Deck pics as promised

I promised you some pictures of the additions and changes to our home. Here are a few but keep in mind that we have still got to paint the house. I have picked out a nice chocolate brown instead of our poopy brown which by the way was called 'cabin brown' when I bought it. It looked good for awhile until the light hits it just right, yuk!

old railing

new railing

new addition

craft room door

I am so thrilled to finally have a roof over the back deck and the view through the living room window is no longer blocked by the ugly railing. This has been my wish for several years and it finally was able to happen for us.

My husband is officially retired now since the new owners (again) at the Ford dealership would not hire him back as they said he was 'old school', we are now able to get a lot more done around the place. We have a neighbor who has been out of work, he builds homes, so we were able to help him out along with having some of our plans fulfilled. He will be putting an open roof, gazebo type over another small deck area where we sit out with an open fire pit in the winter. He has done some really nice work for us from roofing the work shop, putting lights in it and the chicken coop is now wired, to new front porch steps, new step to craft room and making the bought door fit the craft room properly.

I am really gonna miss when he moves away. I keep praying that our economy will come back and so many workers can go back to work. He has four girls he is trying to raise by himself so any work coming his way is a plus. We have told our neighbors of his beautiful work, so for now he is staying busy doing things for them.

As for my husband, he now sees there is no end to all the work that needs done around the place. Just keeping the yard work up is a daily chore. I think he has finally realized I have'nt been sitting around here on my butt any more. Guess that's why I don't have one. (giggle)

We Did It!

Today was the first time my daughter and myself decided to set up a booth to sell our crafts. We did this in the town of Bonanza at their annual town yard sales and Big Springs Carnival. This is how our booth was set up. Before everyone started arriving we were set up in about 30 minutes. When we did our practice run, it took about 5 hours. We have never done anything like this ourselves and we really wanted it to look like a booth we would both stop at and purchase something from.

I wish I had taken pics of all the other vendor booths that set up and the crowds of people that flowed throughout the day. We decided if we sold even one thing we did okay. We managed to sell several of our products and got some really good feedback from the people. It was a great learning experience for us as well as meeting the new vendors and learning from some who have done this for a long time. We had so many nice comments on our booth set up and the pretty way we displayed our crafts and how some were made. This of course lifted our spirits which helped us make the decision to do another event.

We have already signed up for the Chili Cookoff event and Homemade Craft Fair in late August. It is going to be two days for the first time this year but we plan to do just one day. We are looking forward to making some more things and keeping the old creative juices flowing.

It has been fun to see other people enjoy what we have loved making these past few months. I promise I will try to take more pics next time. It was a pretty good turn out for our small town.

Home from vacation

I've been away on vacation visiting my son and siblings and my mom in Idaho. Everyone is doing really well and my son looks great. We did a little shopping and yard saleing but mostly sitting around, resting and talking. The weather there was hot in the high 90's compared to home in the 70's. The air conditioner was in force as outside was pretty humid most days I was there. We had a good visit as usual but it is always too short. It is hard to be away when veggies are growing in my garden and hubby does'nt quite water the way I do. Needless to say the sprinklers have been going since I got here.

I did come home to an awesome suprise from my hubby, of a new back deck addition and finally, my roof! Now I feel like I have extra rooms I can got into. It totally makes the whole place look like a cabin retreat. I love it!

I also got a new door for my crafting studio with windows to let in more sunlight. I guess he did'nt do too shabby after all. Will post pics when I get some time.

We have lots of projects in the works around here and the biggest one I would like to get done is painting the house along with my new deck area. It has been 3 years and it is in dire need of paint. So I must retire for now as I have lots to do. Stay tuned for pics in the near future.

If you happen to be in the neighborhood, I could surely use some extra hands. I'll even put out the sun tea.

4th of July

What a great day we have had. My daughter in law and myself have been busy the entire day creating beautiful things in my craft studio. I have made a couple of drawstring purses, and a pillow. She has decorated and designed a dozen or so gift bags. We have totally enjoyed the peaceful day it has given us.

I decided to take a break from it, and there was no better way than to go riding on our quads all up and around the countryside. The resevoir below was full and looks as pretty as a lake. By the time we got back home, her husband cooked us up some nice BBQ'd ribs to die for. With that, some good ol' potatoe salad and a wine cooler or two, it was a nice way to wind up our day. One thing for sure we have not missed some great BBQ these past few days.

Yesterday we went to the show to see the new Pirates of the Carribbean, which was a pretty good flick. Day before we spent the day going to antique stores and finding a few things we could'nt live without. It has been really nice having someone around to share my studio with and do all the girlie things we love to do.

Hope everyone is having a nice and safe 4th of July. We will sit peacefully on our deck and listen to the firecrackers in the not so far distance.