Jumping the Gun

Hello, all,

How is your Tuesday going so far? Mine has been frustrating, trying to accomplish a task online that turned out to be a much bigger deal than anticipated. 

Despite it still being two days until Thanksgiving, one of the many times waiting on hold, my thoughts turned to Christmas. Probably everyone has seen the very cute rustic pickup trucks carrying a tree in the back. I don't have a cool vintage toy, though, so thought about making a little vignette  using a different type of ride. 

It's a reproduction old style vintage bicycle. 

This industrious rider came prepared, with a blanket and hot cocoa in a thermos to make a winter picnic of it. 

From a slightly different angle. Just the merest beginnings of an idea that may work into something better before the season is over. 

What do you think? Does Thanksgiving falling so late this year mean you're starting to lose interest a bit in the long wait till it gets here? That seems to be the case here, with me totally tired of pumpkins and all fall decor. 

Have a good one,

Michele

Brain Strain

Hi, folks,

That's what I got trying to switch out the picture on my header. By the time this not so difficult task was accomplished I was too tired to write a real post. But at least, there is something new to look at up top.

Sorry to be such a dolt!

Michele

Fast on Friday

Hello, friends,

No more moaning about hot, muggy weather from me. A front blew in with much cooler temps and rain today, a dramatic switch.

Unable to resist, I picked a bag of bottle brush trees at Goodwill today and just had to play with them a bit. This is very unlike me. Normally, no Christmas decor comes out till December 1, but what the heck, it's a self made up rule, so okay for me to break it, right?

Here is my first attempt at a tiny display:

 

It's in a corner of the dining room. It has gradually dawned on me, being a slow learner, that some of my favorite parts of the month are the foliage: poinsettias, holly, evergreens of all kinds, that and the lights on houses and buildings. In fact, Mr. B and I have made a pact to go out twice a week during the season, driving a different route going and coming back, to miss as few festive displays as possible this year. 

Are you sneaking small starts already, or are you better at self discipline than some of us?

Have a great weekend!

Michele

A baby gift

Hello, everyone,

It is annoyingly warm here today, well, at least if you're hustling around trying to get things done (notice, no mention of succeeding in that effort is mentioned) as is the case here. 

Here is a baby gift put together for my friend's daughter.

When my eyes landed on this can in a thrift shop it seemed like a great container to use for a present.

Some of the items inside it include a board book, a rattle, a cup and a  plate:

A padded hanger:

There is a silver spoon tied to the handle with some polka dot ribbon. The card is thrifted too, a Laurel Burch design featuring kittens in a baby carriage.

It was fun to put this together. I hope the new mom enjoys opening the contents. There is also a bag with some books for big sister, too.

Have a great evening!

Michele

A couple of changes

Hello, all, and a happy Wednesday headed your way.

Today I did a couple of minor changes, not sure if they're permanent or not. A year or more ago an old kitchen drawer showed up in a trash heap, begging to be picked. After cleaning and pulling the old contact paper off the bottom, so:

I'm not sure Mr. B will go for this configuration, but if he doesn't there are plenty of other uses for a shallow drawer.

In the same area:

My miniature bench holds oatmeal and brown sugar.

Another  look at the drawer:

And a bonus question. Can anyone name and tell me what this item is for? It came in a box from Freecycle; all the other items were easily identified.

??????

Till next time,
Michele

A bit of early effort

Hello, friends. I hope wherever you live the weather is as gorgeous as it is here today. That's a statement made all too rarely in Texas.

On October 24 I wrote a piece that included these:

glittery fern fronds in the mug. Then on November 8, at the Bering Methodist sale, I found:

 

gold poinsettias. Today seemed like a fine time to see how they would look in an old long, narrow basket.

 What do you think? The ribbon was off a gift package saved from who knows now what year in the past. I like the contrast of the gold, glitter and natural material of the basket. Not a bad attempt for the first salvo in the holiday decorations frenzy soon to be upon us once Thanksgiving is out of the way.

Have you started musing upon possibilities yet, or are you so well organized you already know exactly what your look will be this year?

Take it easy,
Michele

A Monday Mini

Hello, all, I hope your week is off to a promising start. We are back to breaking records, here, ones for hottest days in this eleventh month. It's annoying in the extreme.

This morning while looking through an old magazine an idea occurred to me for a gift. Therefore, after starting with this:

a few minutes of cleaning and trimming produced:

 

It will be added to the baby gift being assembled for a friend's newest granddaughter, a little something for Mom. 

Till next time,

Michele

Easy Upcycle

Hello, all, I hope your days are going well. Mine was much improved by seeing a dear friend named Gill for lunch.

Once upon a time, a few months ago, I got these at a yard sale:

A pair of fruit earrings. I really love how they look, but sadly, they are glass and too heavy to wear without discomfort, if not outright pain. It's a shame, because look how cute they are. In my effort to make lemonade out of this disappointment, they were dismantled and have a new purpose:

Voila! Why couldn't they be ornaments on a miniature tree? Obviously, it needs some tinsel and a topper to be fully considered fancy enough to display, but it's not a bad re-use, is it? They're too adorable to get rid of entirely, even if the pain from their weight makes wearing them in my ears not an option. So that's the project du jour here at Adventures in Thrifting.

Have a great evening,
Michele

More saved > used

Hi, Folks, and a happy hump day to everyone. You may remember a few months ago we got this:

a cabinet with a hutch on top. None of the hardware was very attractive. In that picture the drawer knobs had been replaced with ceramic checked ones.
Last week in the great war on grime concentrated in the dining room a pair of knobs bought years ago at a yard sale turned up. They were new, never used and similar in color to the paint job on the piece, so:

I switched them out. Although they're solid colored from this angle, in profile you see that the sides are white with blue stripes, like this:

Pretty cute, huh? They didn't cost more than .50 cents, so once again, it worked out well to have bought an appealing item to hang onto till the right place to use it showed up. Now, if my stash would just unearth a set for the lower cabinet doors it would be really sweet!

Have a great afternoon. I'm anxious to say hi to middle daughter, who'll be here shortly after she finishes some work for her job.

Michele

A tisket, a tasket,

Some kitties in a basket. This is a kitty update from AIT.

I cleaned out that white round tray and put it on top of the fridge for the time being, only to find Freckles and Freddie sharing it yesterday.

I spread out this pillow sham to measure it before putting it on ebay, but Flossie thought it was there for her to nap on.

Flossie also found this extra small cookie sheet that is just her size and took a snooze in it as well.

Apparently Junior has problems he hasn't shared with us, since he seems to be clutching his aching head this afternoon, while Freckles remains oblivious. That is her usual state, though.

Flossie got crossways with Minnie a while back and has enlisted all the other cats to make her a scapegoat, so she normally hangs out in the seat of this dining room chair most of the time. In the evening she'll sometimes come sit on my lap while I read to get a little petting unmolested. Poor Minnie, she is a very sweet, matronly part Siamese with gorgeous blue eyes.

That's what's going on with some of our crew. We're expecting temperatures down into the 30s tonight, so every one of them may show up on our bed in search of warm covers.

Have a good one!

Michele

Saving versus Hoarding

Hello, friends, and a happy new week to you all.

Sometimes Mr. B accuses me of hoarding, and it's true that I save things. It's also true that very often those items do get used, so he's not often successful at making me feel guilty. Here is an example: every year at Christmas time I make and give away boxes of snack mix made out of oyster crackers, to the workers at the post office, library, mechanic shop and other neighborhood businesses, as well as to friends and relatives. Often, but not always, the containers are returned to me. Each year it's necessary to buy replacements. Here is one from a thrift shop:

It's a nice  size and the price was right--well under a dollar--but the top is hardly festive. However, from my friend Betty in Austin I saved this:

It's a beautiful card with a sliver glitter snowflake on the front. A little modge podge and scissors to round off the corners slightly and my tin is now this:

Ready to line with wax paper and fill with goodies.  So, legitimate to have saved, or not?

Take it easy!

Michele

Friday roundup

Hello, everyone, are you all full of TGIF? I was this morning because of the big semi-annual rummage sale at the Methodist church. Here's what I got:

There are a few books,a box of cards, some old gold glitter Christmas poinsettias, a Marjolein Bastin creamer and sugar bowl, bag of small candles, a holiday tee and bag of hearts. They are hard to see, but my favorite buy is the book ends made of letters BO and OK. They are on either side of the pink box.

The box has assorted cards inside.

Or maybe this is my favorite purchase. I don't know how old it is, but the stopper is a cork and it says made in America on the bottom.

My shirt with candy canes on it. Peppermint, in the form of peppermint bark is a major perk of December imo.

These were in a bag so I thought they were separate hearts, not strung together. Maybe they can be separated for some kind of project.

How cute is Things to Make and Do, from back in 1952?

I'd better get busy and put away my treasures.You all take it easy, now.

Michele

What's for dinner?

Hi, folks,

We finally got a teeny little cold front today, so using the oven didn't sound totally unrealistic, so tonight we'll have chicken pie.

I cut up some leftover chicken and sliced mushrooms:

cooked those till they were soft:

added some carrots

and peas 

combined everything with gravy:

then put a crust on top before baking it. I use crescent roll dough because Mr. B loves crescent rolls. Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes.

And there is the result!

Till next time,
Michele

Detour today

Hello, Peeps,

My march round our dining room in the war on grime continues with some success, but much still left to do. It has taken every bit of energy in my body to keep up with this project and routine chores, leaving none left for crafts or fun to blog about. Therefore, I asked my friend Tricia if she would mind a recent post of hers to be featured here today. You see, she had a birthday last month. It was great fun planning for it and assembling her present, but then I didn't want to blog about it, because she'd probably read about it before the p.o. delivered.

If you click upon this link http://thtolbert.blogspot.com/2013/11/gifted-gift-givers.html you should find yourself at The Dull and the Dutiful, where Tricia blogs and see what she found in the mail one day. While you're there, check out some of the beautiful table settings, too. She has incredible talent in that area.

Meanwhile, back to the consequences of all this unnatural effort, like moving some of the eight cat balls and one artificial bird egg unearthed running the duster under one of the bookcases. One side of the room looks like an obstacle course.

Till next time, 

Michele

Election Day

Hello, friends, did you go vote today already? I didn't, but that's because at my age there is the option to vote by mail, which was done a couple of weeks ago. 

Today there is very little to blog about, because I'm spending the week c-c-c-cleaning in the dining room. Yesterday i did the main part of the floor, around the table and some other areas. Today I focused on the wall with the antique washstand that belonged to my mother, moved, sorted, shifted, organized, dusted, vacuumed, all of that exhausting business. It does look better now, but not me. I look like a hag, too late for Halloween to get any use out of it. 

Here is the washstand top now:

While over in that section of the room I used screw eyelets and wire to make a hanger for a little corner shelf that's just been propped up for lo these many months before. Here it is actually installed:

It has a little fake fern and a ceramic pear on it for the moment.

I have got to go sit down for a few minutes, so bye for now.

Later, Michele

More Day of the Dead

Hi, friends,

I hope you all had wonderful weekends. Mr. B and I were very busy Saturday, going to a library sale in the morning and to dinner and the reception at Casa Ramirez in the evening. Here are some pictures. When we first walked in we saw this:

I presume it is made of paper mache, otherwise it would be a bear to move!

One of the ones on display.

This one was very appealing with lots of personal touches. 

This is for the parents of the owners, Mercario and Chrissie Dickerson Ramirez. 

Here is a small sample of items they sell for this holiday:

And here is a  Pinterest link:http://www.pinterest.com/shopheights19th/casa-ramirez-folkart-gallery/

As you see, one common theme with the altars is marigolds, which are still lacking in my display this year, too. This is after we planted some earlier in the year that died. Who kills marigolds? Aren't they nearly indestructible? Apparently not!

I hope you found this brief glimpse at Dia de los Muertos entertaining. 

Later, Michele