Orange Zebra Chair

Some of my projects make me very happy.  This is one of them.

"Antique Chairs, $25.00" the Facebook yard sale ad read.  Who could resist that, I ask you?  I went to buy just one of them but came home with 2.  I even only took $25.00 with me and my station wagon, which I thought would only hold one chair, to be sure I didn't come home with more than I need.  Well, apparently my car can hold 2 chairs and the seller of the chairs was willing to take a check for the second one :)  Maybe I do need 2 chairs.

These chairs belonged to the seller's grandmother and grandfather.  Can't you just picture your grandparents in these?  They appear a champagne color but when I stripped the one down I saw it once was green.  So, a-shopping I went for fabric.  The plan is for this to go in James' office.  The color palette is grey, orange, brown and white.  I texted him a picture of the fabric and asked, "Is this too wild for you?"  He replied, "Not if you like it.  Looks like a fake animal".

Only in Roanoke, VA can you find a rare orange, grey and cream colored zebra hide.  It was a done deal.  Before ripping it apart I numbered each panel with a marker.

I painted the wood a cream color, then grey on top.  I sanded it a bit so the cream would show through.  I also added more cushioning to the seat.  I took pictures every step of the way, and I mean, EVERY step.  I'll spare you all the pictures but in case you decide to do this yourself you'll understand how very important it is to do this.  Here are just a few.

This last picture shows how they pieced things together above the arm.  I decided to be brave and make that top piece and the one below the arm all one piece.  I now know why they did it in two pieces.  It was much easier that way but I decided I didn't want that many seams.  Luckily, it all worked out and I was able to do it all in one cut.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I learned with this chair but I'll mention just a few things.
If you're going to attempt reupholstering the first thing you need to do is save all the fabric you removed to use as a pattern.  As I said earlier, take pictures.  Watch Youtube videos.  That's how I learned to use the flexible metal tacking strip so I could attach the final back panel, which was originally sewn on.  I had to buy 100 ft. of this tacking strip so I could use 7 feet of it for this chair.

The original chair had decorative upholstery tacks for the trim but I chose to use double welting since I've gotten so much better at this and I like the look.  Also, it tied the dark fabric to the zebra print.

Instead of using cotton piping from the fabric store I used parachute cord which is made from nylon and creates a very tight cording.  Of course, now that I'm getting better at using my sewing machine and zipper foot that makes all the difference in the world.

This whole project cost around $205.00 and I have enough fabric and supplies to cover the second chair too, so 2 chairs for around $230.00.  Not bad.  I plan to build a foot stool or ottoman to match.

I'm in the process of tanning a goat hide.  A real one, not fabric.  I don't know what I'll use it for but I hope it will be used for something I find as much fun as this chair has been for me.

With the cold comes the critters

Mice have moved into my barn.  I was grossed out by the rats we were infested with a while back, that have since moved on (I hope), but these cute little field mice are rather entertaining.  As I milk they pop their heads up over the milking platform to watch, then quickly duck when they get nervous.  They run around my and the goats legs with nervous energy.  This would freak my mom out.  She once asked if I taped up the legs of my jeans so they can't run up them.  I don't.  They don't bother me and the goats ignore them unless a sudden movement startles them.  Still, they continue eating.

What does bother me is the other critter that has been coming around.  I have no video or picture of this next intruder and I don't want to see him.  There have been at least 2 mornings I've found about 1 tablespoon of yellow liquid in my dog's food bowl that smelled very strong of skunk.  I thought that the oddest thing.  Did he just back up to the bowl and use it as a commode?  Why did my dogs not attack him and why would a skunk enter a fence that has 2 giant great pyrenees in there who could rip him apart?  If that doesn't seem strange enough, the 3rd morning I found the calling card in Rex's bowl I found skunk scat in Keri's.  It appeared to have hair in it (yes, I studied it) so I think he's eating some of those adorable field mice.  I shouldn't even type this because I know it's going to come back and haunt me - Keri and Rex have never been sprayed by a skunk.  Maybe they just know better than to mess with it.  I hope so.  I haven't seen evidence of the skunk in almost a week now so I hope he's moved on.

Now I'll share a picture that will make you go awwwww.  The folks who own Mickey and Wendell sent me a text this morning to let me know Mickey had 10 piglets. I miss Mickey, Wendell and babies but I'm glad they're doing well, are loved and are living on a gorgeous pig-friendly farm.  This is her second litter with them.  I think the first time she gave them 13 piglets.

Ms. Magnolia

For two years I've been wanting to have a dress form Christmas tree but I had no dress form.  A few weeks ago I found one on Craigslist for $40.00.  What a steal!  I dressed her up for Halloween but that was pretty pitiful so I won't post a picture here.  Today, though, I'm pretty pleased with how pretty she looks (if I do say so myself).  This is her Autumn outfit.

This is her naked.

A friend is coming to visit early December and I'm hoping she'll help me make her spectacular for Christmas.  She will no longer be Ms. Magnolia.  Maybe she'll be Suzy Snowflake, I'm not sure.

If you've never seen dress forms decorated go to Pinterest and look up dress form Christmas trees.  There are some really beautiful ones.

Human Halloween Two Thousand Sixteen

For the past 3 years James and I have been invited to a party in Lexington where our friends, Kay and Bob, live and get hundreds of trick-or-treaters.  This year I swear they got nearly a thousand.  I'm serious, it was a constant stream for 2 1/2 hours.  We adults dress up too and watch the masses come and go as we enjoy our own yummy treats.

I hadn't really paid much attention to Halloween, since we don't get trick-or-treaters living out in the county, until Kay and Bob invited us to their parties.  I forgot how much fun it is to dress up.  Each year I do my internet searches for homemade costumes for adults and then wing it.  Here are the results of this year's research.  James' costume is pretty self-explanatory.

He's still wearing the beard and mustache paint because I told him how hot he looks.  I can't get over how different he looks with dark eyebrows and a beard.  I mean, can you say sexy?  I may have to dress him up more often.

It seems my costumes always need some explaining.  People look at me and tip their heads.  I'll post a picture first and let you guess.  Then I'll tell you what I am for those of you who are a little slower.

Need help?  I'm a one night stand.  Get it?  I have a few friends who may appreciate what's hanging from my right ear.  Zoom in and look closer.  As much as I hate this next picture of me I'm posting it anyway so you can see my earring because I know a few of you may get a giggle out of it.

There were many great costumes at the party.  Our friends Bee and Dave were dressed perfectly as Bee and her Bee Keeper.  Who's Dave kidding, really?  Does Bee have a keeper?

Bob Ross and the happy little tree also showed up.  Famous people everywhere.

The Gorton's fisherman brought fish sticks - my favorite.

And our hostess, the always-beautiful-in-anything-she-wears, Kay Lera, with Bob Ross.

Remember Glenn Campbell and the Rhinestone Cowboy?  You probably have to be my age or older to remember that song.  Well, the rhinestone cowboy was there too.  Ok, these guys look drunk but they weren't.  The photographer is to blame for this picture.  They do look happy though.

I wish I could have captured a photo that shows how many children came to their front porch but it was dark out so you really can't see this swarm.

Happy Halloween.  I hope you all got a hundred Reese's peanut butter cups.

Halloween Two Thousand Sixteen

Moonjava hasn't bathed in 2 years.  He thinks it will wash away the good juju that's been with him for  that long.  When I took this photo I saw a noodle, a piece of carrot and a raisin in his hair. I didn't mention it.

Danny is loved by men and women alike.  A real athlete and charmer.  Able to take a joke and give a little ribbing to his buddies.

Danny is also the life of the party.  I could barely get him to stay still for a picture because he was afraid he was going to miss some fun if he stayed put too long.

Pete, aka, Patrice, is Moonjava's twin brother.  Pete works for a software company by day.  As soon as he punches the time clock he's back in his room and Patrice can then relax, paint her nails and trade her tie for a tiara.  Not much of a night owl, she prefers quiet time to reflect, soak in a tub (unlike Moonjava, she bathes), put her jammies on and listen to broadway tunes.

Ahh, what can I say about Ella?  As sweet in person as she is in this photo.  I told her I liked her bows and she wanted to give them to me.  When I asked her what the worst thing she ever did was she
said she once ate a whole jar of strawberry jam in one sitting and didn't leave any for her brother.

Simone, 58, but dresses like she's 10.  Bleaches her hair if she sees the tiniest bit of dark or gray.  Drinks the cheapest of champagnes - even puts it on her Lucky Charms.  When her mouth smiles (which is rare) the rest of her face doesn't know it's supposed to smile too.

Carmine, 46, works at Dollar General, bums cigarettes from the customers.  Buys her wigs on sale at Dollar General at the end of Halloween season.

 Folks call Carmine Big Ears because she hears everything.  If you want to know the latest gossip, Carmine's your gal.

A painting of me and Raisa

A while back I posted on my blog a photo taken of me and Raisa by my friend June Collmer.  It was in black and white and I thought it was just perfect of the 2 of us.  Well this morning I was surprised
by a gift from another one of our very talented friends, Kathy Kvach.  She saw the photo on my blog and painted this without telling me and then surprised me with it.  So far I've only seen a photo of it because somehow it has gotten waylaid in a post office somewhere.  Kathy, I hope you don't mind me
posting this here.  I just love it so much and feel so honored that a friend would do this for me.  This photo could have been taken of me on just about any morning.  Raisa never leaves the milk stand without a hug or a kiss.  I'm pretty sure she waits for it.

Facelift for other unwanted pieces

Like the china cabinet I recently gave a facelift to, I've fallen back in love with some pieces that no one seemed to want, including us.  I had tried selling this settee and 2 chairs on Craigslist and at a yard sale.  Here they are before the facelift.

 I removed the cushioning before I remembered to take a photo.

They've been sitting in our garage getting mildewed and it was time to either pitch them or do something with them.  I didn't like the formality of these pieces and they didn't really go with the rest of our house.

I chiseled off the scroll detail on the back of the chair (there are 2 chairs but I've only completed one so far) and removed the springs and built new seats for them out of plywood.  I cut the back off the settee and made it into a bench.  They were sanded, reglued where needed, primed and painted a cheery blue.

And here they are recovered in a fabric I love.

I had originally thought I'd fix them up and maybe try selling them again but now I love them and they've found a place in our bedroom.  Total cost for the whole transformation was around $100.00.

So now what do I do with this?  I have a few ideas :)  As you can see, I have a hard time throwing stuff away.

A bull in a china shop

Breeding time can be fun but it can also be a pain in the neck.  Mostly it's the logistics of it all.  Move one animal here and it disrupts the day-to-day flow and routine.  Move another there and someone is unhappy or someone is bred that shouldn't be.  It might not be so bad if I had many paddocks, shelters and waterers, but my field is only divided in two so I have to be creative.

Many of my girl goats got bred early this year because I was trying to coax Raisa in to be milked  and couldn't just hold the barn door open and bribe her.  If I did that all the other animals would have come in and raided the food, etc.  Instead I moved the girls to the "boys' side" where my buck, Cato, lives.  Cato was very happy with this arrangement.  Eventually Raisa decided it was ok to come in on her own and I didn't have to keep moving girls back and forth.  Fortunately my goats follow me when I call so it's not that hard to move them.

This week Raisa was bellowing for Franklin.  Even though she just had a baby a month ago I thought maybe she was in heat so I moved her to the bulls' side for the day.  It didn't appear she was ready.  I was a little worried about leaving her over there in case her son from last year, Lennon, was mature enough to breed her.  He's only just a year old so hopefully he isn't ready for that.  Yesterday I decided to move Franklin over to the girls' side; Cato too.   This disrupted morning milking.  Franklin truly is a bull in a china shop.  First thing he did was hop into the tiny shed that's built on the chassis of a pop-up camper.  It's only about 6 feet by 11 feet, with a plywood floor and on 2 wheels.  When he stepped in the trailer tipped toward the bumper side.  It leveled itself back out when he walked to the middle.  He ate all the goat minerals and seemed to like being in there. All I heard was clump, clump, clump.  I was hoping he didn't go through the floor.  I didn't know how I'd get him out if that happened.

He knocked things over and emptied all but one water bucket.  I don't know how he drank all that water.  One of the waterers is a small paddle boat that holds several gallons.  The goats, dogs and Raisa rarely drink more than 5 to 7 gallons of water from these buckets.  I don't know how he held it all.  There's Cato in the background.  He's a pain too but not as strong and destructive and Franklin.

The whole time I was milking Franklin was pushing his head through the window to steal the girls' food.  I had to move their feed bucket to the floor so he couldn't reach it.

He's as cute as can be and very sweet but he's always right there.  As I was filling the water buckets he was drinking from the hose or licking my hand.  I decided he needed to move back to the other side of the fence and I'd wait till I was sure Raisa was in heat to bring him back or move her over there.  Luckily moving him back was easy.  Most of my animals are tame and follow me.  All I had to do this morning is ask Raisa to come with me and Franklin would follow her.  In the background of this video you can hear Lennon carrying on because he was lonely without Franklin.
   Mo also followed along.

As you can probably tell I'm excited about breeding Raisa to Franklin this year.  Next year I'm hoping for an adorable little red Jersey/Dexter heifer.

So what is patriotism?

For those of you on social media, maybe you understand how easy it is to get angry over what people post and think is important in the news.  Today I'm feeling just that - angry.  I'm angry about how angry folks are about football player, Colin Kaepernick, and how he didn't stand for the national anthem in protest of how America oppresses people of color.  He was trying to make a point.  

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game.  "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.   There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

If I were someone in the limelight and wanted to make a point, why wouldn't I take a stand about something I feel very strongly about?  I've seen video after video of black men being beaten or killed because they were mistaken for a suspect of interest or for putting their hands in their pockets or reaching for their license in their jacket.  Have you not read about the innocent man kicked in the head by a policeman when he was mistaken for someone else?  The policeman was paid $230,000.00 to resign but the injured man only got a settlement of $15,000.00, along with a broken jaw.  THIS DOESN'T MAKE YOU ANGRY?  This kind of thing happens all the time.  Where is your patriotism if standing up for the national anthem is more important than standing up for your fellow man?

Somehow Kaepernick's actions have turned into something more than taking a stand for social injustice.  I've read things like, he's disrespecting our veterans and soldiers.  People are putting a spin on what he did to fit what they want to justify their anger.  Many people who say these things are the same people who would vote for a presidential candidate who says, "He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured."  I guess it's easy to ignore that and pretend it didn't happen.  He must not have really meant that.

I wish there was some way I could put this in perspective for you.  What if your brother, sister or child was beaten, raped or murdered for being gay, black, handicapped or different in some way?  Would you want to take a stand and make a difference for others like him or her?  Most of us aren't in the spotlight and don't have a platform to make a difference, but what if you could?  Why wouldn't you?

I think we all agree (at least I hope so) that bullying is wrong, right?  Or do you only think bullying is wrong when it touches your life or happens to people who look like you?  I almost didn't write this blog because it will make some people angry and negative comments on it will cause me discomfort and who wants to be uncomfortable?  I thought more of it as I was milking this morning and realized how important it is to speak up for what you believe whether it makes you uncomfortable or not.  It's a lot easier to jump on a bandwagon and go along with the crowd than it is to make waves.  Speaking of waves:

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
For the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

Be brave.  Take a stand for what you believe in.  Make a difference.  You're free to do that in America.

Most satisfying

I've seen some videos on Facebook recently that keep me watching even when there's not a lot happening.  Just clay being formed or paint splattering or time lapsed clouds moving, etc.  Here's one I found relaxing.  Watch out, 10 minutes of your life will pass you by if you click on this video.  I think these videos appeal to people who are a little OCD


Why do we (I?) watch these?  They're mesmerizing, I guess.  Just Google "the most satisfying video" and time will disappear before you know it.

A few days ago I was sitting on our deck and saw a leaf that appeared to be dancing.  It was hanging from a very small thread of spider web.  The wind gently carried it up and down.  I sat and watched,

mesmerized.

This next video is satisfying to me in a different way than the one of the leaf dancing.  This too could have been a ten minute video if only I could stand the rough sand papery tongue of Franklin.

In my last blog post I had a video of copper changing colors by heating it.  That was another one of these types of satisfying (to me) videos.

I could watch a goat chewing her cud for a long time but don't ask me to watch a human chewing gum for even 2 seconds.  I took this next video 4 years ago and I still find it relaxing (yet hilarious) to watch even now.


How much time did you just waste reading/watching my blog?  Are you feeling satisfied?

The unwanted piece of furniture

We've owned this corner china cabinet for 20+ years.   About 14 years ago the side panel of glass got cracked when Adam threw a ball and our dog, Lex, chased it and hit his head on the cabinet.  That's the story we were told anyway.

We put tape on it and that's the way it stayed until now.  We decided we no longer wanted it.  It had served it's purpose and we were ready to be rid of it.  Apparently no one else wanted it either.  It's been sitting in our chicken/goat barn for 4 months now.  We offered it to someone for free and he said he'd like it.  He never picked it up.  I put it on a local yard sale page for $60.00.  No one wanted it.  Well, one woman said she'd give me $20.00 for it because the glass would be too expensive to replace.  She's probably right but I decided not to sell it for $20.00.  I know, I was going to GIVE it away earlier but we knew that guy.  I guess I just wasn't in the mood to sell it to a stranger for $20.00.

I had an idea.  What if I took the glass out of the side panels and replaced it with copper?  I had to break the perfectly good glass in the right hand side of the cabinet to get it out.  It felt wrong but I did it anyway.  I cut some leftover roofing copper to fit and went to work.  First I annealed the copper with a propane torch.  This makes it softer and easier to work with.  It's very relaxing and satisfying to watch the metal turn colors as I heat it, at least I think so.

I removed the fire scale (the grey stuff) with vinegar, salt water and a rough sponge.  At first I tried coloring the copper with the torch again to color it.  I wasn't happy with the look once I sprayed it with lacquer and the color became dull.

I showed James what I was doing and the 2 of us agreed it would look good if I did the door too.  So I removed the bowed glass very carefully this time, just in case I had to put it back.

Next I began experimenting with chemicals on copper for a different look.  I've done very little of this in the past so it was really a lot of trial and error.  I had the best luck with ammonia, vinegar and salt water and PH decreaser I found in our closet from when we had a hot tub.  I didn't mix these all together.  I just tried a little bit of this and that, also laying leaves, flowers, rope, etc on the metal to see how things behaved together. I could never repeat what I did because I layered color over color, removed color, added more, etc.  I never knew exactly what would happen until the chemicals were washed off and then the copper oxidized.  As it dried it was like magic and different colors slowly appeared.  I can't even describe how much fun this was.

The finished product is now in our bedroom and I wouldn't even consider selling it, I love it so much.

You really need to see it in person to see some of the detail.  Here are a few leaves imprinted on it.

I think my next attempt with copper is going to be building a garden gate for James since the old one I built out of wood needs some TLC.  Any copper outdoors will weather so it won't be as colorful as this cabinet.