is a lot going on everywhere. For now, it's quiet at our house, so I've been chipping away at decorating for Autumn. Here's what's been done since yesterday:

The revolving bookcase table at one end of the sofa has a different tray on top in more seasonal colors, with a pear, some greenery and a new bird sitting in a twig chair. Mr. Bird was my fun score at the Salvation Army yesterday, $1.49 less the 25% discount.

The corner shelf has another of those little topiary trees on it.

The terrarium has a big ball made of seed pods on a candleholder, some wooden acorns surrounded by vase filler. There is also a leaf-shaped candle inside. 

That's all that's done so far, except for the wreaths on both doors. Tonight Mr. B can reach the birdcage on top of the hutch and maybe an idea for the dining room table will start to emerge. 

Take it easy!

Michele

Seasonal Shift

Hello, all, and welcome, Fall! Isn't it nice to say goodbye to summer? I know, I know, some of you love it, but probably not lots of Texas residents. While Mr. B was home this weekend he got a couple of boxes  down for me to start switching out the decor. Let me tell you, it wasn't pretty. It not only got worse before it was better, it got a lot worse! However, it's begun to settle down some after intense effort. Here are some of the first areas to get attention:

So far the coffee table just has a different tray on it, a cool wooden acorn from Tuesday Morning and a fall dish with some seasonal colored candy in it.

The desk has a little berry topiary in one of my miniature chairs and a seedpod sphere resting on some moss in an urn. A little china pumpkin sits atop a broken mirrored candle holder.

This is a close up of the dresser scarf used as a table runner with its very appropriate harvest bounty.

Here is a view of the peg rack by the front door with an autumn swag and a few pumpkins. 

Are you having a wonderful time shifting gears and moving on to this season that is a favorite with so many people? I am, and hope you are too.

Take it easy!

Michele

Late and Later

Sorry, folks, but I have been suffering from a severe case of Blank Brain. Sitting down at the computer has brought on fresh attacks for weeks now. 

Some of my time not spent writing has been modest attempts at thrifting. I've found the usual paperback books and a few odd pieces of clothing for Mr. B and myself. Here is the rest:

Another tartan thermos and a sweet white pitcher. It's not old, originally from Ikea, but it is heavy and I like the shape. There are two of the plates that say Dessert Antipasto Salad for my black and white collection. The stool folds cunningly and will probably be used on the front step for a plant. Two reindeer napkin rings in good time for the holidays, a little red truck, ditto, along with my favorite, the footed Mercury glass bowl. It had sat in the shop long enough to be marked down from $5.45 to $2.92 when it caught my eye. 

Two small pillowcases with Santa playing cowboy are pretty darn cute. 

A Ralph Lauren scarf in rich jewel tones would go with a lot of fall and winter outfits. 

Believe me, there are no real excuses for not writing before. It isn't as if the house has been deep cleaned from top to bottom, nor that I've been traveling or extra busy. It's just been a mind gone awol; let's just hope it's not a permanent condition. Meanwhile, I hope you can look forward to  a fun weekend about to start any minute now!

Take it easy,

Michele

Tiny Tuesday Tweak

Hello, Friends,

I hope your re-entry after the holiday weekend wasn't too painful. Mine was much improved by lunch with a special old friend, a belated celebration of her August birthday.

Since it's nearly 100 outside and not in the least fall-like, it seemed a good idea to do something with my sunflowers. How can you ever go wrong, really, if Scrabble letters are involved? Here is the addition to the terrarium:

Here comes the sun is right; no sign of cooler temps or rain at this point. Not very original, but bonus points for accuracy, you think? Maybe up there they won't draw the attention of the purring ones who live at this address, that's the hope, at least. 

Have a wonderful evening. 

See you tomorrow,

Michele