Clutter Free Me: My Frame Closet

This month I have been hard at work on my studio (aka “The Hen Nest”).  It’s been our catch-all since we’ve moved in.  It’s coming along nicely.

One of the areas we’ve redone is what we’ve called ‘the fish closet’.  When the previous owners finished basement, they put in a weird shaped closet along one wall.  It’s long and narrow, with the end being an angled mess from where they put their stereo system. 

That window on the right under the light held a huge fish tank. 

The whole closet was nasty when they moved out.  Himself cleaned it and scrubbed it and tore out the tank with all its bracings. 

Then it just kinda sat there.  I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it until I was grumbling to Himself about needed some how to store the ba-zillion framed art pieces AND empty frames I had all over the place.  The fish closet would be a perfect place to become ‘the frame closet’!!

The space was still dingy so I bought 3 cans of Kilz in bright white.  That concrete sucked it up like a sponge.  I didn’t bother painting the back because the shelf would be in front.  No use painting what was going to be covered.  I didn’t quite finish because I ran out of paint.  Himself said when it warms up enough to have the window open, he’d finish it for me.  

And here is my finished shelf!  All the wood came out of my lumber stash.  There is room for even my largest frames.  Extra large, large and medium fit on the shelves.  

My smaller frames (8X10 and below) fit into the wheeled bins on the floor.  And there was even enough space to put my file cabinet away. 

I love it!  For the first time all my frames are together and easy to get to. 

Valentine, You Caught Me!

When I saw this quote, I knew I had to do something with it for a Valentine gift for Himself.  It is SO us.  He definitely caught my eye! 

Little did I know it was going to be a major project!!

I reused a canvas from a painting that did not turn out how I wanted it to.  Completely covered it with silver acrylic paint.  I put it on heavy and patted the paint with a broad brush to mimic a ‘hammered’ look.

The hearts were done free hand and I did some flourishes to embellish them.  So far, so good.

Then I tried to paint my quote on the first heart.  Major fail…. I can’t letter worth a hoot!  I admitted defeat and decided to just paint over it to use individual letters.  And that is where my frustration began. 

After about 7 coats of red paint you could still plainly read the words when it dried.  SEVEN coats!!!  I got mad and took the black paint bottle and squeezed it directly on the area.  My red heart was now distinctly black.  Once that dried, I did the same with the red bottle.  I’m telling you… the left heart now has some major texture!  LOL 

But that did the trick, and I was able to finish by applying wood letters I had done up in black. 

The flourishes in the corners are done with a platinum calligraphy felt tip. 

I finished it this morning.  Just in time to give to my Valentine.

http://www.craftingforallseasons.blogspot.com 

http://www.natalieandamy.blogspot.co.uk  

http://www.thatcraftplaceblog.blogspot.co.uk  

51-derful: Supplementing A Healthy Diet

I’ve posted about my move to a healthier lifestyle with my eating habits.  But we all know that life sometimes gets in the way and you don’t eat exactly the best way for yourself.  Because of that, I take a variety of dietary supplements to make up the lack in my meals.  

I start off with a good women’s multi vitamin with a high B and D doses.  It meets almost every dosage level I want.

The high B is because of the great benefits and the fact that deficiency is fairly common.  A word of warning with taking vitamin B… especially if you take a separate supplement.  The instructions will warn you to “take with food”.  DON’T ignore that!!  Last year I forgot to take my vitamins at meal time.  A few hours later I remembered and thought it was close enough to my last meal.

Bad thought…

A few hours later… these vitamins I’d been taking for a while… turned on me.  It started with nausea and turned into pain.  It felt like I had burned my stomach.  There was a point where I thought I’d be heading to the urgent care center!  And it took days before the tender feeling went away.

Also, B6 increases neurotransmitter activity and can cause some vivid dreaming… so take it early in the day!  You don’t want a restless night’s sleep.

Vitamin D helps ensure strong bones by increasing the rate that minerals such as calcium and magnesium are deposited into bones. It’s also crucial for the absorption of calcium from food.  At 51, it’s time to make sure my dense strong bones stay that way.

I take a vitamin C supplement largely because it helps combat colds.  With the babies in my life… I need all the help in that area I can get.  Preschools are germ factories!!!

Next supplement is my Omega 3-6-9 complex for the cardiac benefits.  Again… being 51…

I take Magnesium for its calming effect on nerves and muscles.  It makes it easier to wind down for sleep.

For my tired ole bones, I take Glucosamine with chondroitin.  Himself has been taking this for a long time and it helps him.  (Twenty two years of jumping out of airplanes is hard on the body!)  I can tell the benefit in the knees coming up and down our stairs.

Finally, I take Coenzyme Q10. It is needed for basic cell function. CoQ10 levels decrease with age… again, that darn 51…

There is one more ‘supplement’ in my arsenal.  It comes in a bowl rather than a pill.  Most mornings I have a high fiber cereal.  Usually about 18-ish grams serving.  (Make sure you build up to a high fiber regimen!!)

These additions to my diet are proving themselves helpful.  I have more energy and feel all-around better when I keep up with them.

His Great Grandfather's Church

Himself’s great-grandfather Christoph Schulz (1840-1922) emigrated from Germany in the mid 1860s and settled in the Winona, MN area.  From the stories of family members who were blessed with having known him, he was a man of great faith. 

Himself’s cousin Herb was Christoph’s grandson.  He had two favorite stories about his grandfather.

First, he told of times they would be out visiting and would be snowed in on a Sunday.  Too difficult for the horses to make it to the church, Christoph would open the Bible and conduct his own services.  The kids would scatter…knowing Grandpa’s sermons were long.  Herb would chuckle as he told about Grandpa finding him hiding in the chicken coop and dragging him by the collar back to the house for home church.

Herb also recollected many evenings when Grandpa Christoph would fall asleep with his head on his Bible.

Christoph was a founding member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Wilson, MN.  The Winona Daily News in an article about an addition to the church had this to say; “Wilson-area farmers, most of them German, founded Trinity Lutheran in 1866 and built the current structure in 1914. Its classic red bricks house an interior highlighted by stained-glass windows captioned in German.

Four of the windows depict the biblical parable of the sower and the seed - appropriate for a church surrounded by farm fields. Straseske's favorite pane depicts the seed falling on fertile ground, an analogy for those who hear God's word and take it to heart.”

A photo of Trinity taken on one of our trips in ’07…before the addition. 

This trip we were in Winona on Sunday and decided to visit Great-grandfather’s church.

In the sanctuary.

Pews and one of the stained glass windows showing “The Good Samaritan”. 

Detail of the window.

Simple beauty.

 

Some of the stained glass windows.  Supposedly Christoph bought one for the church.  

I found it interesting how the windows were made. 

There are still family members who attend this church.  What a wonderful heritage of a man of faith!

Snowy Tennessee Morning

We had a rare snow day this weekend… if you could call it a ‘day’.  We woke up to about two inches of snow but it was gone by lunchtime. 

Part of our morning routine is to put bird seed out on the deck and enjoy the visitors while we sip our morning cuppas.  On this morning, with the snow on the railing, it was even lovelier to watch.

Himself setting the bird buffet

Their spread

Bird watching from the couch.

Hey!  Where's our breakfast?

Pretty please?

Did they cancel because of snow?

The buffet is open!

Making sure he's not the next one on a menu!  (We have a resident red-tail hawk.)

 Everyone enjoys their breakfast.

  

One perfect snow flake.

Choices!

Snow bird (aka dark eyed junco).

Shoveling thru the snow.

Darn!  It's started snowing again!

Better eat quick.

Let's see... I'll try...

Two types of finches

I'll try the suet box.

Good eats...cold feet

Our sycamore tree.  The finches love the seeds from the balls.

Love birds (doves).  They prefer the ground food we toss on the sidewalk.

Little Cabin in the Hills

I just realized I hadn’t finished with my stories of our annual trip up North to visit family and friends. 

One of our friends has a cabin waaaay out in the country they use for family outings.  

Over the river and thru the cow gates…

…to the little cabin we go!  It is a family undertaking, coming together one DIY project at a time.

It has its own little pond/lake too.  In the summer it is perfect for fishing, catching frogs, or having a good in the paddleboat.  

But this time of the year is ice-breaking time.

Family and friends have used it for years as a hunting cabin.  Some of those came home with me to make baskets with!  

It has all the conveniences you’d need!

Just kidding!  The door on the right is the bathroom.  The wood stove keeps the cabin very warm.  It’s still a work-in-progress with the next plan to be a kitchen. 

Comfy sitting area.

Love the railing on the sleeping loft.  All the wood came from the property. 

It is such a peaceful place.  We had a fantastic time out there!