Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Sitting on the fence........

I'm sitting on the fence with this next big decision.....a few weeks ago when I was visiting my girls, I was casing Home Sense and found a "GORGEOUS" area carpet.

BEAUTIFUL!.......Problem being my car is S.M.A.L.L. and the carpet was L.A.R.G.E.......now I know that should never stop a girl from purchasing something when she finds just what she is looking for.........but the price tag was exceeding my meager budget...........unemployment pifff!!!! Well anyway back to this dilemma......so it is still at the store and that in itself is amazing  as you know how things walk out of that store......But then not everyone would pick something so wild but that's me! I mean really....... I have red leather furniture........enough said......



Yes it is red and wild! And would we get tired of it? I don't think so........It has all the colors I have going on and so I am getting the girls to keep an eye on it and I may just have to bite the bullet, where I will store it for the time being, is another question, but we'll worry about that another time......Today, I spent a few hours in the hair salon going from white blonde to warmer gold and copper tones, not so harsh....and really I am not ready to go "au naturel"......looking my age and acting my age just aren't in my make-up. Fight it till the bitter end I say!

I got started on the seashell wreath but its missing something so I need to look at it in the morning.....the skies have opened up and are completely draining themselves this evening and so I am hoping they wear themselves out and it is dry tomorrow. Mud running is not my idea of fun! And I really need to put in a longer run tomorrow.....so please Lord let up on the watering till the afternoon tomorrow......thanks........Well boring me today.......11 days till race day! Maybe I should sew pillows tomorrow.......there's an idea........

                "PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA"  audrey hepburn 

That is what Kait has in her mind for pillows....get out the drop cloth! Well time to go see what Catherine the Great is up to for tonight and visit my comfy bed. Sweet dreams are made of these.........good night!

Purple Pansies


Lavender

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

I'm thinking........

Tuesday.....hummmmmm....I've been thinking that there are a few things that I need to get made. I saw a "Oh....So....Cute".......seashell wreath downtown at one of the specialty stores and being the thrifty chick that I am, I thought.......I can do that.......I already have the grapevine wreath, and I know where I can pick up a whole whack of small seashells.....even thou...there may be a bag of them out in the garage in that mess somewhere! Then....... I saw a driftwood basket.....I'm thinking, glue, nail gun.....yup its doable.

This is my last week before I rest and taper, although I think since I just run continually each week that next weekend should just be another long run day.....The girls and I don't plan on breaking any records....of course we say that now, but sometimes things just change along the route. Sue and I went out the other day and it was way warmer than we had thought it would be. So tonight we will have to dress accordingly. Tomorrow is another trip to the dump and then I am sure I can start working in my studio and get some painting underway. But the lighting is quite bad and so I think I may have to fix that first.

I found a red Rhubarb plant and an Asparagus plant, a few plants that I want to try. I've had Rhubarb of course before, but I really wanted red not the green, its not a nice looking, or tasting for that matter. And Asparagus, well I haven't been able to grow that for years and since everything grows so well down here....... I am hoping after the 3 year wait, we will have more than we can eat!

These are a clever idea

I like this idea of a seashell wreath
except I want the finger starfish and
I think I will do without the pearls....
althou pearls do come from oysters

When I saw this clever idea,
 I thought I will have to start saving
egg shells
Well the laundry is done, the house is once again clean. The Hubs will be around tomorrow so we have a few chores to do and I won't get a chance to make my usual noise cleaning. So have a good evening and I hope you had a day that made you feel productive and creative. See you soon!


Saturday, April 21, 2012

Mid-weekend.....

Saturday all ready eh? My oh my......I don't like this one bit....it can mean only one thing.....the weekend just started and it 's darn near over! We had a really nice visit with our friend Christiane from Vancouver and she loves the Sunshine Coast! But you would have to be nutso not to like it here, especially when the sunshine's! Today Kait and Tor are arriving and I am looking forward to see her face. She hasn't been here since Christmas so she will see a huge difference around the house. Tomorrow I am taking a bunch of  "stuff" to my mom's for a garage sale........I sure hope I can get rid of most of it, otherwise, I am heading to the swap shed. Tor doesn't know it yet but he is going to help the Hubs clean out my studio so I can start filling holes and painting.....I don't think it should take me long to do those little things, but I am a little worried that I won't get it to look like I want it to be. But we will cross that bridge when we get there.

So in the meantime, more spray paint and more projects with a new lease on life. I bought a lavender plant and a purple basil today along with a new cushion for my lounger since I plan on spending plenty of time on it this summer!


Isn't that just so true!
This is the sign that I have been working on
 now without glass.......

These chairs were tan.....
.b.o.r.i.n.g...(yawn)
now they are glossy black!


Lesson learned.....
do not use plain spray paint
 use the 2x the coverage Krylon
mucho better!

Just like brand new

New cushion.... Thank you Martha!
and Canuck Tire

Once was old and (blah) green!
Now see how nice it looks!
Spray paint is your friend!


Are you starting to see a "theme" here?
Gee.... I wonder what color flowers
I should go with????
Well that was my da,y besides a trip to the beach and a little entertaining, ooooh......have a fantastic idea for driftwood.........just need a saw......sounds exciting and promising doesn't it! You all have a good evening, time to get ready for the kids, ciao for now!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Yikes! What a day!

I think I am an accident looking for a place to happen today. It started by dropping a piece of glass from a frame on my foot and cutting the top of it, then I was coming through the garage door and it slammed shut and the laundry cupboard came a crashing down!! Nearly taking my head with it! So they say accidents come in "threes" I'm not taking any chances and staying right here on this chair. When the Hubs comes home he is going to have to anchor that puppy better into a stud or something! Crikey!


Hear I was minding my own business puttering around the house getting it all tidied up for company this weekend and twice now my life has been threatened.......hmmmmmm......we have company coming tomorrow from the city for a day or so and then a surprise visit from daughter and partner in crime, for a few days, so we are b.u.s.y this weekend. I sure hope the weather cooperates. At the moment it's not looking promising..... Lots of hockey on the tube this weekend, our good old Canucks picked up a win last night in LA so they are back home tomorrow night and need to win three straight.......I for one am not holding my breath!


I don't think I am liking this new format for blogger, I'm not to savvy when it comes to all these programs , I need a lesson or two,  it seems more complicated than it should be. I've been busy putting things here and there trying to find the right "zen" feeling on the deck and making a few more nautical accents, the fellow at the Boating Exchange gets a good laugh when I come in there!

A Spring wreath made with live forsythia and red currant
branches

Bamboo that I got the Hubs to dig up and re-pot

Sun gone and replaced with giant star....
much better

Third mirror in the series....


Buoys from the boat exchange but prettied up, I
don't know why they wouldn't come in pretty colors!



So I am finishing up another sign that I had an idea for, and went with Pam's idea of flip flops, it did have glass in the frame but not so much now! I may have to go in search of another piece of glass to cover the art.......and I figured out what to do with the fishnet, and the shells and the lights.....so stay tuned and with any luck and nothing else drops from above........ I will return!

 Have a great afternoon!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Rainy Day Monday

Good Morning Blogger World! And a beautiful morning it is today! Not so nice yesterday, so it didn't look promising for Sue and I to get out on our run, so we waited a bit and the Weather God let up on the rain and off we went. We didn't have any real destination in mind, just to run and have a good day. And run, and run, we did! After 16.5 km and a few gruesome hills we arrived back home feeling very good about ourselves. But it didn't take long to realize I was seizing up and needed to do some stretching and refuel. After about an hour I felt much more energized and grab a gallon of paint and headed outside to finish a project that I started a month ago but never got back to for various reasons.

On one wall of my studio there was a trellis that was supporting a very old climbing hydrangea and the growth was invading the siding and just making a mess and doing some serious damage to the walls, so off it came and........ oops! Another mess underneath!  So then..... I had to take my electric sander and remove the climbers that grew, attaching themselves like glue to the wall. That was a month ago, so yesterday was just a matter of painting....and the weather was warm so brush in hand and ladder and an hour later the wall was looking very nice and fresh.


This was the before....
 



The little beggars were stuck like glue!

The mighty sander




The finished wall!
And besides a little vacuuming that was pretty much my day and that was quite enough "Thank you very much." And as I promised here are the photos from the day I spent refreshing the outdoor furniture with the best invention in the world! A can of Spray paint! Spray paint is your friend!


The red chairs are new, well they're old but a new color!
 LOVE..........the..........RED!

Yes.....we have Gone Coastal
......not postal!

An Azalea........RED!

My new Unicorn Bush

A little grass for the front porch

The new RED pots.......and the 18 bags of white rock!
A few pieces of the beach.....but I need something else just
not sure what it is yet!

The Master welcoming you to our home

Well I think I am about caught up on the little things today I need to do some baking and laundry and go to the library to pick up a book I have been waiting for. Have you read the "Winter Palace?" I know it's going to be good. I love Russian history......can't wait to get that one started. Well that's it, that's all for today...time for another cup of "Joe" and making my list. I hope you have a great day full of inspiration and creativity! I know I'm never without a few ideas! Thanks to a few friends and their ideas!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Sunday feeling like a Monday

Today started out rather early and I am all mixed up in my days of the week, yesterday felt like Sunday and today feels like Monday! But all is well.....I accomplished quite a few things today, some of which time consuming, like waiting for paint to dry! Oh my goodness! I am not a patient person, its a good thing it was windy out to help things along........ or I would have had to do the blow dryer trick!

But the chairs are painted too, and looking mighty fine....show you those tomorrow! I had to paint a wall in my living room as I found the perfect picture for over our fireplace, and well the old nail holes or should I say spike holes (what is wrong with people that use spikes to hang pictures?) so I was filling holes yesterday and today I painted the wall, all before we went running this morning..... then it could dry while I was gone.

The pots were planted today and another 3 bags of white rock had to be purchased to fill in the garden area! So that is a total now of 18 bags at 18kg a bag, each bag covers approximately 3sq.ft. in their dreams it does! But it looks so nice now.  I'm glad I decided on white rock instead of bark mulch......clean and tidy looking. So for the rest of the day I am doing "NADA!" The Canucks and the LA Kings are on this evening, so time to get dinner ready and sit back and chillax!

These are some pretty amazing mountains going through the Coquahalla Pass. Still lots of snow on them hills, and apparently the day after I came through, six inches or more fell, so I'm quite glad I came home when I did. Driving these mountains passes can be pretty treacherous and I think I'm done with winter driving! Doesn't take long to loose that "lovin' feelin'!"










I shall see you tomorrow.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and Spring was knocking at your door!                       Go Canucks Go!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Me and my girls

Well we had a busy week and weekend, I drove Jane back home on Wednesday and stayed for a few days with my girls and did some shopping, not too hard to do when everything is at your finger tips! But the one thing that I wanted from Costco, wouldn't you just know it..... they didn't have the red colored pots that I wanted. Darn near ruined the whole trip! That's the one thing about Costco, you snooze.... you loose! The days were gorgeous and warm but windy as it can be....but all in all it was a nice little visit and a welcome break.

At one time we had thought about going to the Interior but I'm glad we ended up by the ocean, and the people! Holy Guacamole! It sure doesn't take much adjusting to get used to a small town as far as traffic and people go.

So this week I am going to spend some time planting up some big pots.....I hope I have enough soil to fill them all and I may have to go and buy some geraniums to put in another planter that I forgot I had. Being able to plant all these new shrubs and perennials is certainly a treat. I'll post some photos in a few days of all my pots.

But in the meantime, the girls and I did a little "photo op" because funny enough...... we all bought brown leather jackets unbeknownst to each other...... so we thought we'd take our picture the day I left......nothing like flagging down strangers to help us out.

My mom and Jane on Easter weekend at Pender

Jane looking springish at the beach

Jane and I in our spring outfits

Kait and I

Mother Hen and her girl chicks clad in brown leather


The newest in hood ornaments!


I made a quick stop in Merritt and my cousin Gigi grows lavender and makes all sorts of wonderful products.....right now I am in lavender heaven. You can check out her online store for her heavenly products at www.petitcreeklavender.com you won't be sorry! Pure Bliss! Well time to get some tea ready and pack it in. Three weeks till my next half marathon so major running for the next two weeks.....and a taper.......hopefully tomorrows run will be better than todays pitiful excuse! Night all!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Good Friday, Easter and Easter Monday Gone!

I don't know...... one minute I am sailing along and the next thing I know a million things have happened and the week is over.

My eldest daughter and father arrived on Friday and there was a whirl wind of activity, sight-seeing rolled into a few hours and then an impromptu dinner, another trip to the beach, shrub planting, beach combing, you name it, we managed to shove it all into a few days. Not to mention a secret trip of the Easter Bunny to surprise a little man!

Today we went for an Easter Brunch at my brother/sister-in-law's and her sister and partner were visiting.....I haven't seen her in years, so lots of catching up to do.....no enough time...but now we are closer so maybe we will see each other more often. But there is way too much going on....time for some down time.......but non the less Spring has Sprung in all it's glory, lawns need mowing, painting of relic lawn furniture, driftwood mirrors, sea glass collecting, huge pieces of driftwood dragged up steep beach inclines......thinking and planning, its a good thing I have Jane here keep me under control so that I don't go totally crackers!

Flowering Forsythia Branches

Flowering Red Currant

A little Easter decor on the mantel


Mr. Cat Chow Mein, looking handsome sitting on
 the freshly mowed lawn

Peonies! I am soooo happy!
 I left behind so many plants that I had collected over the
years, now I will have to start a new collection...
I wonder what color they are?

I painted this relic of a chair to give it some life and add some color to the
corner of the garden, sit on it with care

This mirror I made with driftwood bark

This is made with driftwood sticks, glued and nailed

Just a few small pieces of driftwood, and some floats
I sweet-talked to get!

Freshing potted Hydrangea


Collection of driftwood, Jane packed up the heavy one!


Yes....... laying on the beach seeking sea glass

Sorting through the different colors of glass
Sorry to bog you down with a week's worth of activities. It could be another few days before I get back here, as I am doing a little road trip and checking out some stores for white landscaping rock.......do you know how hard that is to find around here! Crikey mate! Enough to drive a sane woman over the edge I tell ya! I think it is time to sit back and relax for the evening....and make a list for tomorrow, there's a few things I need to finish up, some weather permitting, and some baking.....and some cleaning......oh dear....some things just get out of hand.....ciao for now and have a good, good nite!