Painting the shed

Our shed needs painting. I've been putting this off for months, despite a winter of beautiful, mild weather, because I couldn't choose a paint color! Back in the fall, I used up a small bit of exterior white paint on the trim. In order to use every last drop of paint and be able to throw the can away, I applied three coats, when one probably would have sufficed. Just painting the trim was a huge improvement, because before that, the entire shed was the same dull color.

Close up of worn away paint

After good luck in the past with paint from the Habitat Store, we looked there last week. I figured if we could find paint there, I wouldn't have to decide on a color and we'd save money. All their paint has been interior, really old, or too ugly, even for the shed. 

Last week I grabbed some paint chips on my way home. Mostly gray and brown. We painted our doghouse a lovely color of gray a couple years ago. No longer having a dog, we are planning to give away or sell the dog house and I've been wanting to paint something else this beautiful color. However, we think it looks a little too nice for our shed. If we lived in New England and the shed was surrounded by pink peonies or roses, we might use this color. But for our shed, tucked way back in the corner, surrounded by trees, we are sticking with brown.

 

 Since the shed was painted, Daniel built a small roof for our wood. I still need to paint that... 

 

Our trusty old car

Here is a bit of a draft that I wrote last year and never published. 

"Our Saturn has been a wonderful car - reliable, economical, and comfortable. With over 280,000 miles on it, we've never done more than replace the fan and water pump (in addition to preventive maintenance like tires, brakes, and timing chain). This weekend all that changed. Daniel spent the entire morning trying to discover why the check engine light is on. There were three somewhat ambiguous error codes. He replaced the thermostat and checked the air pump this morning, so we'll see if any of those codes come up tomorrow. He thinks there is some kind of problem with the transmission or drive train, which could mean that the end of our Saturn is imminently near. I hope not. Daniel has been very happy with this car. Daniel's sister taught me how to drive it before Daniel and I were an item (it's a standard). He had recently purchased it while in college and was spending the summer in Alaska at the time, so his grandparents allowed him to park it at their house, where C. found the keys and we took it out =-). I thought Daniel must be the cleanest, most organized person ever, based on the interior of his car. It was spotless. While Daniel did keep his car amazingly clean compared to my manure heap of a jeep (I worked at a barn at the time), the ultra clean vibe was in fact, because he had just purchased it."

Since last year, we have replaced the clutch and transmission and the radiator. That amounted to about $1250. Turns out the clutch and transmission were perfectly fine, and the problem was some really cheap $12 part. Oh well. I figure all that work was not wasted because now our car is better than new (although we need new tires rather desperately), and he got to spend time with his dad and now has transmission-replacing-experience.

I'll have to get Daniel to clarify and expound upon the finer details of these projects, and possibly correct some incorrect facts, but this is the way I perceive things to be.

I have a couple dozen drafts of posts, and in the spirit of organization, those need to go. 

Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are so good. Here is exactly what I did as best as I can remember. It's been a couple of days, and this whole batch of cookies is gone, so I need to make some more pronto.

1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
¾ cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granualated sugar

1 large egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2  teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 cup butterscotch chips

Toast the pecans for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool for a few minutes and then grind them in the food processor until they are not chunky anymore. Can't stand chunks of nuts in anything. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

Grind the oats in the food processor also, so they are not so chewy and oatmeal-like. Pour into the bowl with the pecans.

In a new bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set this aside too.

In a 3rd bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese. Add sugars. Cream some more. Add egg and vanilla. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Lastly, stir in the oats, chips and toasted pecans.

Chill an hour or 2 until dough is manageable.
Bake at 350F by the tablespoon for 11 minutes on a silicone mat.

Here is the recipe that I originally set out to use.
http://www.myadventuresinthecountry.com/2012/01/02/mondays-mystery-recipe-episode-1/

Maybe next time I will try it exactly as written, but my way was darn good. 

Loveseat

We bought a loveseat off craigslist last night.
We knew we wanted a beige, slip-covered loveseat with 4 removable cushions. I read A LOT of reviews online and decided that the IKEA Ektorp seemed like the best option in our price range of less than $500. We have spent plenty of time sitting on friend's Ektorps, so we knew they are comfortable. I thought it would be best to buy a new one, 'cause buying cloth stuff used can seem a little germ-y. However, with no immediate trips to IKEA planned, I did a clgenie search. Several weeks passed, and then the ad for this one popped up on craigslist for $200, I called Daniel immediately and arranged to go look at it.
Daniel selflessly sacrificed his whole evening hitching up the trailer to drive the hour out to Durham during rush hour with looming thunderstorms overhead for us to buy it. The Dr.'s house we bought it from was very clean and we had no qualms about the transaction. Actually, the loveseat smells so good (they must use scented detergent), I haven't washed the covers yet. But that needs to change cause Jack just spit up on it.
So, not only did the thunderstorms miss us, but on the way home we drove under a rainbow. It was meant to be...

Mulch

We had 5 yards of mulch delivered yesterday. Mari walked outside, stood next to it, and said in a very impressed voice, "Whoa... that's a BIG pile."

Then, she climbed all over it and enjoyed wheel barrow rides while Daniel and I ferried it to the backyard.

We dumped 1/3 of it all around the new bushes before dark. I am looking forward to doing the rest tomorrow and Monday. I really like mulching stuff. This also lets me see all the empty room in our gardens, so I can plan what else to buy.

I obsessed for a week about where to buy the mulch. We don't have a truck, and the neighbor who was eager to let us borrow his is only available on the weekends, when we are very busy. I called about 8 places, trying to find the best price. Most places charge a large fee if less than 10 yards is ordered, and I only needed 5 yards tops. In the end, John Atkins Grading in Apex turned out to have the very nicest mulch for the very best price. That is where I have bought mulch in the past. They are so friendly and their much is lovely. Last year, on a sweltering summer day, when I was very pregnant, Mari and I borrowed our neighbors 1970's truck with no air conditioning and bought some mulch. Upon arrival, we discovered the back tire was completely flat. Mr. Atkins changed it for me. First he tried filling it up with his awesome, heavy duty air compressor truck. Beyond saving, all the air leaked out before our eyes. Thankfully, I didn't follow through on my previous urge to throw the space tire out of the back of the truck in our driveway so mulch wouldn't get it dirty. Anyway, I will be a loyal customer for life.

So, that's all I can think to write about our mulch.

Yard and Garden

We have been working in the garden a lot lately. Daniel tilled in a few times. He dug up some massive roots from the pine tree we had chopped down. Finally, today we are ready to plant stuff.

We also dug up all the bushes along the property line. They were looking terrible. The new ones probably won't be big enough to offer any privacy until after we move away from this house, but they were the largest of the kinds we wanted that the nursery had. 6 Japanese holly bushes, 2 flowering quince, 2 small tea olive, one large camellia, one forsythia, and1 large osmanthus bush cost less than $50. I want to get a taller evergreen tree to plant in the back corner.

Old bushes at the curb. Each root required both of us to carry it. They were surprisingly heavy.

So, that's the latest progress on beautifying our backyard.

New Light

I happened to be at the Habitat Store today and impulsively bought a new dining room light. Daniel always said he didn't like our old chandelier.

Old light

I always thought it was a little small for the space. Thankfully, he likes the new one! There are three different styles of white shades covering the bulbs, but I'm not going to let that bother me. It's not too noticeable unless looking closely.

New light

It's dark now, so none of the pictures I am taking of the new light look right. Here's what it looks like though. Nothing else in the kitchen was brass, so I think the brushed nickle coordinates better.

I was looking for an outdoor light, for near our front door. The small light there doesn't have much curb appeal. So, when I find one that looks good for less than $20, I'll post pictures.

Spice drawer

I wrote "spice drawer" on my list of future projects, thinking I would move the spices from the pantry into an empty kitchen drawer. Our spice carousel wasn't working out for me for a bunch of reasons. Daniel surprised me over the weekend by making an actual spice drawer out of scrap wood!

The only thing he had to buy were some metal rails from Lowes for about $5.

So happy to have more pantry space freed up!

Table and chairs

So, this is the first time I've checked my blog in over 3 months. I looked in my journal the other day, the one Daniel gave me 6 years ago when I graduated college, and realized the last time I wrote in it (in 2010), I didn't have any children. Time sure flies. Unless I start getting super motivated for some reason, I probably won't post on this blog more than once a month, just using it as a way to chronicle our bigger projects.

Anyway, what causes me to post today is this table and chairs we bought off craigslist last month. I am so excited about them. We resold the first table and chairs we bought on craigslist, because they were not very comfortable. No wooden chairs could surpass our current ones in comfort, but the old ones had a very annoying, uncomfortable, uneven number of rungs on the back.

After several weeks of searching every day, I found these and fell in love at first sight. The table and four chairs was only $50, and the lady selling them lives less than a mile from us. It was meant to be...

They were very scratched and dirty, so I sanded them down (which took an eternity and wore most of the skin off my fingers) and applied Cabot Early American stain followed by a couple coats of polyurethane.

I forgot to take before pictures of the chairs, but here is a before picture of the table.

I haven't started on the table yet, because of weather conditions and needing Daniel to help get it outside. It's VERY heavy! The leaf is missing, but hopefully we can make a new one that semi-matches. Daniel thinks the wood is some kind of oak.

So, that's the latest fun project that's been consuming my free time! We haven't decided what to do with the old table and chairs.

Other misc. projects we've been working on include replacing the water hose in our refrigerator. The water had been tasting funny ever since we bought it back over the summer. The new hose has a larger interior diameter, so more water comes out more quickly than before. Being able to use the refrigerator for water again is wonderfully convenient. We looked at a few stores for food-safe hoses, but ultimately had to order online.

Also, a few weeks ago I found a nightstand that matches one of our current nightstands almost perfectly. It was free on craigslist. So, as soon as the snow melts off our deck, that is going to get refinished.

Finally - her costume

These were taken this morning. I can't find the few that I took on Halloween among the multitude of baby pictures on our computer. Mari wanted to wear her tutu. I bribed her with an Oreo to wear the headband.