Feeling "discombobulated" ??? !!!

Hello dear friends & readers,

Goodness . . . I did not mean to be away for so long.

A week or so ago I read the word "discombobulated" on sweet Pom Poms blog

I liked the sound of the word . . . so I looked it up in the google dictionary

"to confuse . . . if something has you in a state where you don't know your up from your down . . ."

Yes I thought .... that sounds rather like me !!

We have been lost in a world of prepping & sanding & painting these last few weeks

It all begins to look the same after awhile

I did capture these few pics last week while preparing the new (2nd hand) window for painting

It pays to do these jobs while small 4-legged beings are locked away somewhere !!

I am pleased to report our walls & ceiling are now painted . . . we hired a large airless spray unit & completed the job in a weekend.

There are still lots of fiddly bits for me to complete.

This large round cane basket was one of my friend Joyce's throw-outs way back in January.

I scrubbed it & then promptly left it in a corner of my deck to get covered in dust & cobwebs all over again.

Last weekend while we had the spray unit on hire, I quickly grabbed it & gave it a dust off.

"Could you just whip that spray gun across this for me" I asked my Stepson who had come to lend a hand.

Gosh - what would've no doubt been 3 days worth of painting & drying & painting - took approx 3 minutes !!

I fancied making myself a large work basket to sit by my lounge chair & toss all my handwork into . . . I thought this large round size would be just perfect . . . so I dug into my treasured vintage fabric stash & found a lovely piece of Sanderson fabric to line the base.

Firstly I covered a circle of heavy duty cardboard with 2 thick pieces of wadding.

After covering with my fabric, I glued a length of gathered cotton lace around the edge, then glued my circle into the base

Just exactly what I had visualised.

This tall wooden wall unit was one of the very few things my first husband & I ever actually agreed upon.

We both really liked it when we bought it all those years ago . . . though it has been shifted around with me many, many times over the years, I still love it but it was looking tired, tatty & worn (rather like its Owner to be honest)

My friend Jane suggested I think about painting it . . . although it is showing in my photos as a nice golden colour, it was actually a very dark brown stained pine

After mulling it over for a couple of months, I took the plunge last week & slapped a coat of chalk paint on it . . . 

This photo above was taken while I was at the stage of "wondering what on earth I had done but pretending I was just fine & dandy about it all!!!"

I ended up giving it two coats of antique white & then decided to apply the pale duck egg chalk paint over this . . . I felt the antique white was too stark looking & am so pleased with the duck egg colouring . . . you can just see the white peeping through in some places

I have lighted sanded the edges & have waxed the top half but still have the lower half to complete . . . I can visualise it filled with some old china pieces . . . 

I can hardly wait to fill it up & find the right spot for it in my new lounge room.

Guess who turned One this week ??!!]

My dear little grandson Alec had his first birthday this week & celebrated with two parties . . . one on his actual birthday . . .

. . . in which Granny made him a feijoa cake to enjoy . . .

& then another party today with some little friends in which his Mummy made him a chocolate cake  . . .

& even though he got a wonderful fancy new bike from his Mummy & Daddy for his birthday . . . he loved the cheap blue Pak-n-Save ball the very bestest of all !!!

Happy Birthday my dear wee Alec . . .
 I have so enjoyed watching you grow & develop your little personality over this past year.

Thank you dear friends & readers for your welcome visits today 
I shall leave you with this pic I snapped of Blackie last night sound asleep in his basket -  yes, legs in the air dear Willie !!  I am always fascinated when I see the perfect line under his chin.

I hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing weekend & be kind to each other & to yourselves,
with much love & friendship,
Julie & the furry ones
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