Bedroom

One of the things I love most about my bedroom is the old fireplace mantel. The fireplace is now set up for a pot-bellied stove, but we may open it up some day. All of the items on the mantel are thrifted except for the birdhouses.

My headboard was found left out for the trash. I changed the black finish to green with some spray paint. The hanging plates and saucers are all from Goodwill and junk stores. The "window: is a frame of the window from the old chicken house where Bruce tended chickens as a young child and later used to build model rockets. He added the chicken wire for me. If you look to the far right of the fireplace mantel there is on old elementary school desk from the fortie.

Bruddah Iz

I lived in Hawaii for over 8 years. Every day there was a privilege with tradewinds, plumeria trees, rainbows and the most beautiful people in spirt anywhere. The picture above is of a small island called "Chinaman's Hat."

I grew to love Hawaiian slack key, Hawaiian culture, Hawaiian haupia (coconut pudding) and the spirit of aloha that permeates everything there. I particularly love ancient Hawaiian hula. The values of Native Culture are Aloha, Ohana and the Aina; love, family, and the land.

One of the kings of Hawaiian music was Israel Kamakawiwo'ole . That's pronounced "Kah maka veeva oh lay." He was known as "Bruddah Iz." The following is a tribute to him and the most beautiful version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OMLoAtC9RY&NR=1

I heard this beautiful song again when I watched "Jon and Kate + 8" recently. It was featured at their re-commitment ceremony.

This next part is just for Bruce...remember Honolulu City Lights and Hanalei Moon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPQ-bHRvEcg&feature=related

Project - Vintage Stepstool

We're in a major frugality mode here at the Old Shea House at 256. This isn't a huge, gorgeous project where I create a large garden bench out of stair spindles, a wooden dying rack and chicken wire. I'm not that talented. This is the little type of project I love to do. For ONCE, I remembered to take a before and after pic.

I love this vintage stepstool, but the red leather seat was split. A year ago, I would have run to JoAnne's Fabrics and bought some new red leather. Without measuring either, I would have just bought a lot more than I needed.

Today, I decide to mull it over. I took a close look at it and realized that I only had to remove four screws. Well, Bruce (germanic precision-engineering boy) only had to remove four screws. I asked for a half hour of his time.

I had a red bandana fabric pillowcase I never use. I decided to cover the small seat with it, but then thought that I couldn't wipe it off. Last week, I came across one of those heavy plastic zippered bags that bedding comes in. I almost threw it away, but it seemed so useful. I asked Bruce to add it on top.

You can see the before and after pics. I think it turned out just the way I wanted it. And for free!

I also took some shots of the corner where I keep the stool. You can see my vintage apron used as a valance at the back door. I found it in the gutter on garbage day five years ago, inexplicably there along with a rough-hewn red painted heart.

I bought the red chair at a vintage store in Richmond, VA.

The kitchen scale is part of a small collection of three. Two, including the one pictured, came from the trash bin at church when they switched to electronic scales for making the fundraiser Easter Eggs.

A cop friend of mine came in for something while we were making eggs, saw the electronic scales and all the powdered sugar. He said, "is this manufacture and sale of drugs or a fundraiser? Ya'all look like drug dealers in white aprons and you appear to have been sampling the product."

Put a Deer on Your Head and Call Me in the Morning

It is a good thing that there are no hidden video monitors in our house, because if anyone ever saw what goes on here, we’d be on the psych ward.

Bruce and I were puttering around today. I was cleaning upstairs. He decided to clean out our neglected freezer in the basement. He brought up two frozen items that he could not identify, one in a casserole dish and another in plastic. The one in plastic was a large five or six pound lump that I eventually realized was venison from a friend who hunts.

I took it because Mills offered it to me and I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I guess it is hypocritical of me, because I do eat meat, but it bothered me. I never cooked it because it makes me sad.

Bruce was sitting on the cedar chest storage built-in unit (kind of like a window seat with no window) in the hallway chatting with me, surrounded by UFO's (unidentified frozen objects).

I went into the adjoining bathroom to wash my face. My old-fashioned medicine cabinet door was slightly open. When I lifted my head to look in the mirror, I smacked my head very hard. One of those sickening thuds that you know will really hurt in about 3.2 seconds. “Ouch, oh my God,” I hollered.

Bruce ran in and put the frozen venison on my head.

It is a good thing we don’t have children. They’d be warped for life just being around us.

Thanks to Bruce for that great picture of the deer he took over Thanksgiving. It was taken at a nature preserve in Panama City, Florida

Miracle on the Hudson

I love it! Even the hard-nosed, practical news outlets are calling this story a miracle. A plane which lost its engines successfully landed in the Hudson River without any loss of life. Hey, God does miracles every minute of every day, but rarely gets the credit on CNN.

This brings to mind something I've always loved to read in John's Gospel, Chapter 9 vs. 1-3, Amplified Version, as follows:

1AS HE passed along, He noticed a man blind from his birth. 2His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? 3Jesus answered, It was not that this man or his parents sinned, but he was born blind in order that the workings of God should be manifested (displayed and illustrated) in him. And then, naturally, Jesus healed the blind man.

Somtimes when I wonder about why things happen as they do, I remember this passage. I think, "perhaps this happened that the workings of God should be manifested in this situation."

And then I pray, "God, show Yourself...mighty!"

My Little Hutch

I bought this little hutch years ago at a second-hand/vintage store in Honolulu. Up until six weeks ago, it was sort of a maple color. I continue to experience my mania for painting all things white or off-white, so I spray painted this baby out on the front porch.

Some of the things I really treasure are displayed here. Pink depression glass from my grandmother. A wee tea set. Part of my pitcher collection, including an unusual majolica pitcher that was also Helen's, my grandmother's. On the bottom left hand side is a plate from the Pearl Habor Submarine Base Chapel and next to it, in the middle, is a very special blue plate that my mother-in-law gave me one Christmas.

Click to enlage each picture, if you like.

The Crockpot, My Best Kitchen Friend

I don’t know what I’d do without my crockpot. Actually, I have two and they are in constant use.

I’m often out and about during the day, so the crockpot is a great tool for having a piping hot meal when I get home. There is nothing like coming home to the smell of salsa chicken or a beef stew simmering in my crock. Since I started using my crockpot regularly about five years ago, we’ve saved a great deal of money by not eating out. The crockpot is also wonderful for tenderizing tougher cuts of meat, another cost savings.

So what do you put in there? You can find some good recipes here:
http://southernfood.about.com/library/crock/blcpidx.htm

Here are some of my, very easy, favorites:

Salsa Chicken

4 chicken breasts, boneless or bone in
A large bottle of salsa, any type

Place one third of the salsa on the bottom of the crockpot. Place the chicken on top and ut the remainder of the salsa on top. Cook on low for 8 hours. Great by itself with a vegetable or fork-pulled with tortillas.

Bratwurst

4 to 6 bratwurst, the turkey variety is much healthier
2 cans of sauerkraut, the cheaper the better
2 apples
caraway seeds

Peel and slice the apples. Rinse the sauerkraut to remove some of the salt. Put rinsed sauerkraut in a large bowl, add a tablespoon caraway seeds and apples and mix thoroughly. Place one third of the mixture on the bottom of the crock, add bratwurst and place the remainder on top. Cook on low for 8 hours.

Crockpot Beef

London broil
28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 pkg gravy mix or Lipton onion soup mix
2 tablespoons red wine or balsamic vinegar

Mix last three ingredients together. Place on third of the mixture at the bottom of the pot. Add London broil. Add a ½ cup each zucchini, button mushrooms, cubed raw potatoes and baby carrots. Pour the rest of the tomato mixture on top. Cook on low for 8 hours.

Other ideas for crockpot cooking include your favorite meat loaf recipe with BBQ sauce on top, Irish (steel cut) oatmeal with apples for breakfast and “baked” yams or potatoes. Scrub the yams or potatoes, prick with a fork, spray with Pam, wrap with tinfoil and cook on high for 8 hours. The potatoes are a great reason for a second crockpot. Combine them with a crocked meatloaf and you have whole meal.

Crockpots are often available at thrift stores and garage sales or through relatives who don’t use them. Before running out and buying a new one, try finding a used one. Make sure that you choose a crockpot with a removable pot, they are far easier to clean. Before putting food in a used crock, fill it to the top with water and leave on high for a few hours. It should get very hot and have some bubbles on the edges. If it does not, discard it, as the heating element isn’t working properly. If it isn’t, you run the risk of food poisoning.

Winter Mantle, Changed over from Christmas Mantle

Winter Marbletop Table

The Travoltas

I have to say a word about the Travolta family. Have we reached such a point in our culture that we cannot let this grieving family mourn in peace?

We can blame the media for the intrusiveness into the lives of the famous. We could, but it wouldn’t be entirely accurate. If none of us were watching the news or buying the People magazines that discussed the intimate details about this mourning family, the media would cover something else. What does it say about us that we have such a morbid fascination with the intimate details of celebrities’ lives?

I guess some curiosity is normal, but I particularly object to physicians and forensic pathologists commenting about such incidents. Physicians take an oath to do no harm. How is it ethical for them to comment on a boy whom they have never even seen, never mind examined? How is it ethical for a forensic pathologist to comment on an autopsy for which he or she was not present? Of what benefit is it to anyone to speculate upon, make suggestions about, or hold parents culpable for the death of a young man whom they’ve never met or even seen in person?

God bless Kelly, John and little Ella as they mourn Jett. I pray that God will reveal Himself to them in truth and draw them into closer relationship with Him. May the God of all Comfort comfort and lead them. And may the rest of us keep them in prayer and leave them alone.

Let’s all think about what we can do to remove our support from this kind of intrusive, unkind, and unseemly prying into the tragedies of public figures.

Cutest Little Peanut in the World

...Just sayin'.

Francis

I haven’t been able to write about this for a few weeks, but our beloved malamute, Francis, died just before Christmas.

Francis was a special boy who appeared on an exit ramp while I was driving home from work on the proverbial “dark and stormy night.” We really don’t know how old he was, perhaps five. He was sitting in the middle of the ramp, so I got out of my Jeep. As I talked to him, he calmly walked past me and jumped over into the passenger seat. And that was that.

We named Francis after St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and after Frank Sinatra, because our Frankie also had blue eyes. He was so beautiful, even in old age, that people frequently stopped us to comment on him. He had a creamy white chest and big, snowshoe paws.

Francis was a very vocal dog and we always knew precisely what he wanted. He was a picky eater of epic proportions. We had to entice him to eat kibble by adding other things, but he clearly preferred people food. Or road kill.

Croissants were among Francis’s greatest loves, along with meat loaf, Spam, (eeeeww) and canned chicken. Last year, he realized that there were croissantsin the fridge and “talked” to me for 45 minutes about them until I broke down and handed them over.

Francis had slowed down during 2008, but he still loved his walks, his croissants and chicken, and his family. He was very kind and often put his big, puppy head down in my lap when I was troubled. He had a little spot near the fireplace where he spent most of his days and it comforted me to see him there.

It is a cruel irony that dogs only live for about 12 – 15 years on earth. One of the things I most look forward to in heaven is that I will never have to say goodbye to a dog again. I firmly believe that I shall see Francis again, along with Lupa, and our beloved Alex.

As I heard Chuck Swindoll say, “Anyone who doesn’t believe that there will be animals in heaven will have a hard time with the big, white horse Jesus comes riding on.” The Psalms say that the Lord protects both man and beast. All creation sings the praises of God.

I was reading in Jonah yesterday and noticed two things I hadn’t noticed before. Scripture says that God himself spoke to the great fish and asked the fish to um “get rid” of Jonah. Actually, it is said a little less delicately in the Bible.

In Jonah 3:8, Amplified version, the Word says, “But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and let them cry mightily to God.” Animals and people can cry out to God. I know God is watching over Francis and that his hips don’t hurt anymore. And I can’t wait to see him again.

No Vile Thing

Not long ago, I heard my mentor, author Anne Ortlund, via Nancy Leigh DeMoss’s website; Revive Our Hearts at http://www.reviveourhearts.com/. It was a broadcast from a number of years back, but so timely.

Anne was commenting on Psalm 101:2-3, which reads:

I will walk in my house with blameless heart. I will set before my eyes no vile thing.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about accountability in my television and movie watching. The verses quoted resonated with my spirit.

While it is true that not every situation we encounter is covered specifically by name in the Bible, the Bible is able to provide all the insight we need to make correct life decisions. Watching television is not specifically mentioned in the Word, but setting no vile thing before our eyes surely is.

I have to confess that I’ve been setting a lot of vile things before my eyes. Mindlessly….casually…in the background…I’ve been parading vile things before my eyes. Not only are many of the things on TV vile, they are mind-numbing, enticing (think of all the food commercials), create in me desires for things I don’t need and can’t afford. Much of TV is an intellectual wasteland, a desert. Finally, most of what is on TV is a complete waste of time.

Bruce and I are making a concentrated effort to turn the TV off. When Psalm 101 mentions “vile thing” it is referring to house idols; the little statues that the Israelites often kept in their home, just to hedge their bets and make sure they got everything they thought they needed. If the Lord, the God of Israel didn’t give them everything they wanted (like the big Santa in the sky), then maybe Molek or Asherah would.

The Israelites were commanded to have no other God but the Lord, but they stumbled again and again into idol worship. The psalmist wasn’t exaggerating when he called these gods vile. Many of the gods required the sacrifice of children and other detestable practices. Come to think of it, don’t we often sacrifice our children to the “God of TV” when we park them in front of it as a babysitter?

Today I had a few minutes and found myself mindlessly using the remote to breeze through the many channels we have on cable. Then I saw an image of a man in bed with two beautiful women. At two in the afternoon. I don’t have any premium movie channels, this was on basic cable.

I stopped clicking without thought and started paying attention. Next we had an unmarried couple making love on Sex and the City. Then I landed on The Real Housewives of Orange County, which repels and fascinates me all at the same time. The only important things on Real Housewives are physical appearance, silicone, and conspicuous consumption.

I won’t bore you with too much more, but two channels were selling things I didn’t need and a cable news network was castigating Israel for trying to exist. As if Canada and Mexico would start lobbing bombs into NY State or CA and we'd do nothing.

Finally, there was a chef whom I usually think is cute as a button on Food Network. Her blouse so low cut that my niece, age six, commented that her “bosmums were hanging out.” Not so YUM OH. I shut it off.

Bruce and I have been cutting down on the mindless TV for about a month, now. We’re not zealots. We’ve watched some things. We are keeping up with the news from Israel with prayer and tears for all of God’s people there. We watched a Sherlock Holmes mystery on PBS tonight and enjoyed it thoroughly. The History Channel often has wonderful things and you can’t miss “Jon and Kate + Eight.”

What do we do instead? We’ve talked over dinner. I’ve set the table with my grandmother’s majolica and fresh yellow roses. We’ve read the Word. We’ve done Bible studies, read books, caught up on projects, studied, spent time with family, gone to the gym, walked the dogs, listened to our favorite Bible teachers on the computer while doing chores, wrote thank you notes, encouraged other Christians, organized dining room cupboards, fixed a kitchen drawer, written out our prayers, and made multicolored cupcakes with our nieces.
I don’t think I’ve missed one thing on TV.

Finally, sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Phil 4:8)

And I don’t think that could possibly include Sex and the City.

With love from,
The Real Housewife of Portsmouth, VA

A Special New Year's Gift

I've never written about my godson, Ke'won. Ke'won is not my godson in the traditional sense. One day about nine years ago, when we had just moved into our house in VA, we met Ke'won and his two brothers as we walked our three dogs. We got to talking and I had the impression that they didn't have adults talk to them very often. They lived on a very troubled street at the very edge of my gentrifying neighborhood.

A few days later, all three boys came by to ask if I could "come out and play" and a relationhip was born. Julius, Ke'won and Little Ronnie were 11, 9 and 5 at that time. The more accurate description of our relationhip would be "mentors." But godparents works better for him and get him fewer odd looks than when he used to say we were his aunt and uncle.

Ke'won has experienced every type of difficulty growing up that one could expect. He is poor. He is black. His mother has MS. HIs father has been in jail. Up until about two years ago, his father was addicted to crack and alcohol. He has a learning disability. It is difficult for him to read at his age level. He has been homeless.

However, by the grace of God and through his own sweet inner spirit, he has never gotten involved with drugs and has never gotten into trouble with the police. Last year, through the irresponsible behavior of his mother, he became homeless when his mother was evicted. He was too ashamed to tell school administration or me about his situation.

His only lifeline to his family and me was his cell phone, Ke'won, who had never been in any trouble, got kicked out of school for text messaging during class. The letters notifying of a hearing before the school board were returned to sender because his family has been evicted. By the time he figured out who to talk to, he had been permanently expelled because no one had appeared to explain his situation to the school board.

I think that this kind of thing happens to teenagers more often than we think. I also think that Ke'won's situation would have been far different if he atteded a suburban school, had parents who had a clue, and if he was white.

Ke'won deperately needs a job while he studies for his GED on line. Recently, I've been writing my prayers and one prayer I wrote was to ask God if He would allow me the privilege of helping someone that day After my quiet time, I went to shop at Food Lion. The service at our local Food Lion is always bad, so it is odd that I went there.

The service was bad once again and this time I felt led to talk to a manager. I argued with myself that perhaps I shouldn't be murmuring and complaining, but I still felt a push to talk to a manager.

After hearing that they were having a terrible time finding employees with good customer service skills, I suggested Ke'won. I find it hard to believe that they can't find good people, since we have so many Americans out of work, but it is true.

Ke'won and I created a resume for him, filled out an on-line application and prayed. He went in, just to introduce himself to the manager, today and when he left, he had a job!

God is good, all the time. Pray for Ke'won, that he will be able to overcome the difficulties he has been through and that God will allow him to find favor with everyone at Food Lion.

Waiting On the World to Change

I've been in a funk. There's been nothing specifically wrong, but just a general feeling of malaise.

Is my husband laid off? Bless God, no. He has a good job. Bruce is smart, he's a very hard worker and even in his fifties, he's in the midst of getting an MBA. He's a wonderful, encouraging and Godly husband.

Am I facing a health crisis? Thank God, I'm not. I have challenges with my health, but I also have free prescription drugs and excellent, low-cost health care at a major medical facility less than a mile away. I have no co-pay for office visits and no charge for ER care or hospitalization.

Facing foreclosure? No. I pray for my country and all the people affected by this economic downturn.

Alone and friendless? No. God has blessed me with a wonderful family and good friends. God even went so far as to have my mentor in CA call me out of the blue in the midst of all this. Anne (my mentor) has serious kidney disease, is in her eighties, was hospitalized recently for a week, then had eye surgery. She also lost her husband of over fifty years not so long ago and not a complaint from her. She still ministers God's love to others and writes as she has for her entire adult life.

I have friends from Hawaii to the East Coast. I even have my good Internet friend Debra who sent me an e-card this morning.

What is the real source of all this angst? My old, so-called friend, poor self esteem. Sounds pathetic, doesn't it? I've been given a different insight on it lately. Lack of self-esteem seems so sad and tragic. How pitiful. It is indeed, to be pitied. However, the real deal is that it is simply sin and the other side of being an egomaniac. It seems much less repellent than a bragging person, all full of herself, but the result is the same.

It is focus on self, nothing more, nothing less. It is selfish, inwardly visioned and all about me, me, me. Poor self-esteem is one of those lies of the Enemy; the Accuser of the brethren. Being an egomaniac causes you to lose sight of others because everything is all about YOU. Poor self esteem has the same result.

Poor self-esteem also causes you to overlook people in your life. I feel too bad about myself, so I can't get it together to cook dinner. I'm struggling with my feelings, so I'm sharp with my Mom when she calls. I could have gotten Barbara that congratulations card, but, well, I was feeling bad about myself.

I'm chosing to believe what God says about me. He says that I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. He says that He loves me with an everlasting love. He says that He will never leave me or forsake me. In the Greek, that statement is made in what is called (I believe) the imperative sense. So in the original language it reads, "I will never, ever, no not ever, leave you or forsake you." God sees me as perfected in Jesus Christ. And that is the best self-esteen I could ever have. No self-help book could do better.

So last night, as I was sitting in Subway with my long-suffering husband, (because I was too much in a funk to cook dinner) I heard the lyrics of this song by John Mayer.

"Waiting On The World To Change"

Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change
It's hard to beat the system
When we're standing at a distance
So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change

As I sat and ate my sandwich, I got to thinking how irritating this song is. First of all, while you're waiting, John, why don't you pick up a middle school grammar text book. You're waiting FOR the world to change not ON.

So I said to Bruce, "Why don't they quit waiting "on" the world to change and do something about it?" As those words came out my mouth, I thought, "Why don't I do something about it, too?"

So I decided to quit waiting for my world to change. I put a Christmas display out front. I'll have a pic up soon. That made me feel better. I did classwork and I felt better because I'm finishing up my long-neglected college education. I made the bed. I put on some make up. I'll go out to a coffee shop and read the word of God. Later on, I'm going to do a little yard work and clean a small part of the attic. Then I'll pick up my contact lenses. Small steps. And I'm going to get that card for Barbara. All those little thing will make my little world start to change.

Labeling Things

I can't remember where I first saw someone using vintage Scrabble letters. It might have been Judy over at Anybody Home http://judyh58.blogspot.com/. In any case, I now have become addicted to labeling items with the Scrabble letters or vintage blocks. I'm not sure what need it fills for me, but it somehow feels satisfying.

I have a confession to make about the crow. I don't think that was actually meant to be a crow. I got it at a garage sale. I think it may have been intended to be a dove, but it was painted a garish metallic gold. Thinking I could use it some day, I bought it.

This Halloween season, I saw a number of "blog girls" using crows in fall displays. Gotta love spray paint...and there you have it.

A Weekend Wandering Walk in Waterview

Bruce and I love to take long walks, especially on the weekend. Last Friday, I met with a retired Navy Captain about a special project I am working on for the City of Portsmouth. I had never been in his neighborhood of Waterview before, but it was breathtaking. Bruce and I returned for a walk over the weekend. Of course I thought about sharing it with all of you.

I love tudor-styled homes. I used to live in one when I was little on Knollwood Road, although it was painted white and red instead of the traditional creamy white and brown.

The homes in Waterview are situated around the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth. The Navy Captain's house is the white one with the red shutters. It was a lovely day in the high sixities. I hope you enjoy seeing the sights as much as we did. I usually take most of the pics for this blog, but all of the ones in this post are Bruce's. That's why none of them are blurry.

Junking Surprise...October Moon in November

Some days are just serendipitous and your spirit often seems to know it is coming. For several days, I'd felt a prompting, a whisper, a little bird in my ear telling me to go to that junk store over behind the Suburban Pharmacy. I think it is part of having the junque gene in your DNA.

This internal prompting puzzled me a little, because the last time I'd been in that store, it depressed me. It was really downright cold and raw inside. The store was unkempt, dirty and the stock didn't look like it had changed since 1972.

YOU know what I mean. Not cool, dusty junque, but rather nasty old plastic drinking glasses, sad rusted metal walkers with tennis balls on the bottom and broken down furniture And not the broken down charming kind you can transform. No cool chairs with a carved back and the seat missing where you can put a geranium in a pot in the empty seat and set it next to the fence...just broken down. The kind that makes you feel sorta creepy. So why the urge to go the the old vintage store? It probably was still closed, I thought, as it had been for years.

The pictures above are of the reborn vintage store, October Moon. What a wonderful surprise! Sadie and Buttons (so-named because people said she was as cute as a buttonm when she was little) were glad to help me. I picked up a sweet vintage flower print in a wonderful frame which I'll show you in another post. I'm debating about painting the frame. I'm so glad that little bird put a "bug in my ear."

Please note the chairs that I have pictured above with the close up on the seat. The chair's seat is woven from old ties! Buttons told me that a gentleman from Connecticut restores these chairs and she couldn't live without them for the shop. They are spectacular. Some much more crafty person than I am who might be reading this should be able to apply this idea to a multitude of other applications.

I love a good vintage, junking day!

Happy Halloween and My Dining Room

Ok, so I hate goulish Halloween stuff, but here is something autumn-y and lovely from my favorite Bowman's Garden Center.

I thought I'd share a shot of my dining room with you.

My Kitchen

There's a word in architecture which I like better than "junking." The term is "adaptive reuse." Adaptive re-use is repurposing a school into an elderly assisted living apartment building vs. repurposing a chicken coop into kitchen decor.

Here is a picture of the adaptive re-use of a chicken coop. This is the type of contraption that one uses to bring chickens to market for sale. I have filled it with my collection of ceramic and fabric chickens and it hangs in my kitchen. I bought it at a junk store in Los Angeles while at a conference. My co-workers were not especially pleased that this very authentic coop, chicken poo and feathers to prove it, sat in the back of the Red Cross van. I scrubbed it off and had it sit in the San Diego sun for a week before bringing it inside.

While I'm at it, here's a picture of my kitchen hoosier cabinet that my mother bought as a house-warming present.

We ran out of funds in the kitchen renovation when we got to the spice cabinets. Our version is craft crates from Michael's which were on sale. Restoring an old house can be pricey. You have to improvise.

Field Trip - McDonald's Garden Center - Now is the time to plant pansies

I love McDonald's Garden Center. It is right next door to the more familar McDonald's, the Golden Arches in Chesapeake VA. McDonald's is a small chain of three stores. They decorate magificently for every season and it is soothing the the soul to browse among the fruit trees, herbs and roses in the Spring. My favorite time, though, is Autumn. You can see why in the picture above. McDonald's staff is very knowledgeable and generous with suggestions and advice. It is one of those places where I feel happy just to walk in the door.

http://www.mcdonaldgardencenter.com/

Junk Sophisticate

I love reading blogs. From time to time, something in another girl's blog really inspires me. I recently stumbled across Junk Sophisticate http://junksophisticate.blogspot.com/ and found some inspiration for my front door from her. Just to give credit where credit is due. It isn't that I copied her autumn front door display, but she gave me the idea to run out grab the antique ladder for the loft in the detached garage.