The painted bathroom

Guess I'll go ahead and post about the painted bathroom and get that over with. You see, the color I had in mind was a bright white with just a hint, a hint! of pink. But colors change inside the cabin.

As soon as the paint touched the wall, it became light lavender. I added half a can of white to the paint which lightened it a little more. 

Why, back many years ago when we bought new carpet for the cabin, the color we picked out was the color of a fawn. It was a shock when one of the installers said something about the carpet being a mauve color. It's crazy! 

The new (thrift store) Toile shower curtain.

Our friend Nellie stopped by. When I mentioned to her that I was painting the bathroom light pink, she stuck her head in, looked around and said, "It looks like white to me". 

Funny, the bathroom is so small I can only show you a little at the time.

anyhow, it is a new coat of paint, and clean. 

that out of style border around the back of the sink was my idea. The old vinyl had come unglued in places and was stained. 

When we win the lottery, I am going straight out and buy a beautiful new vanity cabinet and mirror. Trouble is, you can't win the lottery if you don't play. Last time I stopped for gas, for the first time ever, I bought a three dollar scratch-off lottery card, went back to my car and scratched it off. I won three dollars. With that, I decided to hang on to my three dollars. 

It's about bedtime again. They sure roll around quick, don't they. Thank you, friends. 

Love,

Henny

Country Living

Don't know what struck me, but I am still in the throws of fall cleaning.  

Everything has been moved out of the little hall bathroom, the walls and woodwork cleaned and taped, and made ready to paint...brought the paint home yesterday, and plan to do that first thing this morning!

There were two basket sitting on top of the mirrored cabinet that held, probably every tiny seashell that Poppy and I have ever picked up on the beach. Talk about dust!! Anyhow, carrying the two baskets, plus a few more, outside to wash and let dry in the sun, I remembered my old "Country Living" magazine collection starting from the early 1980's.

Oh my goodness friends, I practically lived for each new issue. A regular feature was, "Simple Country Pleasures" written by Jo Northrop. Jo Northrop grew up on a farm in North Carolina. I remember once she wrote about cleaning and how she carried all the baskets down to the pond to wash them and leave them in the sun to dry.

If only I had a farm and a pond to wash baskets in, and a log cabin in the country! It was the early 80's. I was a secretary, living in a two bedroom apartment with two teenage daughters. Far from any kind of country living.

This issue, I just pulled from the stack, happened to be about the changing season, from summer to fall.

"Country Living" magazine was full of everything I dreamed about having. They featured log homes and...

look at these colors. This was 1985. Poppy would move out! Hey?? Just kidding.

I did get the log cabin, with the french doors, and a pond for washing baskets, and in the country. 

so...

here's the dull dreary bathroom I'm fixing to paint...

really dull, with everything moved out. :(

not a lot I can do in such a small room. As Poppy says, you have to back out to turn around. 

I'm getting busy now. Thank you for listening again.

Love,
Henny

Really strange skies, and, I need your opinion

Late yesterday, at the edge of dark, after that storm front moved east of us, the sun began trying to shine through the clouds. Everything outside took on this strange pinkish, orange glow...with fog forming low to the ground. Take a look...

I went crazy with the camera,

taking sixty some pictures. Please don't go, only a few are posted here. :)

Aren't these wild!

It was a little depressing to me. I'll take normal sunshine and blue skies any day.

Okay, enough of this gloom...

This morning I took down the living room curtains and from the back porch gave them a good hard shake to remove the dust. The sun beamed into the room and oh my, put me to thinking. You know how dangerous that can be!

How would it look to hang roman shades, or even regular shades, but with a valance? I love the light!

Here's the other option...back to the normal look with my homemade curtains. I also like the warm feeling that curtains give. What do you think?  I really would appreciate your opinion.

These are the bedroom windows with fabric roman shades and valances.

You may remember  several months back when I took down the big full curtains from off the french doors in the dining area and hung those bamboo shades. I hated that look. Hated it! I felt like I had moved to Panama. Not for me!

This is the other living room window behind Poppy's chair.

Okay, I'm off the hang our newly painted sunshine face to our newly painted shop...

Thank you kindly! Something new to worry and stress over now...curtains or roman shades. Decisions, decisions, decisions! :)

Love,
Henny

The usual...ducks and painting

Keep your fingers crossed for me...There is a lady in Henderson who has two female Aylesbury ducks for sale on Craigs List. If she doesn't sell them today then I am going to buy them tomorrow.

Here is a picture she posted of one of her ducks...

Our lonely Muscovy duck needs a friend. Another breed of duck will be a good change and the Aylesbury duck actually "quacks"! Won't that be fun! There will be NO nesting under the shed!

Most of the time ducks are safe when they have access to a pond...which we have. They can swim away from danger. Our old Muscovy duck pair lived near the pond for ten years. 

You know we have a teeny tiny garden...one Eggplant grows there. Well I am totally proud of that Eggplant. Here's why...

Poppy and I have eaten two and yesterday I picked these two big ones. Did I mention how many years I have tried to grow Eggplant? Well it has been a bunch! Mama used to say, I can't stand an old Eggplant" and that's probably why I don't remember ever eating one until I married Poppy. His Mother cooked Eggplant by slicing them into thin round slices, soaking the slices in salt water, then dipping the slices in a batter and frying in oil.

I've never talked about Poppy's Mother. She passed away a few years ago. She was a very sweet person. I love these two old pictures...she was beautiful too...

And speaking of Poppy...

Folks I am still scrubbing, cleaning, and wielding a paint brush...now it's the front porch floor...

And next, that scratched up door and frame.

Well what a mix of stuff I've posted here. Sure hope you will decide to come back. Thank you for visiting.

Love,
Henny

The latest duck news

More sad news from here at Henny Penny Lane. Nellie, the brave little duck who fought with the Rat Snake a week or so ago. She was not so lucky the next time. Nellie is the darker duck...

When I realized it had been a few days since Nellie had come out from under the shed to eat, I immediately got a bad feeling. To see under this shed I have to practically lay down on the ground with a spotlight...very close quarters here, and low to the ground. It didn't look good. There was no movement only feathers and I didn't see Nellie's sweet little face looking back at me. When Poppy got home he pulled her body and empty torn up nest from under the shed. Sure wish we had caught the snake that did this.

What a summer this has been. If this pace keeps up we soon won't have any animals. Immediately added to my list of things to do...block in bottom of shed. No more ducks under this shed!

On to something else...Poppy and I just could not look at that orangy-colored trim on the back screened-in porch any longer so we painted it dark walnut to match the newly painted windows...

Before...

After...

 Reckon we will ever get things like we want them around here? Trouble with painting is...a newly painted surface makes everything around look old and in need of paint too. The more we do the more we see that needs doing!

Someone asked recently how Dumperoo got his name. Well, one morning Poppy carried a load of trash to the nearest solid waste convenience center. He pulled his truck up to the dumpster, opened the door and as he started to get out heard this tiny little meow. He looked down and this Grey Tabby kitten looked up at poppy and meowed again. Who could resist? Not even Poppy, who is not a cat lover. Poppy named him "Dumpster Kimball", but we call him  Woo Woo or Dumperoo.

Are you talking about me...

Funny how you can sit down at the computer for just a minute and all of a sudden two hours have passed.  Better get busy again. Thanks for visiting.

Love,
Henny 

Big make-over!

You know what? I love writing a post but I just hate putting those label things at the bottom. Why do I hate that so much? I am not good at that and have a hard time pulling labels from my post. Imagine that! Now I am behind again and must go back an update five or six posts. Darn it!

Okay, the big, really big, make-over. I'm holding my breath waiting for your honest opinion...well I think I want your honest opinion. :) Yes, I do. 

Already missing that "Abe Lincoln" log cabin look.

Poppy and I got a really good deal on the stain. The story was that some young couple ordered 10 gallons of this redwood stain to do their house, but then could not come up with the money to have the work done. My theory is, this paint company some how screwed up and got a little too much pink tint to this large batch of supposedly redwood stain, got lots of complaints, put the stuff on sale, and Poppy and I happened by. We are good at that you know. Just my middle of the night thinking. 

Got lots to do today!! Thank you for stopping by. Thank you for listening!

Love,
Henny

Green Beans and Red House

I kept myself busy snapping beans yesterday as the painters opened can after can of Redwood stain and slathered it on the dry thirsty weathered cedar logs.

How did I sleep last night, you ask! Well, as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a light...mentally exhausted from the stress of the day. Worrying about the painters suffering a stroke in this 94 degree heat. Anxious about how the red color was looking but afraid to see.  Struggling all day with the dogs as Weetie has decided she just might bite strangers who come onto the property and Eli, on the other hand wanting to meet those strangers in the yard, see what was in those cans, and stand up on the ladders. So, back to how I slept...at 1:30 am I sat straight up in the bed as a loud voice in my head warned, "you have a red house, a red house! There is no turning back! This red house is yours! The neighbors are driving past, pointing and laughing, saying why would they pick that color?"  I tossed and turned and came up with all kinds of solutions as to how we could change the house color back to brown. How can everything seem so horrible in the middle of the night?

Okay, everything is not ruined, and that ugly splotchy pinkish-red first coat in the picture is gone. Folks, I was feeling sick. There will be pictures. The second coat of stain is going on right now.  I hate to show you the house just yet as I have noticed that as the stain dries it becomes darker. Whew! Here's just a peek. Still the first coat and excuse the mess..

With that said, I can get back to the green beans. After snapping and washing there were enough beans to process a canner full...seven quarts. Oh, and adding to the stress of yesterday was this pressure canner full of hot steam, rocking on the stove. I can picture that thing exploding one day. Things like that happen in my kitchen, you know.

And the beans turned out good. Every jar sealed...

Thank you, if you have managed to stay around this long.  :)  Hope to be back soon.

Love,
Henny