Last week my husband was in a very minor (thank goodness!) fender bender, so I had to bring the car in this week to get repaired. This left the girls and I without a vehicle for two days and I must admit that it was a wonderful couple of days!
While sequestered we had the most marvelous of times! We read a ton, made a few more kinds of soap, and worked a great deal in the garden. It was wonderful to know how much fun we could have, without ever leaving the comfort of our little home.
Many years ago (I believe I was in junior high), my extended family gathered at my grandma and grandpa’s home for our annual Easter celebration. My grandma, who was always filled with creative ideas, told each member of the family sit in a circle in the family room. She and my grandpa then proceeded to hand each of us a plastic Easter egg. Once everyone had two eggs each, one from my grandma and one from my grandpa, we were told to open the egg. Inside each egg was a tiny slip of paper. On each slip was written one thing that my grandma and grandpa found to be unique to each of us.
To this day, I have not forgotten what Grandpa “Dit” wrote on my slip of paper: “You like old things.” Those four words could not be more fitting to describe me. I have worn vintage clothes from thrift stores since seventh grade, love old music, enjoy antiquing, and I have been especially obsessed with refurbishing old pieces of furniture since I has in high school.
Over the course of the past several weeks I felt that itch again. The itch to take something old and unique and make it new again. So while my husband was on spring break last week and he spent his hours relishing in the time he could spend with the girls, I got to work on some projects.
For some time now, I have been wanting to find antique pieces to refinish and then use to redecorate our outdoor space. We spend almost every waking moment out there come summer time, and I felt like the area needed a bit of sprucing up. My husband’s grandmother, gave me a beautiful iron garden table that I stripped and then repainted.
I then went to every thrift store and antique mall in the city (and my husband will attest that there are MANY in our area), and finally came upon a fabulous dining room table that had two additional leaves that could be added. With a little tender loving care I knew it would be the perfect table for our many outdoor summer gatherings with family and friends. I repainted the bottom portion of the table, my husband fastened the leaves together so that it would stay together permanently, and I then put several layers of outdoor polyurethane on the table top to add some extra protection.
I have a few more projects in the works, so stay tuned…
Have you ever peered into your cupboard to find nothing inspiring to bring to the dinner table? Can you imagine being in such a situation and then realizing you are able to literally go into your very own backyard to find it brimming with life, just waiting to be consumed on your dinner plate? I’m not talking about your annual vegetable garden here. I am referring to those plants that are often viewed by mainstream culture as being a nuisance, something that needs to be sprayed, pulled, or plundered so that our lawns and backyards can look “good.”
I have recently been reading up a bit on backyard foraging. I gained inspiration from this blog, The Rhythm of Family, and Many Paths, One Journey to Health for simple recipes that incorporate those bits of vegetation that almost anyone can find in their very own backyards!
**A note: You must be sure that you are only foraging in an area that you know for sure has not been sprayed with weed killers, insecticides, etc. We stick to our own yard only. I don’t even let the girls pick those edibles near the road way, just in case some “yucky stuff” made its way to the plants via a passerby.
Yesterday we enjoyed a fabulous day of gardening! We mapped out our 2012 garden beds, read a little bit about companion planting, and got our hands dirty. All the makings of a great day!
Here are some of our go-to books for gardening:
And if you are wondering about the girls’ sun dresses…I made them last summer from a pattern from Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule.
I hope all of you have a wonderful week!
Making of a Home 