Blaming it on the long-legged tower

Should probably call this a potting area not a potting 'shed' because there's no roof. At 2:30 this morning I was lying awake planning how to build a roof and had come up with a decent plan, then remembered there was a holly tree growing up through the center of the floor.

Thought I would go back to what started all this in the first place...

It was that silly little roof top from off the old wishing well driving me crazy. It was cute and I wanted to use it somewhere. "Nail some legs on it", I asked Poppy. It will be an entrance to the teeny tiny greenhouse.

"There you go", said Poppy, wondering why I wanted something that looked so out of place and useless. So it became "the long-legged tower". But the tower needed something??

The potting bench. Never could get that thing to sit level. I buried all kinds of crap under the dirt and leaves.

Poppy found that old Singer base in a junk pile several years ago and thinking I might like it, brought it home. Then back when he worked for Winn Dixie, picked up a park bench with one metal leg broken off. It was part of that broken bench the made the back for the potting bench.

Then friends, I remembered the magazine article I had saved since 1997... 

Oh my gosh! See the little wood stove! I still want one, just like that!  

"Guess we need to go to Lowes", said Poppy. So we did, and then started building the walls. That was two years ago.

Son-in-law Todd recently suggested using that stack of boards they gave us to build a floor. Of course, we needed to!


By this time the potting bench was looking rusty and bad...

So, during sunny breaks in these rainy days, I painted.

Back to the plan made at 2:30 this morning...

I'm thinking the legs on the long-legged tower could be shortened, then move the tower to the left side and place it over the antique washing machine tub, which holds potting soil...just for looks, of course. :) 

Then put up 4" x 4" posts in front on each side and build the top over the fence panels, kinda how a lean-to looks. 

So there it is. If this rain ever stops, I can go stand and stare and maybe figure it out.

Good gosh, I bet all of you have left your computers by now and I don't blame you one bit!  

Well that's it...except, during all my thinking and planning during the early morning hours, a very loud scary rumbling noise caused me to sit straight up in bed! "Was that thunder?", I thought to myself! Then seeing a flash of lightning, snuggled down in the covers to be safe, only to hear Eli scratch at the door. 

Now wonder where he got his fear of thunderstorms?? I ran to the front door and let Eli in. He slept between us until the clock alarmed at 4:45. 

Thank you friends for putting up with me.

Love,
Henny

The Playhouse/Potting Shed

Hey friends,

Here we are heading into another week of rainy days. It was exciting to hear the weatherman say this morning, there may be a brief period of sun this afternoon. A brief period is better than none.

and if that happens, I'm going to rake up two or three loads of leaves for the chicken lot. The hens are walking in mud up to their knees! The leaves are wet, but that will be better than mud.

Anyhow, been anxious to show you the wooden floor in the playhouse...

 and the newly painted potting bench. Can you believe we I had the old Singer base turned around backwards when we attached the top and back? Pretty normal for me. 

I LOVE the wood floor!

All this looks a little too "set up" right now, in fact, I had to go back and knock over a few flower pots. Well, it needed something! An old sink and a load of potting soil will help and maybe dirty the place up a bit. Still haven't found an old wood stove and tea kettle.  

The weather is still too cold and wet to enjoy being out here, but we have a start.  Spring can't get here soon enough!! 

I kinda like this corner with the old raggedy chairs. Yesterday in the Scrap Exchange with my daughters, Lynn and Andee, I found a piece of granite to fit on top of that little metal stand, to make a side table.

Oh my gosh, wish all you could visit The Scrap Exchange in Durham. No way could I ever tell you what it is like. Well, you could Google it and get some idea.  Lynn works there now, and she love it!!

Had lots more to talk about but I've simply got to get busy. Poppy will be home at 1:00 so I need to finish the house work, especially vacuuming. :( I'd rather digging stumps!

Thank you for stopping by. Oh, Any ideas on making the little potting area prettier will be appreciated. 

Love,
Henny

Also...In my hurry to get busy I forgot to say thank you to two new followers, Sheryl and Jan. I appreciate your friendship so much!

Playhouse/Potting Shed...Dream come true!

Come on in, the door's open...

Gosh, really there is no time for a post. It's almost noon, Poppy just left for work, and I've simply got to sweep and mop the kitchen floor, vacuum the house, and clean the living room carpet! Simply got to!

However, I really really wanted to show you the playhouse...

We actually made the two eight foot fence panels into a ten foot back wall and a six foot side wall. 

I've been gathering boards and bricks and things to build shelves. More stuff will make it prettier. Decorating is the best part!

Just this morning I said to Poppy, "I've got to decide where to put my little wood stove". "What wood stove", he asked. "The little wood stove I am looking to buy". "Don't you remember", I asked...

"in the little picture how the lady likes a spot of tea to ward off the chill, and her little wood-burning stove does just the trick"?

Here you can see both sides. Adding the fence panels sure toned down that long legged tower, didn't it. All this happiness, and from two 35.00 fence panels. The playhouse of my dreams. 

You know what else would be nice? A pretty little garden table with two small chairs. Oh my!

Okay, I'm off the get the mop and a bucket of soapy water. Hope to be back here soon.

Love,
Henny

So far, so good!

Thought you would like to know.

We have the six foot side section up! The ten foot section will go across the back...there behind the potting bench.

This work is hard. Poppy does the hammering, sawing, drilling , etc., but I run my legs off, going for things he needs. 

At one point I had been around the house and down near the pond to our stash of old boards and building supplies, looking for one more 4 x 4 post, which I found. Sweating, and lugging the heavy post up to the building site, I said to Poppy...

"I know one thing! Being the gopher is just about as much work as being the builder"!  Poppy said, "yes, but if it wasn't for the gopher, we wouldn't be doing all this"!  :)

Hopefully, tomorrow we will get the back section up and the playhouse will be done! I can move in!  :)

Thank you for visiting and for all your encouraging words.

Love,
Henny

Old sweet Eli still has his white eye lashes.

Ideas for the playhouse!

Way back in May of 1996, dear friends, I clipped this little picture from a Better Homes and Gardens Magazine...

This was the playhouse I wanted. Just a simple little corner, enclosed with a couple of wooden fence panels or even latticework might do, and that old fashioned wood stove! As daughter Lynn would say, "be still my heart"!!

But wait! It's not too late, is it? Look again at the playhouse, if you don't mind...

can you picture the fence panels installed there behind the potting bench, then...

ending somewhere back behind the old green washing machine tub, turning the corner and installing another fence panel, enclosing the playhouse. A little wood stove would fit in there somewhere. 

Just this week, messing around up at the greenhouse, neighbor Ann pulled over to speak. After telling her my plan, she asked, do you want some latticework? Fred just put up new, under our porch and he is taking the old to the landfill. Seriously!! Ann?? Wait a minute, she said, I'll be right back. In five minutes she was back with a stack of latticework pieces...new pieces, left over pieces.

So now I have a totally new reason for lying awake at night; planning and dreaming and all night long figuring out how to put up pieces of latticework to make a wall. :(

I've searched Craigslist for old wooden fence panels, but so far, nothing. It would cost way too much to buy new wooden fence panels. Good Gosh!!

Okay, need to get busy this morning. There are herbs ready to plant, and okra seed for a row in the garden, and much to my surprise, the seeds I saved from those tiny pretty little red, orange, and gold peppers, from the grocery store, germinated and are big enough to put in the garden. Besides all this, I've got lots of standing and staring to do up at the long-legged tower. 

Any ideas or suggestions will be appreciated. I've been chopping down more saplings and small trees. A tall, neatly built wattle fence behind the playhouse would be nice. 

Thank you! Hope to be back here soon!

Love,
Henny 

Moving right along...

We have had another beautiful day! Gosh, that's three in a row with  sunshine, blue skies, low humidity, and a breeze...and low 70's.  Wish it could stay this way through August!

Is the potting bench finished??

 Another brain storm! The new heavy wrought iron back on the little potting bench came off an old park bench Poppy brought home from work years ago. The bench has long been gone, but I held on to the back, it was much too pretty to throw away.  Glad Poppy was off work today. He bolted the back onto the table for me. 

Sure is hard to stay away and stop moving and fixing up here. We did get all the mowing and weed-eating done today...and I brought three more big wheelbarrow loads of mulch to the teeny tiny garden...

Hope walking is good for my back, cause I've walked many a step from the woods to the garden with the wheelbarrow loaded with mulch. 

Can't tell you how thankful I am to have a little garden, especially after my back problems and worrying that my gardening days were over.

My building of the little wattle fence looks pretty skimpy this year. The shorter wattle fence in back is a little sturdier and is for the yard long beans to climb. Yep, growing those yard long beans last year was fun and honestly, the beans were delicious. 

Nothing really special in these pictures, except maybe to me. I needed this little happy place.

and looking from inside the teeny tiny garden.

and here too, the rooted cutting that badly need to be re-potted. I'll get to that soon. 

Need to get the chicken tenders cooked for our salad tonight. Hope to be right back! 

Love,
Henny

Oh, and instead of a kitty cat picture, how about old sweet Eli...

The potting bench

Saturday morning I woke up early, like 3:00 a.m. thinking about building a potting bench.  I've been cleaning the woods around the greenhouse and garden.  A potting bench would be perfect!!!  A place for pots, plants, tubs, and tools!!!  I could not go back to sleep once I got this on my mind!  Wondering if I could find enough stuff to use without buying anything???  As soon as I saw Poppy out the door, fed the animals, made the bed, and put a load of clothes in to wash, I got my basket and marched outside.  Here's what I came up with (about 8 hours later and dead tired.  Lugging those 16 heavy cinder blocks from down in the back yard just about did me in!!!)...

I don't know why I didn't think about needing a potting bench before now.  Usually I have soil in the wheelbarrow and just sit what needs to be potted on top of that.  Bending over the wheelbarrow can be tiring.  Creating this potting area was fun, almost like building a playhouse. :)  I'm still thinking of things to add.  That old barrel type pot underneath the bench will hold the potting soil, but a big wooden box with a lid would be better.  You know what would be perfect, an old kitchen sink fitted into the center of the bench, then hook the garden hose to the sink.  I've seen this done before in a magazine article.  I need to search for that magazine!! Then I need to talk to my nephew Greg, the plumber...He probably has an old sink, or 2, stored out behind the barn!!!

The potting bench is just to the left of the garden and small greenhouse...

Every year I think "we have plenty of sunshine in the yard", but then when everything turns green and the trees leaf out!!!  It looks like the rain forest!!  We left way too many trees when we build this place.  Remember the old bluegrass song, something about "my little old log cabin in the woods"!!!  Well that's what we wanted.  Leaves knee-deep up to the door steps!!  But then I decided I wanted a yard full of flowers!!!
 

We've had probably 15 to 20 trees cut out of the yard since moving in!!!  Here the leaves are still small.  Mama used to say the leaves would be "full grown" by May 10th.

The rain is coming down hard this morning.  Now that the garden is planted, this is what we need to make it grow.:)

Thank you for looking at my blog.
Love,
Henny Penny