Bathroom Shower Doors Removed

There are so many things I want to do to this tiny bathroom, but most will have to wait because it's just not in the budget right now. I've been frustrated with not being able to get these shower doors really sparkling clean, so I decided to just take them out. I did this at the old house too. It's easier to launder a shower curtain than keep shower doors looking good. Today I took the screw gun to the frame, and hauled it to the curb.

Now I've got a clean shower curtain and liner. I don't know that this shower curtain will make the cut, but it looks fine for now. That old track for the shower doors was sealed with caulk, but there was still a lot of water and yucky mess under the track. I'm glad it's gone. Someday I'd like to put a tub/shower in, and tile the tub/shower walls. I'd like to tile the floor too.

I'd love to put in a sink like this one:

I like the shape and the fact that it has a towel bar right there where you need it. Cool floor too. 

I like the wall color in this one. Kind of a beach glass, or water color.

When I was antiquing last week I bought this great mirror to go over the sink (when I get it replaced). I love it and it's tall. That artwork will hang over the towel bar opposite the sink.

I guess I need to go work on putting the towel bars in, because when  I threw out the shower doors, the towel bars went with them!

Garden Path

So I think the little path leading to the door under the deck is pretty much done. I bought some paver sand and actually used a level to try and get it pretty flat with a slight slant out to the yard. It's not as slanted as it looks here. I'm thinking the sand might settle when it rains and it may take some tweaking, to get it just right, but for now it looks pretty good. The pavers are still dirty, but my spigot on that side of the house is broken, so no water except what I carry until I get it fixed.

Salvaged path, trellis, edging in the garden.

I'm trying to spend my money on shrubs and perennials, so I couldn't see spending 29+ dollars each on trellises. So I went to my aunt and uncle's farm and scavenged around. This was a looong ladder, and my uncle cut it in half for me. Just propped them where I have some morning glories planted. It might need some chicken wire for the plants to climb, but I can still add that.

The bottle tree needs a few more bottles. I guess I'll have to sacrifice for the cause and drink some wine selected by bottle color! The iron pieces are parts of a farm tool (rake?) that I bought at a garage sale. I've got some cosmos planted in there and these should help keep them upright when it rains.

My friend Warren colored the pic up for me, showing what the ladders would look like if they were stained to match the deck, with and without the rungs painted colors. I really like the one with colorful rungs, but I also love the old weathered look they have now. Looking at these pics, I can see how much simpler it looks with the ladders matching the deck color.  I wish I could change the deck railing from sunbursts to straight as well, and I will one of these days. I think the sunburst is a bit too contemporary for my bungalow, plus the gaps are too wide to be safe with little children.

Backyard to Garden (someday)

The front of my house is nicely landscaped (came to me that way!) but the back is a blank canvas. It has a very nice deck, for which I'm so thankful, since that would be an expensive place to start if it  hadn't come with one! The deck is like 3 little rooms stepping down to the back yard. Other than that there were no shrubs or trees or flowers.

Last year, I stained and sealed the deck, and planted this cherry tree. Or rather Jeff planted it...he did all the hard part, and since he planted gazillions of trees at his old house, he really knows what he is doing!

Here is how it ended up last summer. It was pleasant to sit out there, but the yard was still as blank as could be. 

 Behind the tallest part of the deck, I've been working on digging up a flower bed. There is a little door that accesses under the deck, and I laid stepping stones I found behind the garage (free! wooohooo!). I edged it with some bricks Jeff found in his yard. Tonight I'll scrub up those stepping stones and level them out with some sand.

This house is more a more casual style than the last one, and I think it lends itself to my penchant for recycling things. 

This is the yard at the old house. As you can see, I like to have some color! So hopefully soon I will have some here too. I will if I can keep the darn squirrels from digging the plants out of the pots. I had to replant the marigolds they tossed out this morning. Maybe they don't like marigolds?!

Up-cycling...making a planter box

 I am working on my back yard. It has a very nice deck but no plants. I'm also trying to spend my money on the plants that live from year to year, shrubs and such, so I'm getting creative with the other stuff. This wooden box was in my garage. I planted it with morning glories and then some other flowers in the front. Then I decided it was too plain.

 So I sat down on the ground and screwed some old license plates to it. That would have been soo much easier if I'd thought of it before I filled it with dirt and plants! Anyway, I think it turned out pretty cute, and I can't wait to see it with a bunch of blue morning glories growing up the side of the garage.

I set it on some bricks to help keep it from rotting, and attached chicken wire at the back.

Organizing...and finding treasure..

As you know, I've been going through boxes, and I've found some cool things. While moving things around I actually found 2 checks I can still cash.....woohoo! And I found these appliqued pillows. They were given to me by an exchange student from Egypt. At the time they didn't go with anything in my room, but look at how well they go now! I love that. 

Hawkeye loves pillows. He tries to use all of them he can.

Organizing...my way.

I've been organizing, and I've been doing it my way, which is why I'm organizing my art room, but you are seeing a picture of the corner of my bedroom. Makes perfect sense, right?

One thing seems to lead to another. My art room was FULL of boxes and many of them contained books. Boxes of books are heavy. I just wanted to put them away, not cart around heavy boxes. At first glance it seemed there was no place in my little house for more shelves, but I had these two little white shelves in the attic. I carried them down and found that I could squeeze them behind the chair in the bedroom if I stacked them on top of each other. I filled them with the books and now I have more space to walk in the art room. I will attach these to the wall so they cannot be turned over, since once in a while I have little ones in the house.

Lately I've been embracing my own way to organize or do chores. I alternate the chores and the fun stuff.  I do something that I've been putting off, such as cleaning out a junk drawer or emptying boxes that have been waiting since I moved here a year ago. Or if I'm going a pretty big project like organizing the art room, I do a little chunk of it, like sort through a few boxes, or clear off and organize a shelf or two. Then I do something fun.....like hang some pictures that I've been meaning to get up, or hanging the bird feeder I want outside the art room window. I pick something that make my eyes happy...and that can be done in a fairly short amount of time. Then back to doing another shelf or two. It works for me.

I learned this from my Mom, and as usual she was right. If I painted a room, I started and plowed through it, and was exhausted at the end. Mom would get her paint brush out and do the trim around just he windows and then quit, and do other things. Then the next day she'd do some more.  She keeps after it until it's done but she doesn't beat herself up doing it. And her house always looks nice. It's the same amount of work, of course, but pacing yourself, and rewarding yourself with fun breaks can make a big difference.

Every time I see that chair I smile. I got it at an auction for 2 dollars, and I've gotten soo many years of use out of it.

Bottle Trees

 I was on my way home from visiting my daughter in Kentucky when I saw these bottle trees. They are in a town near ours...Forrest, IL. The yard is completely filled with all kinds of yard art...a bit much for me, but you have to admire someone who isn't afraid to indulge their passion. My favorite part was the beautiful bottle trees...there are even more than these two, but I thought these were stunning because they have so many more colors than I usually see on bottle trees.

I want to have one like this in my back yard. My son thinks we can make it happen. I've already been saving bottles...some from friends, and some from me picking my drinks by what pretty color bottle they come in! LOL