Waste Not Want Not


When I first started decorative painting I gathered many different supplies to 'have on hand'. Brushes, surfaces, sealers, varnishes and on and on. Problem was, after I would buy them I wouldn't want to use them. I tucked them away and saved them. And saved and saved.


Unfortunately, a lot of finishes, varnishes and some paint clearly had a shelf life. And it all had to be thrown away. I was more than mad at myself. And quickly came to realize, you need to use what you have! Enjoy them! Because in the end, saving only meant that I wasted the money and the product and.... never got the enjoyment of any of it. Such a lesson learned.


All the surfaces I saved over the years have stayed intact. And one of those are vintage Cape Cod roofing slates. I bought a slew of them from a supplier in New England (now no longer in business.) Lately I've been pulling a few of them out and painting on them.


Here's the latest one I did with Raggedy Ann with a big slice of watermelon and the American flag. This is a Maxine Thomas design with some little changes.

These slates look super cute hanging by your entrance door to welcome guests, in the garden on a stake or anywhere else you want that Americana look.


Until next time,
Hannah

Spotlight on Billy

On May 22, 2000 Billy found me in the parking lot of the office building I worked in.  He darted up to me and started meowing like nobody's business.  I thought perhaps he had wandered away from a home in the area and just needed help finding his way back.  So I scooped him up and took him around knocking on doors and asking if he belonged to anyone.  At the last house I tried, there was a couple who said he hung around underneath their house but he wasn't theirs and they really wished someone would take him. They didn't want him there :(  


So I took him back to my office, set him up with a comfy place to lay and gave him some water to which he immediately stuck his paw in and started slapping it all over.  After he was done playing in it, he stuck his paw in his mouth.  Silly cat.


The workday ends and here we were.  I come home and tell John I brought him a present!  He says, "it's not a cat is it?"  LOL!!!  He always tells me I'm a cat magnet. And the rest is history. 


Billy is kept separate from the other kids until we get him checked out at the vet.  So the next day we head to the vet and on the way I sing to him.  Now at the time we thought he was female. I swear he looked like it!!!  Anyway, I sing him a song calling him Lily all the way to the vet.  He meowed like he loved the song!  Or not. 


He gets blood work done, vaccinations, fecal test.. you know the whole kit and kaboodle.  We continue to keep him separated from the others until the test results come back.  Sadly he is positive for Felv and FIV. My heart breaks. 


The vet recommends euthanasia. I began reading any and everything I can on Felv/FIV.  John and I decide we are going to give him a chance to live his life. And as of the 22nd of this month, our sweet Billy has blessed our lives for 12 years.  Yes, twelve.  We are so thankful we followed our hearts and did not euthanize him.  


Until next time, 
Hannah

It's all in the details

We're doing some landscape remodeling of sorts in our backyard.  We're adding  a pond along with a bridge over it and lots of plants surrounding the area.  

Now with all this going on there is lots and lots of dirt.  And I'm constantly calling out, 'wipe your feet!'.  Yesterday I must not have called out enough because I found these large sandy shoe prints leading all the way from the back porch to the kitchen sink.  John naturally blamed it on the cats. 

So today I see him heading inside.  I go out and hand him a pair of these blue bootie thingies to put over his shoes.  He just gives me an 'are you kidding look'. I stand firm with booties in my hand :-)

Much later in the day John says he's heading to Home Depot.  I mention he can drop me off at Michaels on the way.  I've been eyeing those Smash books.  Still on the fence about whether I'd actually commit to doing it.  I have several scrapbooks that I haven't done.  We return home and I'm in the garden checking plants when John comes out the door saying... 'look what I went to Home Depot and Michaels in'.  I look and see these on his feet,

I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants!!  He was shocked no one said anything.  I said they were too busy laughing.  So I took a picture before he tossed them in the trash.  I imagine tomorrow I won't win the bootie battle. 

Here's a little baby card.  All girly and pink.  I love the umbrella paper.  It's by Jillibean.  

Until next time, 

Hannah 

Press 1 for a Medic....


There was a message on our recorder last week asking John to call a specified number and follow the prompts regarding supplies for his TENs unit.

So John calls the number. I’m at the computer and I hear him on the phone. Yes. Yes. One. Yes. One Eight Nine Two Five.  No. One Eight Nine Two Five. No. One Eight Nine Two Five. NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! ONE EIGHT NINE TWO FIVE!!!!  Now he’s yelling into the phone like a crazy person.

I say, ‘honey, give me the phone. No use in you getting your blood pressure all raised’. So I respond. Yes. One Eight Nine Two Five. No. One Eight Nine Two Five.  Uh, no. One….Eight….Nine….Two….Five. NO!! It’s One Eight Nine Two Five!!!  One Eight Nine Two Five!!!

NO!!!  So now I’m yelling into the phone like a crazy person. And the stupid automated attendant still hasn’t got it.  So now I’m so aggravated I’m like a screaming banshee!  And then I look up at John and we both bust out laughing.  I mean, we’re yelling at an automated attendant.  I hang up. Gosh I miss real people.

Earth Day today! Look what I planted. 

Ok so I didn't plant Allie Oop.  But I did plant these flowers. 

The parsley was planted earlier. I love being able to go out and snip a little of this and some of that to enjoy.

Doing a little painting recently.  Here's a custom order, a little garden angel with her bee skep painted on a vintage roofing slate.

Until next time,

Hannah

Reminiscing

History always repeats itself.  Like the current 'Going Green' move.  A new generation comes along and everything old is new again!

Take sun tea for example. 

In the 70’s this was the way I always brewed my tea.  It was the ‘thing’ in the day.  I would sit my big ole jar of tea bags and water out on the deck to steep.  I was hip!

Then there was Shaklee.  Did you use Shaklee?  All natural vitamins and cleaners.   I bought Basic H by the gallon and used it for all my household cleaning.  Used the laundry soap for all my laundry including those delicate hand wash only garments.  Hung everything on the clothesline and felt so, well, green! 

I was helping the environment and helping my body.  I wore t-shirts with an image of a beautiful water stream on the front with a quote, “we all live downstream” and other environmental friendly quotes. I tie dyed skirts and shirts.

Photo Credit

I loved the green movement and felt empowered to be part of such a big thing.

And then something changed.  Don’t know what.  Don’t know when.  But slowly most of us flowed with the times as they pressed forward.  New products, new ideas, new generations.   

And now here we are forty years later and the Green Movement has again taken hold.  People shop with their eco friendly shopping bags.  They shop at Whole Foods. They wear eco friendly clothing and participate in their county or city’s recycling program. 

Me?  I’ve jumped back on.  I’m re-learning ways to be green.  Trying to use less paper and plastic (although I admit this is super difficult for me as I love my paper towels).  We have a compost pile.  We recycle.  We ride our bikes to the store versus driving the car when we’re picking up just a few items.  We re-purpose as many items as we can.

We replaced all our lawn with brick paths, stepping stones and drought tolerant plants, herbs  and shrubs more than 10 years ago.

I haven't gone so far as to start tie dying our clothes but I do wish I still had those t-shirts.

Until next time,

Hannah

Springtime


I love spring. Love the colors, the flowers, the spring breezes.  I like spring cleaning too!  A time for washing off the porches and window screens and getting everything ready for cookouts and rocking.

The oak pollen will be gone soon along with those annoying little green caterpillars dangling from the trees.  I can't stand them and typically will walk around outside with an umbrella so they don’t drop on my head!

I don't spend a lot of time on Pinterest, but that’s not to say that I don’t occasionally browse the site.  I do like the pictures and inspiration but don’t want to spend the day sitting at the computer.  That being said, here’s some pictures that just sang Spring! to me. 

Do these look yummy or what?  I remember making Jello parfaits loooong ago.  So pretty and so simple.  I'm adding this to my list. Along with these, 

      

Lemonade with raspberry ice cubes.  I'd rather have cherry ice cubes myself but love that red. 

And now for a card I made.  Love those pretty sweet peach colors. 

Ok, off to do some of that spring cleaning!

Until next time,

Hannah

Strawberries! You Pick

I planted a strawberry plant early in the year. I wanted to have a couple of nice strawberries to occasionally enjoy with my morning yogurt.

Yesterday I checked and there were 5 berries just a day of being perfect to pick. So I covered them good with hay so the birds wouldn’t get them and was ready this morning to enjoy. But when I went out to get them, there was not a single one there. Dang! The birds snagged every one. I can’t believe they eyed them thru the hay. Or smelled them. Whichever. It’s always a challenge here to be able to get something for us that I grow. I don’t mind sharing but couldn’t these critters leave a little for us?

Next up will be cherry tomatoes that have blooms. Of course, all my herbs they want nothing to do with. Hey, maybe I should plant herbs all around my other plants!

Spent some time in the studio putting all the valentine themed stuff away and getting out some spring papers. Easter is right around the corner! I love all the bunny stuff. Something about those bunny ears that you just gotta love.

Here’s a little gift pocket I made. You can tell I love to make pockets. They are just so sweet to tuck a little something in.

The clown paper is really cute although I am slightly afraid of clowns. LOL! I think I saw a scary movie preview once and have never been the same since.

And here's another card.

When I first started this card the idea in my mind ended up totally different in the end. I knew I wanted to use the floral paper and a butterfly. The rest just evolved. As things do.

Well, until next time,

Hannah