Christmas Corners

This year we put a sagebrush tree (grows plentiful in Idaho) in the front entry.  Hubby flocked it and decorated it.  When he was little they had one every year.  

Merry Christmas

Golden Thanksgiving

Looks like a picture from an 1860's frontiers woman's Thanksgiving table. 

Hubby did a great job smoking our turkey this year.

Fall on the Front Porch

Joyously welcoming the Fall season filled with Autumn colors and smells of sweet cinnamon and pumpkin.

Happy Fall from our home to yours

Country Dairy's and a Long Awaited Hand Me Down

On Saturday we took a little joy ride through some country we have never been through before.  Idaho has a ton of countryside farms and dairy's so it is a lot of fun to roll the windows down on a cool evening and go for a relaxing drive.  The smells of the fresh cut hay, the alfalfa, and the Russian Olive trees are amazing.  We get to see so many neat birds and occasionally a fox or coyote.  What I really love though is the old barns and houses that are left behind by early settlers.  There aren't many left, but when we find one, I can't resist a picture or two.

My Mother has a few prized antique pieces in her house that were scouted from my Grandmother's basement when she passed away.  She has had this washboard sitting in her laundry room for years.  I have secretly had my eye on it for just as long, patiently waiting for the day she decided to pass it to me. 

She and my Dad just decided it was time to move to a smaller home and so she was cleaning out and the blessed day came.  I got the washboard!  It was in bad shape when I received it.  Both sides were broken in half and held together with masking tape.  The wood was very dry and had paint spilled on it.  

I fixed the sides with Gorilla Glue, hydrated the wood with Coconut Oil, and used a putty knife to carefully remove the paint and soap scum.  It is now absolutely beautiful.

Along with the washboard came an unopened mint condition box of starch.  I think it is so cool that Grandma saved this stuff for so long.  She had no idea of it's value later on.  She was just saving stuff because it was what she was taught to do in the depression. It's like me saving a bottle of liquid Tide for 50 years.  

Things have been quite interesting around here this summer.  I still feel like I am living in a dream and soon I will wake up to the day it was before Oldest was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  

But, it never happens and life goes on.  I have the pictures to prove life has been happening. I have blog posts of our family adventures this summer.  School is starting in a couple of weeks so I know time has been moving.  I just feel so disconnected from it all.

I am thankful for the camera lens.  So I can go back and remember all the fun times we have had.

Old Photos of Old Houses

I was organizing some old photos from last year and realized I had never shared a few of the old houses I found while driving into Wyoming.  These homesteads have been abandoned, but are still owned by someone who has the property.  The roof has been restored on one of the homes, but that's ok, the logs are still really pretty.

Next week I am taking a drive through the Bear Lake valley and there are a couple of really neat homes I have my eye on.  I can't wait to pull over and get my camera on them.

Americana 2014

Mystery Solved and Some Cute Ideas

I felt a little guilty uncovering something someone so painstakingly tried to cover up.  Obviously they  liked the idea of this box for storage, but thought it was ugly. Ironically, the wall paper was just the thing to perfectly preserve all that was underneath.  85.5 years ago this kind of box was just as normal to a person as probably a Rubbermaid tote is to us.  It just wasn't neat or beautiful then.  But now, its so rare and the wood is really pretty.

I had to take a wet dish cloth and set in on top of the paper and wood to soak a bit.  Then I had a plastic putty knife and scraped it all off.  I'll tell you, paper and wood that old really stinks too:{  I almost wondered if it was worth it at times.  

So Amy's guess was dead on.  What's really funny is that I got a call from my Brother who is a lawyer in Nevada saying he's working on a case right now that has to do with this Hercules stuff.  

So, I need to clean it up and preserve the wood nicely.  Any ideas on what product would do this?  

  

I saw this idea on Pinterest (of course) and just knew the girls would love to have their food on plates like this. I found some nice plates at GW and headed to the JoAnne's for some pens that would work on ceramic.  

The sales lady directed me to a section of oil based Sharpie pens where I found these Painters markers.  I got them home and started reading and realize they are acrylic paint pens.  I started to panic because I know acrylic will scratch right off ceramic if I use my nails and it will wash off too.  But, the packaging says non-toxic and permanent so I go ahead and try anyway. After the designs were on, I put them in my cold oven and heated it up to 350 degrees and let them bake for 30 min like all the websites say to.  After they were cooled, I tried to scratch it off and then washed it in soapy water.  Wala, it worked.  Acrylic paint is permanent on ceramic if you bake it.

I also saw this idea on Pinterest (Original) and died because it was so cute.  Baby loves games (and also often cheats to win them).  This dice game is perfect for a preschooler.  I made the older two one as well, just because they might enjoy playing with her.

I made baby a kitty cat because more often than not, she's dressed like one around here.

I was right, the game was a hit.  She sat still and played for 45 minutes by herself no less.  Gasp!  A miracle of small proportions.
I am taking them to church for her tomorrow:)

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment.  I really enjoy all my blogging friends and being able to share things with you.  It's so nice for this SAHM:)

Have a great weekend.

Mystery Box

I acquired this box from my mother a few years ago.  She picked it up out of my Grandmother's house, along with a few other very old things, when she passed away.   Grandma never threw anything away and re purposed just about everything you can imagine. 

What originally caught my eye was the dove tailing on the sides.  Most of the box was entirely covered in this tan paper when the box was handed over to me.  It thought it looked cool and original so I left it that way.

Last night there was a bit of sun shining on the floor next to the box so I sat in it to take a quiet moment.  I began to really study the box and realized that this tan paper used to be wallpaper.  It was badly water and sun damaged and I could barely make out a design in the paper.   I am guessing Grandma or maybe even Great Grandma had taken this old box and covered it with pretty paper to use it in the house.  I have often wondered what was underneath it all, so after three years, I began the process of uncovering the mystery.

So, I am taking guesses on what the box was used for and what all the wording underneath is.  I have my guess.  What's yours?  It will take me a couple of days to uncover it.  I am being extra careful not to damage the wood.  I will show you all when I am done.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.

Raspberry Jam

Somewhere between Simple Mind's "Don't you forget about me" and 311's "Love Song" this deliciousness happened.  Hubby and I spent time in the kitchen listening to awesome 80's alternative music and mixing a batch of homemade raspberry jam this evening.  

I am not sure what's sweeter.  Spending time like that in the kitchen with your DH or the 'oh' so yummy raspberry jam.  OK, just kidding, I know what's sweeter (wink wink).

Just when you think things couldn't get any better, my awesome husband pulls out the mixer and the cast iron and bakes homemade bread to go with it.  Heaven....truly:)

Have a wonderful weekend.

Still Shots and Photo Bombs

I was sifting through some old photos the other day and found this one I took on a summer walk last year.  The rest of the house had been remodeled in the late 60's I am guessing.  It was an old house too, but the original door had been left.  I loved the colors and wear.  The weathering that gives it the appearance of patina is what really caught my eye.  If you can see the knob it's the original as well.  I thought it was quaint that the owner dressed the window in lace curtains.  

(I did mess with the pictures and put an overlay on it)

The apple blossoms on our tree are beautiful and smell so good right now.  Most of the blossoms around here are white, but occasionally you will run across a tree that's fiery pink.  The blossoms on the apple tree are so pretty as they are a cross between that pretty pink and white.  With the green as a contrast background, I couldn't resist a picture.  

This is why I like to stick with still shots instead of the "human" kind, although I am not sure these three are really human most of the time:)  There is always at least one kid that's going to "photo bomb" the picture every time.

I took at least 10 Easter photos and didn't even get one decent picture.  You'd think they were toddlers still they way they behave when a camera is in front of them!  

Cuties!!!

Have a wonderful week.