My Mother's Day.

              I've been wanting to show you this, but I wanted to wait till things began to grow.

Every year my husband asks what I'd like for Mother's Day, and every year I say the same thing. I don't  really need anything. But this year I asked if I could extend my vegetable garden. My garden is small and it usually only grows tomatoes. We like salsa, lots and lots of salsa. So we picked the spot and laid out the pieces to my raised veggie garden.

 Now I have this beautiful garden, along with my original garden and I'm hoping for good things.

                                  And things are beginning to grow and the tomatoes look happy.

                                                                                                             

But according to my husband this wasn't enough. What else did I want, and after some thought I asked for window boxes. So the boys built me these.

I think they look perfect. He and Isaac did a wonderful job, and they are already beginning to fill in nicely. Thank you boys!!

And lastly, I kept telling my girls that I needed to go and buy myself a drying rack, but I never seemed to get around to getting one. Saturday morning before Mother's Day this is what I found when I came downstairs. She's a pretty little thing, and ready for duty.

Thank you girls!

I am one Blessed Mom!! :)

Homemade Concoctions.

Popping up on Pinterest is recipes for making your own laundry detergent and other homemade concoctions. Over the last couple of weeks I've given my own soaps a try and tested them out. The results.... fantastic.


I had started using Nellie's Laundry Soap last year. I liked the way it made my wash feel so soft and smelled clean. Not the fake cover up the smell with perfumed soap, but clean. You only needed to use a small amount each time and it did 100 loads for $20. If I could get the same results with homemade soap, I would be a happy camper.
So I checked out diy natural got my recipes and gave it a whirl. There are tons of recipes out there but they are basically all the same. 1 cup borax, 1 cup washing soda, 1 bar shaved soap.
Dishwasher soap also works better then I ever imagined.
 It took me a while to find the stuff I needed, but now I've got enough to make at least 4 months worth of laundry soap and I only have about $20 worth of supplies. I also wash 1 to 2 loads a day.

Having 2 dogs and a cat and flea season upon us, I have one more thing to share. I don't like chemicals used on my animals. Not only for the animals, but for us too. So for the past couple of years I've been trying to tweak that as well and I think we have finally that figured out. So far not a flea has been seen!

A couple of sprays of the garlic on their food (and no they do not smell like garlic) and a couple of sprays of my homemade flea spray everyday and they are all set. The flea spray consists of a couple of drops of cedar and rosemary oil mixed with water, giving it has a nice woodsy smell.

We tried garlic powder for the last couple of years, but they did smell like garlic and it didn't seem to work. 

Supplies for this cost me again around $20, but I will need to buy more of the garlic spray which runs around $10 a bottle. One bottle should last me half the season though and thats with 2 bigger dogs.

Making all your own stuff does require a little more effort and I'm not saying that I won't ever buy laundry or dishwasher soap again but I'm pleased to have an option that works well.

As far as the dogs and cat, its nice to know that where ever they go in the house they are not rubbing their chemical bodies all over us as well as our things. :)

We're either really Smart or a little Crazy

M'lynn and I bought a trailer. Not just any trailer, a 1965 Avion. For those of you not familar with the name, think shiny. Really, really shiny. The Avion was the competition for Airstream in its day.
 When I was a little girl my mom's cousin had an Airstream and one weekend they came to visit. I can't tell you how much I liked it even back then, with all its shininess, I was smitten. Through the years I've looked on and off for one, but they seem to be hard to come by and a new Airstream is waaaayyy out of my price range. Then we saw this little baby and it just had to be ours, and its vintage to boot.

This is a 1957 Avion restored. It went through quite the transformation.

This is ours.

There is a certain beauty underneath its tired look.

The inside is also a little tired.

                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                           

This is a little gas lamp still intact.

The bathroom has a unique feature, a laundry hamper. It's the part where you see the hinge.

Its pretty pink sink.

M'lynn and I got a little nosy and wanted to see what was under the fabric. Luckily they left its original blue fabric underneath. Its nice to have a clue about its original colour scheme and the funny thing is we were already thinking we'd like to see the inside in shades of blue.

                                                                           

It's a big project and we'd like to take the next year and bring back what once was. I'm so hoping it turns out as well as it already has in my head.:)

Ahh What a Weekend!

It's Victoria Day! Meaning we Canadians get a holiday today, unless your my husband, he has to work.:(

We were honoured this weekend to witness the wedding of my very first nephew, my sister Susan's son. On the day he was born, my little sister Angela had a Christmas Concert at school and I remember it being extremely hard to sit through, as we were waiting for the "call" of his arrival. No cell phones then, just the good old fashion phone, so that concert seemed like a lifetime.  I also remember itching in anticipation to hold him but had to wait till the next day and then sit for 2 1/2 hours till we were there. Seems like only yesterday........

Their Photographer was Nicholas St. Denis Photography and was also a friend of the happy couple. He got some exquisite pictures for them.

 This is Jessica, and the girl of my nephew Colin's dreams. She is the most wonderful, down to earth girl that you just want to hug. She makes you feel welcome and loved from the first time you walk in the door. Not to mention she's down right cute!

Love this picture of the two of them.

The other neat thing was my sister Ruth did the wedding flowers and I was asked to be the gopher girl for her. Her daughter Anneka snapped this shot. Simply beautiful.

It was a gorgeous setting, by the lake... aahhh just lovely.

And we got Candy in a bottle. Too cool!

Congratulations to the two of you:)

Trashy finds.

I have these 2 wooden chairs. They were found in the garbage and to me they were too cute not to love, so we rescued them. They have been used as a make shift stepping stools, moved with us, used as stepping stools again and as of late where used as shelves to hold my junk. But now they are going to be used what they were original made for.... sitting.

                                                  Before and after all in one shot.

I had seen someone do a similar treatment to a chair they had and was intrigue by the way it looked. They referred to it as "dipping", which made it seem all the more fun to do. No dipping is actually involved just taping and I like the look between the "old and new".

 I first dry brushed one side white, wanting to keep the rough chippy look to it.

Then taped off what I thought was a good spot, then painted it this vibrant spring green.  I gave it a couple of coats of paint, only to see that my white seemed a little too white. I grabbed some dark stain and went over the white and wiped off the excess. It toned it down nicely. Next up I gave it a coat of outdoor poly to seal it. 

This chair and its mate will be spending its summer up on my top porch. Now I just need a table. :)

To the Lake it Goes.

    Before this little one went home to spend its days at the lake I'd thought I'd show it too you, so I snapped some pictures with my phone.

Its so darn cute, with some great family history behind it, meaning it was built long ago. It would make a great front door entry piece, nightstand or just about anywhere you need a little something.

Since its going to a lakeside cottage the owner wanted blues.

I distressed the solid blue and did a blue wash over the doors and drawer. It is missing its other door knob, but thats ok. I painted the inside solid blue too, so if its not found or replaced, baskets will fit nicely inside with the doors removed.

I gave the top a light sanding and stained it with a dark stain. The woodgrain shows up beautifully.

The side got the same wash treatment. Then I sealed the whole thing with polyurethane.

I really liked this little one and I think I'll be taking some measurements for future projects.:)

New Goodies

Yesterday was one of those afternoons where the sun was shining the breeze was warm and I was in the mood for a drive. A 25 minute drive to be exact to one of my all time favourite stores. So Amy and I took a drive to the home of her childhood, indulged in some fries at a roadside booth owned by her friend (Thanks Andrea they were great!) and went exploring.
The store is called Cottage Treasures and its in the heart of downtown Thedford. I think the town has about 1000 people, so main street is one street and therefore the store is not hard to find. Their hours are Saturday and Sunday only. I wish I had taken pictures of the store for you but I was too excited to start the hunt for all things fun.
So what goodies did I find? This is what came home with me.

A globe for Isaac, some blocks for Leah, a pattern from 1964 to add to my collection of old patterns. The picnic basket and enamel pot which I have a weakness for. I seem to have a lot a weaknesses.

Her prices are really, really reasonable and she will barter with you. Last year I really liked this Underwood typewriter.

She had a price of $60 dollars on it and Roger offered her $40. It came home for $40. It works great, but could use a new ribbon. 

She has all things vintage and some antiques. She has books and movies galore, and is really worth the drive. So many more things wanted to come home with me, but I'll save that for another day.:) 

A little taste of Spring.

Last week as I was getting my hair done, my lovely Hairdresser Bri offered me a glass of deliciousness   that can only be described as Springtime in a glass.
It consisted of Strawberries, Rhubarb and Lemonade. She told me that she was cleaning out her freezer from last years bounty to make way for this years. Smart girl.
Yesterday, I went to my garden and was surprised out how much rhubarb I already have. Its a fairly new plant so in past years I've had enough to get by, but this year it is thriving and I've gotten to make some of my favourite rhubarb dishes and throw some in the freezer already.
With the weather warming up I thought I too would give this "Springtime Lemonade" a try. I grabbed my fresh rhubarb and my frozen strawberries. Here is my version of Bri's drink.

Springtime Lemonade.

1 cup rhubarb (fresh or frozen)

1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)

1 cup sugar

3 cups water

Bring to a boil and then let simmer until mush.

Strain off juices.

Using half of the liquid, add to a can of Lemonade.

Add water according to can, stir, add ice and enjoy.

Today with the other half I made iced tea and sweetened to taste.

Change your fruit around too. Next up for me is raspberries and rhubarb.

The other neat thing about Bri, is that not only is she a wonderful hairdresser, but her and her husband Ben have a new adventure that they began last year. Coastal Coffee. If your looking for great coffee, Ben's your man. I have learned so much about coffee from him, I can almost make it as well as he can. Well.... maybe not that good, but Roger thinks its great. :)