Playing in the Potting Shed

Let me show you the way to the potting shed.  Through the breezeway

and out the stone path past the quiet garden with the duck guarding the

succulents, we will make our way through some thick ginger and 

arrive at the potting shed.  It's in it's own private space behind the

garage and separated from the back yard with a fence.  

Here we are now.  The potting shed mascot is a sweet little gecko who

lives inside, but comes out to visit the garden and find some dinner.

I don't know if it's a boy or girl, but I am calling him George for now.

If I should discover it's a female, I will rename her Gracie.

So sweet don't you think?  Of course, he will scoot away and hide as

soon as I open the door.

I have been enjoying spending an hour or two each day organizing

and pulling things out that I want to store in here.  It's really been

fun.  So much fun that I don't really want to do anything else, but

of course, life calls with it's other duties.  C'est dommage.

David doesn't really understand why I need so much stuff, but honestly

I do!  I suppose to many it's just junk, but to me they are one of a kind

treasures.  For example ~ look at this old chair in the foreground.  I

found it years ago at a garage sale.  I always intended to restore it, but

somehow never did.  I even thought of leaving it in the garage in our

old house, but those efficient movers put it on the truck to Texas and

I am so thankful they did!  It's an old friend.  Same with these old

faded pillows in the foreground.  Sweet beloved old friends.

This potting shed is not totally practical.  Rather, it is a whimsical spot

where some practical things, some frivolous things, and just for fun things

live too.  Who really wants to be a grown up all of the time?  Certainly

not me.  This is like a garden playhouse where our imaginations

can just run wild!

I have thought and thought about the colors for this shed.  I have decided to

go with off white and I am going to stain the rafters. See that wall behind the

armoire?  That is where I want a carpenter to install a big window.  

I have been thinking about what I want to do with the plywood floor and I

have decided that the most inexpensive way to go is to paint it.  I am thinking

of taping the floor off into squares and painting a green and white checkerboard

pattern.  However, if I find a slate like tile that's not too expensive, I will

use that.

Sometimes I just like things to sit for a bit until the whole image 

becomes clear in my mind.

That's all for now.  I have played long enough.  Thanks for

indulging me.  Now I need to get busy and rake up a couple of bags

of live oak leaves.  All the live oaks are shedding their leaves now and

it is raining leaves in my yard.  Most of you rake leaves in the fall.

In South Texas, we rake leaves in March.  Texas just loves to be

unique ;-)

Thoughts of Home on Thursday

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Fun Ideas for Decorating

If you recall, I recently wrote a post about how I wanted to clean off

the book stack in my studio.  It was filled with fabric and painting 

supplies.  Well, I moved all of those items to the closet and now have

a newly open and cleaner look.

A shelf filled with soft pinks and greens.  Springtime colors that always

make me feel free and happy.  One shelf is still full of my miniatures.

A spot filled with a kitchen and a cozy sitting area.  I have been

thinking about adding some more miniatures.  Once I got started, I

just became addicted.  So I thought about what I would like to add.

What type of room would I like to decorate.

And then it dawned on me ….

A baby nursery!  I found a precious white canopy crib and

it is on it's way to Texas from Florida.  I can hardly wait!!

I had so much fun decorating the shelves in the miniature sitting area.

I even made a few of my own mini books.  Just imagine how

much fun it will be to fill a bookcase in a nursery full of tiny

toys and stuffed animals and mini books!

I have even found some miniature nursery dishes.  Everything just has

to trickle in, so it makes it hard to wait.  Yet, that's what happens in

a full size house too, we just add to the decor as the budget allows.

Miniatures have fascinated me since I was a little girl.  It's like slipping

into a dream world.

A world that takes us away from the troubles of the big world.

I hope that you will have as much fun watching this all evolve

as I will creating it.

Wow Us Wednesday

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Dear Diary ~ It's Monday

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!  We did.  

This morning I decided to make a very Southern meal for dinner

tonight, so I pulled out my crock pot and added green beans, potatoes,

chopped onion and a ham hock.  I added some chicken broth 

just to cover and turned the pot on low.  Then I took out two

boneless, skinless chicken breasts and put them in a buttermilk

marinade.  I will flour, bread and brown in a skillet, finally

finishing them off in the oven.  We are having buttermilk 

biscuits and honey.  I could make some cornbread, but David

loves his biscuits and honey!

Knowing that dinner was coming together back inside, I headed out to

work around the potting shed.  I am adding flower beds all around it

and working on one section at a time.  I planted a salvia, some Lantana

is next to it and oh, look at the cute little lizard keeping me company.

It's the fourth one I have seen today.  I found a tiny, tiny baby one in 

the house and three more in the breezeway.  

The little dog in the garden is in memory of Bitterman and Binkie.  

The hanging planter belonged to my Mom.  I plan to add a couple of

pots of Geraniums to it.  My Crepe Myrtle in this little garden is

just starting to bloom and so is the Ligustrum.  I will show you

pics when they are in their glory.  

I am planning on several bird feeders in the garden and purposely

adding plants that attract hummingbirds.  They will be coming

through our area en mass soon on their migration to other areas, 

although many stay here throughout the year.

I have been painting garden chairs and a table in this soft green.  I want to keep

it subtle so that the garden itself gets all the attention.  

Of course I had to buy some herbs and they are living temporarily in this

cute little toolbox from y'all know where ;-)  If you don't know, you will

have to read some of my recent posts where I discuss the addiction I have

for a certain store.

I have been having so much fun working in the potting shed garden that 

it's hard to drag myself away from it.  It's a passion!

BTW ~ Bentley is very fond of his new little neighbor, Harvey.

Harvey is a little fur ball and oh so huggable!  He's a Maltipoo and

he and Bentley are now best buddies.  So cute!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

A Special Book for Everyone

If you were walking around my house right now, you would find books tucked

into corners and in nooks.  Books on shelves and tables.  Browse through our

collections and you will discover subjects such as philosophy, history, comparative

religion, psychology and the sciences.  Math books, two different editions of

Copi's Logic, the sixth and the ninth.  Of course, Art History for me and 

Economics for David.  There is even a book with the title ~ Don't Call Me

Rover, 5001 names to call your pet, by Rita Blockton.  And another

favorite of mine ~ TV Sets ~ Fantasy Blueprints of Classic TV Homes, by

Mark Bennett. 

Books about our passions, golf, horses and of course ballet.  Our old favorites from

childhood.  Yes, I did read all of Noel Streatfield's Shoe Books.  Gardening and 

cookbooks and of course, all of my old French text books.  

There is something for everyone.

Now that you know about me and my reading habits, you can 

understand why the title of this book in the picture above, appealed to

me instantly …. 

Little Paris Bookshop

by Nina George

Without giving away the plot details, I will just say that it is about

a bookshop housed on a barge on the River Seine in Paris.  It's owner

is not only a book seller, but a book lover who believes that there

is a book for everyone.  He dispenses books like a philosopher, giving

just the right book for just exact situation you may be living.  

Books for the broken hearted.  Books for writers with writers block.

Whatever the malady life has dished out, there is just the perfect

answer somewhere between the pages of a book.  It is as though

the author had just you in mind when composing his text. 

I am only on page 91, but it speaks to me as only a Frenchman

can ~ deeply with passion and sorrow and hope.  If you are a library

bookworm, a romantic and someone who wants to sail down 

the Seine on a barge filled with books to find an answer to

a failed love affair, or any question, this is for you.  I would suggest 

setting aside an evening with a glass of wine, some soft French 

music in the background and prepare to take a little cruise for 

some soul searching and healing of the heart.

Bentley ~ go find mama's Edith Piaf CD and I'll grab

a glass of wine and we can cuddle up in the big cozy

library chair and I will read to you :-)

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Big Project in My Studio

I spend lots of time in my studio and I really like the space.  It's cozy 

and girly and it makes me feel happy.  When I first set up this space, 

I decided to use this vintage book stack as a place to store craft and

sewing supplies.  Now however, I am tired of it and just want to

move all the craft and sewing supplies into this closet that you see

in the pic below ….

The previous owner of this house was an artist and she also used this 

room for her studio.  Behind these bifold doors she built in several 

ample shelves for storage, so it will be perfect for me to move 

all my supplies off the book stack and into the closet.

So the next time I show you this, it will all be different.

However ...

The dollhouse miniatures will remain.  They make me happy.

Here is one more look at the closet doors.  I am about to open them,

but if you are squeamish, you might want to close your eyes because

it is one HUGE MESS in there!!!  I am almost afraid to look at it

myself, but since I am the one who must clean and straighten it,

I will just have to build up my courage and open the door.

Are you ready?  Don't say I didn't warn you ….

Quelle nightmare!  The only way to handle this disaster is to 

fortify myself with a big pot of tea and seasons 1 and 2 of 

the Mary Tyler Moore show playing in the background ;-)

I know my "sister" Robin will understand that I will need

a big dose of MTM to get me through this!

By the way ~ Bentley will sleep through all of this.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley