What's On Your Wall Wednesday

A new treat to watch is What's On Your Wall Wednesday being hosted by Barb at Grits and Glamour. Go see what things people are placing on their walls.

I am a quilt fan! I've quilted and own several quilts, wallhangings, miniature quilts, and table-runners. Several years ago our church had a drama group that performed the musical "Quilters". The drama group decided to make some added funds by putting together a quilt and then having a silent auction for the quilt. The participants and some of their friends made any quilt blocks they desired. Only requirement was the measurement of each block. We all took turns hand quilting it after it had been put together. It made a quilt sized for a king-size bed. We auctioned the quilt and made $800 for the mission projects. Those of us who helped with the quilt felt like we were losing "our" quilt so before the owner took possession of it, one of the artists in our church sketched the quilt with "pen and ink". Anyone who participated in the making of the quilt was given a print. I had mine matted and framed.

My print hangs in one of my bathrooms which has a "quilt theme". I'd like to think that things I have hanging on my wall have some personal connection with me and not just a random thing to fill a space. This is a treasure to me. It holds so many memories.

Trash to Treasure Church Pew

Be sure to visit Diane over at A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words to see what others do with things that have been thrown away by someone else. My treasure today was pretty close to a "dumpster dive". Actually, a very good friend of mine had an old 8 foot wooden church pew sitting by her dumpster several years ago and I asked her if I could have it. She said I could. I took it home. It needed lots of repair and we didn't need it to be 8 foot long. My husband cut it down to 4 foot which wasn't easy because it was curved and the ends had to be taken off and reattached. He completely reglued it. We decided to paint it after it was repaired. I've had this pew in my home since then. My friend has had some regrets about letting me have it!

The picture above the pew is also a T to T. I asked my brother and sister-in-law in California to get me a grape drying rack and they did find one at a winery. I used a Coors poster and decoupaged it on it. It's also been in my home for a very long time.

Trash to Treasure Birdcage

I bought this birdcage sans bottom at a garage sale this past summer for $1 only it was a dark green. So, when everything else was getting painted white, I threw it in and painted it as well. It will be fun to put seasonal decor in it. Right now it's out in the new sunroom.

Be sure to check out Diane at A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words. There are lots of people transforming others' trash into their very own treasures.

Before and After Wet Bar

Downstairs we have a really very nice sized family room . We had this corner that just looked like it could be used for a wet bar so nicely. So we put a wet bar in. It has a sink, microwave, and a small refrigerator. I have some nice glass things that I wanted to display so we made some of the cabinets lighted with glass fronts for display. We used granite for the counter top and Saltillo tile for the floor and backsplash which matches the other tile used throughout our home. My husband did the design for the backsplash. The shelf above the microwave I use for display of seasonal things. It's been a handy thing to add to our family room.

Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch is hosting Metamorphosis Monday. Hop on over there to see more dramatic changes around blog-land. Thanks for hosting, Susan!

Another Birthday

My oldest child reached the ripe old age of 37 this week. I barely feel like I've lived on this earth for 37 years - I can't believe she has! We had a family gathering to wish her a "Happy Birthday" and she got to partake of her requested menu. She said that best of all, she didn't have to cook and that was her favorite part.

Heidi is an energetic, busy lady. She's accomplished alot. She has a masters degree in music education. She's been married 15 years. She's a mom to three. She's an elementary music teacher and a Contemporary Praise director at her church. She's just added a third job to her already busy life - she'll be teaching a college class this spring semester for a local university. Now, if she can just keep her life balanced - do you think it's possible? Probably having an understanding and supportive husband would be a major part of all that and she does have that! Happy Birthday to my oldest and deeply loved child!!

The Reader and Book Club

Yesterday the Ladies With Books went to see The Reader for which Kate Winslet won Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globe presentation last night. We had read the book quite a while ago but wanted to see how the movie measured-up to the book. We found that they had changed some things about the book (as they always do). However, overall, we felt it was a good movie based upon the book. It was a good movie but certainly not a story from which you leave feeling "good". The movie is rated "R" and there is good reason for it - nudity - so, if you go, be prepared for that. I would strongly recommend the book though - a very good read!

This week we had Ladies With Books and Erlene's choice for our book was An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination which is a memoir by Elizabeth McCracken. I wish I could recommend this book but I can't. Erlene said it was one of her top ten reads but I couldn't make the same statement. We talked at Book Club about what appeals in a book to one person and makes the book "wonderful" is not necessarily the same for another.

Trash to Treasure Bench

This was originally a maple twin bed that I bought at a garage sale for $15. I had my DH make a bench out of it. He used everything from that bed - rails and all, adding only a few extra pieces of wood to complete it. I got the idea from Margo over at Robojunker. Making "something from nothing" is what she does best. She loves junk.

This is the finished bench which is now sitting in my new sunroom. Phil (that's my DH) is a miracle worker! Check over at Diane's for other Trash to Treasure ideas.

New Sunroom

A two-month process is basically finished. We wanted to add a sunroom onto the back of our house using the upper deck to make a room that would be useful for most of the year. We also wanted to enclose the lower walkout and use it for more greenhouse space (our little greenhouse that is part of our shed is just crammed with too many plants and I had to let too many die this year for lack of space). We still have some "unfinished business" for the contractors to come back and correct but it is basically finished. The above picture is what it looks like from the back of our house.

This is on the upper level looking out to the backyard - you see the pergola on the left and the shed in the center. I'm lovin' all the glass (I know I won't love the cleanin' of the glass though). It is winter in Kansas so we have no green to look out and see - but, just wait until spring, summer, and fall - there will be a "show".

This is in one corner of the sunroom. I should put this set on "Trash to Treasure". I bought this wicker set for $90 at a garage sale - it was solid and needed painting. All this space needs now is decor and plants. When it turns a little warmer we can move some plants up here to add "green".

This is a close-up of the walk-out part below which I will be using shortly for placing plants and doing some seed-planting for the coming spring. When I get more done inside, I'll show you this workspace - it's large and will be so nice!