Keep Smiling

Keep Smiling

Monday, March 28, 2016

March . . . Out Like A Lamb

What have I been doing . . .
staining fences.
While Steve put in a gate.
Our goal is to keep our 
little Butchy from getting in the road.
 We don't want to add our name to 
the list of neighbors 
that have lost dogs 
on that road through the years. 
 Our neighbors tore down their gazebo 
and gifted us with these corners.
This is what I did with two of them:)
To add it to my Art Barn porch,
I added another four feet onto the porch;
This way it didn't block the windows.
I really think that they added some
needed charm and a nice place to
hang our chimes 

and to set pots of flowers.
 Meanwhile the guys added the last
cedar strip to the hull of the canoe.
Next comes lots of sanding
before the next steps in building begin.
 Our apricot tree is in bloom.

Looks like we'll have fruit this year.
The blossoms look pretty on the ground,
but when the apricots fall it's a mess.
 If you lived close I would invite you to come pick what you want.
I still have some frozen from two summers ago :) 

That's what's going on around here.
I do hope that you are all
enjoying your spring.
~~~~~*****~~~~~

It's a lovely time of the year:)

~~~~~*****~~~~~

Keep Smiling,
Your blogging sister,
Connie :)

58 comments:

  1. Spring looks beautiful at your place! I just love those gazebo corners and what you did with them.

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    1. Thank you, it was very kind of them to give us those corners. I have two more corners to think up another project. They can be taken apart and would make great trellis used that way, too :)

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  2. We need to stain our fences but the weather is just not good enough yet. Cute little dog. Love what you have done to Art Barn porch, gives it a real charm. I love apricots, they are so expensive to buy from the supermarket. Take care.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and visiting. I adore company and love reading comments . . . I love apricots, too, but have so much more than we can eat. It did freeze last night, so our crop size many be reduced.

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  3. Boy, you have good neighbors! Your Apricot blooms are so pretty. If you lived closer, we could trade some of your apricots for some of my peaches.

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    1. Oh, that sounds like a wonderful trade :)

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  4. Good to hear your little furbaby will be safe from the road now :) Those corners are great, so nice of them to ask if you would like them, great idea you had for them! Your flowering tree is so pretty, we have a lot of them blooming on our street and when I live the house I just smile at all the beauty they bring!

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    1. We have a bridge in our town that goes over a section of the lake. When I moved here it was lined with blooming spring trees and it was breath taking. Then they rebuilt the bridge and cut every tree down . . . I cried. When they were finished they planted new trees and it has taken many years, but finally it is pretty again. The new trees do not bloom as lovely as the older ones (different trees) but it is nice to have them there again.

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  5. I love what you did with the gazebo pieces...you created a whole new gazebo! Beautiful spot. Both neighbors to the side of our house have wooden privacy fences and have they ever stained or treated them? Of course not! They're both only a few years old (the fences, not the neighbors, ha ha) and already looking worn and weathered. That canoe is one of the most beautiful pieces of woodwork I've ever seen! Amazing work.

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    1. Hi Melanie, I wonder if you offered to help them with the work, if they would stain or paint their fences . . . it might just get them thinking that they need to do something anyway and do it themselves. We had one neighbor in our old neighborhood that would paint her side of the fence and then buy the paint for me to paint my side . . . it was fine with me. Just an idea.

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  6. I agree, the gazebo corners look great at the end of your porch. Very charming. And wow, I'm impressed with that canoe!

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    1. Oh, they are doing a great job on the canoe, just wait until they start finishing the wood. It is going to be a work of art :)

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  7. Love what you did with your porch - and just in time for Spring. And a handmade canoe? How awesome is that????

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    1. Thank you, you are so sweet. The canoe is coming along beautifully and it is going to be a show stopper when it is finished. There is still a lot of work to be done, but now it's all about finishing touches, details and finishing the wood. I'll be posting more photos as the project progresses.

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  8. Connie you never cease to amaze me. You two are so talented.

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    1. Oh my goodness, what a sweet think to say, thank you :)

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  9. You really are amazing.. love how that trellis looks on your art barn. And as a boater.. I am very impressed with your husband's canoe project! I can't wait to see how it turns out.. and how it floats! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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    1. Hi Teresa, this is Steve's second boat building project and our neighbor Jim's first and together they are not just having fun building it, but they each have skills to bring to the table. It is going to be gorgeous when it is finished. Today I plan on taking the seedlings that I have started in the mudroom out to the potting shed and even starting a few more :) I'm very excited to start using it. Hope that you are having a lovely day and thanks so much for stopping by to visit :)

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  10. I love what you did with the gazebo corner. Your apricot tree is pretty in bloom. They don't grow in my region.

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    1. Welcome to my blog. I am so happy that you found me and that you left a comment. This took me to your blog where I enjoying touring your neighbors flower garden. That's a lot of work for a ninety year old, but I believe that doing work that you enjoy keeps you young and active. Good for her! While I was there I clicked your Google Friend Connect button and am now a follower to your blog. I'm looking forward to a sweet blogging friendship. Have a lovely day and please visit again.

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  11. The minute I saw that canoe I became fixated on it. It is truly a work of art!

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    1. Hi Debbie, just wait until you see it finished . . . it is truly going to be beautiful. They are doing a wonderful job building it :) Jim also built paddles for it and they are finished and stunning. I will have to get a photo.

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  12. Your studio looks fab, Connie, I love what you've done with the extra boards and the trellis. March is going out with some rain, a lot of wind and HUGE amounts of lovely sunshine! Lxxxx

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    1. Good Morning Lynne, so nice to have you stop by. A few hours after I posted this the wind came up so hard that it flipped over the rocking chair on the front porch. So maybe March is not going out like a lamb, but maybe a naughty Billie Goat :)

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  13. Hi! We are seeing some blossoms on trees now too! Seems so good. Love that little doggie! It will be so much easier to have a fenced in yard for him. I love your new gazebo corners! Your place is just too cute!!! You should submit some pictures to a country magazine! Does Buchey get to go into the Art Barn with you when you work?? Nancy

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    1. Hi Nancy, Butchy runs to the Art Barn each time I head in that direction . . . I have a treat jar just inside the door and he knows it, LOL. Wish you both a lovely pain free day :)

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  14. I wish we had a fenced yard then Gibbs wouldn't have to be tethered when he goes outside. It would be nice if he was able to just run around the whole yard.
    I like what you did with those gazebo corners. That looks great

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    1. Hi Ann, we still have some places to fence, but this protects him as long as we are out front or on the side of our property where the house is. There are a few place along our other neighbor's side where he can get out, but we are going to wire fence that in soon. Then along the back it is fence where he can not get out, but they have two German Shepherd pups and one is about a year old. He hasn't figured out that he could jump our three foot fence, and he stands on his side and looks at Butchy like he was a pork chop. We are planning on putting in a six foot wooden fence across there. It takes time and money, so we'll be working on it as we can. Butchy is family and it is our job to protect him as best we can.

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  15. Everything looks so beautiful and springy! Those gazebo corners look so good on your Art Barn porch! My mother-in-law had some of those on her old gazebo....I'm wondering if she kept them. I will have to tell her about what you did with them. You have been a busy lady as usual! I'm glad you got your gate up so Butchy will be safe. He's a cutie! Hope you have a lovely week Connie.

    Love and Hugs,
    Vicky

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    1. Hi Vicky, I hope that your mother-in-law still has them; I think that there are a lot of projects that you could use them for. I'm planning on working outside in my potting shed today and looking forward to getting my hands dirty, LOL. Oh, I love spring . . . here's wishing you a lovely week, too.

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  16. Connie, you are simply amazing!! I have things around here that I've looked at for years and still can't figure out how to use them...like the iron base with beautiful scroll work from an old singer sewing machine, and two beautiful old windows. Your ideas turn out so pretty!

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    1. Good Morning Henny, I absolutely love the tables and desks that people are making with those sewing machine legs. I've even seen one used in making a vanity to hold a bathroom sink. I am sure that you will think of something wonderful to use them in . . . and old windows are great for so many things. Maybe after your back is well and you get a little spring back in your step you'll come up with the perfect project for your home. After you get well (and I know you will) you will probably have so much pinned up energy to release that there will be no stopping you. Super Woman!

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  17. Butchy is so little he looks like he could slip through the smallest crack. Sure hope that doesn't happen.
    You had a great idea for using those gazebo ends. I currently have a black metal bed headboard and foot end that I'm trying to make something of. So far no idea ( but it too was free and who can resist?)

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    1. Oh, there are a lot of ideas for headboards on Pinterest, if you haven't looked, you should. One of my favorites is a garden gate. Paint it a bright happy color and have it enter into your garden or put it somewhere in the yard and plant a climbing rose to grow up it :)

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  18. Connie, a happy, beautiful spring wish to you and your sweetie in your spot of paradise!

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    1. Thank you Genie, what a lovely and thoughtful wish :) This Saturday is our 40th anniversary . . . I am blessed to be sharing my life with a sweet christian man that shares my values and sense of humor. We always say that that neither one of us is that smart or creative, but together we make one pretty swell person, LOL.

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  19. I love you did with the gazebo...very pretty! We had to put up a new fence to keep our 2 little Yorkies from getting out the yard.
    ~Cindy

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    1. Good Morning Cindy, Those little dogs become family and we need to protect them . . . There is a lot of traffic on our road especially mornings and evening when people are coming and going from work to home.

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  20. Hi Connie, thanks for joining in following my blog. I love what you done to your porch with those discarded corners. Yum, I wish I was nearer; I'd take you up on the offer of apricots! Have a great day. Jo (South Africa)

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    1. Hello Jo and welcome to my little corner of the world. I am sure that you have some exotic fruits grown in Africa that would be a treat for me, too. Thank you so much for following me back. I am looking forward to your posts and all of your great photographs. This so how I travel the world (through blogging). Have a lovely week, I'm very happy that we've become blogging sisters.

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  21. Love what you've done to the porch, like the wind chimes and those flowers are lovely.

    Spring and blossom just go hand in hand your Apricot tree blossom looks lovely.

    Hope the week is going well, I just know you will have been keeping busy and crafty!

    All the best

    PS Happy Anniversary ...

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    1. Thank you so much . . . 40 years . . . time flies when you're having fun!

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  22. Gosh, you don't let the grass grow under your feet Connie! I love the way you placed these pretty metal 'corners' onto your porch. It really does finish the space of nicely. The chimes look great hanging there, and the little pot of flowers looks great. You are such a creative gal! That canoe looks amazing! Is it heavy to lift? The blossoms on your tree are so pretty. Happy Spring!
    Wendy

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    1. Hi Wendy, what a nice surprise having you visit. Actually the canoe should weigh 65 pounds when it is finished. I'll be posting more photos of it as they work toward getting it built. Thanks so much for stopping in to visit and Happy Spring to you too :)

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  23. I love that you made your porch bigger. They are never big enough and the way you have it decorated is adorable. I love potted plants too. They add life! Good idea putting up a fence. We lost a dog to the road when we first moved out here and it's heartbreaking. I don't let my little Dixie out without a leash or I chain him up. I don't think chain is the proper term anymore as they are not made of chains, but a wire with rubber on it! Either way he does not run free. When he does it's when he runs out with one of us and we get him in right away! He's an escape artist. Blessings to you Connie!

    Cindy Bee

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    1. Oh, my daughter had a dog that would run off every chance it got. Some dogs are like that. In their town if the city caught them each time the cost was higher to get them back. After almost $1,000 in fees, they found a farm for him. That dog was just not meant to live in town in a small yard. Thanks for the sweet words about my little Art Barn porch. It is shaded in the afternoon so it will be a nice spot to rest while gardening and mowing. It is always a pleasure when I see your sweet smile in my comments, thank you :)

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  24. There's nothing better than seeing fruit blossom. It looks as if you have been busy outside now that Spring has arrived. You have been creative with your neighbour's unwanted ironwork by adding it to the porch.

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    1. Thank you, I like the rustic barn married to the shabby chicness of the gazebo's white iron. Kind of like me . . . a little bit shabby and rustic, LOL.

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  25. Looks like a fine fence to keep him contained! You made good uses of those corners on your porch...well done. It looks warm there, and I bet the apricots are wonderful! :)

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    1. Thanks so much for leaving a comment, I love reading them in the morning with my coffee. It has become a little enjoyable routine. Our weather has warmed up, but we are still having frosty mornings some of the time. That's the thing about Spring, every day is a surprise, frost, rain, cloudy and grey, or sunny and warm . . . and then there are the days when you get all four in one day, LOL. It keeps life interesting :)

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  26. Love, love, LOVE what you did with those gazebo corners. Girl, you are so clever! That is a charming addition to your art barn. Well done! I imagine the apricot blossoms must smell heavenly. They certainly are pretty. Fruit trees can be a mess, huh? But, oh, they are so beautiful in bloom. A good trade off, I think. Nice fence and that canoe is gorgeous! Have a great weekend, Connie. Hugs.

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    1. Hi Nancy, I love it when I see that you have left a comment. Wish we lived close enough to at lease have a once a month coffee get together. Tomorrow is our 40th anniversary . . . I don't know if it is our age or just contentment, but we talked about doing something special and to us our most special times are just being home together, so that's how we are going to spend our day :)

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  27. Those corners look fantastic, well done xxx

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    1. Hi Fran, Thank you! I have two more that I am thinking about . . . what to do with. Any ideas?

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  28. You have been very busy this spring! The gazebo pieces look beautiful on your porch, I agree that add some charm. You have a cute furry friend, I've had a puppy for a week now, boy they are a lot of work.. just like having a baby in the house. Pee and poop are the topics of the day.. oh and lots of puppy love ;)

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    1. Butchy was my very first puppy (oh, we have had dogs, but never puppies) it was a job and every time I thought he was house broken, he showed me that he wasn't, LOL. It funny now but not then. I called my niece the Vet and told her my problem and she told me how to box train him; it worked like a charm :)

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  29. I love the repurpose of the gazebo corners! is that a bunk bed ladder on the top? Looks like one... and if so, then kudos for that repurpose too!
    Anyway, your porch and yard looks nice. that canoe is coming along nice too!

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    1. No bunk bed ladder, but that's a great idea. Those are treated 2X4's they square it all up, attach it to the building and give me a place to hang those chimes or a hanging plant, although hanging plants do not do well here unless they have a drip line. Our desert air and very hot summers make containers something that has to be watered all the time.

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