Keep Smiling

Keep Smiling

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Pigs, Kitchens & Gardens

It's been a busy few days around here,
and it all started with the repurposing 
of one of our garage bays :) 
We divided it from the rest of the garage 
by putting up plywood walls.
Behind those double-doors is Steve's workshop.
 I cut out the pig above and painted it with chalkboard paint.
Then mounted it to this board.
I wanted to make a vintage sign . . .
 so, I took this as my inspiration.
And made this.
 
There's my piggy menu board.
Steve installed a counter-top to the workbench
and I made some curtains.
 Our neighbors gifted us with this 
beautiful red coffee pot.
Steve built and mounted this 
chuck-wagon cupboard on top of 
a Home Depot tool box. 
The drawers will be great for storing 
aluminum foil pans and other BBQ supplies.
And the top will give him storage for
utensils, cutting boards and more :)
There is still a little more to do,
but when we are done I'll show you more photos.
We will be able to roll out a grill
and sit inside away from the rain, 
wind and snow this winter.
 ~~~~~**~~~~~
We use our grills all year round,
how about you?
 ~~~~~**~~~~~
I wanted to show you this . . .
just in case you are having bird problems in your garden.
~~~~~**~~~~~
Teresa of Teresa Kasner
told me to cover my grapes with cheese cloth.
I could find any so I used toile.
 ~~~~~**~~~~~

It has been working,
but I also have rubber snakes in the grapes 
and this morning I added these strips of 
shiny mylar. 

I cut them from an emergency blanket,
the kind you can buy for a dollar at a sporting good store. 

Well, that's what I've been up to.

~~~~~**~~~~~
There seems to never be time for 
"A Dull Moment" 
around here.
~~~~~**~~~~~

Keep Smiling!
Your blogging sister,
Connie :)
 

 
 

 
 

46 comments:

  1. Love what you've done. What a great area for having a bbq. We pretty much just use our grill in good weather. My husband is the grill master and he won't even go out and grill if it's raining. I try telling him just take an umbrella out there with you but he won't do it....lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ann, we use ours rain, shine or snow . . . some foods just taste better grilled or smoked :) Plus it makes for less mess in the kitchen, LOL.

      Delete
  2. A bbq hut of your very own... how nice, and how creative!
    Love all the work that you put into it, and it will be nice to be out of the weather this winter.

    Smiles :)
    ~K.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really will be nice. As for now, it has been so hot that we just want to be inside, but September is on the way and that is my favorite time of the year for perfect weather :)

      Delete
  3. You've been a busy girl, Connie. You and hubby seem to work well together! Love your tool box/grill station. We don't grill outside all year long here because along about the end of November we have so much snow on the grill we can't find it. lol
    Hope you have a great week. xo Diana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Diana, we do work well together . . . and we have been having fun fixing this place up and making it more homey all the time :) Thanks for stopping by and thanks again for your great help in fixing my computer problem :)

      Delete
  4. Your menu board turned out so cute! We definitely grill more in the warmer months but winter is the only time it not used at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mindy, I'm happy you like the menu board . . . gosh, we sweep the snow off the grill and fire it up winter and summer. Now they will be stored inside the bay and we won't have to sweep the snow off . . . just roll it out the door :)

      Delete
  5. Connie, I love the new cooking area. You and your husband are very talented. You are protecting the grapes in many ways...other that a cat taped to a stick to hold out the window to smack the birds...I do not know what you could do.LOL I am thinking about making a chicken chalkboard...copying from you. LOL. Blessings, xoxo,Susie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Susie, I had to laugh at your cat taped to a stick line . . . I know that I might be overdoing it, but last year the birds gone all of our grapes. I love your idea of a chicken chalkboard . . . I hope you post it on your blog :)

      Delete
  6. It's too hot to grill here. Ugh! But girlfriend, your rollout grille is brilliant.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love visiting your blog, there's always something new going on in your home :) I really like your menu board. I have a small one in my kitchen, but you've given me the urge to go ahead and make myself a bigger one! Happy August!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rosemary, Steve had an outdoor kitchen at our old house and he had a menu board that we used there. . . it was kind of nice when guests came to dinner, to have the board filled out. Just a little something to enhance the fun :)

      Delete
  8. Hi Connie, Another great idea! Love the pig menu board. I bet you have some wonderful grill recipes too. What's for dinner? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Gloriade, when it comes to grilling, I turn it over to my Steve. He loves to cook and I love to have him doing it outside, instead of in my kitchen, LOL. When it comes to BBQ I'm just the side-dish person :)

      Delete
  9. Connie, I bet you don't sleep at night because your mind is constantly thinking of crafty things to do and make! I love all of your projects.

    Cindy Bee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Cindy, you sound like my neighbor. She says every-time she thinks I'm finished with a project and have time to relax, I come up with another. I just have a hard time sitting still. My body feels better when I have something to do to get it moving. I wish that I had a sport that I enjoyed . . . but I'm not an exercise person, so I just keep busy . . . it works for me :)

      Delete
  10. Love the pig menu! Too cute! Your BBQ station is awesome...everything you need! Great tips for protecting the garden. You are always busy making or doing something creative. Love it! Hope you have a wonderful end of the week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Vicky, we got this done enough to use it this week. Steve is having a barbecue at work and he smoked eight pork butts and made pulled pork for sandwiches. He smokes his pork butt for 12 hours and then pulls it. It was wonderful being able to do all the prep work, and the pulling out there in our garage bay. It took two days for him to do that much meat, so it would have been two days of having a very messy kitchen clean up. It was so nice to have the space out there to get everything done.

      Delete
  11. Wow.. a special BBQ garage.. what a brilliant idea! You will remain warm and dry in there and have lots of room to have friends join you. I'm glad my netting idea worked for you to save your grapes. Woohoo! You do so many neat things.. I admire your creativity. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Teresa, thanks for stopping by, I would think that you might be taking time off to rest from your vacation . . . I always need a rest when I get home, LOL. Yep, I think that this is going to be a cool spot for friends and barbecue, especially since we use our grills all year round. I'm happy to see that you made it home safe. What a fun filled trip you had, I certainly enjoyed being able to tag along on your blog:)

      Delete
  12. I love the whole idea of a menu board in the shape of a pig! He has come out so well, a very portly pig ( has he eaten the menu ingredients??lol)
    l love all your thrifty projects...they're so fun, Connie!
    Can't wait to see what you do next!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Alex, that piggy board was a fun thing to make and I think that we will enjoy filling it out, when we have friends over for BBQ :)

      Delete
  13. Hi Connie, what a great place for a barbie, I think you could show these Aussies a thing or two! Love your piggie board too. Your grapes look too good to be true....a drop of vino coming up? If so it'll go well with your bbq feasts. Don't work too hard XX

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jane, you know my Steve tried making wine a long many years ago and it turned out awful. He gave all of his wine making things to his nephew and I think that he might have even passed them on to someone else. I might try my hand at jelly making :)

      Delete
  14. You and Steve are both so crafty and busy all the time...keeps you young! I love your piggy menu board. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Connie, Steve's workshop is too nice to work in!! Really fixed up cute and so functional. We don't grill out as don't have a grill. When we moved here we didn't have room to take it and never got another one as Bob doesn't like to grill! Sometimes I am tempted. I have used toil to cover bushes but it seems to get stuck in the bushes and is a pain. How do you like using it? Nancy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Nancy, well this is the first time that I have used it, so we'll see how bad it sticks when we take it off.

      Delete
  16. Oh my gosh. That pig board is the cutest thing. Chalkboard paint is one of the best things ever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree . . . chalk board paint has truly changed the crafting and decorating world. I love looking on the web at all the things people have used it on :)

      Delete
  17. I think you need to write a book about all your crafty ideas.....love that piggy and it sure would be fun to come to your place for a picnic....wish I lived closer!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish you did, too. You would certainly be invited :)

      Delete
  18. I can't say that we never have a dull moment, but I am certainly never bored. I am finally getting busy and trying to complete at least one little project each day.

    I wonder where I would put a little painted pig sign?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think if you want a chalkboard menu board it should be shaped like a surfboard or a sailboat :)

      Delete
  19. I love that pig sign! Gosh, is there anything you two can't do? I think keeping busy is healthy and makes you happier too. That big bunch of grapes sure looks good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have this theory that if something interest me, then I have to give it a try before I can say . . . that I can't do it. I do not claim to ever be as good at it as others, but if it is something that I can do with my hands, I'll give it a try. Also, I don't believe in paying someone else to do anything that I can do myself. Not everything turns out the way I want, but it does keep life interesting :) I appreciate your compliments and your encouragement . . . we all need friends to help motivate us and keep us going.

      Delete
  20. Connie, your chalkboard piggy is the cutest thing ever. You always wow me with your amazing skills and I always enjoy visiting you to see what you've been working on... :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Dee, Thank you . . . the piggy just fits our barbeque theme. My husband has this big smoker that he build that is on a trailer to pull behind the pick-up. He enjoys cooking for people and has done whole hogs on it. He just finished smoking pork-butts and making pulled pork for a big event for his company. I bought a couple chickens for him to stick in with the pork-butts, so tonight we are having smoked chicken, and fresh vegetables from the garden for dinner. If you lived closer I would say come on over :)

      Delete
  21. Very creative idea and so cool. Yes we do grill out all year around, we have some mild days in the winter and we take advantage of them. We put netting around our plants that the birds sometimes peck at (found it at Lowe's) and have a little fence around the garden to keep out the rabbits

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Connie, this gardening thing is still new to me, but I am learning as I go and loving it :) I guess that our neighbors use to see rabbits around here, but not anymore. The more homes that are built . . .the further the wildlife move out. I did put a little fence around the garden space in the backyard to keep Butchy out . . . last year I caught him peeing on my basil.

      Delete
  22. Cannot wait to see your finished barby area!!! Awesome idea and I love all the decor :^) So FUN!!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Loved looking at the old cars...thanks. I bet they would have some wonderful stories to tell.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I use Tulle for my garden too! It helped me many years to keep those 'Hoppers out of our garden!
    Hope you can keep your grapes from being eaten by the birds.
    That bar-b-cue cupboard looks awesome. That Steve is some kind of handy.
    I like your PIG BOARD... and artwork.
    Y'all are so crafty!

    ReplyDelete