Easter Greetings

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

An Urban Legend Begins with Last Month's Remodeling

Looking back, the month of March was ever so eventful.  My youngest son had some down time from building houses and helped me design and construct a laundry room and a "whatever" room in my dreary old basement.  It came to life in a matter of 2 weeks complete with new laminate flooring, drywall, plumbing, electrical, and doors. 

My Baby B.

So you see, that is why I was away for so long.  We hauled lumber in the snow and rain.  I learned how to carry drywall like the pros, how to cut wood on a chop saw and made new friends at Lowes.  Thank goodness Starbuck's is down the road from Lowes...  I was pooped.  I think I still have joint compound in my hair or is it just turning grey?  Nah... 

Plus

Equals Happy Momma

Now, I bet you're wondering why did I pick a laundry room to build when there are so many other rooms that need a fix here at the Coop? 
And so the story begins...

It was a cold day in November when I turned the thermostat up.  The familiar rattle, roar and squeal of the furnace firing was comforting to say the least.  I said a little prayer, thankful that the old beast was going to keep me warm for another season.  Then it happened.  The fan kept turning on and off. The furnace would fire up and then no fan to circulate the heat... Uh-oh.

The next day I called the repair man.  After about 10 minutes of work he said, "Mam, would you come here a sec?"  I had that feeling you get when the dentist looks at your x-rays and says, "Suzy lets get her numb."   I got to the bottom of the stairs and he was holding something in his pliers.  "Mam, last time I saw this, it was about 10 years ago..."  My eyes adjusted to the dimly lit cave and to my surprise he was holding a dead squirrel.  "Well, this is Idaho. A wild place indeed."  I said as calmly as possible. 

RIP Little Squirrel

Next, I learned that I had a leaking valve in the furnace (so that was why my basement had that funny smell...) the duct work was not up to code (duct tape isn't code?) and the flue inside the chimney had rusted and broken apart.  He said that 2 years ago when I moved in that my gas line should've been locked down and not allowed to operate until the proper updates had been installed and inspected. 

 Hmm, thinking back, it was an older gentleman who came to my house from the gas company to turn the gas on and light my furnace and hot water heater. 

 I remember asking him if he thought my furnace would last a few more years.  It was late and I am sure his dinner was waiting.  I got the feeling he really didn't want to chit-chat. 
He said,
 "SURE THING." 

For 2 years, I have done everything possible to get rid of that smell (like cat urine) in my basement and well, I guess the place could have burnt down. 
More prayers.

When I began blogging my very first post said that I had stories to tell about this place, my home.  I said they were urban legends, really, and this is Chapter One. 

So what does a laundry room remodel have to do with my furnace fiasco? 
Stay tuned for... Chapter 2
Why do Things Happen in Threes?

Until then,
Hugs

 

Taking Baby Steps

Here are a few more sweet findings from the estate sale.

Can you guess what this picture is from...?

Vintage Advertising Fans!  Adorable huh.

Precious lil' shoes.  Where are my granddaughters right now...

Booties don't even match.  Still sweet as can be.

Gonna Love Me Some Babies Today.



If the Tin Man Only Knew...

As promised, I have returned with more aluminum gems and a whole lot to tell you.  "Where has she been?" you ask.   Now I am thinking... do you want the condensed version?  What!   Wait a minute here, I am much too windy for that.  So how about several short sweet posts to get you caught up with the latest happenings at the "Coop?"  Sounds do-able to me. 

 Here goes...

I am still sorting through my goodies from that blessed estate sale.  I am always amazed how something so humble, so utilitarian, like ordinary kitchen gadgets can make the most interesting photos. 

Oh, with the help of Picnik of course.

Cute little scoops

Cute little measuring cups and spoons

I could sit and do this all day.  

See the Tin's Mans Hat peeking from behind the lid.

Keep in mind, all of this was covered with grease and grim.  I spent most of a day scrubbing... a little Ajax here, a little soap there, okay a lot of soap, a little Kaboom.

And Kaboom!  This post is finished.  Hugs for now and more shopping treasures revealed soon.



Say Aluminum Three Times- FAST

Can you tell I work with kids?  On Friday, promptly at 2:15PM, when my school day ended,  my son called me in an utter tizzy.  "Mom, you have got to get to this estate sale as fast as you can... I have never seen so much stuff in one place in my entire life!"  "Make sure you get the pop and beer cans for me- all of them."   "Grab some branding irons too!"  Okay...  I jotted down the address, bid farewell to my comrades, grabbed some paperwork (a teacher's paperwork is never done) and hit the road.  As I was driving, I kept thinking, why does he want pop and beer cans, were they full?  Branding irons- we don't own any cows. 
He was right, there was an immense sea of wonderful things and I found out later that the sale had been going on for 2 days.  I began circling and making my pile.  Each trip around this amazing house lent me more goodies and just how I like them, dusty, rusty, hidden on bottom selves, all the places where other shoppers forget to look.  Yes, I found the beer cans and right next to them were boxes of old aluminum kitchenware.  I was having a moment... crawling around on the floor clamoring through grimy old pots and pans, things the other collectors had no interest in, finding pure JOY.  

Aluminum, Aluminum, Aluminum

There's more... until then

XOXO