My Vegetable and Flower Garden...

My son Rick made me this sign out of Cedar a few years ago and I just recently sanded it down from the gray stain.  You can still see a faint "Bird Nest Cottage" on it.  I have to get out there and paint it again before it gets too hot here.  Actually, it is 85 degrees here right now, so it may already be to late.

This time of year is just so hectic trying to get the yard and gardens all ready for summer.  There's always something to do and not enough time or energy from me.

It was kind of bright when I took this photo but "Welcome to My Garden".

We had planted all the peppers and tomatoes, so today, I finally put in the zucchini, yellow squash and Burpee burpless cucumbers.  It you haven't ever planted these cucumbers, try them, you'll never settle for any others.

You don't need a big space to have fresh vegetables all summer long.  My grandchildren just love pickin' the crops.  

I have three of these little chicks that were sent to me by my good garden friend Brenda at Cozy Little House.  They were painted with little polka dots then but due to some rust I recently painted them this red.  They guard the plants for me.

This is my Lemon Balm and it's doing really well.  I recently saw a recipe for a Lemon Herb Tea Bread at
Life at Wildberry Cottage.  I'm anxious to try it when my Lemon Balm gets just a little bigger.

I've never gotten Onion Chives before but I think they will be a great addition to many summer recipes.

You can never have too much parsley.

My Sweet Basil was taller but I cut it off today to try to get it to spread out a little.

The tomatoes are working their way up the cages.

Finally, this is my Zinnia "Cut & Come Again" cutting garden.  I just can't wait until I can cut some of these for the house and screened porch.

Oops!  Look at that "dern" Bermuda grass trying to creep up the rocks and into my flower bed.  It's the best and worst thing about living in the South.  Bermuda grass stays lush and green all Summer long and any other kind of grass just burns up.  We could have a sprinkler system but we're just too cheap and with the drought's, we probably couldn't run it anyway.

How is your garden growing?

Gretchen

What Kind of Mother Am I?...

My youngest son Chris celebrated his 40th birthday on April 26, 2012 and I didn't blog about it.  What kind of mother forgets to blog about her youngest sons birthday?  I search for blog topics and skip one of the very best I could find.  Please give me a few minutes while I tell you about a very special man.

This was a picture of my sons Rick and Chris the year Rick graduated from High School. 

Rick was born January 25, 1970 and Chris on April 26, 1972.  From the day Chris was born, what I wanted most for him was to have the relationship with his brother that my two brothers had.

His father and I divorced when he was just in 3rd grade and it was tough on the boys. We went through our struggles while he was growing up and I was too, but Chris was and is one of the sweetest people you would ever meet.  He didn't set the world on fire in high school with his grades but he did OK and his Dad and I were both always really proud of him. 

Chris joined the United States Navy upon graduation from high school.  Within a year, he suffered a trajedy that would be really hard for any 19 year old.  His Dad died from a massive heart attack.  He was only 44.  Chris joined his brother Rick (who flew home from Japan where he was in the Navy) to celebrate his fathers life.  Chris was stationed in Jacksonville, FL at that time and his next duty station was Pensacola, FL where he was sent to school to be a Crytologic Technician.  After graduating there, he was sent to the Virginia Beach area.  I can't tell you a lot about that, because his job had a Top Security Clearance.  Chris' main goal in entering the Navy had been to get the GI bill to help with college.  After taking a few classes at Old Dominion University and finishing his enlistment in the Navy, he transferred to the University of South Carolina.  He moved in with Mr. Bird Nest and I and got a job with UPS.  He went to school during the day and worked at night until he graduated with a degree in Finance.  He left college with no college loans thanks to some smart stock purchases, a great aunt who helped and his hard work.  Chris was ticking off goals from his list left and right.  Actually, he's the most goal oriented kid I've ever met.   


At the Univ. of SC Chris met Elizabeth and they were married when she graduated from there.  They traveled to Rome on their honeymoon.  Chris was 29.  They blessed all of our lives, when Carson and Lauren were born.

He's now the North American Roofing Buyer for Guardian Building Products in Greer SC and within the next two years he and Elizabeth plan to build their dream house.

Along the way, he continued to fly fish with his brother whenever they could.  This was the legacy his father left him, a love of fly fishing and the outdoors.



Other than family time, there's nothing Chris enjoys more than being on a trout stream or out on the water in a boat with his brother or his son.



Chris and Rick got word this week that their paternal grandmother had passed away in PA.  Below is the post that Chris put on his Facebook page May 2, 2012.

Lost my Grandma Grube after 88 years today. Dad has been gone now for over twenty. When I would talk to her she always asked "Do you and your brother still fish together? I would say yes and she would say your dad would have really liked that. We are coming to Pennsylvania to celebrate your life and say our goodbyes. And yes we are bringing our fly rods because I know you would have liked that:)

 

Is it any wonder why I love this boy, who is now a man,

so very much?

 

Happy 40th Birthday Chris!

 

From your greatest admirer,

Mom

I Love Urns...

Yesterday I was out shopping for a birthday gift for a friend and what did I find but this tin, chippy urn.  If it hadn't had the red paint on it, I probably could have passed it up.  But since it was my favorite color I had to have it.  Of course then I had to get something to put in it.  I found these plants and added twigs.  I've been looking for something for my dining table and this really worked for me.

You can see how it looked close up and I'm now a fan of that chippy look.

I got this little urn about a month ago.  (This little table may be my next chalk paint project.)

Here is his twin that is on my blog header.

My utensils have been in this urn for a few years and I love it.  It's heavy so it won't tip over.

Then there are these two urns by my front door.

Do you love urns too?

Gretchen

First Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Project...

These are the candlesticks I began with originally.  Wow, I'm glad I've learned a little more about picture taking.  Is this photo dark or what?

Here they are in my craft room (my kitchen counter).

I first painted them with Annie Sloan Old White.  Then I tried layering them with French Linen.  I didn't like how they looked so I then painted them all over with French Linen.  That looked better!  I then sort of dry brushed them with the Old White.

Now, I have to be honest, I still have to put on the clear paste wax but I wanted to get this blog done, since tomorrow is my day for an infusion of Remicade and an appointment with my rheumatologist.   

Now, you devotees of Annie Sloan may cringe at my technique.  Remember, Penny gave me a quick 5 minute tutorial at the store when I bought my paints, so I was pretty much flying blind here. 

The paint looks really chippy and layered.  Is that what they are supposed to look like?  Hope so because I'm really happy with them.  

Special thanks to Penny at Comforts of Home and Kim of Savvy Southern Style.  Kim doesn't know it,  but she recently did a project with Annie Sloan chalk paint and I kept going to her site to see what her beautiful plate rack looked like when she was finished.  That helped a lot to be able to see a project already completed.

Have you ever used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint?

Gretchen 

After - The Master Bathroom...

This the Master Bathroom and again I took the pictures going from right to left. 

We chose to go with beadboard in here too, but changed the wall color to this soft green.

Here, we put in a cabinet for towel storage and I added glass knobs.  

I didn't want to have a jetted tub.  What I did want, was this deep soaking tub with arm rests that my husband found for me.  This tub is 18 inches deep and my six year old granddaughter (when she was little) loved to swim in it.  Since I live with rheumatoid arthritis, it really helps when I'm in pain.

The watercolor above the tub, I bought on our first trip to Charleston, SC.   

I got this 3 light chandelier for over the tub.  Mr. Bird Nest even put a dimmer on it for me without my asking.

I especially love my tub when all the tea lights are lit on this little tree.

Sorry about the glare in the pictures.  Sometimes, I wonder if I'll ever get them right. 

After I had a party at my house, a friend (who was here for the first time) gave me the two birdhouses on this shelf from her shop.  I found the little bird at Real Deals in Greenville, SC. 

We bought this stock mirror at Lowe's or Home Depot and I added some wood pieces and painted it white.  The vanity top is again a man-made product but it's really easy to keep clean.  I forgot to take a picture of the white cabinet below but it has two doors, three drawers and glass knobs.  

You can see the shower at the back of the bathroom.  It's 48 inches wide and you just step in.

When I had my knee replacement surgery, I was able to have a chair in it to help me.  This was the space we took from the original guest bath.

We do have a window in this bathroom.  From the left on top is a little picture of Mountain Laurel (PA's state flower) that my sister gave me.  Below it are two doilies that my mother had matted and framed.  The suncatcher over the window was a gift from a friend.  I'm not sure what you call the little guy to the right of the window but my old boss and his wife brought it back for me on a trip to Italy.

This little chair was given to me by my favorite aunt.  Actually, she gave me two of them.  Lucky me!

This is the flooring that I chose.  It's vinyl and super easy to clean.  Both of our bathrooms get a lot of use with the pool in the summer and I love that the kids can just drop their suits and towels and I don't have to worry until I can get them all picked up.

As I told you before, the total we spent on both of these bathrooms was between $5,000 and $6,000. 
I watch the same TV shows that you probably do and they raise your expectations to such a point that unless you have unlimited funds, you think you can't have it in your home.  We're living proof that it can be done for less and you can love it!

   

Gretchen  

After - The Guest Bathroom...

These photographs will take you around the bathroom from right to left.

We went with white on all the trim and beadboard.

Since this bathroom is so small, we wanted to keep it as light as possible.  These are a collection of prints from Charleston, SC that I had matted and framed especially for this bathroom.

   

These towel hooks with brackets I bought before I even knew we were going to remodel this bathroom.  I got 4 of them for  $1.99 each and I knew I would eventually find a place for them.  

This is the bath/shower with the crown molding we chose.  Our son Rick did all the crown that we have throughout our house.

I tried several shower curtains and finally settled on this one because it didn't over-power the space but blended well with the paint.

Sorry about the lighting in all these photos, but this bathroom has no outside light and therefore it's hard to photograph.

I've already shown you the new shelf I added to the bath.  For those of you who haven't seen it, I had it made with barnwood from my parents dairy farm in PA.

This is the vanity I chose that I added extra paint to.  We went with all nickel finishes on the hardware.  I love the faucets we chose for the vanity here and in the Master Bath.

There's not a lot of wall space in this bathroom but I did put two of the tea leaf ironstone platters that were part of my mother's collection on the wall.  The little tea cup saucer underneath I got at an antique shop on Tybee Island, GA for $2.50.

We put a medicine cabinet on the wall for toiletry storage.  I also painted this with two extra coats of latex paint before we hung it.

This little shelf gave me space for extra towels since there is no real storage in this bath.

This is the flooring I chose for the bathroom.  I wanted it to be durable and but also look great and this has been both.

The texture of the flooring almost makes it look like tile.  I wanted flooring that would blend with the hardwood floors in the hall and this works.

This is the sink and I've been really happy with the way it looks and how easy it is to clean.

My favorite thing is this bathroom has to be this little sign I found at a store in PA.

Well, that's the powder room and tomorrow I'll show you the finished Master Bathroom as it is today.

Gretchen