Oh, those swings! We love them. And it's not just the children who are thrilled, I was giddy with excitement to get these set up so that I could swing. And the really good news? Unlike most of our DIY projects, this was a quick and painless job given the fact that the swing set frame already existed.
When we first looked at this house last July, I spotted the swing set frame immediately, stacked then with firewood by the former owner, even so, I started daydreaming about the potential. As the winter proceeded, and the firewood was fed to the wood stove, the idea of swings in the backyard started to become an actual plan. With a spring birthday for the Flower, the timing was perfect.
All that was needed for us to transform the frame was a click, click, click on Amazon to purchase the three swings. We also found a use for one of the three very large piles of wood chips on our property, which were wheelbarrow-ed over by a nephew eager to make some extra money (although I think he now officially despises wood chips). On the eve of the Flower's birthday, after she was tucked into bed, the Man hung the swings on the existing hooks and et viola, swing set!
Two firsts for me this week: I made my first batch of yogurt. And I planted my first mailbox (okay, Stevie did the planting bit).
How in all my years of make-it-from-scratch-goodness have I not made my own yogurt? Somehow that one slipped through the cracks, until now. I used this recipe from Rachel over at 6512 and Growing, and it was super easy. All you need is milk, 2 Tbs of yogurt and a thermometer and et voilà, you can make yogurt.
It's creamy, and tangy and yummy. And requires minimal effort. What else could you want?
Now about that mailbox. The mail carriers don't deliver mail up our dirt road. Since we've been here I've been schleping the kids to town a few times a week to collect mail from a po box type store. Sounds easy enough, really, and it's only a 15 minute drive. But, strapping and unstrapping two kids from their respective car seats just to pop inside and check an empty po box has become the least (and I mean least) favorite of my errand running.
In an effort to curb my own grumbles I called the post master and asked them, "How might I get a mail box down at the bend in the road?"
The answer was, of course, quite simple.
"Well, ma'am you go to the hardware store and buy yourself a box and you plant it in the ground along there with all those others."
"Does it have to be in a specific order?"
"No ma'am. You just put it wherever you like. But don't go blocking any other boxes or we'll have to drive up there and take yours down."
Our frist attempt was a wee bit too tall. Out came the saw.
(Stevie took this one.)
Also, if I gave you my address recently, get in touch with me to get our new one. The po box will only still work for a few weeks.
And my goodness, people here in the south are so polite. I sorta forgot, having been gone for twenty years. I can barely make it through the grocery store without having three 15 minute long conversations. And everyone "ma'ams" me, which I don't necessarily love, but I go with it.
Anyway, yogurt and a mailbox. That was my Tuesday. How was yours?
This weekend was full of projects around here. Among the many things we juggled, we put the final touches on the garden, built the border on the new bed out front, mulched the paths, stored the starter pots, cut the grass and started building a sandbox. Now that the garden is fully planted, Zinnia's winter sandbox (aka the dirt of the garden bed) is no longer the best place to drive her digger. We decided a few weeks ago that she'd enjoy her very own place to dig so we started discussing plans for a sandbox.
Just last week, some neighbors hired a landscaping crew to tear down the raised garden beds in their front yard (why people want to replace xeriscaping with sod in this climate is baffling). After a day or two of work Steve noticed a huge pile of perfectly good landscaping timbers thrown haphazardly in the street and he walked over to investigate. As you might imagine, the crew was preparing to cart the entire lot to the landfill. What a waste! Those timbers go for $12-15 bucks and there was a stack of at least twenty. Within minutes, they were being carted, one-by-one to a neat pile on our driveway.
This weekend, they found new life with two projects: in the front yard, they're lining our newest garden bed and in the back yard, they're being used to construct Zinnia's sandbox. We'll take the remaining timbers to our local salvage yard, Resource, where they'll be used by someone else for another DIY project.
Now, reclaiming and recycling timbers is good and all and we'll pat ourselves on the back later, but did you see my girl working that drill? She was so proud of herself and Dada was tickled pink, too.
We have been working on a little kitchen remodel around here. Steve and I found this handmade piece at a flea market, and while it had great potential, it was in pretty bad shape. I knew with a little TLC and elbow grease we could transform it into something beautiful, so it came home with us and we've been working on it for the last two months.
Steve spent a long time removing old paint, sanding and installing a shelf on the inside, then turned it over to me. It's amazing what a few fresh coats of paint can do, isn't it? I've fallen in love with this Araucana Teal from Martha stewart. (We bought a full gallon so I'm predicting more pops of this color showing up around the house eventually.)
One of the most challenging pieces of the remodel was figuring out how to represent the two stove top burners. Initially I tried painting on black circles, but quickly discovered that I had neither the patience nor the hand stability to pull off perfect black circles. After more sanding and a fresh coat of white over my mistake I found myself wandering the aisles of our local hardware store (three days before Christmas). The solution came from two cookie tin lids that we spray painted silver. The remodel was completed with a pair of knobs to control the burners, a set of curtains, matching buckets and some new, thrifted and gifted dishes and accessories.
This corner of our dining area has been transformed by this new little kitchen, along with the addition of some new art from dear friends. I absolutely love how it turned out. In fact, I wish I could cook in this kitchen myself.
I can't say that this little project was cheaper (than a store bought kitchen) due to our DIY efforts. But, as with anything we set out to make ourselves, money is not the only motivator. It's the process. The rhythm and meditation of sanding. It's the daydreams that visit as we paint, sew and create along with the anticipation of gifting that motivates and encourages our work.
Seeing Zinnia's eyes light up when she saw her kitchen, tucked under the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree made our efforts so very worth while. As she moved in for a closer look and pulled the curtain back she exclaimed, "Wooooww!" And we knew we'd done good.
in her words... {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, {extra}ordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you'd like to to the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments below.
"Daw? Daw. Daw!" (the r is silent, didn't you know?)
Draw?, she asks. Or, maybe that was an order. Draw!
Zinnia loves to draw. She finds the perfect place on the floor to lie down then eagerly pats the spot next to her, inviting us to join. Once we're settled with crayon in hand, she begins making her requests. She speaks, signs or makes animal calls to make her wishes known. Dog! Cat! Gecko! Duck!
This girl has inspired many a DIY project and the latest is no exception. I wanted to create a place where she could draw whenever she wanted, without having to wait for Mama or Dada. Chalk art can go unsupervised, but those crayons and colored pencils are another story.
Around here there aren't many truly spontaneous projects. Steve and I try to do our research before any project begins (even though I tend to be the impatient one). If we can keep our dollars in the local market and if we can make it ourselves, it's all the better. And constructing from used materials is something that we both find value in - Yay for the environment, and Yay for our wallet.
Craig's List is a gimme. We buy and sell stuff on CL all.the.time. We're also lucky to have ReSource, which is a great place here in Boulder that collects and sells used building materials. They have just about everything you could want although maybe not all that you need (Tile? Yes. Enough to do your whole bathroom? ...Umm, maybe.).
We took a familly trip to ReSource recently looking for materials for the chalkboard of our upcycling dreams. Within 10 minutes of wandering the lumber yard I found an old dry-erase board, backed with a nice piece of particle board. It was easy-peasy to paint the wood trim white and spray paint the particle board with chalkboard paint. (A funny piece of this story is that we drove the car that day, instead of the van, and we could not get the board to fit in the back of the Golf. A nice man, noticing our struggle, offered to put it in his truck and follow us home. We payed him in kind with a few IPA's. Don't you just love that?)
Total coast: used dry-erase board + paint + bucket of chalk that will last 3 years = $20. Yes! And just in case you're wondering, new chalkboards this size retail for about $60.
I have more plans for this chalkboard wall. Check out my inspiration, here on Pinterest.
The next step is to find picture frames at the thrift store that I can paint and hang above our chalkboard. I love the idea of having this wall feature a rotating collection of family artwork.
Speaking of loving... I love the late afternoon light in my living room, just before the sun drops below the Flatirons. Good stuff.
I'm leaving you with a little ditty that you're sure to be singing for the rest of the day
Happy Monday!
I'm Lisa Coffee :: Wife to the one & Mama to the flower and the tree. Thank you for joining me as I share snippets from the good life! Read more about me on my about page.
