Slow progression

From this... to this...

I am slowly making a "new" chair out of an old, worn, beaten and battered maple chair. This poor old chair has been sitting on my back porch for ages. It has been rained on and been a handy "junk"chair, with everything tossed on it. It is a tribute to the makers of this old chair that it is still serviceable and to my mind, worth saving. I don't know how old it is, bu I have had it for about 25 years or more. It was used when I got it . So, that says something about it's maker; they just don't make furniture to last anymore.

I gave the chair a second coat of paint this afternoon. I want to give to give it one more coat tomorrow. I will look for the little "buttons" that hide the screws and appliques' or stencils to finish it off with...but not tomorrow. The paint that I used didn't show up well. It looks gray or even purple in the picture; it is actually an odd shade of brown. I like the shade.

I mowed the front yard this afternoon. It was looking sad and ratty. The dust was thick and flying from all the dry weather we have had. I had to flood my eyes with Natural Tear Drops to get the crud out of my eyes.

Tomorrow, being Friday, all the checks...SS...SSI..Welfare...Disability and regular paychecks of the working poor, will be in the mailboxes. That means that I will not be out and about, shopping or anything else. It will be a dangerous week-end. The stores started stocking shelves last week and the price of gas rose right in sync. The price of everything rose...right in sync. We are...so manipulated. What else is new.

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THE OLD WHITE HOUSE

WHERE I WAS BORN

WHOSE WALLS WERE BARE

AND WINDOWS WORN

WAS SMALL IN SIZE

AND DIDN'T MAKE

A PICTURE THAT FOLKS

WANT TO TAKE

IT MUST HAVE HAD

THREE ROOMS AT BEST

AND LOOKED EXACTLY

LIKE THE REST

BUT THERE I WAS THE HAPPIEST

....FOR IT WAS HOME

****

Even though I walk through the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for thou are with me...

Psalm 23:4

END

Work in progress

This the chair I'm working on. I started painting it white this afternoon. I didn't really care for the way it was turning out so I got an old can of brownish acrylic paint out and started using that. I got the underside covered fairly well, but it will need some touch-up work here and there. I'll paint the seat and back tomorrow and do the touch-up painting later. I have lots of time so I am not in a hurry.

Acrylic paint goes on OK, but doesn't really like pre-finished...painted objects, such as lacquer or enameled surface's. The paint drys quickly and the brush is easy to wash out with soap and water. I started out with a foam brush, but little pieces of foam were sticking to the paint, so I reverted to a small paint brush. It may take me a few days to complete this project, but my time is my own.

I have in mind a couple other painting or re-purposing projects, but I will see how this one goes first and how long this beautiful weather holds out. And I will try to get more pictures of the chair up as I progress.

I was hungry for something good, but didn't know what I wanted. I fried up a pan full of sliced potatoes, onions and bacon...it was an old fashioned, satisfying meal.

Last year I had to turn the heat on early in September. I think even 'though the nights are cooler, the days are superb. I can live with that. September of 2010 is almost a memory, going...going...

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A CHEERFUL LOOK BRINGS JOY

TO THE HEART, AND GOOD NEWS

GIVES HEALTH TO THE BONES.

Proverbs 15:30

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END

Maple Chair

I started working on the Maple chair today. I am using steel wool to get all the loose finish off. It is almost ready to paint. I went to Big Lots and got a couple cans of white spray paint. There wasn't a big selection on paint. I looked for stencils or decals to put on the chair. I didn't find either one. I will go ahead and paint it and look for the stencils or decals later. It will have to dry well anyway. I should have taken a "before" picture, but still can do so tomorrow.

I watched the last "Colony" episode this evening. I enjoyed watching each of the eight shows. I think they ended it too early with the conclusion hanging just a little bit.

Anyway, Judy called me(several) times today. I only answered once. She is ticked off because an elderly lady called her this morning around 8 A.M. Well, she started ringing my phone at 8:45 A.M., I suppose, to tell me all about it. She made this old lady promises and she is now reneging on her word because there is work involved. When I finally did answer her late this afternoon she managed to find fault with what I was trying to do with the chair. "Oh, I never use spray paint. I use a brush because I don't want to have drips and runs." Yeah, well I am about to use spray paint. I am not going to spend a lot of time on that old chair. It's my chair and my decision. So there. I am not in a very charitable mood.

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LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR

AS YOURSELF

Matthew 22:39

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It is hard to practice what you preach.

END

Things to go

Now you see it

Now you don't

The Salvation Army truck finally came and picked up the table and chairs from the front porch. I added some other things to go. They are not in the picture. Lots of leaves to sweep off. The furniture has been waiting for pick up for a good week now and I am glad it is gone now. People have been driving by and staring at the porch. The batteries in the camera are getting low and a couple pictures were fuzzy.

"You Know Who came by last evening to pick up a big bag of plastic bags to use in her yard sale. She also promised to bring me some apples which she didn't do. She is not very good at keeping her word. I didn't expect her to. I don't believe in making promises or commitments that can not be kept or even intended to be fulfilled. It is what politicians do and people with low standards of ethics...lip service and or lies. Good thing I can buy my own apples.

While she and her husband were here, they were craning their necks to see what they could see. Judy spotted a beautiful, new lamp and said she wanted it "further down the road." I guess she thinks when I am no longer mortal and walking the earth...she will get it. Nah. I did give her a few odds 'n ends for her yard sale. I was going to take them to the drop box anyway. Now I won't have to make the trip. I still need to gather up some more things to take to the Salvation Army, but I will give myself a few days off.

I went to the store to get a couple items and looked for some paint to spray on the old maple chair that I am keeping. I didn't find the color I wanted at the "cheap" store, but the chair is in need of refinishing.

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GOD, GRANT ME

THE SERENITY

TO ACCEPT

THE THINGS I

CANNOT CHANGE

COURAGE TO

CHANGE THE THE

THINGS I CAN

AND WISDOM

TO KNOW THE

DIFFERENCE

****

Serenity prayer of St. Francis

END

MUSHROOM BARLEY SOUP

HOT WATER

1/2 CUP OF BARLEY

1 LB. MUSHROOMS, THINLY SLICED

6 LARGE CARROTS, THINLY SLICED

1/2 CUP CUP CHOPPED ONIONS

2 TABLESPOONS OF BUTTER

1 TABLESPOON VEGETABLE OIL

6 CUPS CHICKEN BROTH

1 1/2 TEASPOON DILLWEED

1/2 TEASPOON PEPPER

2 TABLESPOONS LEMON JUICE

***

Pour enough hot water to cover barley and let stand for 20 minutes. drain and set aside. Saute onions, mushrooms and carrots in butter and oil for 5 minutes. Add barley, broth, 3/4 teaspoon Dillweed and pepper. Bring to a boil. cover and let simmer for about 45 minutes Stir in lemon juice and remaining 3/4 teaspoon of Dillweed. This makes about 2 1/2 quarts.

****

The flowers appear on the earth

time of singing of the birds has come

Song 2:12

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The words of wise men

are heard in quiet

Eccl. 9:17

****

The summer has drifted into beauty. Most of the trees are still green which surprises me. Some leaves are falling, but not as many as you would expect for late September. When Mother Nature weaves her blanket she will hopefully color her bed of earth with a quilt of of many hues of paint. It may be this will be a year for dry, lifeless looking patches in our autumn canvas due to to the long, continuing drought. All things end, even droughts, but the parched season has taken it's toll on gardens all around .

Lazy me. Only got a few things done this day. As LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE said, "The sun will come up tomorrow."

END

Crickets

The crickets are coming in. They are everywhere. They come in every fall and chirp all night. I often have the back door open and they come right in and make themselves at home. I guess they are looking for cool place out of the sun. Even though it is autumn we have had some record breaking heat this past week. So, who can blame Jiminy Cricket for wanting to share a little air conditioning. I would rather they checked into another hotel, but there they are.

When I was small my mother used to go out and turn over rocks to catch crickets and grab fireflies at night to put in a jar... supposedly make me go to sleep while listening to the crickets and watching the lightning bugs. Did it work? I will have to ask Beverly.

I only got a few things accomplished today. Maybe a little more tomorrow; a little each day. After all, it did take me a while to accumulate all this stuff. It is taking me a while to get rid of it. The earth wasn't formed in a day and neither was all this "junk" gathered that I managed to "hoard." When I say "hoard" I don't mean it in the true sense of the word. You can get through my house and the trash is always put out and the dishes washed. I just have too much/ many material blessing. Now I am blessing the Salvation Army with what ever I don't need. Maybe someone else has a greater need.

I have been sleepy all day. Anytime I eat-I get sleepy. I have really enjoyed my Bean Soup. I put a coupe qts. in the freezer as I said I would. I tried Creekmore's remedy for gas and it seems to work. He says that if you put one potato into your Bean Soup when you cook it...It will absorb the "gas." Either he is right or my stomach is used to Bean Soup.I hope to be more ambitious tomorrow...Saturday...but I won't write that on ice. And that is because my arm was hurting of and on this day, but tomorrow I may be able to lift bricks, stones or be like Atlas who carried the world on his shoulders.

****

LOOK AT THE BIRDS THEY DO NOT PLANT SEEDS

GATHER A HARVEST AND PUT IT IN BARNS

YET YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN TAKES CARE OF THEM

AREN'T YOU WORTH MUCH MORE THAN BIRDS?

MATTHEW 6:22

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END

Tea Party Night

Tonight was a Tea Party meeting night. It was pretty interesting. A couple of older fellows got kind of rowdy and hostile toward one of the candidates, a doctor who said we didn't belong in Iraq and said he liked Obama's health plan. The moderator had to go and speak to them. Anyway, Dr. Watkins started out on the wrong foot and lost most of the support of the people there...and he knew he had stepped into a pile of goo.

Someone woke me up around 7:30 A.M.-ringing the door bell several times. I am not going to the door in all my resplendent glory or lack thereof. Nope.

The Bean Soup turned out well and I just had a portion. The one thing about Bean Soup and all that fiber is that it will "eliminate" all your problems and give all those nasty toxins that accumulate in your system...the old "heave ho."

I'm not writing much tonight because I m tired. "You know who" has called me several times today right in the middle of some activities during the day and even while I was out.

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NO MAN WHEN HE LIGHTS A

CANDLE COVERS IT, BUT SETS

IT ON A CANDLESTICK SO

THAT WHO ENTERS MIGHT

SEE THE LIGHT

****

Luke 8:16

END