Years ago, David and I bought a bunch of unfinished furniture. Of course, we fully intended to paint or stain it, but that didn't happen and didn't happen. We've moved location multiple times since buying it, and always vow we WILL finish the furniture. However, it still gets put into the house and loaded up with goods in its unfinished state.

This time, though, we decided it wouldn't even find its way into our house till it truly WAS finished. We panned off our bedroom furniture to someone else and paid to get it done. It looks beautiful! But the other pieces, I decided I would do myself. So it has waited and waited in the garage.

Finally, a little over a year after we moved into our house, the china cabinet is finished and filled up with dishes. I am very happy with the results:

I love how our wedding china stands out inside.

I love it so much, that taking pictures of it was a lot of fun, thus more focus on the dishes than the cabinet. Oh, well. The cabinet's sole function is to show off the wedding ware, right?

When I was about to deliver our son, I saw a figurine of a father holding his newborn. I melted into tears at the tenderness of the sight. I bought it and tenderly presented it to David. I'm not sure he felt the same emotion that I did, but I placed it on his dresser. Since the move, I think it has become mine. It was joined by a mother holding a baby, and then, most recently, by two sistes sitting face-to-face talking, given to me by my sister for my birthday. Since we have a ball-throwing son, I decided the safest place for all of them was in the china cabinet. And I think they go so nicely here.

Applesauce

On Monday, I got together with Sister to make applesauce. We did two bushels in about four hours. -- Froze it, which is so much faster (AND neater) than canning! Now, here's hoping my freezer doesn't break down or lose electricity!

When we tallied up how many bags of sauce we had, we stupidly got to thinking how much each bag cost us, and compared it to the price at our local grocery store. BAD idea! It actually was a little cheaper, but with the labor involved (and we worked fast) and the distractions of four kids, we got to wondering if it was worth it.

But then we ate it. One spoonful, and then another, and another, and another. And then a bowl full. It was absolutely delicious! -- Sweet, without sugar being added, thick, and so full of flavor!

Definitely worth it!

We're going to do four more bushels. (I'll take pictures next time.)

FYI, we did Golden Delicious. Always my favorite.

We've opened Bag #2. My husband has demanded that I NOT hold him back in consuming it!

Baby Shower Gift

A friend had her baby boy recently, and along came a shower invitation. I am the kind of person who likes to give original gifts, but I have a hard time coming up with the ideas for these gifts. Recently, though, I found my inspiration while at my local craft store: plain white letters to hang on the wall!

But they were too plain for something as special as a shower gift. (Although the first ones I gave as a shower gift, I gave plain because I liked them that way then. -- Inspiration struck later!) So, along came toille-patterned wrapping paper, decopage glue, and clear-coat finish spray.

And HOURS later, here are the letters:

"JONATHAN" is a very long name!

Zinnia Pillow

We've had too much going on at our house, thus the lengthy pause in blogging.

My husband and I had a fabulous 10-year anniversary celebration at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. (We backpacked in, and spent three nights in the canyon.) Awesome experience, and a 10-year dream fulfilled for both of us.

The weather has been dry, dry, dry. My poor garden! I've hardly touched it in over a month, as it's been too discouraging to put the effort into something that might not make it, anyway. Amazingly, some things have kept on blooming even though the ground is cracked wide open with fissures of drought. Other plants definitely need to go!

Since the outdoor garden isn't doing much, I've been working inside. My family decided to go "homemade" with gifts for Christmas this year. Awhile back, I found the cutest pattern for a decorative pillow at my local quilt shop, and upon showing my mom, she squealed in delight and begged to borrow it, whereupon I plied her brain till I found out what she would make when she got the pattern, and I made it for her myself. The pattern is by Amy Butler. (See her blog under my Favorite Links, to the left.) Anyway, I thought it turned out really cute. I'd love one for my own bed, but my husband balked at that. "Too girly foo-foo." So maybe I'll make it for my daughter's bed. -- Like she doesn't have enough pillows! Anyway, here it is:

And a close-up:

Thanks, Amy, for the inspiration! You've made a happy customer.

Poison Ivy

I should have known better when I pulled out all those weedy things along the edge of our lawn. -- I saw the poison ivy! I don't know why I thought I'd be exempt from getting it this time.

It is in little patches all over my body. Tonight I can't sleep on account of the intense itching. So I got up and scratched the blebs open, then bathed them in alcohol. (I much prefer pain to itching.) And now I am trying out some charcoal poltices to the worst areas. We'll see how it works. I don't care if I have some natural "tattoos" at present. I should think it will grow out in time. ???

GRRRRRRR!

Sandbox and Other Things

We finally completed the sandbox, dug up the clay ground for the box to sit down in, and filled it with sand (with "help" from the kiddos). The kiddos, of course, are thrilled with it.


We've spent a lot of energy collecting rocks to go around our flowerbeds, and I am not so pleased with the results of this fieldstone:


as I am with these rocks.

We've hauled these rocks, a few at a time, out of a dry creekbed while hiking a local trail. The finished look with these rocks is so much more "neat" and it's definitely easier to mow around! So, one by one, we'll complete the bed and the irregularly-shaped fieldstones will be moved to a different location, probably around the shed in the back yard. (That's a future project. The shed is dark brown metal and UGLY. I want to camoflage it with some sunflowers -- anything to distract the eye from the shed!)

Yesterday I trimmed the boxwoods in front of our porch, and when done, I decided I still felt like trimming. (Odd, I know.) So I stretched the power cord across the yard, and "went to" the underbrush that is encroaching our lawn. I have hated how claustrophobic all this underbrush makes me feel, but aside from using a machete, wasn't sure what to do about it. But I found an electric bush trimmer does a fabulous job! The only thing it couldn't cut was the thicker branches, of course, so I'll have to break out the machete for those. So many thorny vines (that gave no benefit like the berry bushes I thought they were) and honesuckle were all tangled up. I got pretty torn up getting out what I did, and there is still so much more to pull out. I was amazed with all the garbage I uncovered, too. I think the people who lived here before us did not utilize the garbage facilities, as I found half - half - a kitchen bowl; one yellow rubber shoe; various plastic toys; numerous cement 'things' (don't know what); and some non-describt, twisted-up, extremely rusty pole-type structure. So, in clearing up brush I found a whole lot more work to do. Lucky me!

Cottage Garden 11

Today was gorgeous! It felt today like the first day of real autumn, and it was wonderful! I never knew I felt so fondly of autumn till after this sweltering, dry summer we've just been through. And hopefully it is "been through", and not just a tease.

I worked at enlarging the garden some more. (And I actually enjoyed it, rather than becoming ornery because I was so hot.) I also pulled out a wickedly large-rooted old rose bush. I find rose bushes to be beautiful, but I don't have the patience to grow them. (I would love to train a climber, but I'll have to wait for Heaven for that. By the way, my house in Heaven will have vines of all different sorts for the walls, with flowers peeking out all over them.) The rose bush was here when we bought the house, and it's plunked in the oddest spot. It was loaded with June bugs this summer, and if I had one bud that wasn't eaten before it opened, it would have been worth writing about. But they all were chewed up. Then today I saw snail shells all over the base of the plant, and that did it for me. So with help from David, we rocked the root ball out of there. It was one tough plant!

Over the next few days, I hope to finish enlarging the bed, lay the border of rocks (as many rocks as we've collected thus far, anyway), and get some poor bedraggled plants in that have been sitting around here awaiting transplanting for ages into the ground. If they survive, I'll know I bought a great specimen!