Thursday, December 30, 2010

Boy, that took a long time to finish ! . . . . .

Not really, I was just lazy.  And didn't take any pictures along the way but it was pretty straight forward.



I just painted it black, sanded it then stained with Tudor Brown Bri-wax.  I did cut a hole in the back for the candle plug to go through.  

I would love to show it to you with the candle lit but the outlet it is plugged into was one of the many Money Pit episodes we had this year.  We'll save that story for another day.

The greenery is fake but easily could have been filled with some cedar from my many cedar trees on the property.  Christmas decorations are going away any day now so I will be back to show you what I do with it for the rest of the year.

And maybe the light will be on by then!


Blessings, Cathi
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Friday, November 12, 2010

Next Prim project picked out . . . . .

I've been busy with a few organizational things this week along with getting ready to teach a class tomorrow.   I've reorganized the cabinets in the utility room, the closet under the stairs and the upstairs hallway.  Nothing worth showing pictures of.

But I have picked out my next little project I hope to start on Sunday afternoon.  Here are some of the parts. . . . 


I hope to show something finished next week.  Depends on the weather.  We don't have a garage so I have to do a lot of my smelly (like Briwax) crafting outside.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings, Cathi
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Monday, November 8, 2010

Mommy, look at our midnight snack . . . . .

The boys usually don't mess with any of the household items at night.  Really, they don't.  But last night they must have been really bored.


Yup, Dear Hubby's golf shoes.  We keep the boys locked in the utility room at night with a baby gate.  There are lots of shoes and ball caps and "things" in there but they have NEVER messed with any of them.


They have plenty of toys.  These are just a few that I could find.  Hermann Munster still has his squeaky toys inside!  No small feat for them.  The squeakys are usually the first things to go.  I just have to make sure that they have a few in with them at night.  Guess I missed last night!



They do look a little guilty this morning.  But I'm sure they will get over it.

And now Dear Hubby can put new golf shoes on his Christmas list.  He's really excited about that.

Blessings, Cathi
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Thursday, November 4, 2010

And now back to our regularly scheduled blogging . . . . .

My last show of the year is over and now I can get back to some regular blogging here on my Primitives blog.  The month of October is all a blur.  If I learned anything, it was to pace myself.  The next show I am vendoring at is the first full weekend in January.  I will NOT wait until the day after Christmas to start thinking about it!
Dear Hubby and I did sneak away for a day to the mountains of North Carolina.


Two of our kids had birthdays . . . . . .

Turf Boy turned 26

And the Married One turned 31
 

I didn't put out a single fall decoration.  How sad . . . . 

Not even the wreath on the door . . . .

From last year
Like I said, if I learned nothing else this past fall, it is that I need to pace myself , make a schedule and make time for family.


And the Phillies lost.

Blessings, Cathi
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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Mr. Doc-tober ! . . . . .

Roy "Doc" Halliday has joined a group of two.  Only two pitchers have thrown a no-hitter in the post-season . . . . . . the other one being 1956.



Go Phillies !

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

You know it's Fall when . . . . .


The Pumpkin Spice Latte is at your local Panera Bread ! ! !


I'd show you the inside but it's gone already!  I know they are a little expensive but I worked really hard this past weekend at the quilting retreat where I taught.  I figured I deserved a $4.00 latte!

I'm still busy dying wool.  This past weekend was a great success.  I taught 2 wool applique classes and sold a LOT of wool.  I'm spending three days this week dying wool (it's on the stove as we speak) then I have to set up for my next show on Thursday.  Very tiring but also very satisfying.

When this weekend's show is over and I give a wool applique program for a local guild on Monday night, I hope to get back to working on the house.  I knew we would come to a complete stand still.  At least we are consistent!!

I have managed to finish this end of the room . . . . .

Before . . . . .


After . . . . .


Obviously the crown moulding isn't up yet.  If I wait until that is up to show you any pictures, it could be next spring!  Dear Hubby is a little afraid of crown moulding so that will definitely be the last thing we do.  

The copper bucket on the floor to the left is for the boys toys.  They have already learned to get them from there.  I just haven't trained them to put them back yet.  Heck, I'm lucky if I can get them to keep them inside!

The chair to the left of the doors is an old school desk that my mom and dad had forever in their house.  I'm not really sure where it came from.

I really like how this end turned out.  We have never had drapes on this end of the room.  It sure warmed it up as soon as they went up.  

The fabric is called Miss Kitty by Braemore.  The colors are just perfect for the room.  We also have drapes of the same fabric at the other end.


Hope you are enjoying this weather !!  I know I am.

I forgot to add that I am going to make some Prim sign to put between the two curtain rods above the door.  I just haven't decided on the word yet . . . . . or what size . . . . or what color . . . . or what text font . . . .

Blessings, Cathi
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Monday, September 27, 2010

Apple Pickin' Time . . . . .

Dear Hubby and I went to the apple growing capital of North Carolina on Saturday . . . . .Henderson County.  Although it would have been nicer if we had some cool fall weather, we still had a good time.
We must have gone to about 10 orchards ...... all on Hwy. 64 which takes you from downtown Hendersonville all the way to Bat Cave.  Yes, there is a Bat Cave, North Carolina.  Cute, cute town with some lovely and UNIQUE gift shops.

Here are some pictures from the day. . . . 

Mountain Fresh Orchard
View from Mountain Fresh Orchard back porch
Grandad's Apples
Wonder how they got that up there?
Grandad's Apples had a corn maze that went on forever.
Love this vingette!
This apple was carved right out of the stump!
This will be Dear Hubby and I one day!
Looks like time stood still here.
Loved this orchard!
Plenty of apples left.
Our bounty for the day!
We came home with quite a few different varieties of apples. . . . .Romes, Candycrisp, JonaGold, Honey Crisp and King Luscious to name a few.  We found some Pumpkin Bread and an Applesauce Cake (that is gone already!).  

And see that long green thing in the picture above?  That is a snake gourd.  Grandad's Apples had two crates of them.  They really look like snakes.  We went through quite a few before Dear Hubby decided on that one.  He is taking it to school to put in his training room to scare a few football players.  Those big guys can be kind of squeamish sometimes!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I'm off now to finish getting ready for the classes I'm teaching this weekend and to figure out what to do with all these apples!!

Blessings, Cathi
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Monday, September 20, 2010

The Computer Geek turns 21 . . . . .

The last of my four babies turns 21 today.  They are all adults now (chronologically speaking) and I'm feeling mighty old.


He was 24 hours old when Hurricane Hugo came through our hometown.  I'll never forget.  Most people wonder why we didn't name him Hugo !

Happy Birthday, my baby!!

Blessings, Cathi
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Saturday, September 18, 2010

Fall, Where are you ? . . . . .

I'm all for warm weather once in a while in the fall but this is getting ridiculous.  It is the 18th day of the month and we are on Day 11 of 90° or higher here in the upstate of South Carolina.  The air-conditioning is still on.  The average high should be 82°.  

We've had 0.30" of rain this month and we should be somewhere around 2.5" of rain by now. 

None of this wants to make me pull out the fall decorations.  For now I'll just show some pictures of Autumn Past and dream of cooler weather.




The only seasonal food that would be good right now is a big glass of ice cold apple cider.

Maybe soon . . . . . . 

Blessings, Cathi
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Friday, September 10, 2010

Finally back to sitting while I blog . . . . .

Computer Geek and I brought the computer cabinet in from the storage building yesterday.  I know, I'm slow.  I need to work on one project and stick with it until it's finished.  Note to self . . . work on one thing at a time.
It sure is nice to sit down in a comfortable chair for a change.


I know .... no picture of the chair but trust me it's much more comfortable than the step stool was!


This corner is just about finished.  I think I need to put a small quilt on the wall behind the sheep.  I also have a wire basket that belonged to Sweet Granny that holds quilts.  It usually sits on the floor to the right of the cabinet.  Haven't found the box that it is stored in yet.



I'm seriously thinking about skipping putting things back out and just pull out my fall decorations.  This is what the top of the computer cabinet looked like last year.


But that means pulling out more boxes before I get these unpacked.  I don't know if I am up for that yet.

Blessings, Cathi
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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Paint on the walls . . . .

I've been so busy with getting ready for my first quilt show, that I haven't had much time to work on the house.  Now that the show is over, I have jumped back into the painting.  So far I have put two coats on the living room walls.  

Here is a picture of a wall in progress to you can see the big difference in the color.  Flash wouldn't work in this picture. Probably because the sun was coming in this window.


I think I am really going to like the change.  Tomorrow I will start with touch-up paint on the trim and adding more trim to the french doors.


The closet you can see on the left in this picture is a closet that is under the stairs.  I have already painted it and moved the office supplies into it.  We use this as an office of sorts.


And all the trim and crown molding has to be added to this wall.  This was another "money pit" wall that Dear Hubby had to strip to the studs and add new drywall.  But it's all better now!

The color of the wall is Lyndhurst Stone from Valspar paint (Lowes).  The trim is LaFonda Sagebrush from Valspar.  Both are from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 

I sure hope I can add to this blog a lot more often now that the painting is coming along nicely!

Blessings, Cathi
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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Where I blog ..... for now . . . . .

The floors are finished!  Whoo hoo!!

Unfortunately football practice has started, the teachers have gone back and the kids start tomorrow.  Which means I don't have my right hand handyman anymore.

We have moved the couch and dining room table back into the house but all the other furniture is still stored away.  We decided that since the furniture was still out of the rooms, we might as well paint.  I know we should have done that first but we didn't.  I'm not too worried since I am usually a neat painter.

The computer has been in pieces on my bedroom floor for a week.  I decided I just couldn't do without it anymore so I have put it back ..... sort of.


Let me tell you, that stepstool is uncomfortable!  I don't plan on being on the computer long!!  I started painting the walls.  You can see the new color behind the computer screen.  The old color is at the bottom of the wall, soon to be covered with base molding.  More on the new color later.

And the other wall?  Well, another one of those Money Pit moments.  It won't take long to fix but Dear Hubby can only work on weekends now.

I hope I can back to checking out others blogs now and returning emails.  Hope you have a comfortable chair to sit on!

Blessings, Cathi
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Saturday, August 7, 2010

Reindeer antlers in my garden . . . . .

I've always thought the dried daylily stalks looked like reindeer antlers. Thought I'd share before I pulled them out.




On the flooring front, we are about to start coat 3 of 4.  We are using tung oil for the finish.  An absolutely beautiful matte finish that is very durable and water repellent.  But it takes forever to dry.  It will be at least a week to 10 days after we put the last coat on before we can walk on it with shoes.  Then at least 30 days before it will be totally cured.  We're not sure when in that time frame we will start putting the furniture back in.  It sure will be worth it though!

Blessings, Cathi
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