AVALANCHE

I spent the weekend watching two of my little grand kids, Laurel and Dean.
 They live in the Heber Valley, about a hour away from home. When I left to come home on Sunday there was a huge snow storm the night before.  I was about half way down Provo Canyon when traffic came to a stop. The Highway Patrol was telling everyone there had been a small avalanche and it was going to take a couple of hours to get it cleared and traffic moving again. I was bored so I decided to keep a log of what was going on in my little mind....just for fun.

Feb.20
11:20 a.m.
Stuck in Provo Canyon because of an avalanche..don't panic

11:22
It's a parking lot, no one can move..other cars are boxing me in an I'm parked next to a hill..panic!

11:26

Turning off engine, hope I don't freeze. I can hear them blasting in the canyon. OK I'm freakin' out!

11:34

Will I get out, will I survive? This could be a made for TV movie, who would play me? Kathy Bates?

I need to go and comfort some of the people in other vehicles so they don't panic, that's what a made for TV hero would do.

11:40

No one else is panicking..

11:46

Take deep breaths, think happy thoughts, sing a hymn.

11:52

I'm hungry...check my purse for supplies...M&M's, two bite size pepper mint patties. a fortune cookie, OK there was two but I panicked and ate one, must keep up my strength. Another blast!

11:53

No more cookies, OK so I'm a nervous eater...

12:02

Took a short nap, awakened by more blasts.

12:16

Evaluate my life..

12:17

Re-evaluate my life..

12:30

Made contact with the outside world, thank goodness texting works in the canyon.

12:32

M&M's are all gone, no wonder I'm not good at dieting...hunger sets in...deep pangs of hunger and fear...OK so I skipped breakfast.

12:40

Wonder if some of the people have extra food in their cars...if I had more M&M's I'd share.....Oh they're all so selfish I can tell just by looking at them.

12:44

Maybe I'll make contact with the truck driver behind me, surely he has food and blankets and maybe a TV. Good reminder, never leave the house without make-up!

12:52

The U-Haul next to me has a picture of a camel on it...wonder what camel tastes like? wonder if it tastes like chicken? wait I don't even like meat .Note to self, "self never leave the house without eating breakfast."

1:10

Trapped over a hundred minutes,I'm amazed at my endurance, I never knew I had it in me.

1:11

 Despair and regret are taking over my mind...

1:15

A guy just walked by and saw my pepper mint patties so I hurried and ate them...oh my gosh what have I done, out of food...I'll never make it, things are getting dark, so many unfinished craft projects, who will finish them....must rest

Oh wait, there's movement, engines starting. I'M SAVED,  I  MADE IT! Oh I knew I would make it... it's just fun to use my imagination!

Just another day in the life of me.

sewing machine drawers

I've had these drawers from an old treadle sewing machine for over forty years. I love them and they make the perfect little end table. I decided it was time to paint them,( after 40 years anything could use a new paint job)

 I didn't even bother to sand it down, just painted it with my new favorite creamy yellow color.

 I love the detail on the drawer pulls.

 I like to sand the edges and the go over then with mahogany stain rather than using the gel stain.

 The details show up better with lots of distressing.

 Amazing what a little paint can do!

I think it looks so much happier now and perfect in my front room.

Creamy Dresser

This is a dresser I just finished for a client. She plans on using it as a changing table for her new baby.

The dresser was just stained so I sanded it good and wiped it down with paint thinner. The paint thinner helps to clean all the dust off and any bits of varnish. Then I gave it a coat of cream paint. I have a compressor and paint sprayer and I love it. I do lots of furniture that I sell so the sprayer saves a lot of time and it goes on smooth and I don't get the brush strokes when painting with a brush.

I love the detail on the legs and the sanded edges really show it off.

I thought the top look really cool, I think the heavy sanding and staining really give it a interesting texture.

 I added some pretty glass knobs to finish it off.

Two cute tables

These are a couple of tables that a friend gave me. I love the style and the little drawer.
As usual I sanded them and then wiped them down with paint thinner.

The smaller table I painted black and sanded the edges and stained them with mahogany stain, then I added a crystal knob to the drawer.

The other table is just a little larger but the same style. I painted it a buttery yellow and I loved the way it turned out.

The other table is just a little larger but the same style. I painted it a buttery yellow and I loved the way it turned out.

I planned on selling  both tables at my furniture sale , but the more I thought about the yellow table the more I wanted it for myself. I tried to talk myself out of it but of well, look how cute it looks in my front room.

I planned on selling both tables at my furniture sale , but the more I thought about the yellow table the more I wanted it for myself. I tried to talk myself out of it but of well, look how cute it looks in my front room.

Love it!

Winter in Utah

Talk about a white Christmas, we definitely got it this year! We had about 20" in one day and the storms keep coming. 

These stump look like they have giant marshmallows on top of them! 

Yep that's my mailbox with all that snow on top! I'm lucky the mailman was able to find it.

It is beautiful but oh so cold...I think I'm ready for spring.

These are pictures from beautiful Heber Valley in Utah. This is where my son and his family lives.. It's just one of many  beautiful places in Utah. It's a great state to live in.

Enjoy!

Painting drawer handles

New door knobs can be so expensive to replace so I try to re-use them whenever I can by painting them.I always had a hard time painting door knobs until I learned this little trick.
First clean them off good, I use steel wool and a little paint thinner to get them clean.
I use a cardboard box and put the screw through and attach the knob or handle to the other side.

 Then I spray them with primer and then when the primer dries I paint the with Krylon spay paint. This is a great way to do it because you don't have to paint one side and then turn it to paint the other side. It's just one easy step, {well two} primer and then paint. Let them dry and then they're ready to use... great way to recycle and save some money.

Sewing table

My friend brought this sewing machine cabinet to re-do for her daughter for Christmas. It had belonged to her Grandmother. 
It was the blonde wood with a lacquer finish.
It was quite the process!

 I sanded and sanded and then sanded some more. Then I put primer on it and once it was dry then I rubbed it down with a lint free rag to smooth out any bumps. Then I painted it a soft cream color, sanded the edges and stained them with mahogany stain removing any excess with a little paint thinner.

I added amber glass knobs that really added a little sparkle to the cabinet.

I think it turned out really sweet.

Another cupboard door.

Well I still have about 15 doors left so I had another idea for using one of them. I decided to make it a stocking holder. Easy to do, I just spray painted it red and added some pretty crystal knobs, and of course the vinyl lettering, "And the stockings were hung"

I used a pretty red ribbon to hang it and now it's already for Santa to fill the stockings. Perfect if you don't have a fireplace to hang your stockings.