It’s a Jungle Out There…

 

Were you around waaaaay back in May when I moved the vegetable garden to this sunnier site next to the garage?

And do you remember when I built a raised bed to keep the dogs from running through it?

I made it from reclaimed lumber, and showed it off here.

The popular vote was to not paint it, so I didn’t.

 

In order to maximize the space, I very carefully planted my cucumbers so they would grow up a trellis made from crib springs, and the zucchini and summer squash were planted in a seat frame from an old kitchen bench.

The idea was to have the frame create the “hill” recommended for planting zucchini on.

Then I planted cabbage and peppers toward the front, so they could get the most sun.

So far so good.  I then bought a 6 pack of cherry tomato plants even though I only wanted 2 to plant in the earth box. 

The rest were going to go to my daughter and son-in-law for their garden.

Only they didn’t come to get them.  So to keep them alive I stuck them in my veggie garden, next to the cabbage.   God forbid I should waste those perfectly good plants, know what I mean?

Look how neat it is!!  

Then Deb and I decorated it 4th of July weekend.  It looked so pretty!

 

That was then, now take a look at what it looks like today.

The zucchini plants are trying to get out and take over the yard…..

 

And the extra cherry tomato plants are sky high and growing over the top of everything.

Cabbage, what cabbage?

I can’t find it anymore.

I think the zucchini ate it.

 

 

It really is a jungle out there.

Especially when I’m “going in” to harvest the cukes, which, by the way, are the most plentiful I’ve ever grown.

So much for my nice neat raised vegetable garden!   

Maybe next year I won’t overplant……

Rose

More Stuff- or Just What I Didn’t Need

 

I was so excited by my newel post find yesterday that I totally forgot to show you the rest of my finds for the week. 

Now be advised, I am trying hard to cut back on acquisitions due to lack of time to work on stuff, and also lack of space to store it. 

These days you will see me picking up smaller items and less of them. But I’m still a curbshopaholic, so sometimes I have a slip.

Kind of like this wicker chair.  As you can see it is definitely not a small item!  Oops!  Broke my new rule in under 5 seconds.

Do I need it?

No……

Do I love it?

Let me ask you this, who doesn’t love wicker furniture?  Something about it….

This was found on the same street as the newel post from yesterday, just a few houses further down.

It’s in good shape, but I figure it must have gotten wet at some point.  Still seems sturdy to sit on, but time will tell.

The great thing about old wicker once you can’t sit on it anymore…

It becomes a perfect garden accent, just add a plant on the seat and you’re good to go.

 

And if I change my mind and put it out to the curb it will be gone in less than an hour.  

Believe me, I’ve tested that theory with worse looking wicker pieces.  Gone every time.

This next item was found last week along with a louvered bifold door.  No photo of the bifold, it’s already been cut in half and painted black.  I’ve been enclosing the shelves in my outdoor kitchen with shutters and louvered doors.  The open look was just not working for me.  The found bifold was a very exciting find, as I had just exhausted my supply and was short one set. 

I’ll show you that soon.

Really.

Anyway, this birdhouse planter was a bonus find at that stop.  Isn’t it cute?  Now to find a plant to put in it.

And even though I really didn’t need a thing, I could not keep myself from following an Estate Sale sign the other day.  I swear the car turned all by itself!

I spent $4 there.

This very dirty frog was free.  I think they thought I was a little nutty when I asked about it.

 

But I think he will look great in the rainbow garden with the rest of my critters.  Don’t you?

 

See?  He looks like he can’t wait to get to his new home.

In case you haven’t already guessed, his “lily pad” is my newest step stool.  I paid $2 for it.

 

This one doesn’t remind me of Grandpa’s house, but I liked the shape of the seat and the petite size.  A girl can never have too many step stools, right?

I spied the round glass top metal stands in the living room.

They were marked $1 each.

 

I bought them both.  They are already cleaned up and in use out in the gazebo next to the chairs.  I was needing something in there to set drinks on, and these fit the bill perfectly!

No picture of them in place yet, but they are next to these 2 chairs now.

Lastly, I bought this mail box at a garage sale for 50c.  I’ve got just the perfect re-purpose planned for it in the outdoor kitchen.

That’s all I’ve got this time.  See, I AM getting better!

Gotta go now, it’s trash day somewhere….

Rose

 

Meant to Be Mine

OK, this story is really weird. 

Yesterday morning I went as usual to my pal Gail’s blog to see what she was up to.  I always start my morning reading her blog first thing.  A day without a Gail post is like a day without sunshine. ;)

So, her topic was how to make a decorative post for plants or signs.  From scratch.

I just loved how it came out, with crown molding on the top and bottom.  I left her a comment to that effect and went about my day.

Well then, on my way home from the office last night instead of getting directly on the thruway, I impulsively turned the car towards a neighborhood that I knew had trash pick up the next morning.  I usually wait until morning to curb shop, but was planning to travel in the opposite direction today, so wouldn’t get a chance to get back this way.

Not a lot of trash out to the curb yet; around here most people wait until bedtime or early morning to set it out.

But!

Oh my Gosh!

There

was

this……

 

Does it look familiar to you?

 

 

Why, I do believe that it looks a lot like the post Gail made! 

See her cute red painted post here?

Mine just needs a base, and a cute decorative knob, I’m thinking maybe a doorknob with the backing plate to cover the spot where the banister met the post.  Can’t wait to pretty it up and put it to use!

Isn’t that just the oddest thing, that I should read about and want to make one of Gail’s stands, and lo and behold, one presents itself to me that very day; practically ready to use?

Wouldn’t you say it was meant to be mine?

This was just too perfectly timed to be a coincidence. I swear we are connected somehow. It’s not the first time something like this has happened with us either. 

Told you, weird, right?

Thanks for the inspiration Gail! 

Shall we call mine the lazy woman’s version?

 

Rose

My Latest Curbfinds

 

Just a few odds and ends from the past week.  Not much.

Honestly, I have been really good about not picking up everything I see at the curb.  I’ve passed by tables, chairs, entertainment centers, desks, a workbench, even windows lately.

My home, yard, garage, storage shed and basement are all bursting at the seams with junk.  It’s the age old dilemma, got junk but no time to use it!

I’ve even been contemplating having my own junk sale to clear out some of the excess. 

This chair was sitting at the curb just like this.  Broken piece sitting on the seat.  Speaking of seat, the caning is in perfect condition!

All it needs is a little bit of that Gorilla Glue that my pal Gail is giving away right now. 

Then this little beaut will be as good as new!  I kid you not, this chair is super sturdy and otherwise perfect. 

How sad that the owner didn’t know about gluing and clamping.

These rustic wooden pieces caught my eye as I was driving into a small town yesterday.  They were sitting at the curb along with a few other odds and ends.

I almost didn’t go back and check it out.

There were 2 boxes with taped up handles, and a wooden bowl.

 

I’m in love with these, even though I have no idea what I’ll do with them!

This oval oak snack table was in perfect condition.  I like this shape so much better than the tables I have now.

Wonder what happened to the rest of the set?

I have a thing for picnic baskets.

This will be used for storage on a shelf somewhere.

OK, I know this step stool is really rough.  I hesitated a long time (almost 3 full seconds) before putting it in the car.

I just couldn’t stop myself.  

I love the darned things.  Especially the wooden ones.

It goes back to childhood memories of fighting with my sisters over who got to sit on the kitchen stepstool when we visited my Grandpa’s house after church every Sunday. 

Since there were 6 of us, and only one stool we had plenty of fights over it.

After my Grandpa passed and the house was cleared out we all got to pick one thing to keep.

Guess what I picked?  Yup, the stepstool.  Sadly,  that one is long gone, but they still hold a special place in my heart. 

Gotta go now, it’s trash day somewhere….

Rose

 

Linking this up to Linda’s Nifty Thrifty Tuesday party.  Go check out all the neat stuff over there!

Favorite Finds #1

Not a lot new going on over here I’m afraid.  August feels like it is on triple fast forward, I just cannot believe it’s the 9th already!

I’ve not been able to get anything done around here in a couple of weeks, so have nothing new to report.

So what should I blog about?   In going through my photos it came to me that I should do a series on some of my favorite curb finds that I have never blogged about before.

Not that I’ve been holding out on you or anything, I was simply waiting until I got around to using these pieces.  Of course, that may not happen in the next decade at the rate I’m moving.

So I figure it’s best to show you now.  Maybe, just maybe, it will give me the motivation I need to get started.

For today’s first favorite find I’ve chosen something special I’ve had stashed away since last summer. 

These are porch posts from an old home in the city.  They were replaced with new “modern” blah posts and set out to the curb for me to stumble across.

When I first picked them up they got quickly tucked away in a corner of my rented storage space.  They were then pretty much forgotten about until I moved everything to the new storage space this spring.  

There they were, tucked way back in a corner. 

This time I made sure I got some better photos of them for my “treasures  waiting to be used” folder.

I love the color and the beveled edges.

You can see here they have some dry rot on the ends.

And they are extremely chippy….

But oh, they make my heart go pitter patter!

They are meant to be stacked, taller one over short stocky one to make the porch column.

I’ve done nothing with these yet, but they‘re earmarked for the future pergola I’m planning.

If you had found them, what would you do with them? 

Do you think they’re as special as I do?

 

Rose

 

I’m linking up to Linda’s Nifty Thrifty Tuesday over at Coastal Charm.  Check out all the cool stuff she found while dumpster diving recently!