Assignment... Duck house

One of the assignments I have C.S. doing

is Building me...

(oops... that perhaps OUGHT to be Building us)

a Duck house!

Machine Man brought this SUPER cool box home from work..

I painted it

We found supplies at Habitat for Humanities RESTORE

it's a favorite place to shop!

here is an old kitchen cabinet that I have painted antibes green..

why?

to match my front door! 

don't worry I shall use a dark wax..

JUST like the door 

it will look LOVELY! 

here is what we've done on the inside part of the door..

C.S. found this cool trim and cut it for the ducks to have some grip

when they walk down it... 

That BIG opening is for a window

I want to see my ducks

and I want them to see us..

C.S. is learning a LOT!

like... HOW to use power tools safely and effectively..

and HOW

to measure twice

so we can cut just once 

it's almost ready for the window! 

yes.. it's a Pella..

NOW

before you get all stressed that my ducks have a nicer window 

than mine..

BREATH in and then EXHALE..

they do..

however

it only cost me $2

so that wee fact made it all better for me!

LOVE the RESTORE 

now to cut the box for the door...

the hinges will go on the bottom

so it can open downward

and become a ramp for our ducks 

here is the door from the inside... 

a friend recommended using linoleum on the bottom..

I wonder if I can find some of that at the Restore....

she said it makes clean up MUCH simpler 

the door UP and closed.. 

C.S. caulking the finishing touches to the window..

WHERE did he go? 

ta dah!

Well..

there is still more to do,

but so far

it looks GREAT!

Table rehab

so picked up this table at a garage sale..

It is a bit rough 

it needs some love

and I have decided to adorn it 

with my beloved Chalk paint 

I confess this is not the fanciest piece

but it certainly is fairly practical...

and I want practice,

you see...

I have more pieces ahead of me..

So I chose

Paris Grey

now I know what you are thinking...

AGAIN?

Isn't it going to look awful?

All that Paris Grey will be TOO Much!

well...

I was THINKING that perhaps with the dark wax

it could look 

Quite different.. 

and it does!

it still will flow with the room

but it is distinct in it's tone... 

I love the way the wax plays off the curves

the nicks and cracks.. 

now..

to scrub hardware!

Friends come to play

we had some friends come to the farm recently

isn't Onion Peel darling? 

her nick name IS Onion Peel

because she was obsessed with my onions

and kept peeling them!

Love the shot of the two brothers

and their buddy

Eagle Eye 

Here is their lovely Mama

Miss Mag.

she is studying

Massage Therapy!

One more semester to go for this 

BRILLIANT 4.0 Student

One more semester, 

extra difficult, extra challenging ahead..then...

graduation!

From there she will begin a whole new exciting phase of Life...

We at Blessings Farm are so thrilled she could come

and take a mini break 

to rest up

study up

and chill out a bit

just days before she had to hit it hard again..

who KNOWS maybe if we do a 

Ladies Spa weekend

we could Hire Miss Mag!

A bloody mess...

Buddy 

is 

not injured.

fear not

he is thrilled beyond belief 

it's FINALLY happening...

and he couldn't look MORE thrilled 

a tooth came out

just more life

happening

at 

Blessings Farm

discovery

Mr. T showed me this sweet little spot..

and I decided to take 

Machine Man

Uncle Buck

and the gang of kids

to this little discovery 

the trail is a blast 

and it leads to the most delightful little fishing hole!

we don't have our poles today,

so we can't drop any lines in 

but

everyone is pumped to come back soon!

Tender Foot and Buddy

coming up the dock... 

look at this lovely vie..

that nice horizon line 

is where the bike trail is! 

what a glorious day it turned out to be.. 

cousins are loving the spot

and 

chatting up a storm.. 

Ina and Buddy,

best pals

I love these two..

they are so fun

fellow photographer

Uncle Buck 

Papa and Little Man scoping things out... 

it's a HIT!  

Buddy LOVES it!
and Buddy is a truly avid fisher lad 

looking at her reflection? 

beautiful sites? 

I sure like it here..

it's so very peaceful 

so very calming to one's soul...

Night games... the prep

many many moons ago

when I was but a girl

my older brother and I played 

night games

We had a variety of them

with many names

and we played them with the kids in our neighborhood..

it was a BLAST..

so one night as we all sat around the campfire,

my brother, aka Uncle Buck and I

were reminiscing 

and little ears were listening..

little imaginations got jump started

and we all decided

to revive the games

so on this particular morning

they started setting up the 

"prison"

and location of a "box" needing to be captured 

this is a lesson in patience..

this tent is probably nearly as old as me

and we WILL NOT

for the sake of the blog

get into ALL that..

suffice it to say that the directions were beyond

archaic  

Even Uncle Buck is confused by the directions,

so they build based on photos

and some good old common sense 

prepping for night games seems

to be quite the adventure!

just a wee trim

we have a LOT of branches that we've had to trim

and that makes for a LOT of brush..

TOO much 

so we get the wood chipper out

and get at it

some nice mulch will look great around the trees

don't you think? 

it's rather exhausting

but worth the efforts 

Look at that nice pile..

thanks to C.S. 

the yard should be in tip top shape in no time

grapes....

we have a LOT of grapes... 

perhaps not a vineyard

but

compared with your average person

we have 

a WHOLE lotta grapes 

so what should we DO with all these grapes?

should we eat them

and practice our seed spitting?

or

make JAM

(I just learned HOW thanks to Mrs. B)

or

Buddy is allergic to Grapes..

so sad for Buddy

But.. the rest of us are not..

we LOVE grapes 

Should I take time to do a wee road trip...

and Visit My friend ED ?

Ed owns

HOME BREW SHOP ltd

it's located in St. Charles IL

it's a wee bit drive..

but my  C.S. needs some hours for drivers ed

so maybe a road trip is in order..

to visit ED and get his thoughts on these grapes

I have known Ed for about...

22 years

He and his family are GREAT people

I am sure he'd be the guy to chat with..

wine

or 

jam

decisions decisions...