Unexpected Visitors

Sunday morning the Terrible Terrier woke us up wanting to go outside.  Mr. Backwoods opened the front door to let him out and noticed horses in my Dad's yard.  My Dad doesn't own any horses.  Apparently the semi wild ones that normally stay on top of a nearby mountain/ reclaimed strip mine had wandered down in search of green plants to munch, and possible warmer, less windy areas to hang out. 

The Mister let Terrible back inside and 10 minutes later he was barking at the front window again.   I opened the front door to this:

They didn't seem too terribly concerned about the Terrible Terrier.  (Say that 5 times fast.)  He barked and jumped, but they just sort of looked at him, like "What?"  So I wouldn't recommend using a Yorkie for any sort of herding.  Unless you are herding really small plush squeaky things.

Some of the horses that hang out on top of the mountain are so tame they will walk right up to you, even to the point of being pests.  We've had to shoo them away before when I've been trying to take people photos and they kept getting in the way.  I think people must feed them frequently.  These were a bit more shy.  I slipped on some shoes to go out and get closer shots, but I spooked them.

Late last night Babe Jr looked out the window and saw them in Dad's yard again.  Its kind of cool to have them wander in, but I'm afraid we may have an excess of unwanted fertilizer by spring. 

Waiting for the Bus

Babe Jr's cheer schedule has slowed down now that the competition is over.  That means less practice and that she's riding the bus home more often.  The Terrible Terrier has figured this out.

On Thursday he was outside when it came up our road.  Instead of barking at it like he does most vehicles, he sat down and calmly watched as it turned around in our driveway.  When the door opened and Babe Jr stepped out, that little tail started wagging like crazy.  Then as the bus pulled out and rambled back down the road, he turned away from it, watching for Babe Jr to come up the driveway and around the house.   It was so sweet.  Friday, I had my camera handy as he looked out the storm door again awaiting her return from school.
 
In March she will be 12 and he'll be 8.  I'm sure she's tormented him over the years with the dressing up and the hair bows and all the crazy games he's been subjected to.  But its obvious he he loves her.

Creative Holiday Problem Solving

My mother in law asked me to come over last Saturday and decorate her Christmas tree.  After I got hers up I was really in the mood to go ahead and get some of our decor out, even though I usually wait until the weekend after Thanksgiving.  The problem at the time was that our Christmas tree was too big for our current living room.  Unless I bought a really inexpensive one, a new tree is out of the budget right now.  I'd rather wait until after Christmas too see if I can find a good deal on a nice one, or wait to buy a new one next year when I've had time to set aside some extra funds.  A friend of mine offered one that no one in their family wanted that had belonged to a relative who had passed away.  First problem solved.

I picked up the tree 2 days ago.  Its fiber optic, so there's a halogen bulb in the base and a little wheel on a motor to which you attach transparent discs.  The light shines through the disc allowing the colors in the fibers fade and change.  There were extra discs, one which was clear with only black parts.  I realized this meant I could convert it from multicolor to only white lights, which made me really excited.  I prefer white because it allows your decorations to show and take center stage.  The borrowed tree was lesser enough in size that I could pick through my Christmas decor and use items in only colors that match my home decor.  I found a huge spool of chocolate brown ribbon with sparkly turquoise threads running through it that I had bought probably 4 years ago and forgot about.  I spent hours artfully looping the ribbon and attaching it to the tree with floral wire.  I sorted all of glass ornaments down to only shades of green, blue, and brown.  I spent an unnecessary amount of time deciding exactly where to place birds and flowers.

Once I was finally satisfied that all the ornaments were placed just so, it looked lovely... for about 2 hours.  I noticed the fibers were no longer glowing and asked Babe Jr and Mr Backwoods if either of them had unplugged it.  They both said no.  Babe Jr checked and it was still plugged into the outlet.  At first I was concerned that covering the base with a tree skirt had overheated it.  I checked the label on the base followed instructions to let it cool, hit the reset button and plugged it back in.  Nothing happened.  There was a spare bulb in the box, the old one didn't look blown, but I figured it was worth a shot so I replaced it anyway.

Still nothing.  I realized even the motor for the color wheel wasn't working so we gently lifted the tree off the base, slid it out and opened it up.  Mr. Backwoods tinkered a bit and we decided the tree had already been used many years and had finally worn out or there's a short somewhere that we can't fix.  We put it back together and I had Babe Jr squeeze in next to the tree to hold the base while I placed the tree back in it.  We got ready for bed and I crossed my fingers hoping that after it sat overnight it might miraculously start back up again in the morning.

Of course when we got up the next day it was still dead.  But then I realized that the light Mr. Backwoods wears on his hard hat underground is the same size as the bulb that goes in the tree.  And luckily, he has an extra since he upgraded to a lighter version that doesn't require an attached battery pack.

He gave the OK to use his spare for the tree.

I just have to remember to charge the light when I'm not using it for the tree.  The tree skirt easily covers up the cord and battery.  The lights won't twinkle or fade in and out without the wheel, but at least they glow.  And I don't have to completely disassemble the tree and start over. 

Another problem solved.

Fall Photos

We've been really busy lately with school sports and other functions, which is why I've been scarce around here.  So I haven't had time to work on any fun projects.  I did, however, make time yesterday to go outside and take  a few pics before all the leaves completely die and fall off.

I got up that morning, well it was actually more like afternoon, but it was a beautiful day.  So I went outside with the dog to have a cup of coffee on the swing.

He wanted to explore.  I decided to grab my camera.

One of the benefits to living out in the middle of nowhere is there really aren't any neighbors to see you wandering around outside with your camera in pajamas and a pair of lime green crocs.  This guy didn't seem to mind my extremely casual attire.

I'm glad I took advantage of what may have been my last chance of the season to capture some of these lovely colors.

The Bed is Made

Its finally finished and in place in Babe Jr's bedroom.

I used 2 coats of primer and one coat of semi-gloss of trim paint to make sure none of the knots showed through.  After the the first coat of primer I also used some paint-able caulk to fill cracks and disguise some of the nails.  It took forever.  I had the units propped up in my kitchen and could only work on one side at a time, then had to wait wait until it dried to flip it over to work on the other.  But its finally done and I have my kitchen back!

We already had the bins on hand and they conveniently fit the cubbies perfectly.  Only one of them actually has stuff in in right now because they were stacked together under Babe Jr's desk previously.  I actually bought them several years ago to use for her Easter basket; they've served many storage purposes over the years.  We have some reorganizing to do now.  The cubbies on the wall side of the bed can be used to store things that won't be needed very often, like off season clothes.  Both sides are finished and trimmed out the same way, so the bed could be placed in the center of a room with bins in all 6 cubbies. 

I didn't trim out the section at the head of the bed like I did the foot due to the layout of Babe Jr's room.  We're planning to do a headboard eventually, probably something upholstered.  But if you trim that end you can center the bed lengthwise on the wall like a traditional day bed.  This is really a versatile design, and even though it was time consuming for me since I could only work on it in spurts, it was fairly simple to construct.  Here's the link again for plans.  Ana White Daybed

Bed Update

I finally finished most of the sanding and started priming tonight.  I used up the last of a can of primer I had and now I need to buy some more.  This is going to take forever.

This section will be the foot of the bed.

I knew the raw wood would suck up a lot of paint, but I may need more than one coat of primer or multiple coats of trim paint once its primed.  There are also a few holes and cracks that need filled that I didn't notice before it was all white.  I'm not sure if I should use wood filler and then prime those spots again, or buy white caulk of some kind.

I've also been looking at baskets and bins to go in the cubbies.  I don't think a natural or stained basket would match in Babe Jr's room.  I've been trying to find something black.  Maybe like this:

 or this:

 or this:

 Images from walmart.com

She has some plastic bins in her room currently that fit, but they are orange, pink and green.  They match for now, but she's already sick of her current comforter set, so I foresee a color scheme change in the near future.  But, based on how long it looks like its going to take to get all 3 units painted, we've got plenty of time to think about it.

Cupcakes!

Yesterday we threw a bridal shower for my friend who's getting married in 2 weeks.  I decided to make cupcakes.  Approximately 72 of them.

 Yellow cake with Chocolate Butter-Cream.

 My personal favorite, Dark Chocolate cake with Peanut Butter Butter-Cream.  I love that Reese's make mini peanut butter cups now, they look so cute on top.

And in honor of fall, and because the bride loves pumpkin, Pumpkin Spice cake with Cream Cheese Butter-Cream.

They were a pretty big success.  The Pumpkin Cream Cheese seemed to be  a crowd favorite.  I bet I gained 5 lbs from licking beaters, spoons, and mixing bowls - after I was done using them of course.  Mr. Backwoods nearly had an aneurism because I wouldn't let him eat lots of them.  He was, however, quite pleased when I brought home leftovers.