More Farm finds and some...

Another treasure we found on the farm came off of an old cabinet that at sometime in it's history was moved out to the barn and used to store oil and other such stuff.  It had clearly been painted several times, the last time with an awful green color.  I saw treasure but my sister-in-law saw junk and it took a little convincing that I could turn it into something beautiful.  We decided that these doors would go into the cabin that my brother and family are re-habbing.

 This door was a true mess.  Half of it was laying on the dirt floor and the hinge part was still attached.

With a little hard work and lots of time cleaning out each punch hole.  Here is the results.  I'm loving the look.

I also had an old cabinet that would be useful in the new bathroom.  This cabinet was in a closet, so I dug it out.

 I drilled the same pattern from the door onto the front of the cabinet and spray painted it with a metal paint. Then painted the rest of the cabinet.

 Here's the final outcome of the project.  I think it tuned out great and I'm going to have to visit the cabin often to see my labor of love.

Latest Farm Finds

One of our favorite things to do on the farm is to scavage for treasures that have been sitting around forever.  About a month ago, my brother and I went looking again.  It's amazing how many things you have looked at and then suddenly see in a new way or potential new way.  I found this hay pulley.  It was caked with loads of dust and dirt and even a wasp nest.  Here it is all cleaned up.

 Another barn revealed the metal cow tags that have been used to tags cows.  Cows are tagged in their ears to keep track of them and their calves.  I'm sure these were once in some cows ear.

I knew that I wanted to put the pulley in my kitchen so I found some canning jars.

I twisted wire around the jars and added the tags with some hemp twine.  Then I added a handle made out of the wire.

 

I then put wire around the pulley and hung the jars from the pulley.  Cowboy hung it in the kitchen over my kitchen sink.  I'm planning on putting flowers in the jars this summer.

 I'm loving it.  I love having parts of the farm in my house.

Through others eyes

We took Sadie and Chloe to the farm for the weekend.  When we got there, my mom saw Sadie for the first time in a couple of months and I could see shock in her eyes.  Sadie's leg has gotten so much worse since she last saw her.  I was surprised to see Sadie's problems through someone else's eyes.  As my family came over, they each had the same reactions.  Since we see Sadie every day, her condition has been gradual for us.  It made my heart hurt all over again to look at her differently.

Bathroom Remodel

Cowboy and I were looking for flooring at Home Depot when we ran across, vinyl plank flooring and fell in love with the country pine look.  The bonus was that it was on sale.  It gave us the idea to redo the bathroom in the man cave.  It's small and bland.  I forgot the before pictures of the all white cabinets.  By picture time, I had painted the cheap white cabinet a slate blue.

 Here is a picture of the built in that were run down and ragged from the previous owners dog chewing on the corner of the cabinets,  (never mind the junk on top)

 The handles were silver and gold so Cowboy spray painted them to match each other.  I love how they turned out.  They are pictured on the flooring.

 Saturday we started putting down the flooring.  It was super easy.  We decided to lay the flooring across the short part of the bathroom and it made the bathroom look bigger.  The old flooring was so dark it made the bathroom look really small.

Just a picture of my awesome hubby working around the toilet.  (He's pretty sexy in a tool belt.)

 The top of the counter was very out dated and just down right yucky..... so we put the flooring on top of the counter top to tie it all together.

 Here is the finished top and flooring.

 And the finish.  I love how it turned out and am thrilled how easy it was to turn the bathroom into our space...or should I say, Cowboy's space.

J-man

The first 18 days of the new year, we got to have this guy stay with us.  He was a total blast to have around and made me yearn for one of my own.  Good thing is that he's close enough to have him come and stay anytime that we want.  He's the pefect reason to change my name to grandma.

Chloe

Although, I'm incredibly sad about Sadie.  This little one, who's not quite so little anymore has stolen another part of my heart.  Chloe has been so fun to be around.  I can't believe we have had her a year now.  She so full of energy and is very hyper. I can tell when she is tired, the energy level goes way up.  She is starting to have manners and is listening well.  She loves to chase squirrels and rabbits and I swear she will catch one some day. She is a jumper and has even jumped high enough to leave a scratch on my nose.  I want her to snuggle with me in the evenings but she is to busy for that.  I holding out hope that she will someday become my snuggle baby again.

 Chloe and the Cowboy have a love/hate relationship.  He is definitely the pack leader and makes her mind more then I do.  He has had to work on his patience with her but it is getting better as she is getting older.  Chloe and Sadie have never really bonded, probably the age difference, but they have grown to tolerate each other--or Sadie tolerates Chloe, I should say.

I am awfully glad we brought this one home.  We have recently started going to the dog park and Chloe loves it.  She will be my swimmer and loves the water and all the other dogs.

Cowboy contacted the guy we got her from, inquiring if he still had any of her litter mates around.  He's crazy if he thinks Chloe needs a playmate now.  Lord help me......

Sadie

I can't believe that I haven't blogged for 6 months.  It's not as if nothing has happened in my life.  The latest has revolved around my amazing Sadie. 

Sadie started getting fatty cyst several years ago.  They have always been small and round until last summer when a large one grew suddenly under her left front leg.  I took her to the vet and had it checked out.  He confirmed that it was a cyst.  That cyst has gotten huge--about the size of a large grapefruit. It has started to affect her ability to walk, run and even sit for long periods of time. 

She was due for her check up so we made an appointment.  We had a long conversation with the vet about our options and what we should do given that she turned 10 years old.  He gave us an estimate of $1500 for surgery.  The Cowboy and I debated several days about what to do and I even called my friend who is a vet.  After talking to her, we decided to go ahead with the surgery.

That next day, 10 years to the date that I brought home my puppy, we took her in for x-rays and blood work.  Then the bad news came.  I got the phone call in the middle of a meeting and had to excuse myself and then cried most of the next hour. 

Cowboy and I met at the vet's office to view the x-rays and hear the news again.  At some point in my dogs life, she got a hernia in her diaphragm and a large portion of her intestines are in her chest cavity.  We saw the x-rays.  She has about 50% of her lung capacity left.  No long walks, no surgery, no relief for her leg. 

We are so sad. We have problems trying to decide what is best for her--baby her, give in to her, let her do what she wants.  All I really know is Sadie has been my world and loved me when it was just us.  I can't remember what my life was like without her.  I want her to be with me forever.  That forever is much shorter and I only want to make the best decisions for her.  I'm so sad.  My heart hurts.