Hanging Around- some little things

A couple of weeks ago, it was a bit rainy & cold outside.
I puttered around the house looking for a little project to do.
I remembered I had this little shelf that I wanted to find a place to hang.
After some deliberation, I decided upon the dining room above the radiator.
It was perfect, since I couldn't put a piece of furniture there anyway (radiator in the way).





Many of my dishes/decorative items are still in boxes awaiting the butler's pantry, but I dug these out for now!

The other item I decided to put out was a brass shop keepers oil lamp that my mom had given us.
I've been searching the local antique shops for a tall chimney that it's missing.

I liked the way it looked hanging in the window of our back porch.

<-- I love the silhouette.

Here's a shot where you can actually see the lamp. --->



A good way to spend a rainy afternoon (and feel like something got accomplished!)

Peep Peep

Can you guess what we got this weekend?

Mike has finished the chicken book, & is almost done with the fencing around the coop (which won't be needed for at least a few weeks) 

It was time to pick up the chicks!

I arrived at Tractor Supply with my breed "wish list", complete with stars drawn next to the ones I really liked.  Unfortunately, they had the chicks split into just two groups: "Red pullets" and "Variety pullets".
So, we got four of each.  We'll figure out exactly which breeds they are once their feathers grow in (I hope!)


They are too small to go in the coop just yet.
Luckily we have a brooder (cage) that the house's previous owner left us in the barn.  We scrubbed it down with bleach & water, and then lined the bottom with cardboard & pine chips. The chicks need a heat lamp to keep them warm, and of course, feed & water.


We've placed the brooder in our enclosed back porch.
Once they're bigger and grow their feathers, they'll be moved out to the coop.



**I should note that there's a risk of Salmonella, so precautions must be taken in that regard.  And children under 5 years old should not handle baby chicks.**
That's probably for the safety of the child as well as the chick!
My 3 year old is just allowed to "pet" them (and then wash his hands immediately).
My 7 year old is a bit of a germ-o-phob anyway, so he's diligent about washing his hands after playing with them.  I have a bottle of hand sanitzer on stand-by as well! 


Anyways- I must admit that they're pretty darn cute.








It's hard to believe how loud they are.  We could hear them upstairs on the opposite side of the house!


So far, they're really easy to care for.  I'll keep you posted on if that continues!

In the meantime, all I have are some pics- enjoy :o)

Mending Fences

Our yard has a bunch of fencing... The portion of our yard immediately behind the house is enclosed by a picket fence.  The larger fields and perimeter of the property have split rail fences.



We've been slowly making progress on repairing the broken pickets, and replacing the rotting/broken rails.

Yes, all that fencing is ours!
This is the back corner of the property,
between the horse barn, the corral, and the fields.

And it's finally done!


I know the deer will keep knocking down pickets, and there are more rails that are in various stages of decay... but at least I feel like we're finally on top of it!

Now it'll just be repairing or replacing them as they fail.

Of course, the white picket fence needs some painting, and we still need to stain the privacy fence we put up... there's never a shortage of projects!

Chair repair- glued

It's pretty bad when the whole thing
just falls right out!

Last chair post this month- I promise!


The rungs on our dining room chairs have become loose...


I think it's the fact that my 3 year old climbs onto the chairs using the rungs as a step, plus the fact that they're old chairs to begin with!


I've posted on the other Chair Repairs here and here.
This one was quick & easy  to tackle!




All it took was a little wood glue, placed into the holds and then holding them tight until the glue dries.




I didn't feel like walking out to get Mike's clamps (yes, a bit lazy!) but I needed something to keep some weight on until the glue dried.  I improvised with the other chair I was working on...

Ha- it might not be pretty, but it did work!

Foot Stool Fix

Since I had some left over fabric from re-doing the chair, I decided to also cover this little foot stool.

The stitching that was on it was in great shape, but didn't match my colors...
So I left it intact, and just put the new material right over it.

Ten minutes later, I had this:

Here it is with the chair I was working on, even though they aren't going to be placed together in the room!