If only...

I haven't posted much lately because I haven't had much to post.  I was painting at The House of Goodwill last week; it was a week cut short by a need to return home for three days of doctor appointments.

I didn't complete any painting (or anything else) to show; I did manage to meet with a contractor who (I think) will be building our boat dock and outdoor area.  I am so looking forward to getting that part of the house started!

The contractor also told me he knew some people who could help me inside the house with patching the holes I found under the wallpaper in the entry and bathroom, and fixing some loose tiles.

I still haven't heard from these people (I was told I would this week), so I decided to remain this week at my home/house and work on some yard work and other little organization projects here that need doing.

Hopefully I will hear from the wall repair guy this week, so I can get back to work next week.

For now I am enjoying seeing my crabapple tree, quince, magnolia and some tulips blooming here.  I just love spring!  After some terrible storms this weekend, it is sunny and warm again.

Since I don't have much to post, I will just share some things I've seen lately when I've been at antique stores; things I just loved but didn't buy.  

Why?  Well, it's all stuff I didn't "need."  (To be honest, most stuff I buy I don't need, but since I'm usually in thrift stores I can talk myself into justifying spending $2 or $5 or $10.)  Considering that I don't need these things, they also cost more than I thought I should spend.

These are the "if onlys."  As in, if only I had unlimited funds...or, if only I had somewhere to put it... or, if only I needed another _______.

Really, I love just wandering antique stores and looking.  There's always something interesting that I've never seen before.  So here are a few of things I loved that I DIDN'T buy lately:

I love everything marble, but not only is this marble plant stand beautiful, it's really practical!

Since I seem to always be dripping water when I'm watering plants, this is perfect for underneath a plant.  At $144, I also didn't have a window to put it under, so I just admired it for it's elegant beauty.

This taller marble plant stand also came with a HUGE, lovely pot.

But I thought the other was more than I wanted to pay?

How about $850 for this one??

And here's the thing: even if I had $850 burning a hole in my pocket that I thought I should spend on a plant stand, I see the huge (very breakable) pot and think - this is just asking for someone to knock it over!

Again, I am a little obsessed with beautiful glass and cool planters, but this is why I only buy inexpensive ones.

I LOVE these beautiful glass sailboats, and couldn't stop thinking about how gorgeous they'd look on a sunny window of a lake house!  I forget the price, but I think the pair was over $100.  Not a good idea for a lake house rental.

Since I have started crocheting, I suddenly find myself noticing all things crochet.

I couldn't believe this BEAUTIFUL, perfect condition crochet blanket, that is big enough to be a twin bedspread.  I doubt it was ever used.

It was only only $65, which I didn't think was a lot, especially for such an amazing handmade piece.

I was SO CLOSE to buying it.

I don't think this picture does justice to this breathtaking lamp.  In person, the colors were so beautifully blended and translucent.  I loved the crystals, loved the hand painting, just loved it all.

The trouble is, I just don't NEED a lamp.  And this one, at $200 (discounted from $400) again would have me in fear of knocking it over.  But oh, how I loved it!

And here was one of my favorite things: a tall-ish marble topped table on casters.

A practical, perfectly sized side table (that you can roll to the side when vacuuming!).

At only $145, it was about half the price that I usually see these priced at.

I kept trying to think of where I could use it at The House of Goodwill, but until I start moving furniture in, I won't know for sure exactly what all I'll need, so I didn't buy it.

Walking around this antique store in the middle of nowhere (off the path in a tiny town between my home/house and The House of Goodwill), I couldn't help but overhear one of the most interesting conversations I'd heard in a long time, between two older ladies working there.

They were talking about everything Bible: endtimes and whether we're in them, what will happen in Jerusalem according to prophecy at the return of Christ and whether animals are going to Heaven, amongst many other things. 

But my favorite comment:  "My brother-in-law is a pastor, so I asked him what we'll be doing in Heaven.  I told him singing and playing the harp are not my thing."

Spending an hour walking around a rambling old building that smelled like mildew and listening to this?  It was a perfect hour in my day.

Another year older

Last Sunday was my birthday, and somehow I was able to expand it into a three day celebration weekend. I'm still not sure how I maneuvered it, but it seemed pretty ingenious.  

I'm a little behind in posting due to busyness, but I'll be making up for it. 

Honestly, my three day extravaganza felt (a little) deserved.  Last year, in the beginning of March, after taking care of my two foster toddlers for a year, they began their first weekend visitations with their grandparents.  So after a year of sacrificing nearly all my time, I had two weekends of freedom in a row, and it felt amazing.

But then...Covid.  The week leading up to my birthday last year was the week the national lockdowns began, and everywhere seemingly shut down at once.  Two days before my birthday I got an email saying the visitations were canceled indefinitely, and any plans I had for my birthday went out the window.

My birthday last year fell on a cold, rainy Saturday, and I was stuck inside the house all weekend with two small kids.  (And every weekend after for a long time.)  My family made it as special as possible, but the onset of mild Covid depression was real.

So to have what felt like a three day party this year - with beautiful, warm, sunny weather to boot - was definitely appreciated!

So what did we do for three days of birthday fun?

Well, on Friday afternoon my husband took off work, and he, my son and I went to the Frist Center in Nashville to see the new Picasso exhibit.  My last visit to the Frist was over a decade ago, and it was so nice to go back.

To be honest, Picasso is not one of my favorite artists, but as one of the two creators of Cubism, I understand his importance to the world of art.  This exhibit, titled "Figures" displayed many of his "portraits" - particularly of women.  If it is true that "great art" is art that creates discussion, then most definitely Picasso was a great artist.  He gave us a lot to talk about.

(He also gave us a lot to laugh about, as his favorite subject - or maybe I should say his two favorite subjects - were the centerpiece of nearly every work.)

There was something I really liked about this one.

It really was an interesting exhibit.

There was a simultaneous exhibit of "The American West in Art."

(Complete with disclaimers explaining the correct viewpoints on race and subject matter next to nearly every painting.  I was honestly grateful the whole exhibit wasn't canceled for being un-PC.)

There were some BEAUTIFUL paintings; it was a happy surprise bonus!

This was followed by Mexican food in Nashville.  By some miracle, we found an uncrowded restaurant on Friday evening.  We could even hear ourselves talk. 🙂

On Saturday, I gave my husband a list of tasks I needed done in the house, and he spent the whole afternoon and evening working on them, including one really big one: installing shelves in my laundry room!

I forgot to take a before pic 😖, but I will post on that soon.  It was one of those little/big things that will change my life on a daily basis as my laundry room now feels WAY more organized - only eighteen years after moving in...

So while my husband worked, I worked too, and I gave my son a few tasks as well.  Most everything we did were things that needed to be done at some point anyway; but my birthday request of a "task day" got them taken care of.

My son and I were cleaning and organizing; my husband built the shelves (a bigger request than I realized) and finally connected my dvd player to the new TV he got himself for Christmas.  

Since we were all working together, it didn't feel all that much like work, and I celebrated getting it all done by spending the evening taking a bath (something I longed to do when the foster kids were with me, but it seemed like I just never had time.)

Every year on my birthday I go to the pet store and buy my dogs and cat a bunch of special treats.

That way we ALL get to celebrate!

Wizard made quick work of his bone.

On Sunday, my actual birthday, I saw a table at church with a sign that said "free flowers" and it was yellow daffodil bouquets in mason jars.

I had told my son and husband they could skip buying flowers for me this year (because I was leaving for the House of Goodwill the next day), so it was a lovely surprise to receive spring flowers anyway!

The afternoon was so beautiful we decided to all walk the dogs together.  My wonderful neighbors, Jim and Jeanne, asked us to stop at their house for some "perishable gifts."  Jeanne had some homemade strawberry jam for me, and they picked me a bouquet of daffodils from their extensive collection in their yard:

And I had the perfect vase for them!  I had found this vintage Snoopy vase years ago at an antique store for $8, but I'd never used it.  I loved it too much to part with it, but it seemed kind of weird to buy myself flowers for it, considering it's message.

But this was perfect!

And I'm not kidding about Jim and Jeanne having a daffodil collection; there are five different types of daffodils here!  They look so beautiful grouped together; they have inspired me to start my own daffodil collection.

So after letting my family off the hook with the flower buying, I still ended up with beautiful daffodils, not once, but twice!

My husband gave me a new version of one of our favorite games, "Ticket to Ride."

This one is called "Rails and Sails" and was a lot of fun.

And it's always nice to win on your birthday. 😉

This was followed by dinner made by my husband, who is a very good cook!

It was my special request: Caesar salad (he makes a great one) and surf & turf.

There was also ice cream cake and a Rock Band competition (my son resurrected the Play Station 2 for this) and it was fun!

And one last thing: since my son is frustrated (and probably right) regarding my lack of cool shoes, for my gift from him he told me to pick out any pair of Adidas Ultraboost I wanted, and he would order them.  So these are my new shoes:

So while I am very proud of my son for being so good with money (he has definitely learned to be a saver); he is also very generous in giving.  He just started sponsoring a child monthly in the Dominican Republic, and he is very open handed (and hearted) about giving to those he loves.

To be a saver AND a giver is just who he needs to be.

I have great shoes AND a great family.  What a great birthday.

Thank you God, for another year of life. 💗  May we keep our eyes on the blessings!

Happy Spring!

It's the first day of spring, and it was 64 degrees, sunny and beautiful here in Tennessee.  I returned to the home/house last weekend from The House of Goodwill, for my husband's birthday and a couple of appointments.

I had planned to go back this last week, but after removing the wallpaper in the rooms I was working on and discovering a couple of holes, I realized I couldn't continue until I found someone to repair it.  I think I've found someone, but he wasn't available this week.

So, it didn't make much sense for me to go back by myself, when there wasn't too much I could accomplish.

Since I've spent far more time at The House of Goodwill over the last year, both working on it and enjoying it, whenever I'm home again it seems there are a million little things that need to be done.  I tried to get some organizing and cleaning done here this week.

I really haven't had too much to post.

But, it's officially spring today and I've been enjoying all the spring flowers and flowering trees all over the city.  So I thought I'd share a few pics of some of my favorite spring things.  With a discount theme, of course! 🙂

There were SO MANY daffodils at The House of Goodwill, that I could have harvested twenty vases full, and probably no one would have noticed any missing from the yard.

I settled for three.

These brought a little spring cheer to the house!

What do I love as much as the $1 chrysanthemums in fall and $1 poinsettias at Christmas?

The $1 daffodils, hyacinths and tiny irises in the spring!  (At Wal-Mart.)

I was able to fill 3 planters (from Goodwill and a thrift store) with $9 worth of plants.

Something nice and colorful on a rainy spring day

When these tiny irises are done (like the daffodils and hyacinths) I will plant them in the garden so they can return every year.

I like to fill the spaces between the plants with a little bit of moss picked up in the yard.

This was a kitchen canister from a vintage dish set that was missing a lid, so it was just a few dollars at the thrift store.  I love it as a planter.

These three hyacinths perfume the entire downstairs; they smell heavenly!

I returned home last week just in time to see my pear tree start blooming.  I planted it years ago directly behind the house, where you can see it from every back window when it's in bloom.  On an early spring day, when it's a little cold to be outside, seeing this tree brings hope that winter is over.

I've found two of these little Peter Rabbit planters at antique malls, and I just love them!  (They are different.  Apparently some years ago several different versions of these came with FTD flower arrangements.)  I put a plant in them every year around Easter.  This planter was just $12 and I added a $5 tiny rose plant from 

Wal-Mart.  Isn't he cute?

I've found three (so far) of these vintage Avon bunny candleholders at Goodwills and a thrift store.

One was even in his original box.

I only paid a few dollars for each of them, but I think they're really special!

They come out every year for Easter as well.

I think the one on the right might even have his original candle. 🙂

I'm always surprised at how many great Goodwill donations look as though they've never been used.

It's time to celebrate spring!  If you don't have any spring flowers, go get some!

Goodbye, wallpaper!

Last week I got the entryway molding and the hallway painted, so Monday it was time to start the next part of the project, removing wallpaper and painting in the hallway bathroom and entryway.

Here is a reminder of what the entryway looked like after I had painted the dark molding:

Like everything in the house, the wallpaper was in great shape, and really didn't need to be changed because of damage or peeling, etc.  In every room of this house, the walls were in almost perfect condition.  There were hardly any nail holes, even, after forty-four years.  

The former owners hung pictures from needles stuck in the wall (!) which made almost invisible holes.

I just wasn't crazy about the house colors, as they leaned darker.  And this wallpaper doesn't work the new colors I'm painting.

This was the wallpaper.  I actually might miss it a little...

I waited for my son, who got to spend the first day of his spring break learning how to remove wallpaper.  I wanted to teach him another new life skill.

He was so helpful!

After two days of work, we got it all off!

The entry looks so naked now...

We ran into a slight glitch, though.  It turns out there is a strip of wall next to the front door that is missing drywall.  The previous owners had just wallpapered over it, and it was never even noticeable.

There were also a few small places where bits of the wall lifted off with the wallpaper.

My husband offered to patch it, and I thought about it, but, I really want this to be perfect.  We are going to wait till we can find someone who's an expert in drywall to come and even out the walls flaws before I paint.

So it's not going to go as quickly as I might have hoped.

Meanwhile, the hall bathroom is in process.  The wallpaper removal here is no fun!  It's lots of overhead scraping, scraping behind the light fixture and in narrow crevices.  I'm hoping to get it done today.

I had thought perhaps this wallpaper was as old as the house, but it turns out it's not.  The bathroom wall apparently used to be yellow!

It would have been fun to have seen this house back and in the '70's and throughout the years.  I love houses with a past! 

Let there be light

As promised, here is the update on the latest finished portion of The House of Goodwill project:

Last week, I completed painting all the dark molding in the entryway, and I completed painting the hallway.

Here is the only pic I could find of the hallway from the day we closed on the house.  The hallway, before:

I wonder how many hours of my life so far I've spent painting dark molding white?

No idea, but it's A LOT!

Here it is again while I was in process of painting the molding white.

In these pics, the walls look yellow, but it's not accurate.

The color was a flat light brown, kind of like adobe color.

I changed the color from brown to a very pale green.  It is one shade lighter than the color I painted the office/bedroom.

I think this pic shows the before brown color more accurately.

Here is the after.

The color is called "tranquility."

It's the middle of the afternoon on a sunny day with the light on and lighter paint.

You can see how this house is so naturally dark.

It looked even darker before, with dark colored paint on every wall!

Maybe it's easier to see the color with the door closed?

Looking into the entryway, from the hallway.

This half of the house is almost done.

I've done three bedrooms and the hallway - the bathroom is in process.

I've been working from a green/orange/purple color palette to honor my 1970's house.  But I've decided to throw a little blue in too - I haven't finalized the entryway colors yet but they're going to tie into this hall color.

Little by little, the house is getting lighter and brighter!

And a little more hope

I got another major paint project completed this week, and it was a BIG one!  Remember the entryway in The House of Goodwill with all the dark molding?

In the middle of a sunny afternoon, this is what the entry looks like without any lights on.

I guess I'm a little solar powered, because I've always found dark rooms really depressing.

Here's where it's at right now with all the molding FINALLY painted!

It's already feeling lighter and brighter!

Next up?  My family is coming this weekend and I'll be teaching my son how to remove wallpaper.  I can hardly wait!  The same wallpaper is in the hall bathroom, the last door you see on the left in this pic.

We're getting very close to an obvious dramatic transformation in this room, and this is what I LOVE about painting projects.  I should be able to close out two at once, the entry and bathroom.  It's going to feel like a huge accomplishment.

But in the meantime, here is what I've been working on now:

I'm painting the hallway; going to roll the walls and get it done today!

In progress!  Hopefully my next post will be this hallway completed.

And in other random, hopeful news, I wanted to share something that has lifted my spirits this week.  You may remember, for Valentine's Day, my son gave me a dozen white roses.  That was February 13th.

I took this picture of the roses two days ago; they look exactly the same today:

The roses, 3 weeks and 2 days after I received them.  

While most of the leaves have fallen off, the roses STILL look beautiful!

Apparently I was given magic roses.

Never have I had roses last so long!  And when my son gave them to me he said, "I picked you out ones that weren't very open so they would last longer."

That was truly a Magical Mom Moment.  And it was a double MMM!  Not only did my kid give me flowers, he proved to me that he does (at least occasionally) absorb some of the things I'm constantly trying to teach him.

And one last little piece of hope, since this is a gardening blog after all...

I thought I had received all of the surprise flower discoveries at The House of Goodwill over the last year.  But there was one more - daffodils (LOTS of them!) in the backyard!

If spring flowers don't fill you with hope, I don't know what will.

The daffodils are all in an area that is hard to see from a window in the main living area.  Sometimes in the spring and fall it's a little too cold to be outside enjoying flowers that bloom in these seasons. 

So when I plant flowers that bloom in spring and fall, I try to put them in a location where I can see and enjoy them through a window.

Since daffodils multiply quickly, I'll divide some of these and plant them in more viewable areas, as well as in front of the house where they can be seen from the road.

And guess what else I discovered?  Huge patches of hyacinths that haven't yet bloomed!  I can't wait!