Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Hiding The Ugly

This is a darling cabinet
I got from my friend. Kim, 
of
( I am trying to get her to post about
some very exciting things she is up to! )

It sits on our side deck.
Looking at it here it
doesn't look so cute,
does it?

That's because it is filled with Stuff...
peanuts for the birds and squirrls
garden tools
mosaic products
and various and asundra other things.
You see we don't have enough storage at this cottage.

So
went
to
my
stash
of
vintage
fabric.
I should say
one of my stashes of vintage fabric!

I pulled out a European twin coverlet
( Purchased in Round Top, Texas, of course! )
and turned it into a curtain to hide
all the ugly...
I
seem
to
be
into
hiding
the
ugly
lately!

There...
Now isn't that better?!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Sort of Supper

Just look at that...
YUM
That is what we had for supper tonight!

When my 14 year old grandson was here last,
I made a Peach cobbler.
He texted me asking for the recipe.
I felt like when I asked my grandmother for her biscuit recipe...
A sifter of flour
A fistful of lard
baking powder...regular teaspoons..maybe 2
A pinch of soda
A pinch of salt
A glass full of buttermilk

You see...I had just combined some old recipes in my head and I am not sure I measured very carefully.
But, when a grandson asks for a recipe,
A grandmother does her best to deliver..
The following is what I sent him:  

Buy a package of pastry crust in the dairy department. I used the Walmart brand....
I lined a throw away Lasagna pan with the crust.... I sprayed the pan with Pam first.... You will also need to cut the crust into pieces in order to line the bottom and sides of pan...

Next:  Peaches.... peel and cut and slice from pit in a bowl.... Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups Packed Brown sugar mixed with 1 Tablespoon flour, 1 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon nutmeg. Mix thoroughly....
I am not sure of the proportions if one uses canned peaches that are in heavy syrup. I would guess to half the brown sugar and use 2 large cans of peach slices....????     I sort of made this recipe up and I did not do a lot of measuring. I am guessing the best that I can.....

Topping Crust:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 to 2 cups regular white sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons baking powder,1/2 teaspoon salt... Cut in 1 and 1/4 cups butter... I softened the butter and used 2 knives cutting back and forth as I could not find a pastry blender... I would suggest buying a pastry blender at the dollar store... cut the butter in to the flour/sugar mixture. Add 1and 1/2 cups milk to the mixture. 

Place dough lined pan in 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Pour peach mixture over crust.... Pour top crust mixture over top of peaches ( the top mixture will be sort of thin ) and bake for about 45 minutes.

He made it and it turned out great.
Peaches are particularly good right now,
but once my husband and I eat supper,
we are usually too full to eat dessert,
so, tonight, we did what the saying says,
Eat Dessert First!

By the way, I did halve the recipe and it was yummy..
That Texas Blue Bell Ice Cream was the perfect topping!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Our Mailbox Makeover

Our first mailbox looked very similar
to this one,
only ours was white and did not 
have a reflector,
so, to me, it was sort of cute...

Until...

Winter came,
and one of these
took my mailbox
down the road.
This is a very common
occurrence in Pinetop, AZ

So..
My hubbie said we had to get 
one of these:

It swivels at the bottom,
so, when we leave for the winter,
we can turn it to the side to keep
the mean ole snow plow
from taking it out.

There was just one problem..
It was UGLY!
We tried to get Ivy to grow up the 
posts, but the Ivy just didn't grow.

When I was doing the mosaic on the 
table and stepping stone, ( if you missed that 
post you can see it here )
I looked out at the mailbox
and that was the end of the ugly,
in my head.

I started to cut more china and I started gluing..
I used silicone to glue so it would withstand the cold.

Here is a picture closer up..
I was just getting started.

Now I have the post glued..

Another close up..
This took a lot of time, folks!
And the grouting... Oh My!
The china was not all the same
thickness and I didn't care since
 it being level was not an issue,
But
ended
up 
using
my 
fingers
to 
grout.
My
poor
hands
but it was worth it!


One side of my finished mailbox

The other side of my finished mailbox

Up Close and Personal

The other side up close and personal

And the front with a large flat button
from Round Top, TX
to finish it off!

I am trying to decide if I should paint the flag a lighter
shade of pink.
My husband had me look up the regulations for the color
of mailbox flags...
Pink appears to be O.K.
It was not listed like most other colors as a no, no....

So
What
Do
Ya
Think?

The red is sort of faded, so because of the severe winters,
I am leaning towards leaving it alone.

Oh, and something very important,
I did not do the very bottom
so the post can be turned so all 
my hard work will not be
taken out by the snow plow!


I am linking up with Made By You Mondays
Met Monday, and frenchcountrycottage, Stuff and Nonsense, Redoux

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Just The Three Of Us

Only Now It Is Just One....
The One On The Right....
Me
The one in the middle,
Hazel Madeline Neill,
My Mom,
Amber's Grandmother...
The one on the left....
My Daughter,
My Mom's Granddaughter...
The one on the right
The last of the girls...
Two years ago tonight,
my daughter was killed.
Two years ago tonight, 
I did not know...
Two years ago tomorrow,
I got the call...
The coroner did not pronounce death
until tomorrow, June 8, 2010..
but in all reality,
the death certificate should have read
June 7, 2010.....
Either way,
she is gone,
I am here...
and time heals...
but even after
two years...
my heart is broken...
not broken just because
she is gone...
but broken because
even when she was here
she was gone......
and no one knew how to make
her be Here and Whole...
She is whole now
while I am still 
here. 
Even though
my heart
aches,
it 
rejoices,
that
now
she
is 
whole.
I love you, Mom,
I love you, Amber.


Tuesday, June 5, 2012

 Huge Pink Hydrangeas 
on both sides of steps
 White, Blue, Lavendar Hydrangeas
 in baskets 
all along the fence.
 Basket on railing of top deck
 The other side of the porch
 White Begonias planted 
in and old tea kettle
 Front View of the Cottage
 Dalias planted in the large front bed
 Side View

 New lattice work for climbing roses
 Close up of hanging baskets on fence
holding pink geraniums
 So tiny now they are hard to see
White Begonias planted down
 the side of the porch 
that the brick patio is laid
 Close up of basket with Hydrangeas
 Close up of some
 of the dalias and begonias
 planted in pots.
 I love, yes, love Hydrangeas
 Another view of the Dalia bed
Sweet Peas are planted beneath the trellis
Pink Geraniums in baskets along fence.

There is more planting done...
more rose bushes,
vegetable garden,
Blackberry and Raspberry plants..
So, as you can see, 
in between mosaicing 
there has been some gardening going on!

Today I am cutting more china for the mail box post..
I got the white paint stripped off of it yesterday.
I think there will just be a random mosaic, with no particular design on the post since it is so large and round. I am not really worried either about it being so even. After all, a wine glass will not be resting on it!
I will see how it looks and decide if I will put a focal on the mailbox. 
I hope you are having as nice a day as I am in the beautiful Arizona Pines!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Grouted Mosaics And Ugly Mailbox

 Yesterday I grouted the table and the stepping stone below.
They are far from perfect but I love them.
I still want to distress the table more and I need to give it a coat of wax....
BuT...
Scroll on down and you will see my latest obsession.....
 I am linking up with 
 The Ugly Mailbox

When it snows in the winter and the nice plow men plow the roads, sometimes these nice plow men remove more than snow. Our mailbox, along with several others, over the years, have been taken out and dragged here and there.
When this happened the last time, my husband insisted we put up a box that would not be taken away.... thus the Ugly Mailbox.
I tried growing Ivy in hopes the Ivy would cover up the ugliness of the metal post. It has been over two years and it is pretty obvious...not working!
Yesterday, as I was grouting the table and stepping stone
( by the way, I have 33 more stepping stones which are crying out...make me pretty! ) I looked out at the mailbox and it hit me..... I need to mosaic it!
Sooooooooo, off to town I went to get stripper and advice on what the best adhesive, grout, etc. would be to survive the snowy winters here in Pinetop, AZ.
Today my goal is to get the paint stripped off and cut more tile. 
Wish me luck..
I don't want an UgLy mailbox!
Somehow, even bills are easier to handle when removed from a pretty mailbox!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

This Could Be The Start Of Something

Cutting Pieces of Vintage China for Mosaic Table

 Table Top For Mosaic
Table Base
Painting it white with chalk paint
The Focal Points Completed

Today I added the background pieces and also did a stepping stone. Tomorrow I hope to grout. I have never grouted anything before so I am a little nervous......
then again, I had never cut and glued vintage china to anything before either. I am hoping it will be wonderful
But
If
Not
I
Tried
Something
New!

I will take pictures and post the results when completed.
Have you tried anything new lately?