Playhouse/Coop & other stuff

Tuesday is here and so far it's a sunny one! It's supposed to get pretty hot and humid here for the next few days so you know a thunderstorm will be looming over us. We had a busy weekend but a really fun one. Billy finished up Caitlin's playhouse and reattached her jungle gym. Now he just has to finish building the coop underneath. He made the cutest deck for her attached to the house for a couple of chairs. She is ready for some entertaining! He does have to put a door on the playhouse soon because we have already had some "visitors" exploring it (our raccoon buddies).

We also had a bbq for my Mom's 81st birthday and that was lots of fun. I love having family and friends over. Mom turned 81 and I know she had a good time. I couldn't help but think of how fortunate I was to be celebrating Mom's birthday on the 26th while unfortunately my good buddy Gina from Cat Nap Inn Primitives was actually on her way to her hometown for her Mom's funeral. I was thinking of you all day Gina.

I'm repainting a few items I have - I am so addicted to black and burgundy and the mustard color. I could paint everything that color and be happy! I also created another notebook where I can write down all my ideas~~ideas I've thought of and some I stole from others ;) and believe me all these great blogs are inspiring. I consider my notebooks a big "to do" list. I have everything from craft ideas and instructions, to recipes, decorating ideas and ideas for holidays...I really suggest everyone do this cause you'd be surprised at how much you forget. I just added yesterday the idea of making felt roses. One of my favorite blogs, Cherry Hill Cottage, she made the most adorable wreath with them. SO I am googling instructions! I might do a red one and I might do a prim one in my favorite prim colors....

I posted a photo of the cutest canister set I got at Stormville's Market. I saw the houses and had to have it. I love HOUSES. I have lots of them and they are even in my borders so you know I couldn't pass this set up. It's in perfect condition and I paid.....are you ready....for the WHOLE SET $6!

Well, I guess I'll be moving on right now. Thinking of what to bring to my sister's house for 4th of July...I wish she would do a blog because she has so many talents to share especially in cooking and baking.....Have a great day!

Yummy Potato Salad

Just a quick post to show a couple more photos of some changes I made around the house, and I also wanted to post my potato salad recipe. Don't let the simpleness of this recipe let you think it isn't tasty. This is by far my personal favorite and the secret ingredient is the red onion and the very important instruction to let it sit overnight before you dig in! I wish I could say this was my recipe ---okay, sometimes I do ;) but it came from my sister-in-law's mother-in-law. They have a German/Hungarian background and it's such a basic but yummy recipe.

All purpose potatoes (as many as you want to boil) ---quarter them or cut into bitesize pieces Boil until soft but not mushy.

IMMEDIATELY add salt and pepper to taste.

Add Hellmans and I mean ONLY Hellmans Mayo (again to your taste but make it nice and creamy without saturating it)

Chopped red onion! I use a nice size one cause I usually don't make less than 5lbs of this potato salad at a time and it's the onion that makes it. A regular yellow onion falls flat.

Mix it all up but don't overmix! Put it in a bowl, cover it up and wait till the next day and then take it out and eat it at room temperature or my kids even like it warm.

Enjoy! But if you are passing this recipe on you can call it Maggie's Lil' Fixin' Potato Salad cause no one knows my sister-in-law's mother-in-law...I'm just saying! :) Oh, and one more thing: I know I haven't given you measurements but that's how I got the recipe. It all depends on how much you are making; keep testing it as you are adding ingredients. SOOO you will know if you mixed it all just right if you find yourself unable to resist the temptation and you actually get out of bed in the middle of the night, go to the fridge and get a spoon and take a little...then a little more....

Lots To Talk About!

Where do I begin? I don't want to forget a thing....:) ......first of all, the new bunnies are doing so well! They are affectionate and adorable! Oh, and they LOVE to eat! I have such a ball getting them different greens to eat and Lucky, our little gray one, has the biggest appetite of all. He stretches up on his hind legs when he sees me coming with the food dish. SO cute. Bandit, the one I THOUGHT was missing an eye, just had an eye infection that covered up his eye completely. I started cleaning him up and low and behold, his eye appeared under a scab type of material that had grown over his eye. He continues to improve. I guess where he came from (a farm) they don't tend to needs like that when they have so many. Bandit is in good hands now!Chestnut is very adventurous and loves to explore. I just love them all. The picture shown is one of my coops. I bring the rabbits in at night in a tabletop cage and put them out during the day in this coop. When Billy is done with the playhouse/coop/jungle gym, then the bunnies will be living in their new home sweet home castle with their chicken buddies.

As you can see, Billy has made great progress on Caitlin's playhouse/jungle gym. He worked on it all Sunday (Father's Day) and it is adorable. It will match our house and go nicely with our shed. My husband never seems to run out of energy.....or ideas, for that matter. He's amazing. He has to add the swing area to the side so it isn't done yet. SOON! I think I want to put a window box outside the window for Caitlin!

On Saturday, we went up to Stormville, NY for what they call "New York State's Largest Garage Sale". Usually Stormville holds a huge flea market of antiques and retro stuff and other vendors selling new items. We have gone in the past and it was great--well worth the 90 minute drive from our home. This time, it was the garage sale. Our oldest and dearest friends accompanied us, and it was the best! The prices were exactly what I would want them to be! AFFORDABLE! I got several items that I still can't believe I found. I got this great 1950's dog planter that I ADORE. And from the same vendor I got my sister a small black dog planter and myself a black cat! All three for $8! The dog is big too! I was amazed. We rarely find good antique or retro items at good prices on Long Island. Very few! People seem to know it's good stuff so you pay a premium. But here's what else I got: "A Mother's Work Is Never Done"...she goes to the set I have from my Grandma which has two other girls whose aprons have prayers. I was so happy to get this additional piece. It was $1! My husband found a shelf with an Amish design and even though we haven't a spot for it yet, he said he wouldn't pass it up for $5. Billy also found this great framed chicken picture for my kitchen. The picture was $2! Found the perfect spot for it too! I got a mini folding table that will be just perfect for my porch at night to hold my coffee/tea and a magazine! I got a wreath, some Halloween stuff and this lovely canister set. The whole canister set was only $6. Those last items mentioned I will show in my next post. All the shopping inspired me to do some changes. I removed a little shelf I had next to my cabinets and put up one I had and always loved that is made to look like an old chair. I put my little cat friends on it. Also made some changes to my hutch, and on my other Amish chest, I added my rusty frying pan as a backdrop to my star bowl fillers. Blogger is giving me some trouble posting photos though so I have to post them at a later time as well. Wake up Blogger!

School is wrapping up this week. Caitlin had her kindergarten play yesterday and it was adorable. I am so proud of her. Billy has his last final exam today. Thursday is Staff Appreciation Day for Caitlin's school, and I have participated in that since Billy was in kindergarten. It's a donated lunch for all the staff of the school. Every year I make something different. This year I am making a delicious potato salad. It's not my recipe but it has been a requested favorite, and I make it very often. I hope they enjoy it. It will also be one of the dishes I prepare for Sunday for my Mom's birthday BBQ I'm having. My brother and his family and my sister and her family will be coming over to my house for our Mom's 81st birthday. The weather is supposed to be beautiful! Fingers crossed!

Have a great day. I have food shopping to do and then more catching up around here!

Fall Feeling in the Air!

We woke up this morning to very cool temperatures, and I have to say it was very refreshing! Hard to believe that school is over next week and as much I love our school routine and school, I'm glad to put it to rest until after Labor Day. Both the kids have worked hard this year~~it's time for a laid back Summer! We have promised that we will have breakfast on our porch on nice mornings and sit out every night in our rockers enjoying the night. We have great books to read and joined our library clubs once again. Caitlin will go to Vacation Bible School for one week in July from 9:30 to noon. She's very excited. We also hope to squeeze in a couple of outings~~day trips/or overnighters....The Summer is wide open! Several of our friends and my sister too have pools we can visit and at night we have our fire pit that we love. My husband lights it up and the kids roast hot dogs and marshmallows. We take trips to the beach in the evening too. We have several not more than 15 minutes away. I always hope my kids make the most of their carefree Summers. I spent mine going on family vacations to St Louis, the Ozarks, Lake George, upstate New York, and Florida. We would visit my Grandparents in Connecticut and it was cool that my Grandpa owned a Carvel! At home, I went fishing off the piers of Long Island's south fork, swimming at Jones Beach and spent a great deal of my time reading Nancy Drew books in the comfort of my own backyard. Not that much has changed I'm happy to say! We still do all those things only my Grandparents are no longer with us, and Billy and I take the kids to different vacation spots (though I do want to get back to Silver Dollar City in the Ozarks). AND I actually still do enjoy my Nancy Drew books! :)

This weekend we are heading upstate to Stormville, NY. Near Stormville Airport is a huge market of some new, mostly old and antique stuff! I can't wait! This particular weekend they are hosting what they call New York State's Largest Garage Sale. I am hoping to find some treasures at good prices. My budget isn't large so I hope to get some goodies I can afford. I have been there before and got some great stuff. I've gotten choosier before I actually buy something. Strange for me but I I find so many times I have the item in one shape or another or some variation of it and I now choose to be more choosey! (did I explain that right?) I find it so rewarding because when I do buy something, I REALLY want it and love it! I'll let you know how it all works out!

There's a great giveaway going on at one of my favorite blogs. Check out the sidebar here for Hillcrest Home Prims. She is super talented and a wonderful person!

My hydrangea are blooming! I will cut some to dry. They are so pretty in vases and displays.

Have a terrific day!

Rainy, but Productive Saturday!

I am not a hater of rainy days. I love them! Not too many in a row! I love beautiful weather and embrace all the seasons. My favorite season is Fall. However, as much as I enjoy a nice sunny day, I am many times much more productive on a rainy day! Maybe that's because I am not being lured into my yard by the sunshine. I have always loved rainy days and as a sign in my home says " No Rain, No Rainbows" We had a very sunny and hot week that just passed and then a cold front came in on Thursday night giving us massive thunderstorms and cooler weather. For most of the week, I was able to go out and do some gardening. I planted our new clematis around the mailbox. I'm hoping this one is perennial. I was told it is. I transplanted some plants and cleaned my bird feeders. My roses, as you can see, are doing nicely. I have several areas with roses and plan on more. My husband wants to put up large trellis' on each side of my big front porch and have roses growing on them. I love that idea! I have apricot roses up front and pink roses too. So pretty. I planted some English ivy along my patio next to my old wood burning stove. That we got at a salvage yard in Bird In Hand, PA, years ago and my husband wants to refinish it. For now it sits in our yard with the birdhouse that I just painted sitting upon her. That will actually be a squirrel house. My husband makes the round opening wider so that the squirrels don't have to gnaw it themselves. We have three squirrel homes and MANY squirrels so I advised my husband to hang this one up too as I'm sure we'll have new tenants moving into it shortly! It doesn't take long. I love all my squirrels :) The other day, one of my friendlier ones was outside relaxing in the heat laying next to two of my cats! We all peacefully co-exist around here. Bill also added a window basket to one of my rear porches. I have one large porch in the front and two rear ones. I planted that window box with New Guinea Impatiens.

Now the cats are getting used to our newest additions--our bunnies! We have a gray one (Caitlin named Lucky), a brown one (Billy named Chestnut) and a black and white one we call Bandit. They are adorable and lovable and seem to relish any kind of attention. Bandit only has one eye but he seems fine. I adopted them all from a farm who had extras. Bandit is favoring me. I just love him.

I was able to get some projects done too. I hope you like how my box from the old house came out! Go back a few posts and see it when it was musty, smelly, dirty and kinda ugly. Now it's smelling good and looking pretty. I decoupaged the front with one of my favorite images. It is now in my foyer and I will show you that photo in a a future post as well as my newly replanted and decorated picket fence.

Well, time for me to go! Have a great night!

Projects, Bunnies, Roses, FUN!

It's been almost a week since my last blog, and I apologize. The last few weeks of school are packed with activities, and we have been enjoying them all. I've also tried to get in some gardening and crafting but it has been hard. Today I just plan to stay home and catch up on so many things I need to do.I've been doing some repainting of items around my house; one of which is a decorative picket fence. It had been unpainted wood with a wreath upon it but the wreath was shabby now so I removed it and repainted the fence piece burgundy and will be affixing white vine lights on it. I have told you of my love for little lights! Then I'm going to add a new wreath and display it outside once again. Hopefully I will complete that today. There is a street , I believe it's Main Street in Strasburg, Pennsylvania and there is a florist there who does the most beautiful country displays ! Every time I go to PA I always photograph the outside of the store just because I LOVE it and don't want to forget what they did! I'm going to check through my photos for some fresh ideas from them. They do a lot of decorating with little lights.

I've been enjoying the many activities we have been having lately also. Caitlin has been having a great time going to her school's field day and even a really great birthday party at her best friend's house. Her best friend lives right behind us, and we are all good friends! My son Billy is friends with their oldest daughter who is also twelve. They've been friends since they were born! Caitlin was born 2 months before their youngest was born so we are paired off nicely. Our friends have a built in pool that they did themselves (with some help from us too!) and Jackie, the daughter who is Caitlin's age, always chooses to have her birthday around the pool. It's a heated pool so it is delightful! There was even a petting zoo at the party. There is a great farm in a town called Oakdale, and they transport animals to your home for a party or event. This is the third year that Jackie has had this type of party and the kids love it. They brought a pony, ducks, billy goats, a donkey and baby bunnies! We loved them all.The kids did crafts and swam in the pool and it was so much fun. Jackie's Dad baked her birthday cake. She wanted a castle and wanted to be the princess so that's what he created and it turned out nicely...and delicious :)Oh, and the petting zoo told me that they have such an abundance of baby bunnies that since I already have the cages and two coops, that I was welcome to come down to the farm and pick some bunnies out! They do well with chickens so we are really considering it. I always saw bunnies in chicken coops when I would visit farms. Bill agreed it would be a nice thing. Now to get to Oakdale to pick them up!

Field Day is held for each grade in our school and the kids all look forward to it. Relay races, a picnic, a tug of war, Italian ices and a water balloon toss are just some of the things they do and my sister accompanied me to see Caitlin participate. There are so many nice things at school I find myself looking forward to them as much as she does! Each class parades onto the field with special names for their "class team" and they are so proud. Kindergarten has been terrific and I know 1st grade will be even better!

My roses are blooming and the colors are incredible. I have several rose bushes on my property but these particular ones are my favorite. The color is breathtaking in person. The photos I'm showing are ones that I have growing by my mailbox in front of my porch. AND speaking of my porch, we have added two new rockers and they are so comfy. We have been loving sitting outside after dinner just enjoying the night! Many nights my sister and husband come by and we sit and chat. WELCOME SUMMER!