April 20, 1999 - Never Forgotten

supplies:

Follow Your Art “Hope” bundles by Angie Young, Aria, and Cilenia Curtis

Remedy in a jar

I have dry itchy skin; wait, I used to have dry itchy skin. After years of scratching my arms and legs, it was apparent that some ingredient in commercial soap was the culprit. After searching the web for remedies, I found a recipe for a liquid soap. Starting using it for my bath and immediately, stopped itching. Then it became my face soap; now my face is as soft as...well you know.

Here's the recipe:

1 cup liquid Castile soap ( I use

Dr. Bronner's unscented Baby Mild soap)

1 cup water

1 tsp. vinegar ( I use cider vinegar)

1 tsp olive oil.

Pour into a container and shake before each use.

That's it...couldn't be simpler. Only problem is that the vinegar and oil kinda congeal on the top so between uses it looks sick.

Enter my jar.

Using a pint Mason Jar and some Old Violet chalk paint and wax, my redesigned jar now holds the soap that I love so much. In case you're interested in getting one, I bought the foaming soap dispenser from Heather at her Post Road Vintage Etsy shop.

If you try the soap, let me know how you like it.

He brings me roses

Every year on our anniversary, Mr. RT sends me flowers from ProFlowers - he's such a sweetie.

Last year it was so cold that the flowers froze on the delivery truck before ever getting to our door and ProFlowers graciously replaced them with fresh flowers. This year a big snowstorm was forecast for our anniversary day, so they

arrived a day early beating the snow.

I added some of the gorgeous red roses to my gurgle pot that was a gift from eldest daughter.

Doesn't the turquoise color of the pot accentuate the red roses...I love the color combination.

Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.
~Antoine de Saint-Exupery~

Beauty in the eyes of the beholder

Have to admit, I'm a stalker. Yep, I stalk my local Goodwill, ReStore, and other thrift shops looking for things I can love. Several months ago, I happened to be in Goodwill when it was half price day. As I was looking at furniture, I saw this beauty that apparently no one else wanted. Heart pounding, I grabbed the sticker and got in the lo-o-o-ng line to check out before anyone else could claim her. Probably there were other items I might have wanted that day, but Beauty was calling me. After loading her in the truck and storing her in the garage until the time was right, I finally got around bringing her indoors.

After a little cleaning up, the wood veneer gleamed but the chips and cracks were more apparent. Research on the web makes me think the veneer is Mahogany Burl which costs hundreds of dollars to buy one sheet. Too rich for me.

I think she looks just fine with her Beauty Marks.  By the way, the print over Beauty is another Goodwill find, but that's a story for another day.

A Fantastic Read

The book The Lost Wife by Alison Richman was on my request list at the local library for months. Finally it became available and I checked it out yesterday, started reading and couldn't put it down until finishing about 2AM this morning. The book tells the story of two Prague students who meet, fall in love and marry before the German invasion of Czechoslovakia only to lose each other shortly afterward. The book spans sixty years taking place in Europe and the US.

It's a book I won't soon forget. I recommend it...

Till later - Sondra

Lamp Light

A little family history here...bear with me.  My Dad died from cancer in 1992; four days later my mother had a massive stroke which she barely survived.  After weeks in the hospital, I (being an only child) had to put her in a nursing home in my hometown in Missouri.  Then began the task of clearing out their home.  Everything I wanted to keep - furniture, dishes, household items, etc., were moved to a locked room in the basement for security when I rented the house.  When Mother died in 1995 from stroke related health issues, hubby and I loaded up a U-Haul truck and brought the contents of that storage room back to Colorado.

Almost all of the items here on my blog came from that move.

When I first discovered Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, I remember an old brass lamp complete with dings and scrapes hidden away in our basement.  I figured even if the paint didn't stick or looked bad, nothing was lost since this old lamp hadn't been used in 20 or more years.  Aubusson Blue was applied in two coats, then clear and dark wax to highlight the features.

The paint job looked great, but there was no lampshade to go with it.  On the next trip to a local craft store, I found a lampshade that could be covered with fabric.  Since I often buy fabric without any purpose in mind, I have a fabric cabinet full of goodies waiting for the perfect project.  This great blue toile was just waiting...

Well...wadda ya think?

See ya later!

Sondra

linked to:
Domestically Speaking power of paint party

Books I've loved in 2011

What can I say...I love books.  This year I bought myself a Kindle, but that doesn't mean that I no longer buy used books or get books from the public library...I do.  I try to keep track of what I've read on the site Goodreads.com.  So far I've listed 544 books that I've read - not all this year tho.  When I say I've read all of that author's books, that means I'm anxiously awaiting their next one.  Also, I tend to read mostly mysteries.

Here are some that I loved.
Death Along the Spirit Road
Hoof Prints: More Stories from Proud Spirit
The Horses of Proud Spirit
Cold Wind - I've read all of C.J. Box's books
The Scent of Rain and Lightning
Rain Water
Sarah's Key
The King of Lies
Heaven's Keep - I've read all of Wm. Kent Krueger's books
A Fortunate Life - I was lucky to find this book on a swapping site, otherwise it's very expensive
The Help
Feathers Brush My Heart
The Story Teller - I've read all of Margaret Coel's books
A Maiden's Grave
The Dry Grass of August
A Cold Day in Paradise - I've read all of Steve Hamilton's books
Look Again
The Soldier's Wife
Beyond Reach - I've read all of Karin Slaughter's books
The Misremembered Man

These are just a few of the books that kept me awake at night.  Hope you enjoy some of them too.

Thanks for dropping by...

Sondra