A Beautiful Autumn

Wow! the colors this fall are spectacular!  We all thought it would be drab and dry because of the drought, but mother nature has stepped up to the plate!  This is the little maple in our neighbors back yard, just to our north.  It is a gorgeous red. Below, is the back deck.

September 28, Bob and I went to Beloit for parent's weekend.  For us, it was Parent's Day.  We drove back  on the same day.  We got to see Lauren's room and had lunch  with Lauren and her friend, Zoe.

We laughed a lot at the restaurant and visited a little while longer, then Lauren had class.  So, Bob and I headed home.
The following week we started the process of getting our new counter top in the kitchen!  So on Wednesday, Bob and some friends took out the old counter and sink.

On Thursday, the new counter and under mount sink was installed.  We got it through Lowe's.  It is Quartz with a single, stainless sink.  LOVE IT!!!

Next, we got a new back splash.  It also came from Lowe's.  It is polished marble subway tile.  LOVE IT, TOO!!

Sorry the lighting isn't better.  But, trust me, it is beautiful!  The center island remained its original black granite.  The quartz is called Silver Lake. The original counter was Formica and the sink was  a standard double bowl mounted on top. Sorry I didn't get the 'before' picture.  I need to close this entry because I feel the need to get in this new kitchen and bake some kind of 'autumn -spice-something'!!!

Fall Decorations

Its time for autumn decorations!! Man, where did the summer go??  So Thursday I was in Iowa City  and stopped at Ben Franklin .  They have a great supply of holiday decorations, whatever the season.  The fall fake flower stuff was 30% off, so that's what got me started.  Of course, by the time I got home and started putting it out, I realized I should have gotten more than I did.  Oh, well....Above is the mantel.  I really didn't want to change anything, so I just stuck in a little extra but kept the basic arrangement.

 This lantern was also at Ben Franklin's.  It is the perfect blue for the living room! And the squirrel and acorns were just too cute to pass up.  Below, is the usual scene of pumpkins and gourds I put up there every year.  I added another lantern from Ben F. only black this time.

 I struggled with this arrangement in the front entry.  I liked what was there but needed to make it look more autumnal.  So then I struggled with making a flower arrangement in a cement pot.  I STILL don't really like it, but so what....I'll enter through the garage..

 I finished the chest of drawers in the front guest bedroom.  I used Annie Sloan Old White and Antoinette.  I think it turned out well.  Very sweet.  Now I have to work at putting the room back together, so naturally nothing is working...

 I decided the bedside tables were too big of a scale for the 'look' in the room.  So I found this little guy at Kit and Caboodle, a second hand shop in Coralville.  I haven't decided if I'm going to repaint it or not.

 Next, I moved the little blue table I painted into the bedroom.  Now the room is starting to look like a fricking rainbow!!  Notice the lamp?  It used to be yellow and I painted it with Annie Sloan Antoinette.

Well, its a work in progress, I guess.  I'll keep you posted.

Happy Anniversary!!

 It was a busy week in Strugland!  Bob and I celebrated our Twentieth Wedding Anniversary!! Wow, who'd a thunk it? The flowers are from Bob.  He brought them home with some Hy-Vee chicken...this is a man who knows me!!  We also celebrated Bob's 65th birthday...Medicare, here he comes!

Yesterday my friend, Deb, and I traipsed all over town to check out Friday garage sales.  I didn't do so hot, but Deb snagged a couple of great buys.  I passed up a old chandelier that I will probably regret, but that's life. (Couldn't think of where I'd put it, but when has that ever stopped me?)

Every evening this week I have been watching IPTV's Great Performances.  They have been broadcasting Wagner's Ring Cycle. Tuesday evening was Rheingold, Wednesday was Die Walkure, Thursday was Siegfried and Friday was Gotterdammerung. They were spectacular!

Today, I started painting the chest of drawers in the front bedroom.  I started with the draws.  I will paint it old white with pink drawers.  I've already painted the mirror and Longeberger Basket in that room (you don't see that in this picture), and they turned out well.

Here are the drawers with the first coat of Annie Sloan Old White. I'll let them sit overnight and then put on the pink (Annie Sloan Antoinette) tomorrow.

I also painted a couple of picture frames that I've had forever.  They are 1940 era blue frames with matching ugly pictures.  But I used Duck Egg Blue and and they started to look better. Below, they have the first coat. I added Old White with a dry brush and a touch of gold wax in the center.

Here are the finished pair on the wall in the front entry by the bathroom.  I kinda like them! Just weird enough to be cool...

Bob is putting in new toilets in the guest bathroom and in the lower level bathroom.  They are taller...for all us old geezers! Busy busy, busy!!

Knitting and Quilting In Door

Time for the annual quilt and knit retreat in Door County, WI!!!  It's a week of 'girl time' and fun.  I actually got a pair of sox knit and worked on a quilt that I've had a hard time motivating myself to finish.  I didn't quite get it done, but it only requires about two more rows and then I can quilt it!  WHOO HOO!!

In the above photo we are at Fred and Fuzzy's, a great restaurant in Sister Bay on the shore of Lake Michigan.  The weather was perfect and the food was yummy.

Believing that it is 5 o'clock somewhere, we managed to keep our spirits up and our glasses full.  Below, we are enjoying a Cosmopolitan at the cabin.

Jackie finished piecing a small coffee quilt, below.

And, finally, Sonja demos how we kind of 'let ourselves go' while in Door...

(that's actually roving in her sleeve..hee hee).  I'm already looking forward to next year....

Fern, The Fern.

The newest addition to our family is Fern, the fern.  In an attempt to bring live plants back in the house, I purchased Fern today.  In the corner where Fern stands, I used to have a artificial ficus.  A couple of days ago I purchased a column (at Kit'N Caboodle) for a future live plant and put it in the corner and took the artificial tree to the lower level (its beginning to look like a forest down there). Today I went to Forevergreen  Nursery in Coralville and bought Fern.  They are having a sale so I got Fern, a new pot, and  they repotted her before I left!  And all for under $20!!!! Here's hoping I can keep her alive....not my strong suit. I was feeling kind of confident because the Christmas cactus (also known around here as Chris), has thrived on the back porch.  Hope Fern likes it there too.

Today was also the loss of one of our pine trees behind the condo.  Very sad.  One of the selling points for us when we bought the condo was the pines in the back.  Made us feel like we were living in a forest.  But, because of the drought and bores, the one directly off our upper patio was cut down today.  Just a big old empty spot there now. :(   'sniff'...

Made Some Shams!

I made two euro shams for my guest bed.  I had made the quilt a few years back and so the fabric is long gone, for the most part. So I found some striped fabric at Common Threads Quilt Shoppe in North Liberty. I think it picks up the colors nicely.  I quilted the front  a little and added white piping.  I think they turned out kind of sweet!

I hung my Rose quilt above the bed with my new Hang It Dang It quilt hanger.  It is an adjustable rod that fits through the sleeve I made and then a plastic piece clamps on and you hang it with 1 nail!!! Waaay better than all the holes in the wall for a quilt hanger!

I took another Annie Sloan paint class this last weekend.  Learned all about crackle finishing, gilding, gold leaf, and a couple of other finishes.  Also was a great refresher course.  As always, it was a fun afternoon thanks to Janet at TLC Vintage Collection  in Des Moines.  I'm hoping to paint the dresser in the guest room soon.  Just not sure what color.

Spent the night with David and Marcia.  Had a nice visit!

Birthday Girl

Its my baby's birthday tomorrow!  19!!! When did this happen?!?  She has grown into such a wonderful young woman.  Bob and I are so darn proud of her!!!!!  Smart, funny and  beautiful...what a fabulous combination!

Lauren and I went to Oakbrook shopping (Chicago) and then to Ikea in Bolingbrook on Monday.  We spent some 'bonding' time and had a great day.

 She heads back to Beloit in a couple of weeks. She's ready  to get back to school. And that's a good thing!