Garden Shed Garnished by Garage Sale Finds!

I started this project last yr. I had a bland boring blank slate of a shed starting at me from the deck view......

                                                                      BEFORE...


I just LOVE garage Sales! Unfortunately for me our area does not allow garage sales during the summer monthS! I know! Stupid right? There's gotta be a good reason, but I just haven't found it yet. So spring and fall , usually the long weekends...is the time for Power Saling!...It's also time to think out of the box every once in a while...If u remember one of my recent finds...of an electric chandelier...we removed all the wiring & electrical elements, glued some shot glasses to it, plopped candles in it to hang outside...Total cost with glasses & candles $17...

This week I gathered a bunch of different things I intended to use as planters...

Everything here, except the Bird Bath...(a clearance Avon item ) and the Milk jugs I've had for close to 20yrs...(the white one I painted and stenciled 15 yrs ago....The large Cornucopia, I found in Quebec City for $3, the Cast Iron pot with lid was $2, the little white pot is actually a glass lamp shade I turned upside down..got the 2 of them for $3..

Vase was $3 and there's the other glass Lampshade turned upside down..(I cut a piece of  planting fabric (geo textile) & Styrofoam to put in the bottom to keep from losing the dirt ) It's sitting on an old Ashtray that makes the a perfect pedestal ...$1...

 The old chair was free and the large terracotta bowl on it was $2 ....

Put all together, my garden/pool shed looks more like a quaint little place and makes for a nice view from our deck...I started last yr with a blank slate..Painted the door and edging.., added $2 scarfs as curtains, repainted my old dollar store frogs, the metal sun and above door swirls were things I had for yrs...

Once the flowers fill out much more, things will look even better!! 

What do u think of my quaint little cottage? 

Evolution of our Bedroom -Updated ( I know, sounds Kinky right! )

When we first bought this house we loved that our room was a whole story away from everything else. It's the former attic converted to a bedroom with small en suite  Having said that, it's also a room with no windows, lot's of angles and only 2 sky lights. Hence we can't see outside, unless it's up towards the sky. However, it's a good sized room with potential. But like most, the bedroom, especially for the grown ups,  usually falls last on the priority list. So for the 1st yr, this is our simple bedroom....

We had no real bed, only mattress and box...all miss matched odds and ends here and there along with the dog bed u see to the left lol...If there was one thing I hated seeing it was that eye sore of an AC mural unit on the wall. As much as I loved the luxury of an AC in the attic of a bedroom...I hated seeing it there ! A germ of an idea started to stir but it wouldn't be a reality for yrs to come lol...

Meanwhile, no windows made for other ideas. One day at a garage sale I saw a french door and for $15 it was mine. I figured it could make a cool headboard of sorts, while pretending to be a window all at once!! So I painted it black, then painted black branches on the glass to mimic the shadow of a tree at night. It also dressed up most of the wall for interest....

I purchased a new bed kit with curtains and although we still had the same furnishings, it was a really nice change for next to no money! 

We had an eye on a nice bedroom set for a good cpl yrs.The ransom being asked for it was more then we could fork out. We often visited "our" set at the store that was holding it captive to reaffirm that it was the set we hoped to eventually buy. Then came the importunity to finally buy it!. It was a 1st for both Chris and I . A real bedroom ensemble Wow!! Many people don't like matchy matchy but when you have Never had matchy matchy in your life, you tend to like the idea for a change LOL! 

So now we had new bedroom furniture with a real headboard and everything! So the window/door above our bed had to go. There was no room for it. So it's been relocated downstairs. 

But I still had that AC eye sore...and I was having visions about new colour....Uh oh.....But again, other things had to be done, so we put a hold on any ideas ...for a time. 

As time went by I came up with an idea for that AC wall..it was bare and ugly and I had a germ of an idea brewing. Around this time we also got a free tv. We'd never put one in our bedroom before...but since we had it we decided to try. It's not something we view there often but it's nice to have when we do. 

I wanted to make this room into more then just a bedroom...WhY? u may ask...Well, being a foster family, we share our home with mentally and physically handicapped adult clients. They live with us full time, all the time. So our whole home is shared with exception to our own room. It's the one space in the whole house that is just for us. Ours alone. So I wanted it to be somewhere we could hang out , decompress and just enjoy if we chose. 

So this march....finally we started with paint...and I have to admit, I was taking a risk with my choices....Grey and Black...yes I said black...in a room with no windows lol!! I was nervous but still couldn't wait.....

We "vacationed" in our guest room downstairs for over a week, while we painted everything in both the room and the little en suite...

Notice the eyesore on the far wall....Do I ever have plans for that thing!!!...
...........................DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!.................CLICK PHOTOS TO MAKE LARGER..........................

Small note; The large photo frame on the back wall has nothing in it yet LOL..I am waiting for the print I wanted in it to be developed! 

Now here is a closer look at the book cases...Do u see the AC unit?? Noooo you don't!! 

For at least half the yr we can hide it from view!! Here's how.......

We made a removable panel....Chris cut out the back and part of the top off the book case in order to push the book case close to the wall surrounding the AC unit...

For the hot months, we just remove that fake back we made to hide it...the air will circulate just fine ! But from fall to spring we can just put it back in place and unless u knew or got really close, you wouldn't even know!!

 Close up , now u can tell that the back is more towards the front then the other shelves...We added wall paper to the back of the book shelves for visual appeal and just make them a notch nicer then plain Ikea book cases. I also think it makes them look more *bedroom-ish* ...I glued the wall paper to the removable piece that hides the AC, But other pieces are just tacked down, for easy removal if I ever feel like changing it...So there you have it!....Our rooms Evolution over the 3.5 yrs we have been here..I think it will stay this way for a good while! lol  I have one more area waiting for a chair that will have a little table and lamp...As soon as my chair is here, I will add a cpl photos.......So as promised...Here is my new chair area..

I loved this funky chair! Ordered it from BeyondtheWrack ...Took a bit longer then expected. We found the table and pedestal at a clearance place in Montreal for next to nothing...

 We may purchase another chair just like it next time we see it for sale ...

I made one of these accents using paint chips of the colours we used in our room...

Last but not least, we painted out little en-suit off the room...We added some new hardwear and some glass shelving and a plant....

Again, u will see the sky light, oddly positioned but it's a good source of light none the less....I have to say that I'm more then thrilled to be DONE! After this big project with all the angles and cutting, anything thing else will be a piece of cake !! What do u think? Comments are welcome! 

JOYEUX NOEL

Each year I write a letter with the past year's highlights. I include it with all my Christmas cards...Now that everyone has recieved their cards (I think) Here it is ....

What a year it’s been! Frankly, I welcome a fresh New Year. ....Oh Hello! And Joyeux Noel by the way! I hope this letter finds you well and ready for the Xmas Season. It sure seemed to sneak up on us. Or am I just reluctant to admit to getting old? They say time flies the older we get. Well I for one say we just learn to process every given moment a lot faster due to gained wisdom. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

About this year. Let’s just say our coffee pot earned its keep. Why you may ask. Well Chris and I drink instant coffee. Yes, I know, I heard many of you cringe just now. Truth be told we aren’t that fussy about our coffee. So our coffee pot only comes out for company. However this year it kept a few teams of people happy and hopping.

Last March we woke up to a flooded basement. Five inches of water is enough to destroy a fully finished basement. Fire dept pumped out the excess water and checked for sparks. Now I am the first person to appreciate a uniform but not in my home wading through my basement in their rubber boots! Home insurance sent a team to pull up floors and rip out all the lower walls. Sure, I had visions of redecorating the mundane beigeness that was my basement but not like this. Watching all the demolition to ones home is heartbreaking while another team of people pack all that you own. It was both a relief and overwhelming. So, to feel helpful and grateful, I can’t count how many trays of coffee and cookies I brought downstairs.

Fortunately both Cleo and Mahault moved out of the house to live in Montreal before this happened. Or should I say, what a waste of a good flood that could have been used to get them to move out? Hard to believe that Cleo just turned 21st last Sept. At that age, I was traveling across country to end up living in Quebec. That was..*&?%&.. yrs ago! Yes, time sure flies, seemed like just yesterday I was arguing with Cleo about the merits of better choices and consequences. Oh, wait, it was just yesterday! At any rate both Cleo and Mahault are going to UQAM (University of Quebec in Montreal) Cleo is in her 2^nd year and Mahault, Chris’ daughter is in her 1^st. At least they were both spared the whole renovation process. As I was saying....

You know that moment after cooking something on the stove, when you finally turn off the Fan...and give a sigh of relief....AHHHH! Well imagine 7 HUGE fans on full blast for 7 days & nights to dry out the downstairs. So the AHHH moment when they were finally turned off was more like, OMG! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!......OH IT STOPPED..?..CRUD, MY EARS ARE STILL RINGING!

Then the real work begins, after the insurance appraiser, the bank inspector and the contractor have all done their rounds. A long process begins. Rest assured I always had coffee & cookies at the ready. First was preventing a repeat of the flood. As attractive as an indoor pool sounds, swimming among xmas decorations and couch cushions just doesn’t cut it. I think there was even a mouse in the storage area on a Barbie canoe paddling to safety while cursing a blue storm. I assure you it didn’t get that language from me... ahem, but I digress. So we had to have a whole new drain system installed. Meaning one side of the house was dug up completely to fix the blocked drainage. Granted I always wanted my own castle but I was never partial to an actual MOTE. Thankfully it was only temporary.

You know how it is. Once started, it quickly becomes a Now or Never opportunity or obligation depending how you look at it, to consider that (One day we plan to do this, List) As the side was dug out, we decided to put in an Exit from the basement in order to conform to security measures needed to put a client in a room downstairs. Having both my daughter Cleo and Chris’ daughter Mahault, leaving the nest, going to University in Montreal. We had two empty rooms. While we were at it, let’s put in a bathroom where there was none! The expression “Hemoraging Money” comes to mind as these things are out of pocket. But having said that, the investment in our home is worth it and we received a security stamp of approval from the Fire Department and my employers crediting us with an additional space for a potential client when one needs placing.

All in all with stops & starts for whatever reason, the rebuilding took over 6 months. Over which time, every coffee trip downstairs had me familiar with each worker by name. I saw photos of children, was told of break ups, saw video of a grandmother celebrating her 100^th birthday! Heard about vacations, renovations, trials and tribulations. I’d bet that some work took just a tad longer than it had too because they all let it be known how much they enjoyed working for us. I also learned that it takes a village to rebuild part of a home. Carpenters, helpers, Electricians, Drywaller, Painter, Plumber, Tiler, and the Contractor that coordinates the whole symphony to perfection. They all worked hard, worked well and I know exactly how each one of them takes their coffee. The whole crew were all really nice gentlemen. When all was said and done, it was bitter sweet saying goodbye but I did a happy dance at the added counter space when we finally put the coffee pot back in the cupboard in mid September!

This year brought much sadness with the loss of 2 members of our family. My godfather Ed Spence who’s wife Simone is my mother’s sister, passed away in April. I was able to attend the services in Penticton BC and spend some precious time with my aunt and see cousins I hadn’t seen in way to many years to count.

My mother lost her husband of 32 yrs. My stepfather Ben was a big part of our lives. He shared in our growing up and had a good life with our mom. His own children were an addition to our family. I was able to spend a week with mom and see my sisters and step siblings. It’s sad that it takes these difficult times to reunite family after years of absence but it also reminds us how good it is to see each other again.

This year I was reminded how important it is to nurture the relationships we have. Time gets away from us until years pass and we realize we aren’t getting any younger and we have lost touch with many people we care about. Yes, life gets in the way but at the end of the day, our relationships also enrich our lives. With today’s multimedia it’s a lot easier to keep in touch. Drop me a line sometime.

From my family to yours, we wish you a Joyeux Noel and a very Happy New Year.