At Considerable Cost

Remember how much energy Tom Sawyer had to spend in order to manipulate his friends so they would beg, even pay, for the opportunity to do his fence-painting chore for him?   Well, I never imagined that I could ever one-up one of my childhood heroes, but I managed to do it.   Thanks to The Big Event , a one-day service project hosted by Texas A & M University as a "thank you" to the community, I was able to watch as our entire backyard privacy fence was painted.   Oh, the day those fences go up, they are so pretty.   A few months later, they're still pretty, but after a year or so, they settle into a weathered grey state, made worse by the marks of sprinkler system spray patterns.  Before I looked on-line for pictures of painted fences for color inspiration so I could find a color that was cheerful and one I would not tire from too quickly.     Purple: goes GRAPE with everything Blue and green wer...

  My first rule for outdoor furniture is that it must be used or deeply discounted.   It's not just because it's cheaper that way, but also because it's just common sense.   I grew up in south Louisiana, with heat and humidity.   Now, I live in Texas, with heat, a bit less humidity, and intense sunlight on our home.   Outdoor furniture takes a great deal of abuse under these conditions, so no matter how much I might spend on a brand new set of it, the wear-and-tear is still going to happen.   We gradually outfitted our back porch and last spring, I found furniture for the front porch at an estate sale.   The set was a little more than I wanted to spend, but it's hard to find pieces like these.   They are from the 1960s and were used on a screened-in porch.   Another selling point for me was their small scale.   It's hard to find diminutive patio furniture.   ...

Before move-in I found out the weeds between the pavers LIKE salt.   I poured salt between the squares and the weeds have thrived! The ceiling fan was white and rusted, so I just painted it black.   It worked perfectly well; there was no reason to replace it. It's been nearly two-and-half years since we moved into this house.   It's taken almost all of that time to get our back porch together.   And it's not a large porch.   The poor place has been a dumping ground for tools and toys some of that time.   I made several attempts to pretty it up, but each time, something fell apart or I got lazy about keeping it together. We had a mild spring and June this year.   It gave me the opportunity and motivation to get outdoors and spruce up some areas which had been neglected.   My back tells me I overdid it a bit, but that's another story.   In addition to front flowerbeds and the front...

Here's my link-up to Jennifer Fulwiler's 7 Quick Takes: 1.  Dancing Cinderella Demons  It's madness...March Madness and my Alma mater, Northwestern State University , which is located in picturesque Natchitoches, Louisiana (as seen in Steel Magnolias ), made it to the Big Dance. They are one of the Cinderella teams at the NCAA Basketball Championship Tournament. I'm so proud of what this coach and team have accomplished, even though they lost tonight to Florida. They represented our school well, though. Our mascot is Demons, specifically Vic the Demon. It's pretty ironic since the university is located in one very conservative town in the Bible Belt! So, job well done and Fork 'Em Demons (spell-check about a million times).    Here's an article about my small, but excellent Alma mater: http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/19816/cinderella-stories-northwestern-state-u 2. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory My...

No big trips.   Just a relaxed schedule, a day trip, special food treats, and a few spring sprucing projects. I've been watching this lantern at Hobby Lobby for almost a year.   I could only find one at a time and figured that was a sign I didn't really need them.   This past week, candle holders and metal decorative items were 50 % off and there were two lanterns!   We installed them on our front porch and they add such a welcoming touch.   It's beautiful to have real candlelight at the front door. Real candles! I'm in a painting mood.   So, don't stand still for long at our house!   I painted the kitchen door leading into the garage and the exterior side of the back porch door this lovely turquoisey-teal color.   Such a happy touch of color!   And I'm getting better at painting without taping off the area.   Angled brushes are the key. See, that birdhouse sat still too...