Bloglovin' ... taking the plunge!

I'm not sure what I'm getting into.... a new trick for this old dog to learn I guess!  I'm getting on board with bloglovin' and hope it's a good thing!  Let's keep each other posted on what it's all about okay!

Cathy G

What's Behind the Cupboard and a NEW Rug Design!

Before I get to the part where I show you what was behind the big cupboard I moved into a closet  in my last post, I'd like to share my newest rug design.

I released it last evening on Primitive Handmades Mercantile. Click Here to go get all the details! 

I released a paper pattern for my fellow rug hookers too!

I love how the rug turned out and it was super fun to hook!  You will love the colors in this one and I love how it looks on this old cupboard in our living room.

Speaking of cupboards....  I have collected cupboards of all sizes and kinds over the years.  It's amazing how many I've been able to cram into our average sized ranch style home.  Built in the 1950's our house is short on closet space so it was a particularly daring move to give one up to house a cupboard.  Maybe it speaks volumes on how much I love cupboards.  

So... take a look at what was behind cupboard # 1 in the dining room.....

That's right!  A DOOR!!  That's another thing about this house.... while it's short on closets it's long on doors!  I have never seen another house that has as many doors as this one!  Whenever I get the chance to remove a door around here it gives me more satisfaction than you can know!  LOL!

That door in the above photo is actually one of two that leads into our master bedroom.  There's another DOOR at the end of the long lonesome hallway that enters the bedroom as well.

This door has the added bonus of being a dutch door. It really doesn't matter because we never use this door.  Mainly because there is another cupboard behind that door in the bedroom!

I'm not kidding when I said I love cupboards!

So there you have it!  Just one of the many issues I confront when doing any type of decorating or rearranging of furniture.  It is always a challenge to say the least.

 I moved the pie safe with punched tin panels from the living room ( where it housed our TV ) to the dining room where it now holds a small TV and other items like cookbooks.  How do you like my outdated wall paper border?

There's so many things around here that I'd like to change but time and money are always a problem.

So I keep rearranging and moving my cupboards around.

It keeps me happy and content for the time being.

That little table in front of the DOOR may or may not be there next time you look.   I am in a rearranging frame of mind!

Anybody want to come and help?

Cathy G

Long Lonesome Hallway

So the saga continues.  I hope I haven't ruined that song by Michael Parks for you forever!  LOL! 

The closet received a fresh coat of paint yesterday.  My photos are making the paint color look more green than the creamy yellow that it is.  It was paint I had left over from prior projects and is the color of practically all the walls in the house now.   The color is Burnt Candle by Dutchboy.  

My idea for redoing this closet has a threefold purpose.  # 1 to get rid of the ugly closet doors.  #2 to add some interest to this long, boring, useless hallway.  Well, I guess it isn't entirely useless.  One does need to travel it's length when accessing the bathroom, bedrooms and office.   #3 to find a home for this big cupboard in the dining area.  You can see the freshly painted closet to the right which is about 5 or 6 feet from the cupboard.

  So there you have it.  My bright idea... to move that cupboard into the closet!

Before you think I've  gone completely bonkers... let me show you the end result...

So what do you think?  Hubby still has to make some trim for the closet opening. He will be using the boards from the framework around the closet I tore off and ripping them to fit the new opening.  

I have a small collection of Redwing Stoneware pieces that have always resided in this cupboard.  The cupboard also houses stuff like recipes, pharmaceuticals, dishes and serving pieces not used everyday.... a few more odds and ends I like to keep handy but out of sight.  So in spite of losing some coat hanging space,  the cleaning supplies and the vacuum cleaner's former storage space,  I think I am getting used to the new use for this closet.

As with any change that I make around here it usually comes with a new set of issues to deal with.  

More on those later.

I will show you what was behind that big cupboard.

Like I said... a new set of issues.

How's your week shaping up?

Cathy G

Rumor Has It....

......... she went nuts and tore part of the house apart.... and.... designed a new rug hooking pattern!

TRUE on both accounts!

You can catch a sneak peek of the new rug design in the above photo.  I know.... nasty mean aren't I! LOL!  

I can't give you all the details until next Friday when we update over on Primitive Handmades Mercantile!  

I beg for your patience until then!

I WILL tell you the rug is all hooked... AND BOUND.... and I LOVE how it turned out!

Now for the tearing part of the house apart....

O My!  I am in trouble!  As sometimes happens when I'm left alone in the house for a day ( hubby was gone on a work related trip) I get ideas that I can't wait to get started on!  There is a closet in our hallway that leads back to the bedrooms and the bath and my office.  Okay there USED to be a closet to be more accurate!  LOL!  In order for my idea to work here I had to take the closet doors off and the frame work had to come off too!  Whew!  A few hours later when Dave arrived home I had it to this point and laid it on him about my big plan and what I wanted to accomplish with this closet.  

Just so you know.... we are still married!  LOL!   

I will fill you in on the details later.

So we are off to the hardware store for a few supplies and to shop for a new shop vac.  

Things are hopping around here!

Stay tuned!

Cathy G

Good Riddance to May!

It was all going along so wonderfully!  The weeding, watering, transplanting of tender perennials to different spots in the gardens. Though I wore ear muffs most of the days to protect my ears and touchy sinuses from cold winds that persisted for most of May..... I  ended up in the Dr.'s office last Friday with a sinus infection again.  The prescribed "horse pills" twice a day seem to be kicking in and I'm feeling a little back to my normal ( although a bit cranky) self.  

Sunday while helping my DH clear out the little A-frame gardening shed in our back yard I accidently dropped a four foot all steel fence post on my foot.  Yowza!  I thought for sure I had broken a couple of toes!  But I could wiggle them slightly so I vowed I wasn't making another trip to the Dr.'s office having just been there the day before.

So with the heating pad on my face and the cold packs on my foot I spent the better part of last weekend on the couch.

When the day warms up in the afternoon I sit here on the deck with my tea. 

The planter box is planted with chocolate mint that I dug from the gardens.  It needs to be contained as it is very aggressive and will over run the gardens.  Keeping it imprisoned in a box near me as I sit gives me great satisfaction!

My resident crow buddy ( old decoy) keeps a watchful eye on it too!

The morning sun casts a heavenly glow as it lights up the ferns behind the fountain. 

I'm using a lot of my perennials in planters around the yard this year instead of spending at the garden center for annuals.   I think I've spent a total of $11.00 dollars on plants this year so far and that included a tomato plant for $5.77.

Chives are about to burst open in an old tire planter Dave's dad made years ago.

Rhubarb has been harvested and we enjoyed a scrumptious German Apple- Rhubarb  Crumb Cake last week. 

I sent half the pan to work with Dave and they requested more!  Does it look like there's enough here for another pan?

( and yes that's a bowling ball) :-D

My bleeding heart ( which was my mother's plant that I transplanted when she sold her place a few years back) is blooming nicely.  I think she wants it back now!  LOL!  

And Max wants to show you the little bit of progress I've made on the Maggie Bonanomi American Floral rug.  Very little hooking has been taking place recently but he keeps after me! 

So "God willing and the creek don't rise".... I will be dyeing wool tomorrow!

June is off to a good start... well sort of!

Cathy G