Should Three Dogs Become Four?

Is this little dog cute or what?

Our paths crossed, literally, last Saturday morning.  We were on our way to our first meeting of our local garden club (trust me when I say that story is worth a post all of its own) when traffic suddenly stopped.  We couldn't figure why until one of the cars in front of us slowly inched past a very frightened little white dog.

My husband came to a complete stop knowing that I would be jumping out of the car.  The frighten little dog darted to the middle of the six lane street as I came around the front of the car.  I was sure she would be hit by car if I tried to get closer so I kneeled down and called out to her.  To my amazement she came right to me, almost jumping into my arms before her little body went limp with relief.

She had no collar, no tags, no chip.  She was dirty, tired and hungry.  She was scratching due to the fleas and she was way too this yet this little scamp of a dog was wagging her tail.

She had no reason to trust anyone and here she was trusting us to make things better for her.  Apparently no one is looking for her, she isn't one of the many dogs listed under lost on Craiglist and no one has responded to my listings for a found dog, which I don't understand.  She is one of the cutest little dogs I have every seen and her personality is simply precious. 

She took to my husband immediately which proved to be a smart move.  And my sweet husband took right to her.  He has been infavor of keeping from the start.  She seemed to fit right in with the rest of the family too.  She follows us around never lettong us out of her site.   On Sunday she insisted on only being inches away from me, even napping close by while I planted flowers.

 

So it is no big surprise we are thinking of keeping her.  The only thing that holds me back is Zoey.  Zoey's nose is so far out of joint that it is on her tail.  If you are a regular reader you know what a special bond I have with my Chihuahua and if this addition to our pack makes her unhappy

 it is a no go. 

So I will have to let you know if my three dogs at home shall become four.

 

Thanks for reading,

Hen and chicks, just add water bottle.

Last week I traveled to Sacramento to visit my stepmother and I brought back a few of my dad’s favorite succulent, Hen and Chick, to plant in my own yard. Of course I waited till the last minute to “pick” the plants to take home.

This was probably a good thing since it was so hot.  I was not exactly sure how to transport them but my sweet stepmother insisted they would do fine in a plastic bag.  She simply pulled up a chunk complete with blooms and plopped them into the bag for the four hour trip home. 

And they survived the trip blossoms and all.

This is the pot I chose for the succulent but I didn’t have enough soil to fill it.

This is where these plastic bottles came into the picture.

Of course Zoey was there to supervise the entire project.

I simply put a layer of soil in the pot and filled it about half way full with the bottles and then filled the rest of the pot with soil.

It was so light I could move it myself with our little blue hand truck.

I placed the plants on top and covered the roots with more soil and added water.

These must be hardy little buggers because after all that they still looked great. 

Thanks for reading,

Traci

Dining Chairs Alfresco

If you are a regular follower you know that I have been slowly redecorating our dinning room.  Each week I get a bit closer to finishing so the emphasis is on slowly.  If you have missed any part of the redo you can check each of my DIY projects by clicking on the project name : wood flooring, molding, and paint,  curtain panels, reupholstered footstool, lumbar pillows, and the buffet table. 

I  just typing all the work that has gone into this room is tiring.

This is what my dining room looked like shortly after we moved in to our current house but it shows what the table and chairs looked like before their make-over.  Now that the chairs are done the table is next.  But back to the chairs.

First I gave the chairs a light sanding and then I evened out some bare spots with Minwax gel stain.  I had a bit of trouble with the stain completely drying before the wood was dark enough.  It was almost like maybe the wood had been sealed before the finish was sprayed on.  But the gel stain did soften the finish and made it so I could move it around a some.  What I ended up with was a very soft looking very satin finish. 

Here are the chairs all set up for their spray finish.  If you look carefully you can see that the chairs are resting on the wood samples we collected while choosing our wood flooring.  I just could not throw them out so I have been using them to prop up all my spray paint victims.  They are getting a lot of use.

I used my favorite furniture finish, Man O’War Marine Varnish, for these chairs.  I love the way the finish comes out in a super fine mist and it covers beautifully.  I ran out half way through the project and decided to use be lazy and use another spray finish.  Bad idea, it only took me a few moments to realize I was off to the store for more Man O’ War.  At the check out the clerk said “Wow, $12.99, is this stuff worth it?”  Yes it is worth it.

I wish you could reach out through your screen and feel this finish.  I also use this finish on items that are going to be exposed to water.

Zoey likes the finish.

 I am thrilled to be one step closer to finishing this room.

Thanks for reading,

Traci

I will be linking up to these great parties.

Nail Polish or Nail Gun?

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Recently my husband and I trying to put away more money so I have a budget for my weekly expenses.  It is not a terribly restrictive budget but it makes me think about my purchases.  If I spend more money on food or eating out I hold off on purchasing clothing or other items.
Last week I had $35 left at the end of the week so I was thinking about buying this trendy new nail polish from OPI.
e-polish blog
Until my husband and I took what was supposed to be a quick trip to OSH to pick up some spray finish for the dining room chairs.
And while we were there my husband had to stroll over to the tool department.  (Said in a sarcastic voice) Of course he was only thinking of me, after all I was hardly able to lift our pneumatic stapler.

Look how big it is. 

So (said in a very sincere voice) he thought I should have this much smaller one.  He is for anything that lets me do the things I want to do while keeping me out of pain.  He is sweet that way.

Look how much smaller it is.  And it is a lot lighter.

And here is an artsy shot with Tasha in the background.

This is the first project using the new nailer.  I had already replaced the fabric and all I needed to do was to attach that black fabric that I don’t know the name of and they put underneath all upholstered pieces.  I am sure there is a name for it but it is not in my vocabulary.

But back to the chair.  My new nailer/stapler uses bigger staples, they are circled in green while the old gigantic nailer used much smaller staples, they are circled in red. 

But what about the budget you ask?  This little nailer was a fantastic buy at only $34.99 so I was still within my budget, but the nail polish will have to wait til next week. 

I am super excited about using my little nailer again and finishing this project so I am hoping for a few pain free hours this week.  Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

Thanks for reading,
Traci

I will be linking up to these great parties.