Here's the First Christmas Piece

I've gotten started on a few holiday pieces. I skipped right over Halloween and Thanksgiving, and got straight onto Christmas.  This Christmas luminary has a place in the back for a cord to exit, so an electric option is available. 

It is currently on the drying rack, 

I'm thinking twinkling lights would be the most attractive option. 

New Screen Door for Kevin's Condo

This past Saturday I zipped on over to do a few chores with my brother Kevin.

First thing on the list, drop off his car to get the tires rotated and balanced. Then we had to get some lunch.

Then on to the Home Depot to purchase a new screen door - his was unrepairable.

Then back to the condo for the install. It was hot but we persevered.

Job well done.

Here's Your Sign

One of our goat customers worked for the highway department. Of course Papa John saw an opportunity there. He was always working to build our farm brand. So he asked this gentleman if there was any possibility he could purchase a private street sign. He said he'd check into it. What actually happened was that he went to the county shop, made us this sign, and the brought it to us complete with the pole and installed it. It was next to our driveway, and boy did it make us feel important! 

We took it, sans pole, when we left the farm, and it's been in my storage unit all this time. When we came across it, I knew it had to be hung somewhere at Tim's. It's lovely to sit in the family room now and see it above the sliding glass doors. It's the perfect place for it since Tim has a bit of a farm happening here now that he's a homeowner.

If you haven't had a chance to check out the bunny ranch stream, go to Tiki Room Bunnies and check it out

Presenting the Murphy Bed!

Another project I have been thinking about is how to disguise the Murphy bed in Tim's den. He has an "Office", where he does the work he gets paid for, and a "Den", where gaming, web and streaming work, and 3D printing take place. It's this Den that we decided to multipurpose it into a guest room with a Murphy bed. For most of the time, the bed is folded up against the wall, sometimes with a blanket thrown over it so Tim doesn't have to look at the exposed bed springs and metal parts. We had thought to make a cabinet of some type, and with Tim's woodworking wizardry, that would have been easy. But, there's really no place for folding doors to fold to ...  So I came up with this idea of tailoring a king size quilt to serve as a sort of fitted upholstered cover. It adds color and softness to the room, and where a wood cabinet would take up block space, this seems to minimize the "bed in the room", making it less obvious. 

front view - this is what Tim sees when he's sitting at his desk.

side view, as you come into the room.

When the bed is in its down position the cover can be used as a tailored bedcover. I have a couple of shams that match this quilt, when I can put my hands on them, I'll store the guest pillows in them. 

Now Tim has a guest bed that is ready for company. Color has been introduced into a very industrial looking room.  Also, can I just say, this bed is so comfy! Ready for company! 

This quilt was always on our bed on the farm, so it makes me really happy to see it in use, it was a favorite! 

Roxie the WonderDog

 Roxie went for a ride with me today on my errands. Both places I was going were pet friendly, so it was a chance for her to go somewhere. We went to Joann where I scored some cotton canvas that I plan on using to make some bedside pockets. It seems no matter what I do, my nightstand is covered with stuff. Phone, Tablet, glasses, water cup, eye drops, ear drops, nasal spray.... well, you get the idea. I also came across a metal frog sculpture. I'm just a sucker for frogs. I'll get a picture of it after Tim puts it in the garden where he wants it.

The next stop was Pet Smart. I needed to restock the canned dog food, and of course, I was on the hunt for more good cheweys. I came across Bison tendon strips. These are a big hit with both Roxie and Winry.  Couldn't pass up a box of gravy-dipped milk bones.  

I put Roxie's step-in harness on her today and it was tight! She is definitely not an extra small anymore. I found her a cute little butterfly harness on clearance. Definitely easier to put on too. It has both velcro and clips, and you don't have to stuff her head into it.

I brought back 5 boxes from the storage unit that were sewing supplies. I've finally gotten it all organized so I can get out my sewing machine. i can't believe it's been years now since it sewed anything. I hope I still have the knack, I have beautiful machines, and lots of random fabric to play around with.

Weekend Warrior Stuff!

Yesterday I was quite industrious! I mowed the front yard and pressure-washed the pool deck. Today I helped Tim install hurricane shutters on two of the three exposed windows.  We've realized that we could indeed get rid of the faded and peeling aqua shutters, and put aluminum shutters in their place. Yes, actually store the hurricane shutters on the house, and thus have them in place and ready to be installed across the window if we do get a bad storm. The dining room window is left to be done, but we have the bits ready to do quickly, that window requires some adjustments, as there were already bolts that Tim will have to move.

I also worked a bit more on my website, elizabethleap.com. Which is quite possibly how you arrived here. The website is going to be a starting point to look at current and retired blogs. Other changes include the addition of a Pottery Project Gallery, where I can showcase my creations.  I also added a sub menu called Favorite Things -  These are a few of mine.

New today is John's Page. I wanted to spend some time organizing a slide show with comments, sort of like a living photo album. It's been a year and a half, but I still have a hard time looking at photos - but what this means is that no one else is really looking a photos of him either, unless they have their own to look at. I unloaded five crates of photos and photo albums, but I think it's important to add this medium, because this is where John's grandchildren, real, and adopted, can see them, the digital generation thinks differently. That page is absolutely under construction, and will be for a long time.

Here's the last thing I hung in my room. I love Tie Dye, and I need to do more of it