Cabinet update & little things ...

Clicking photos enlarges them.

      I've been busy this week with a little of this and that and managed to finish repainting the organization cabinet for my office.  You may remember it from my Pi Day post on the 14th.

     I wish now I hadn't put glue on the top of the fabric of that right bin, but oh well.  What is done is done.  I was missing a knob for the one bin and will look for a wooden one I can paint to match.

     Originally I was going to purchase storage bins to use on the shelves, but think instead I will upcycle cardboard boxes that come in the mail by covering them with fabric.

     These beauties are the pink cyclamen that I found at the grocery store and mentioned on Monday.  I just love them right now in the kitchen, but can't wait to see them naturalize all over the side yard eventually.  I spotted a lone [link> Glory of the Snow blooming in the front yard and hope to be able to transplant it to my shady side soon.  Since we are expecting cold weather tomorrow, I've put it in a pot for now on the back patio so I don't lose it before I can move it.

    Trees are budding out and the willows are already showing that lime-green of new leaves stretching for the sun.  Some that flower are showing shades of deep pink and the air smells wonderful.  I love the scent of the daffodils on my craft table right now!

     Yesterday I quickly did some wrapped flower vases on empty Starbucks cold coffee bottles that I was gifted from a friend at church, and am working on making some more today.  I love this ombre orange yarn that has both a spring and fall feeling to it!  As a tip if you want to make your own, use some double sided tape to help keep it from slipping up on the upper curved part of the bottle, or just cover the lower half.  I used hot glue to secure the first and last rows.

     Last night I was sitting on my back patio with all the fur-kids enjoying the weather and listening to the birds.  I had put out some nesting balls, and it appears that the birds really like them.  They come filled with natural cotton, but I've been saving the lint from my dryer, and Charlie's hair when I give him a quick trim, to refill them when they are empty.

     I have several bird houses around the back patio but haven't seen any activity in any of them, which is probably not surprising since that area sees a lot of Charlie traffic.  I may move one of them to the front porch, facing away from the door, and others to different parts of the side yard.  

     My next big project is going to involve these vintage window screens.  Seven of them are quite large, and I'm considering turning one of them into a privacy screen in front of the kitty litter boxes in my office.  I still have quite a bit of the sheer fabric I cut into for the encaustic project (see the blog post from 21 Feb 22) and think I will staple it to the frame and then add some 2x2 pieces for feet to the long side of it to keep it upright.

 

Weirdo Lucy

   Normally I wouldn't share an embarrassing photo of Lucy like this, but it is kinda hysterical, and part of why I would like to have a privacy screen in front of their boxes.  This is how she poops.  Like a cheerleader or diva at an outhouse.  Standing on her tippy toes on the edge of the tub.  She cracks me up every time.  Thankfully, any video work meetings I've ever had I've made sure the camera doesn't have a view of the boxes.  (The boxes aren't filled with that much with litter.  There are smaller boxes within the tubs.  It just helps when Gracie is throwing the litter around trying to get to China.  Lucy on the other hand just drops and runs without any effort to bury it.  Soooooooo annoying!)  I have no idea why she poops that way.  Her mom doesn't do that, and the boxes are scooped several times a day (or else I gag during work).

     The other six large ones will become a "catio" so I can safely leave the cats outside without needing to be constantly out there supervising their bird-watching.  An old patio chair with a outdoor cushion on it, and a planter with cat grass and catnip... the girls will be thrilled with it. I'm still looking for a freebie chainlink fence to put along that edge of the patio so it is a little taller than the almost invisible chicken wire that is there now.  With outdoor concert season starting soon at the restaurants around the corner from me, I'd like to sit outside and listen to the music more often.  Last summer I chased the cats into the house every time I went in to get more iced tea, or fix something to eat, which they found annoying.

     The two smaller screens will be cleaned, stenciled and hung for decor.  I think one of them I'd like to hang on the back porch with a stencil of the state shape on the top half [with a heart where WSS is] and "Almost Heaven, West Virginia" on the lower half.  I've been pinning a lot of ideas to Pinterest, and looking at some adhesive stencils on Amazon.

     Hope that your weekend is off to a good start!                   Hugs, Ci