Transplant

We've had these spiral trees in the front yard since we moved in.

I have always thought they were overgrown so

I've been trying to talk the husband into getting rid of them.

I'd estimate their age to be 20 years old and they've been neglected off and on

so their fun spiral flair is gone.

While on a faucet finding trip to Home Depot, the husband spotted these trees.

I asked if he'd like them in the front yard and he finally agreed.

His only stipulation was that they be transplanted in the back yard.

(That required a lot of work from him and the 16-year-old.)

Do you see the first one at the top of the hill?

Here's the before and after...

 So much better (IMHO)!

Progress in the Kitchen

I don't know why every home improvement project around turns into a fiasco,

but we've done it again!

My new countertops were scheduled for Monday.

They came and removed all the plumbing and the countertops.

They messed up so came back Tuesday.

They decided they needed to refabricate all of them so they said they'd be back Thursday.

I called Thursday and they said I was scheduled for Saturday morning!

Ugh!

The countertops are in.

Here's a picture of the desk...before, during, and after.

The only good thing about this project is that I haven't had to do dishes for six days!!!

I'll post the rest when the backsplash is done!

Recycle, Recycle, Recycle

My kitchen countertops came out today.

I thought there had to be another use for them

I decided to use them in the garage since the shelves there are painted and scratched up.  

It forced a little clean-up job, too!

What's under your countertops?

I'm getting some new countertops next week.

It occurred to me today that if they come take my old countertops off,

you're going to be able to see my drawers!

*GASP*

 So I decided to clean some of them out.

 Here are some before and afters.

 Some of the after pictures are sideways.

 Just tilt your head to see the difference!

;-)

Good Tension

I don't have a good cabinet for my cookie sheets in my kitchen.

I've been putting them in the sink cabinet like this,

but they often fall over.

 I've decided to try a couple of curtain tension rods to hold them up.

If we're not too violent when we put the pans away, 

they should be able to keep them in place.

The Little Girl's Room

I went through the 3-year-old girl's clothes and got her warm weather clothes out.

This is what I'm taking to the D.I.

 And I've had pictures waiting to be hung for about a year in her room.

 I got that taken care of too!

 The picture of the little girl is one from my college days that I love.

I love the feet even more.  One of them is hers and the other one is her twin brother's!

E6000

I just bought my first tube of E6000 and put it to work.

It's permanent and flexible and thick (not like runny super glue).

I have three of these in my house

that now look like this...

And I used two candlestick holders from an estate sale

along with two glass plates from the D.I.

and made these...

 (I tried to get a picture of these with the cookies and brownies on them,

but I wasn't fast enough!)

Mother's Day Flowers

I got a new toy a while ago.

It's a scoring tool/board made by Stampin Up!

I played with it this weekend by making

these cute flowers to put in a pack of petunias 

for each of the mothers who came to my house 

for Mother's Day.

Love you all!

No More Piggies!

Two of my boys got guinea pigs about a year go.

They were fun for a while

and then they were neglected.

I have a friend whose blog I was looking at who was looking to get a pet rat.

I emailed her and asked if two adorable, free guinea pigs would work.

She agreed.

And on Tuesday, I took them to their new home.

Look at all of the attention they're getting now.

I'm thrilled and I'm sure that they are too!

Shower Steps

My mother-in-law was in need of a ramp or steps to get into the shower.

I have a little experience with homemade physical therapy devices so I went to work.

Here's what I started with...

Here's the progress...

And here's what I came up with...

Hopefully it's just what she needs!

No More Mud

I didn't get a before picture of this something

so just imagine a dirt/mud spot in the middle of the grass.

We let kids cut through our yard to get to the school

and that hasn't helped the situation.

I'm hoping that these

will help.

I'm also hoping that I can get grass to grow around them!

Lots of Case Lots

There have been great sales at the grocery stores around here lately.

It's always fun to get a good deal,

but then I have to put it all away.

A well-stocked food storage room makes me smile!

;-)