Category: gardening

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

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