Author: Sherry Ruddell

Giving My Coffin New Life!

My “Coffin” raised planter. So happy when my hubby made this for me!

Have you ever had a project that you put off, and put off and put off? That is exactly what I’ve done with several projects. I kept thinking that cleaning out my coffin planter box and refilling it would take forever. I’d look at it and think about what I wanted to do. Yep, it was going to look really nice. I even bought two new mum plants. Did I get them planted? NO. They roasted their little heads off.

Then, the weather cooled down and I was happy to work in my backyard again. This past week, I went to Mike’s Greenhouse, and found some plants that would take me through fall and beyond. I paid a bundle for these. My hubby always gives me grief when I bring home things, and they don’t get planted for awhile…or never.

The old plants that were in the coffin.

There were some old plants in the “coffin”….big Coleus, which I wanted to keep; a cucumber vine that was at the end of it’s production life; a huge vine that had come up and wound itself through everything; and other plants that I thought would be good, but they never had any flowers.

Lo and behold, it only took me about 20 minutes to clean out my coffin. (Just in case you were wondering, when my hubby made this big raised planter box, on sturdy legs, it looked like a coffin. ) After cleaning out any weeds, I had my husband put in a bag and a half of potting soil.

Tall coleus and new potting soil.

Next, I planted three mums, pansies and ornamental cabbage. I am still going to plant tulip bulbs in the front. (Yes, I’ve had the tulip bulbs in my refrigerator for 2 years.) I also planted 4 lettuce plants in my side garden. Haven’t raised lettuce before, so we’ll see how it does.

Newly planted for fall.
Lettuce in the side bed.

Why in the world did I put this off so long? I just needed to make a little effort and get with it. Now, maybe I can move on to the next project. I’ve been putting off cleaning out a big closet full of old photos and teacher things. All of the recommendations are to take 15 minutes on your timer, and bite off a chunk at a time. I think I can, I think I can, I KNOW I CAN!

Let me know what projects you are working on. Do you have any that are weighing you down and you don’t want to start them? Remember the 15 minute rule.

Happy Columbus Day,

Grandma Sherry

OCTOBER…FALL, MUMS and AFGHANS!

October!! Yeah! It’s a great time to pull out the afghans and snuggle up on the couch. My hubby is wavering between watching football games and Halloween movies. I don’t need any of those scary movies. But both of us always watch Wheel of Fortune. I am SO good at solving those puzzles!

bread dough rising.

Two yummy loaves!

This week, I made some homemade bread . I hadn’t made any of that in forever. It turned out pretty well. Seems a lot thicker and heavier than store bought bread. (OK..I admit…every so often, we have a craving for good ole Wonder Bread, from our childhood.) But part of the great thing about making bread is the whole science related thing. Watching the yeast interact and create a dough, watching it rise..again and again..and finally baking it in the oven. You know it’s going to take all day. When I make bread, it’s like I’m channeling my ancestors.

The oil diffuser, with Lemongrass scent.

At Nana School, with my grandson, Isaac, we are thinking about Fall. This week, we talked about our five senses. Isaac was particularly interested in smelling things. I pulled out all of my sensory oils, and he had fun smelling them. I let him choose the oil for our diffuser. He chose Lemongrass. The next time he came back, he said, “let’s smell things!”

Painting the witch
The finished product. Look at that smile!

Isaac also painted a witch. I bought a small wooden square from Joann Fabrics. My hubby drilled a little hole in the back, so it could be hung up. I kind of outlined the face and mouth, and he painted with our tempera paints. I told him to not spread the paint too much, because it showed the wood underneath. We had googly eyes to put on, and I cut out tiny black teeth from felt. Isaac was so excited when it was done!

Today, I bought some plants…unfortunately, my two mums kicked the bucket before I got them planted. Tomorrow, I will work on the garden.

Yesterday, my hubby said he would take my car and get it inspected, so that we could get the registration renewed. He went to 5 different car places, and would either have to wait two hours, or they couldn’t get their machines to work. He finally gave up. Today, I drove to the Kwik Kar , in Crowley, and they inspected it for me. YES!! After that, I went to CVS and had my flu shot. One more check off of my list.

No matter our political views, we are praying for our President and the many other people who have tested positive for Covid. We’re still wearing our masks and limiting our outings.

Hope you are remaining safe and snuggled up at home. We all need some outings, here and there. A good walk in the woods, a bike ride, or even driving through the drive-through at McDonald’s…these are things to get out of the house. Wear your masks. Wash your hands. Use Social Distancing. Be kind.

Have a fun weekend,

Grandma Sherry

Projects and Organization

Happy September and Happy Fall! I’m starting to feel more alive, since the weather is finally down in the mid/upper 80’s. All over town, the Texas Sage is blooming their beautiful purple blooms. I bought two new mum plants today. Tomorrow, it will finally be cool enough that I can work in my flower beds.

Margaret and I, at my nephew and fiance’s bridal shower, two years ago.

We’ve recently returned from Kansas. My sister-in-law, Margaret Wood, passed away last week. She had gone through four different bouts of cancer, in the last 30 years. She was fun, classy, with impeccable taste in furnishing her home, her wardrobe, and was super organized. She planned her Celebration of Life service and it was a beautiful service. We were all worried about Covid but the church was very aware of the things that needed to happen to make it healthy and secure. Afterwards, the family met at the farm, and had lunch and visited….6 ft. apart, and masks on. We were able to see the newest member of the family, Brooks Treaster. He’s a little doll!

Brooks Treaster, our newest member of the Wood family.

My husband, Dick and his sister, Lu.
My cousin, Scott, my brother, Mike and my cousin’s wife, Sonja.

I bought my brother a fun mask to wear. Will he see the humor in this?

A Classy Mask for my Classy brother!

PROJECTS

Though I still love the light turquoise color that I have decorated with, in the past, I was ready for a change. Our breakfast nook chairs were a total mess. Too many toddlers have sat in them! So I took on the task of recovering the cushions. I also recovered the bar stools to match. Navy is now my go-to color for my breakfast area and family room. We bought a new area rug, curtains and pillows. I will eventually make pillows that match the chair cushions. Oh wow, I LOVE having a new look! I also decorated for fall.

The old decor.

The old rug.
The new rugs and pillows.
New cushions and curtains

Cussing at the corners of the bar stool cushions

The new bar stool cushions

Adding a bit of fall decorations

Fall decorations

ORGANIZING THE SHELF IN THE LINEN CLOSET

I have a wide shelf, at the top of my linen closet. It has been full of cleaning supplies, that were kind of mish-mashed together. I had a little time this afternoon, and I decided to organize it. And now you see, my lovely baskets with labels on them. What is it about labels that make you feel so much more organized?

Before
Before
After

After

After

My next project is cleaning out the big mess of gift bags. Yuck! I’m going to winnow them down and see what I need to add.

What kinds of things are you working on during this time? Are you a person who enjoys Fall? Are you able to get out and go anywhere? I hope that if you have kids, that you are able to help them with online school, or home schooling. I’m so happy that I’m no longer teaching!!! Leave me a message telling me what’s going on in your life.

Blessings,

Grandma Sherry

Birthdays and Projects

The Pandemic Summer is almost over! It’s really hot and dry, here in Texas. We are in North Central Texas and we are not close to the coast, or to the hurricanes. That’s something to be thankful for , and we are praying for all of those who have been affected by that tragedy. There are so many things happening around the country….hurricanes, fires, riots, covid and politics. And now the kids are heading back to school. It’s a whole new world out there, for teachers and students. I’m glad I’m no longer teaching. My grandchildren are negotiating these changes and so far, they are doing well.

August was our big month of celebrating birthdays. We went to Kansas, to celebrate my brother’s birthday. His wife has been quite ill and he has been her caretaker for the past year. My sister, my hubby and I, and my niece went for the day and had a great time. I had not seen my brother or sister since January. All of us have been carefully avoiding crowds . So it was fun. We had Mexican food, and tropical decorations…ok..we didn’t quite coordinate on that! LOL My niece had brought a tropical cake.

The birthday boy, Mike!

My husband, Dick, and my sister, Toni.

They have pulled out every blanket and pillow, and multiple toys. Lots of cleanup, but they have so much fun!

I bought this apron at The Merc.

Two weeks later, we celebrated my grandson’s birthday, mine and my granddaughter’s. They came to our house, and we had cake and gifts, and the grandkids had a great time playing together. Love it when my kids can be together with us. My granddaughter got a tea set, and we had a tea party. My daughter, Jessi, and my DIL, Crystal and I were invited to the party. My daughter was the Prostitute, my DIL was the Church Lady, and I was the Socialite. So fun!

Feeling perky!

It was a popular cake!
The birthday ‘kids’..Sherry, Isaac and Libby

Projects…oh, I have many that I need to do. Some of the few that I’ve done lately, include cleaning out and organizing my freezer, cleaning out the medicine and toiletry shelves in my closet, and recovering my breakfast nook chairs. That was a new experience for me. I’m not very good at the corners!! But they look better.

Before
During
After

old chair

New Chair covers.
The messy freezer

New freezer containers
Organized with new containers.

I haven’t felt very well lately, due to lower back and leg pain. The Dr. put me on Steroids for a week, and I’ll start physical therapy tomorrow. The steroids gave me a lot of energy. That helped me get some things done. Yeah for steroids!!!

I hope you are doing ok during this trying time. Actually, I’m becoming a homebody. But I’m tired of cooking all of the time. I usually get take-out for lunch. I need to see my friends!! But we are blessed to have our children and grandchildren fairly close. We are so much better off than so many people!

Have a great day,

Grandma Sherry

This Unusual Spring

Welcome to the fourth month of Covid 19!! What a Spring! This has been such a different year. I am just now, with mask on, starting to have a few piano students return to my house. I gave a few on Zoom. Mostly, I’ve missed my students. Four of them are Seniors, so I won’t see them much.

I feel so sad for the Seniors. They had such a weird ending to their high school years. And five of them also graduated, at the same time, from the Community College. So cool! But not much in the way of celebrating. I have nine seniors that I’m sending cards and gift cards to. I’m so impressed with these students and how hard they’ve worked!! What would I REALLY like to do??? Give them all a big hug!

What has everyone been doing during their Covid 19 time? I’ve organized a bit, here and there. My friends have joked that we need to tour each others’ closets, when this is all over. I’ve done a lot of cooking and eating. Still kept my Grandson, Isaac, three days a week, during this time. His mom worked from home. He didn’t go to his other babysitter. We’ve pretty much stayed in, except to pick up things from a store or two. Yes, Dick has still gone bike riding, swimming when he can, and golfing. Hasn’t slowed him down much. He bought the extended time use of Zoom, and seems to have been in charge of lots of meetings and get-togethers on Zoom. He just went back to work last week.

Looking good.
Cucumber gone wild!

I have done some gardening. In my Casket Above Ground Planter…yes, it looked like that, when Dick was making it….I planted some plants. I also planted one cucumber plant and one watermelon plant. Remind me NEVER to do that again! That cucumber plant has taken over the world. I finally bought a tomato cage to wind it up in.

Another thing I’ve done, is sit and look at different store sights, on my computer. Yes, I decided to start wearing some dresses, and I’ve kind of gotten carried away, buying some from Penney’s and Steinmart. You can see a few here. With my last order from Penney’s, they somehow included three tee shirts. I didn’t order those. Anyway, the photo of the polka dot shirt, with the jean skirt, is one of those shirts.

Isaac came this week, and had watched Toy Story 4. He wanted to make Forky. So we found the materials needed, and today we made Forky. He loved it. We are also working on a construction paper flag. I’m teaching him the” Pledge of Allegiance”, and all about the flag. Sunday is Flag Day. We will all stand and salute the flag, before dinner. Looking for our flag attire.

Forky from Toy Story 4

It’s been such a hard week and a half, with the senseless death of George Floyd, and the fallout from that event. So many protests around the country. I believe peaceful protests are great, and I’m happy to say that Ft. Worth protestors, for the most part, have been peaceful. But I am appalled by the looting and destroying of property. There are a lot of young people, fighting for their cause, and they’ve been cooped up with Covid 19, not getting out, and needing to have a cause. I don’t know why some think the looting is going to help matters. Good grief. It will be a surprise if we don’t have a lot more positive cases of Covid 19.

It’s getting SO DARNED HOT! I miss playing Bunko, Poker, going to church and seeing my friends, strolling around the stores,going to the casinos and hugs. But, we shall move forward and get past this. Everyone stay safe. Stay cool. Stay in. Try a new recipe. Get a new hobby. Remember to love yourself and others.

Love,

Grandma Sherry