OH!!!  AND ANOTHER THING

I finally got my spoon hooks done.  We out to the old homeplace and found this weathered board in the old garage.  It is exactly what I was looking for.

Hubs bent the spoons and flattened the bowls and screwed them to the board.  Then he sort of skewed the two on the end so he could screw the board to the wall, put the spoons back in place, and you cannot see where the wall screws are.  He is really smart.  I never would have thought of that!!!!

So here's the pics.  Now my Coffee Bar is almost finished.  I just need a few more  tchotchkes and I'll be all done.  

And until next time, remember - Never Give In, Never Surrender, and may God always bless.

Victoria a/k/a BizzyLizzy

JUST ONE MORE THING

As most of you know I have some serious health issues and cannot do what I used to do, but I do try to do one thing a day.

Each night before I go to bed I try to think of a project I can do the next day that won’t tax my breathing or make me nauseated or just make me feel bad in general.

While pondering all the pretty pictures on Pinterest the other day I came across a bunch of Milk Cans.  Now, I have two in my storage shed.  They were from the 1970s.  Yes, Milk Can decorating was really big back then, but they fell out of favor, hence, they were relegated to the storage shed.

AH HA!!!  I can do this.  The first thing was to get Hubs to dig one of them out.  UGH!!! It was really rusted and just plain dirty, and the original paint job I did in 1979 was gone.

Just bare metal and rust.  This called for a good cleaning and a really thorough sanding.  Yep, it took me most of Day One.  But I got it done, and it didn’t tire me out too badly. 

Day Two:  A really good wipe down and two coats of paint.  I used Americana Decor Chalky Paint in a color called Everlasting.  It is actually white, but not a bright white.

When it was thoroughly dry I went over it with very fine sandpaper to give it an aged look.  I wanted it to look like it had been sitting in a barn for a while, but not too much of a while.

I had bought some Lazertran transfer paper to make my own decals for the lettering.  After 6 hours on the computer getting just the right fonts and sizing, printing on the transfer paper, sealing the paper with spray sealant, soaking in warm water and putting on the Milk Can, I was sorely disappointed.  The edges insisted on curling.  Nothing I did would stop it.  When it dried it was worse.  So a warning:  Do Not Buy This Stuff – It’s Not Worth It!!!!!  An entire day wasted.  And I was exhausted.     End of Day 3.                         

Day 4:  Decided to go back to the way we did things in grade school.  Printed off the wording, got a pencil and rubbed it on the back, taped it right side out to the Can, and traced the lettering with another very sharp pencil.

End of Day 4.

Day 5:  Scrounged around in my stash and found a Sharpie exactly the color blue I wanted.  Outlined the letters, then filled them in.

It looks hand lettered, not perfect, but it looks good.  I added the fleur d’lis to the bottom just because Hubs is French ancestry.  After it dried for several hours, I sanded the letters lightly and rubbed chalk over it.  Yes, just plain chalkboard chalk.  Then I sprayed it with a clear, matte Sealant.  Let it sit overnight.

Day 6:  Made the bow, put in the plant and VOILA!!   I think it looks magnificent.  Just like I pictured. 

And because Hubs is of French ancestry the saying is in French – Bienvenue a la chateau duPree.  Loosely translated it means Welcome to the home of the duPrees.             

NO RANTS THIS TIME

BUT A FEW RAVES

AND A COUPLE OF RECIPES

I have been trying really hard to not get upset and rant about anything.  Oh, I could rant about politics, religion, Obama, health insurance, no cost of living raise for retirees, etc. but it just takes too much energy that I could put toward something actually productive.  Like food.  And re-decorating. 

I have been doing some re-decorating as you will know if you’ve been reading me at all, and I just finished another round, pics and explanation following. 

I also have been doing a bit of cooking.  Yes, I know, Hubs usually does the cooking, he says he’s faster and better, but he’s not too creative.  I like to experiment and that’s what I’ve been doing.

And about the Raves.  Well, I have discovered Pinterest.  I love this place.  I’ve gotten a lot of very good, cheap ideas and have implemented several of them.  Also I have to Rave about Amazon.  You can find almost anything you are looking for on Amazon.  I just discovered transfer paper.  It’s actually decal paper so you can make your own decals.  I’ve ordered a package from Amazon and am waiting for it to arrive so I can finish my milk can.  See the pic.  I also ordered some flames to put on my coffee maker.  The pics were taken before the flames arrived, but I’ve added one with the flames.

As for the recipes, I wasn’t feeling too well a couple of weeks ago and needed some chicken soup.  Unfortunately, all commercial soups have ingredients that I just do not want to consume, like MSG, soy protein, wheat, monodiglycerides, etc.  I had to make my own. 

This turned out way better than I had hoped.  Hubs grilled me a chicken breast and I had some left over rice, so just added some red peppers, celery, onions, and yes there is actually a carrot in there, to some chicken stock, heated through and VOILA!!! instant chicken soup.  Of course, there’s also salt and pepper.  Add some orange slices and a few almond crackers (there is no wheat or dairy in them) and was feeling better almost at once.

Hubs didn’t want soup, he wanted chicken fingers, so here’s his version:

He made a batter of egg, milk, salt and pepper.  First he dipped the chicken in the batter, then in the flour, then back in the batter and fried in a Fry Daddy.  I tasted one and it was really good.  And so easy.  If you have a Fry Daddy with a basket, the Fingers turn out almost grease free.  Way better than any you can buy.

MY NEW COFFEE BAR

I can’t believe it has been almost two months since I did a post.  I have been “under the weather” and was in hospital for a few days last month, but am much better now.  As a matter of fact, I am so much better I re-arranged my kitchen.  Well, parts of it anyway. 

I had all my small appliances on the “back counter”, you’ll have to see the pics to understand this.  I have a really weird shaped kitchen.  There’s actually only one wall, and that’s where the “back counter” is.  I hated the way it looked, it was crowded and always messy.

THEN, enter Pinterest.  I found this picture and it inspired me to create a Coffee Bar of my own.  Initially my coffee maker (a big commercial Bunn) was in the pantry because it was just too big to sit on the counter.  And it took up way too much space in the pantry.  (Sorry – no before pics – I just got ahead of myself).

This is my inspiration I found on Pinterest.  

But I did get pics of the space where I wanted to put the Coffee Bar.  This is an angled wall that leads into the “living room”.  Actually the area is just one great big space, with a TV area, a kitchen area, and a dining area.  As you can see, it’s rather dull.  I like the table and the plant, but it just didn’t excite me.  It was okay, but that was all. 

Now here’s the after pic.  I really love the way it turned out.  And all my small appliances are now in the pantry and the “back counter” is a clean space that I can enjoy looking at.  And I can actually use it when I need to. 

Pantry – appliance garage

Back counter – the only real wall in the kitchen

Notice the Bunn coffee maker.  Here’s some pics of it being prepped for painting.  I could not stand that fake wood on the side, so convinced Hubs to paint it for me. He used a high-heat appliance paint.  He did a great job.  And I added the flames just for fun!!!!!  HOT COFFEE – YAY!!!!

Enter Pinterest again.  This time milk cans.  I have two that I’ve had since the 70s.  They were just sitting in the storage shed rusting.  Got one out, sanded it and painted it white.  Here’s my inspiration.

 The transfer paper finally arrived and now I can make my sign for the front.  Because we live in the city and not the country or a farm, I decided to go with a Welcome.  In French, of course, with a name like duPree, what do you expect?  I'll be working on it this weekend and hopefully have some pics for next week.  

Well, that about catches me up with what's been going on over here, and next week, if all goes according to plans, I will have some more pics of past decorating projects I just haven't posted yet.  

You know, with all the conditions a lot of us have, it's best to keep busy, and that's what I try to do.  Even accomplishing just one little thing a day can make a huge difference in our mental outlook.  Instead of sitting in that recliner whining about what you can't do, think of something you can do.  Clean off that coffee table and put something different on it.  Put all that bathroom clutter in a box and put it in the closet or under the sink.  Just little things.  No Biggie.  You will be surprised how good it will make you feel.  If all else fails, call a friend you haven't heard from in a while.  It will make their day, too.

So, until next time, as I always say, Never give in, Never surrender, and God bless.

And if I don't get another post before Thanksgiving Day, have a happy and fulfilling Turkey Day.  gobble gobble........

Victoria a/k/a BizzyLizzy