Trash to Treasure

I am not a very patient person, I'm sure I've mentioned that about a zillion times!  So as we wait for word on the house in Brownsburg, I have been trying to come up with ways that I can fill up my time so I don't go insane.  I know some of you are saying, how do you have time to worry with three boys?  I do! I have a theory.  The sooner my kids learn to play by themselves, the easier my life will be.  So I have tried extremely hard to get them to play with each other instead of expecting me to be their forever playmate.  And I think it finally TOOK!  (I think that's bad grammar, but I'm not sure!)  They really have started having a good time with each other.  I can't talk about this too long or I might jinx it but as of right now, the three Cook boys are doing well playing together.

Anyways, all that to say that I have more time to think, and more time to think leads to more time to worry.  So I decided I needed an outlet to work out my worries.  So, I started looking for trash to make into my newest treasure!  I have always loved a good roadside find and this was no exception!  I found this piece of trash in Mike and Mandy's neighbors roadside pile and I threw it in the back of the van.  (Another reason why I like having a van!)  I brought it home and Wes said "What are you going to do with THAT?  It's so old...."  He has no faith in me, it seems.

Here's what it looked like before.

I was instantly attracted to the lines in this chair.  I just love the back.  But it was definitely in need of some serious TLC.  The stain had all worn off.  Mandy said that the chair used to be on their front porch so I'm guessing a lot of the damage is due to the sun.

So I decided I was going to give it a new coat of paint and a new, fun cushion.  Here's what the finished project looked like:

I gotta give a shout out to my wonderful hubby on this one:  he usually hems and haws about projects (probably bc he is trying to see if I'm really serious) but then when he sees that I'm going to do it anyway, he usually jumps in with both feet.  If you don't know, he has a 4-h badge in sewing so he is very helpful!  He is also our resident upholsterer.  So, the new fabric on the chair is all because of him!  Ain't he sweet?

Now whenever I look at this chair, I feel happy.  It reminds me of new beginnings! I gotta go find myself some new trash now.  Send all your castoffs my way!

Update:  After living with the chair for about a week, I decided it was a little bit too "painty-perfect for me so I decided that maybe I would make it look more distressed by adding some glaze on there.  This was a first for me so I was really excited!  You can't see a huge difference, but in person you can tell a big difference.  Definitely adds more character to it.

 

While I was doing it, Preston said "Mom, why are you making that chair dirty?"  I guess it would look strange to see someone wiping black "paint" all over a chair.

Do I have any other furniture makeover junkies out there??

My not so little graduate!

It has been a wonderful 2 years that Preston has spent at EUMC preschool.  He has loved his time there and isn't sure he wants to leave all his friends and go to Kindergarten.  I don't blame him.  Things are so much simpler in preschool.  The biggest thing he has to worry about is whether or not he likes what I put in his lunch.  Little does he know that the future holds reading, writing and arithmetic!  Oh well.  At least he has the summer left to enjoy! 

Family Bonding.

I believe it was the great philosopher Plato who once said, "A family who kills together stays together."  Oh wait....I think that was Play-doh not Plato who once said that.  My bad.  This weekend we took this wonderful quote literally when we butchered 29 of the chickens at the farm.

Now, I know some of you are super sad right now thinking of a poor defenseless chickens who had no idea that Saturday was Reckoning Day and I used to be with you.  But really once you've killed one, you really don't feel that bad.  They aren't the nicest of animals.  They just kinda peck around and don't interact or give a rip about you.  And really, that's what it's all about....how they make us feel, right?  Just kidding.  But anyways these suckers were ready to give their lives so that we could eat.  You should have seen them.  They were big.  I have learned that as long as you don't get emotionally attached to them and just look at them as a food source, you're good to go.

(It's a requirement that you don't look good when you kill chickens.  You don't want them to feel bad.  I mean, I don't look good...Mom, you look lovely!)

It definitely ended up being a family affair.  All hands on deck.   Thankfully the two younger boys decided that this would be a great time for both of them to take a coordinating 3 hour nap.  Here's how the breakdown went.  Sara's hired hand who we call "Tractor Man" (not to his face, btw) did the killing.  I won't tell you the method that we killed them because I don't want to scar anyone, but let's just say they all ended up dead.  So, then they were hung upside down by their feet and dipped in hot water for about a minute and then dipped in cold water.  This helps to release their feathers and make them easier to pluck.  Good in theory, but they were still pretty hard to pluck.  Wes, my mom and dad and I were on plucking duty.  Then the chickens headed over to the chopping block where they were dissected by my sister the resident surgical nurse and Tractor man, the person who probably had the strongest stomach.  They cut off the feet and the heads and took out all of the insides.  Boy am I glad that wasn't my job. 

The whole affair took us about 4-5 hours and we ended up with some beautiful chickens that look exactly like what you would see in the store.  Some of them are even bigger than what you would see.  Now a word of caution.  Sometimes I read people's blogs and they are describing something and they make it sound so easy....well this was not easy.  The payoff was great, but the work, not so great.  So, just wanted to let you know! 

(Like I said, a family affair...though we did shield him from the killing!)

Now off to plan my menu for the week, I'm thinking chicken parmesan, chicken nuggets, grilled chicken, chicken quesadillas....

An Update from Sara

If those who haven't been reading the blog for long, last May my sister Sara lost her husband, Chuck to colon cancer.  This past year she has begun to rebuild her life by moving to Indiana to be closer to family, bought a 42 acre farm and started a new job.  I know I promised months ago to show you a picture of the farmhouse.  I finally found one on my computer.

 I know in this pictures the place looks haunted but it's not!  It's very charming and has just needed a lot of TLC to bring it back to it's former glory.  So anyway, talk about a lot of changes in Sara's life!  I wanted to give you an update on how she is doing, in her own words. 

It is amazing to me how you can choose to continue moving forward, even when every fiber of your being just wants to go back to the way things used to be. This is not a sad post about how much I miss Chuck. Instead I just want to say that I am changing...my life is changing and that is a good thing.

This picture was taken a few years ago while we were camping. Back then our life was all about fishing. Yes, we did other things but they mostly revolved around getting to or leaving from- fishing. Chuck told me early on, when we first moved to Florida, that he had always dreamed about living on the water and being able to have a boat to go fishing. At that time we were just finishing paying off debt, starting a new marriage, and building our family. That did not seem like the best time to be going out and finding a place on the water (prior to the real estate crash) but he was insistent. So, we found a place to rent on the water and as a welcome home present, I bought him a boat, just like he always wanted. Well...some people called it a canoe but we both loved it. I had no idea that this was the beginning of our fishing obsession (aka life in Florida). Chuck loved it and we spent the next 6 months fishing in that thing almost every night (I eventually bought him a real boat :). Back then, neither of us knew anything about fishing and we were so excited just to catch a catfish. I remember talking about how Florida people talk so bad about this poor misunderstood fish. Months later we bashing them right along with everyone else. We eventually grew in our fishing abilities and lived out Chuck's dream. I cannot tell you how many times we would sit outside of the house and just marvel at how lucky we were to be living in paradise at such a young age.

I look back at pictures of our many adventures and am reminded how we were able to live out a lifetime, in just a few years. Chuck seemed to know just how important it was to chase his dreams and live each moment to the fullest. We don't know what life will bring us and we only get one shot. I want to live my life this way...right now I am following my dream of building a farm. I am figuring out what is important to me, building relationships, mending fences, and healing hurts along the way. I know that most people would look at me and think I am crazy as I fight off raccoons, weasels, and hungry deer. Chickens have become my obsession and I now have a pregnant horse in my barn. I have family coming and going, children laughing and screaming. There is enough work on this farm for 3 grown men working full time...and there never is enough time. Life is continuing to change for me and I am loving it. As Chuck once said, "life is a crazy ride so grab it by the horns and ride the crap out of it".

 I am taking his advice, hopped on and am holding on for dear life.

~Sara Creech