Come On In!

The subject of the day for Roberts "Show Me" photo challenge is the front door.

When I moved to the farm this was an old aluminum framed sliding glass door, it let in lots of light but it was uh....not so pretty. Several years later our friend Fred put in this new door for us, he had great ideas for making the trim fit right in with the old fashioned style of the house. The planter boxes that Fred built blend in perfectly with the style of the trim on the front of the house, the really great thing is that I can see the planter boxes from inside...well...it's great when they're planted up all pretty, not so great when I forget to water and everything in those boxes is dried up and creepy/crunchy...hey man, stuff happens - I'm only one woman.

My poor old kitchen

Roberts photo challenge this week is called "show me"...and today it's the kitchen. I've walked into the kitchen for two days and tried to think of cool, funky ways to take a photo of it. I came up with nothin'....not one stinkin' creative thought. I've been working in the party barn this morning - I must have used up all of my creative juice out there. Oh yeah...and I decided to "keep it real" for the photo, dishes in the sink, on the counter, in the dish rack....and a few paint brushes there to the left of the sink that need to be cleaned - hey man...we're workin' around here!
This poor old kitchen needs a lot of TLC. The dishwasher hasn't worked in years, the fridge leaks, the cabinets are circa 1967, the linoleum is from the early 70's...oh yeah - and the washer and dryer are directly behind me where I stood to take this shot! Yup, no laundry room at this old farm..when I grow up I would love to have a laundry room. We talk about adding on space, adding a second bathroom. I've drawn multiple plans, shopped for cabinets, talked to an architect and contractors....but I just can't take the plunge, we even arranged for financing!

The Husband and I ran a few errands this weekend and while we were at Costco we saw some old friends...they were buying flooring for their kitchen, living and dining room - their entire kitchen is gutted right now. She invited me to come over and see it when it's all finished, maybe I'll just live vicariously through her...or maybe...we'll just move in with them.
Hey now, there's a thought!

How to beat the Mailbox Mashers

Rural life comes with certain hazards. When I first moved to the farm I had a fondness for cutsie mailboxes. I hand painted the letters, I had one with cows painted on it. These snazzy mailboxes are like a magnet to those delinquent road-trippin' juveniles with a whole lotta pent up anger and frustration....or maybeeee...they're just bored. They will spend an evening cruising back roads, one guy drives...the other guy holds a baseball bat and takes a swing at mail boxes - I think they get points or something...maybe the dude that picks off the most mailboxes gets a case of beer, who knows.
My days of cool mailboxes are definitely over. I get the cheapies and wait 'til they are completely demolished before I put up the new one.

The Husband came up with this groovy idea. The mailbox sits on a post, he added this second post the the side of that one...making sure that it supports the side of the mailbox as well. Any bat-bearing juvenile delinquent that wants to take a swing at the mailbox is going to have one heck of a sore arm if he makes contact with the post, there is just no way the mailbox is going to go flying off the post if it gets smacked.

It's been a few years since I've had to buy a new mailbox...this one looks pretty tired but it sure beats having to fish the mailbox out of the ditch!

Wasn't that a great idea?

This post was inspired by Robert who is hosting a photo challenge this week...yup, another photo challenge. Hey man, I like 'em. The name of the challenge is "Show Me"...today is the mailbox, I think tomorrow is the kitchen.

Uh oh, does that mean I have to clean it?

Things That Make Me Happy

It's been a busy week, I was at the cabin working on projects for three days. Got home really late Thursday night. Friday morning I went to work on projects here at the farm...there is always something, especially at this time of the year. When the sun shines I need to shift into high gear and get as much done as I can before the weather turns rainy and chilly and all outside projects come to a screeching halt.
I like all of it, the painting, the fix-it stuff, the projects... it's fun for me to hatch a plan, get the supplies and wade knee deep into whatever it is that needs doing.

I spent this morning out in the party barn moving stuff around, making lists for an upcoming party, figuring out the seating and where the food table should go. While I was in the house for lunch the phone rang, it was my friend Karen..she wanted to know if we had plans for this evening...uhhh...no - unless you count weeding and maybe a little bit of "honey can you help me move this stuff?". She invited us over for appies and wine...yayyy! Here's the best part, she told me if I want to bring a snack to share I'm not allowed to go to the grocery store...it can only be whatever I have in the house.
Doncha just love friends like that?
I found a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer, they're already defrosted and steamed...I just need to add the marinade once they're chilled and I'll be ready to party!

Drive by Door Hunting

I was at the cabin this week working on construction and painting projects. I thought for sure I would be able to find cool doors for Jientje's Opening Doors photo challenge. It's an area with a lot of creative people, funky artists...I really thought I would come back home with a plethora of photos to post. Tuesday evening I jumped in the new rig and went for a drive, I found a stunning sunset.

A fixer-upper, I think this one would be too much work...even for me. No doors on this one.

And only one interesting door photo. This is at the pub where we like to go if we're in the moood for some great food in a casual setting.

The carving over the door was done by a local artist.

I was pretty disappointed, I drove for miles and this was the only cool door I could find. I guess I live in the land of boring doors.

Check out my link to Jiente's blog, now that blog has some cool doors!

Wahooo...Two!

I really want to play along in Jientje's photo challenge, it's called Opening Doors. I'm kinda breaking my own rules and posting this photo that I've used before, sometimes ya just gotta break the rules. This photo was taken this spring out in the party barn in our back yard. The cool thing is that this photo also works for Ruby Tuesday , I've never joined in on the Ruby Tuesday challenge but when I remembered this photo I figured it was just meant to be. I'll be on the lookout this week for some cool doors, hopefully I'll find a few so I can join in on the Opening Doors photo challenge that runs all week.

I'm not ready

I'm not ready for summer to be over. There is a little bit of pouting going on over here at this old farm.

This is our puppy, she doesn't do a whole lot of pouting...rain, sleet, snow, hail...she could care less. Life is one big party as far as she is concerned, as long as there is someone to throw a ball or take her for a walk out in the field.

Speaking of parties, Jientje is hosting a photo challenge over at her blog this week, it's called Opening Doors. This photo doesn't really qualify because it's technically a gate, but I'm hoping to get out and about this week and I'll be on the lookout for groovy doors. If you're interested why not play along, got any cool doors in your neck of the woods?