Sunday, August 30, 2009

New-Old Whimsical Desk...

I did a bad thing! I forgot to take a before picture, so you have to use your imagination! Think "1960" remember your old coffee table with those straight legs. Dark brown wood or something that resembles wood! Anyway it was nasty, all beat up cup rings on the top, it just needed a little help. I took the sander to it to smooth it out a little and started painting. Our school colors are blue and gold and it is going in our classroom. Just fitting for it to be school colors... I started on it on Wednesday night after school and finally finished it this evening...

Can we say whimsical for sure.... I just wanted something bright and fun. I think I got it!

I haven't painted this much in 5 years when I quit teaching Painting Classes. It felt good to pick up those brushed again...



All sides are painted a little different...


The old drawer pulls even got a coat of paint, they don't look so bad now....




Funky polka dot legs...

Even an old chair, that had a leather back and seat that were ripped and a mess got a new coat of paint and new fabric covers for them...


My new lamp with torn fabric tied to the lamp shade... and shells in the bottom...

I even found a flower pot on the porch that just matches, it looks like I painted the desk around the flower pot they match so well. But I didn't even notice until I was looking for a flower to sit on the desk!!! LOL



I even signed this master piece....
I can't wait to take it to school tomorrow...
I think it turned out OK!!!
Have a good one,
Lynn









Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Master Gardener's Tomato Tasting...

As I set here trying to finally finish this post, just reflecting back on this week. I can't believe it is over!!! The first week of school, I can't believe how fast the summer went and we are already back in school. As usual it was a really HOT week. I work in a really old school with just window air conditioners. so if you want to talk to the class you have to turn it off and burn up, and that is what we did. Going out on the playground was a whole other story... Way too hot out there!!! But we made it through the week and it is going to cool down this weekend with some rain coming...





Now to what I have been trying to post all week. Our Master Gardner's Tomato Tasting Festival...





It was last weekend and the weather was just perfect, mid 70's a little cloudy and NO Rain...

The Festival was at the High Gate Carriage House, it is one of the most beautiful locations in Fairmont... The outside tables were set up for everyone to sit, eat and enjoy...





The back lawn was sit up for spectators to see and enjoy all the special classes and events scheduled for the day...


The upper lawn was set up with vendors that had the most magnificent plants and vegetables I have ever seen. Displayed so beautifully... You just didn't know what to buy first...




The coleslaw made from these cabbages was to die for... The head was so big, beautifully and sweet. We shared because it made so much...


The corn was a yellow and white mix they had just picked that morning, finger licking good for sure...


Look at those grapes, I wish I had gotten some of them too...



This was one of my favorite tables, everything looked so fresh and beautiful I couldn't stop taking pictures... It was like looking at a magazine, it was set up so nicely...


You couldn't get any fresher that this!!!



The purple onions also went into that coleslaw, so beautiful I didn't want to cut them...


There signs were even beautiful...



I love how they left all the greens on top of everything, it made everything just look pretty and fresh...



Hammered Dulcimer Music played all day, for everyone to enjoy!




Everything was decorated so beautifully, fresh plants and crisp tablecloths on each table...


Oh Yea and the Tomato Tasting... Everyone filled through the room to taste everyone of the more that 50 varieties of tomatoes. Beautiful and ripe of all colors, Green Zebra striped ones, Black tomatoes, Yellow Ones, Giant Red Ones, even a little tiny one called a Current Tomato... It was one of my favorites...



Each tomato had a name tag with the varieties and who had grown it. The tomato sat wonderfully on top with that tomato chopped surrounding it, for everyone to taste... Each tomato was judged by a panel of judges and prizes were given...




More tomato recipes done by one of Fairmont finest chef...
Everyone seemed to enjoy the demo on the side lawn in the shade of the many trees...They were well attended and enjoyed all the samples he had to share with the crowd... some of his students came to give him a hand...they were wonderful it is one I will have to try while all the tomatoes are on...
All the demos were well attended and everyone seemed to enjoy the choices that were offered...
At the end of the day we all cleaned up and talked about what a wonderful success we had this year. So many master gardener's came out to help and everything ran so smoothly. Everyone did a GREAT JOB!!! AND IT SHOWED!!!
HAVE A GOOD ONE,
LYNN



Thursday, August 20, 2009

Lots of info JAMED into 1 Blog...

Like any good meal I will start with dessert first!!! I had a party Tue. night and this was dessert, Ice Cream Sandwich, White House Cherry, Oreo, Ice Cream Pie... YUMMY...
One of my favorite pieces when I have a party is this , filled with Iced Tea or sometimes Sangria...
The floor is finally finished and everything is back in the bedroom. The older I get the more I want to be surrounded by old things. I think they should be out where everyone can see them not tucked in a closet somewhere hidden...
This is an antique child's dress.... I got this one at a yard sale somewhere, I just wonder who wore it?


So glad the floors are done, before I started back to school. Although it went faster than I thought it would. About a week and everything was back in there...

I showed you the antique mirror a couple weeks ago, this is the Chifforobe that belonged to my Grandmother that I redid to match the mirror...




Up close...
It was fun to do with all that texture paste in a cake decorating bag, putting on all the vines and leaves just like I was decorating a cake. It really gave it a different look... If you click on the picture I think you can see the texture under the vines, that was done with tissue paper crinkled up and put on with watered down Elmer's glue to give it that leather look...


This sits on my dresser, In the picture is my husbands Grandfather when he was about 18. The banjo in the picture he made himself... That is the banjo in the picture sitting on the dresser... I was so glad there was a picture of him with it!!!



The old trunk was in our attic when we moved here. We finally got it out and refinished it for this room. The gentleman that lived here carried it to World War 1 with him. It still had his helmet in it...
The braided Rug on the floor was one my husbands Grandmother made back in the early 60's for my husbands bedroom, and the green and white quilt on the wall was also one she made... I just feel so lucky to be surrounded by all of these things...
We just brought this one home from my husbands aunt and uncles attic, it also belonged to his
Grandparents...
This Victrola was so heavy it took two of us to carry, but all I did was wash it down with some Murphy's Oil Soap and give it a coat of Lemon Oil...
I just brought this one down about a week ago out of the attic, the little Red Scooter was my husbands... Isn't it just too cute???

You can get a better look at the rugs here, and see their size. I can't imagine how long it took to make it and all the wool clothing that went into it....All that braiding and sewing!!!



Here is my youngest Amanda with my mother who is 83. They are so cute just about the same size except mom is only about 4'11'' now and hardly 100lbs. She goes to the spa 3 time a week and does aerobics. I can't keep up with her...

Last night we sat on the porch and of course all the dogs had to be with us... The Princess Claudia... in HER chair...
She sticks her nose through the hole and watches all the traffic go by...Look how cute...

No one sits in this chair if she is out there with us....
Every once in a while I can catch the hubby, to get a picture, just chillin...


So he had to get me too... These are my swingers... Always right up there with me....


This is our brush pile down back by the garden, it is to close to the garden to burn in the summer so I cover it up by growing gourds on it... They go crazy there...
They are really starting to grow...

So this was one weeks of blogs in one night... It has just been a busy week and I couldn't get to the computer long enough to post things... Sorry it was so long...
Have A Good One,
Lynn