~ April Mash Up.. aka... stuff keeping me busy this spring ~

 Goodness.
Now that warmer weather is here, we have been super busy.
You know, that old adage.. "make hay while the sun shines"?
Well.. we've been making hay!
Catching up on our 'to-do' list, and getting projects squared away.
We've thrown in a lot of fun too.
Yard sales, trips, anniversary celebration {the reason we took a trip}.
All, great stuff.

 Snagged the above dishes at a yard sale.
Both sets of dishes for just a few dollars.
Neither set is complete, but that's really ok with me.  I really love the design on the dishes and there are so many great pieces, that it really doesn't matter if the sets are complete.
Both sets of dishes, from what I've researched, are from the 1930's and 1940's.

 I've been busy painting.
Inside and outside {as you will see, later on in the post}
Inside, I re-painted this old buffet table.  Believe it or not, I've had this buffet for about 10-12 years. Found on the side of the road.....literally.
I repainted it with a soft yellow paint, and dry brushed some white glaze over it, and replaced the knobs with giant glass knobs. This buffet has had many a transformation, and has been used as storage in many a room in our house.
I'm digging it in it's current finish, and in it's current location: as a entry way table.
I also snagged the mirror from our youngest son. He had it in a closet and wasn't using it.
So, a coat or two of white chalk paint later, and a marriage to the buffet, and presto- change... a great combination for the entry.
Oh, and I spray painted the buffet lamps a brushed nickel color, and white chalk painted the lamp shades also.

 On one of our yard sale buying jags, I bought the above oak framed artwork for just 25 cents a frame. After scrubbing the frames, and taking out the dated art work, and painting the mat boards with black chalk paint, and the frames with white chalk paint.......

 presto - change... some cute and simple art work.
I hung the daisy-like pictures in our master bedroom.
Love the simple graphic flowers, and the 'shabby chic' frames now.  All for a dollar, and little creativity and elbow grease.
That's what I call a win!

 We've been having a lot of rain storms.
So far this week, it rained on Mon., Tues., and Wednesday.
Finally, the clouds have cleared a bit and today should be a warmer and dryer day.
For all those folks that have had little faith, I say, "Have Faith"!
In this time of drought, the Lord will provide!!
Heavenly Father has blessed us with lots of wonderful rain!

 My sweet husband and I just celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary!!
Yippee!! I've been wed to my very best friend for 28 years now!!
We celebrated by getting away on a little anniversary trip.
We went to sunny St. George.
We had so much fun!! We shopped and shopped.
We shopped all the thrift stores, and antique stores, etc.
I found the above treasures at a thrift store, and right away I knew just what I would do with each item.

 Previously, I had a small picture on the right side of my dining room hutch.
I've really been digging French Farmhouse décor, and wanted to add some copper accents and baskets in our dining area/ kitchen.

 Ta-da!
After giving the large platter basket a coat of gray paint, then a dry brush coat of white chalk paint, I now have just the look I wanted in that space!
Oh, I just adore that old copper fish.
Those old copper molds were all the rage in the 1970's.  I loved them then, and I love them now..... although I am partial to the fish shaped molds.
And, who doesn't love a great basket?!!

 Ok... so back to the painting.
Remember how I mentioned that I had been painting indoors, and out?
The above picture is of our youngest son's house : Dunravin , it's the name of his house, and it has needed to be painted for a long time.
He has been the owner of Dunravin for about 16 months.
All of the electrical has been replaced, the plumbing, the insulation, inside painting, etc.. etc..
On the outside, we were waiting for good weather this spring to give the house a make-over.
Boy did it ever need it!
I'm not really sure what color it was.  Our son called it baby poo yellow/green.  Yeah.. that's about right.

 Now: Yay!! A fresh coat of paint has done wonders for Dunravin!!
A soft gray color : Gray Mist by Behr. 
The body of the house is done, but we are steadily working on getting the trim done.
Of course on an old house, it's much easier said than done.
Windows have to be caulked, scraped, some wood filler used, and then painted. Trim work is hard work because it is so high off the ground, and there is so much of it.
One of our biggest challenges, has been the weather. We'll have a few hours of sunshine, and then the rain begins.
I have a newer picture than the one above {taken last Sunday}, we have made progress and I'll have to post those pictures one of these next times.

Finally, a rainbow!
After a few days of rain, across the meadow was this beautiful rainbow. It was actually a double rainbow... if you look to the left upper hand corner, you can just see a faint double arch.

Yes.. this is a busy time of year.
All of us are busy, busy. Yard work to do, renovation projects for some of us, etc.
We also have a fence to build here at Mill Hill Meadow this summer.  So, if I am absent for a bit, you'll all know that somewhere I'm working my fingers to the bone ****giggle**.
Miss you all, and I hope to catch up on what you've been up to, very soon.
Smiles, and hugs... ~~~ Kerin

Attitude of gratitude:
~Grateful for my wonderful family! I couldn't get half the stuff done with out all the help that they give me!
~ Feeling grateful for the rain that we've been blessed with! Although, I seriously want to wring the neck of the farmer just East of us. He's had his wheel lines going night and day, even though it's been pouring rain for 3 days. What gives??
~I'm so thankful for good health!! We all caught the cold that is making the rounds, but thankfully, in just a day or two, we all felt great again. We are blessed not to have had the cold hang on, and not to have had that horrible cough that others have had. Whew!
~I'm thankful that the drive-in movie is open again!! We've had a blast on the past few date nights; going to the drive in!! Cup of chili, drive in movie, and my sweetheart = a great beginning to the summer!!