Recycle by Thrifting

Thrifting is one of my passions! Recently, I picked up some household treasures while out thrifting. We live in a house that was built in the 1950’s. When we purchased the house all of the 50’s oak hardwood floors were covered with carpet. We have pulled up the carpet in one room at a time and, so far, we have refinished 2 of the rooms floors. Hardwood floors, while extremely nice, call for a bit of rich warmth found in a area rug. I found the perfect one for just $25.00! Great colors, very plush and probably would have cost about $200 at most home stores. When Ruby first walked on it, she loved the plushy feel underneath her feet and played “fall down” over and over. We laughed and laughed, which of course, inspired Ruby to add more flare to the falling down.

Love the detail!

I have been looking for a mid-century blonde dresser to serve as a buffet for my blonde table set. I finally found a great one for $25.00. The table set has that 40’s look. The table’s sides can be pulled up for a larger table and has two leaves which can be added for a really large table. There are six chairs which are covered in a retro green textured check material.

I picked the table set up at an estate sale about 6 years ago for $75.00. Later, I found a silverware case that match the blonde finish at a sale for $10.00.

This is the $25.00 blonde dresser that became a buffet. The metal on the legs of the table and the dresser match.

I love the designer, Frank Lloyd Wright. I grew up in a town that had a Frank Lloyd Wright skyscraper, Price Tower. It was commissioned by Price Oil Company. The building has been refurbished in the original mid-century design and houses a small museum, hotel and restaurant. I found this modern day lamp that reminds me of Wright’s designs. The lamp was purchased at Goodwill for $6.99.

I bought this art pottery flower pot for .25 cents, it has been broken and glued back but again, I love the classic design. My personal flare for design is very eclectic!

This is my entry table vignette atop my husband’s grandmother’s antique singer sewing machine. The only item purchased new was the lamp at Family Dollar Store for $10.00. The remaining items were picked up at various sales and combined to make this arrangement. The purple and green glass balls were once floats for fish nets.

I really loved the way this photo turned out, I call it “An Acre Stilllife”.

I would really enjoy hearing about your fabulous finds found while out thrifting. Leave your blog link in your comment so we can all share in your pictures and adventures. Why pay top dollar for rugs, furniture, etc. when all can be found for less? Of course, it may take some time to find the right piece. Sometimes different pieces found at different times come together to produce that perfect “look”.

Cooking on a Woodstove

Mid-December 2007, NE Oklahoma had the worse ice storm in recorded history. And I thought the worse ice storm was in January 2007???!!! We had no electricity for 9 days, no running water for 3 days. The small town I live by had no electric for 48 hours! All the trees look like a F4 tornado hit; the ice broke many, many branches. The county was declared a national disaster area for the second time in a year. June brought a major flood. Maybe Al is not too far off center in his mission on global warming. Some of the pictures posted here are from that ice storm, while the ice made for beautiful pictures, it was not fun living without modern conveniences.

I cooked on the wood-stove by using the removable crock from my crock-pot. The length of time when cooking on a wood-stove is very close to the length in a crock-pot/slow-cooker. There are many soup recipes, etc. that could be cooked on wood-stove.

Hot Cranberry Apple Punch

• 4 1/2 cups cranberry juice
• 6 cups apple juice
• 1/4 cup+1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 teaspoon cloves

1. Pour juices into crockpot. Mix in brown sugar and salt.
2. Drop in cinnamon sticks and whole cloves in. Could use cheesecloth to make a spice bag for the spices.
3. Cover and simmer until hot. Move to the back of wood-stove top to keep warm.

Black Bean Soup

• 1/3 cup chopped onions
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 151/2 oz cans of black beans
• 1 cup water
• 1 ham flavored bouillon packet
• 1/2 cup diced, cooked smoked ham
• 1/2 cup diced carrots
• 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper flakes

1. Saute onion and garlic in oil in crock-pot.
2. Mash contents of one can of black beans; pour in both cans of beans into crock-pot.
3. Combine rest of ingredients into crock-pot.
4. Cover. Cook until hot.
5. Garnish: Sour Cream or grated  jack cheese.

The heat of the cooking temperature on a wood-stove depends on the intensity of the fire. The middle of the top should be the warmest area for cooking and the back of the top should be the for keeping warm. We keep a tea kettle on the stove with water to add moisture into the air.

Having lived with no electricity twice this year and experienced two very bad ice storms in 2007, we have decided to better prepared for the next time. I wonder how others fared when I think how prepared we were for bad weather, for example: wood-stove, plenty of wood, gas generator, plenty of food, drinking water. However, we want a battery powered weather radio and a propane wall unit in the back of the house for extra warmth.

This weekend the weather will be sunny and in the 70’s, so I am very thankful that the ice melts away quickly here. I would be interested in hearing how others survive severe winter conditions.

 

 

January Gardening on My One Acre

Gardening in January?? Believe or not there are “gardening chores” to accomplish when the icicles are covering everything outside. This is the first of a monthly posts on gardening chores. Here is a few to do in Oklahoma:

• Save some of your woodstove ashes for those alkaline loving plants, such as Iris, Hydrangeas, Clematis. Wood ashes are alkaline and contain trace amounts of calcium and potassium. Use sparingly. DO NOT use the ashes from the pre-formed logs, they contain harmful chemicals for plants.
• A strategic garden planning session always makes even the coldest, snowiest days feel warm! Grab the latest nursery catalog and a cup of hot tea or coffee to help your dream garden happen. Make a map of your flower beds, garden, herb beds, the large landscaping plan of your yard, etc. Make sure the plants/seeds you choose are good for your area. We gardeners in Oklahoma have to remember on those cold days that come July, it will be very hot and dry. Watering is essential for newly planted plants and garden produce in the summer.
• Your houseplants need attention this time of year. Check for pests, such as spider mites, mealy bugs. Solutions can range from a cotton swap dipped in alcohol for mealy bugs to a systemic insectide for a bad case of spider mites. Please when using any form of insect control consider your household, such as pets, children, etc. Better to be safe than sorry is my motto. Dust off the leaves, you can use a wet paper towel or take the pots to the shower for a nice room temp shower. Houseplants usually do not need much fertilizer in the winter months because their growth is slow. However, a shot of liquid fertilizer in the water is a good thing mid-winter.
• If you have outside pets, make sure their water source is fresh and not frozen. We have a heated water bowl for our outside dogs but Floppy (our lop eared rabbit) needs his water checked everyday. This is a good time to check to see if your pets bedding is still appropriate for cold temps. Our two outside dogs sleep together in a dog house that has a thick Styrofoam bottom with a electric heating pad under a thick blanket. Floppy has a layer of thick hay all around his little sleeping house inside his cage.
• January stills allows time for forcing some bulbs , such as amaryllis and paperwhites, to bloom. Many flowering shrubs are also lovely to bring inside for blooming this time of year, such as Forsythia and Flowering Quince.

Of course, since there are many different climates and micro-climates which have different January gardening chores to accomplish specific to those. We have a PBS show, Oklahoma Gardening, which is produced at Oklahoma State University. The Gardening by the Yard on HGTV is filmed mostly in Tulsa, so Paul James offers some good advice for Oklahoma gardeners.

Will Rogers said “If you don’t like the weather in Oklahoma, wait a minute.” How true those words are! Oklahoma weather can change drastically in just a few hours. I have seen the temperature drop more than 25 degrees in a couple of hours to the exact opposite of snowing and cold one hour to warm and thunderstorms the next. We can have really cold snowy days to warm sunny days in January. Today’s high is 36, in a few days the high will be in the mid 60’s.

I would love to hear about your gardening chores in January. Please leave a comment, sharing can lead to new information, maybe a small green slip of a plant to start flourishing in your garden or maybe a new friend who loves gardening.

A New Year Creed

A New Year Creed

If any little word of ours

Can make one life brighter;

If any little song of ours

Can make one heart, the lighter;

God help us speak that little word

Then take our bit of singing

add drop it in some lonely heart

To set the echoes ringing.

If any little love of ours

Can make one life the sweeter;

If any little care of ours

Can make one step the fleeter;

If any little help may ease

The burden of another;

God give us love and care and strength

To help along each other.

If any little thought of ours

Can make one life the stronger;

If any cheery smile of ours

Can make its brightness longer;

Then let us speak that thought today,

With tender eyes aglowing,

So God may grant that some weary one

shall reap from our glad sowing.

Author Unknown

Happy 2008!