I am a Lucky Duck

I am a lucky duck

March was a lucky month for me, maybe because I'm Irish.  Not in a monitary way, I didn't win the Power Ball or Mega lottery or anything, and I didn't even lie to anyone at McDonalds and tell them I did.  However in blogland I was a lucky duck in March.

First Little Miss Maggie sent me some typography goodies.  They were wrapped with care and all pretty.  Blogland sure has some thoughtful people.  I'm a lucky duck to call them my friends.  You need to stop by Maggie's blog and see all the vintage ledger pages she has, all the great ideas to use them and how she prints onto tissue paper from her computer printer.  See those little hand towels?  They are too cute to use!  I don't know yet what I will make with my stuff so for now I have them by my computer to admire them....  Thank you Maggie, I love it all, I'm a lucky duck.

This is printed tissue paper!

Inspiration waiting to happen

It was a crazy month for this lucky duck.  Seems I was sending the top secret address of Bliss Ranch to someone every week.  Next I won a barbed wire wreath from Shannon at Rusty and Redone.  Real barbed wire.  I asked her if she had to claim it as a weapon at the post office!  Stop by and say hi to Shannon, she is a sweet gal and a crafting machine, always doing things for other people.  I put the barbed wire on my front porch temporarily so I didn't harpoon anyone with a barb.  I have something in mind for it, but have to wait till spring is sprung here, so for now it's fine on the old metal thing on my porch - that I don't know what it is.  Anyone know what that galvanized thing is?  Thank you Shannon I love my deadly weapon, I'm a lucky duck.

Barbed wire is perfect at a Ranch

If you are counting that is TWO gifts this lucky duck received in the mail so far.  But I'm not done.  Kristin from My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia dropped me a note that I won her giveaway of a vintage mini french tabletop cafe chalkboard from Daune at Cottage In The Oaks.  You're kidding-me?  I love leaving comments on blogs and many times don't even know I'm entering a giveaway. The best part of winning on Kristin's blog was discovering Daune's blog.  Pop in for a visit at both blogs you won't be sorry - great ideas and two wonderful ladies.  (You see a theme here - blogland is full of wonderful people!)

Several of my kids had to say.... mom you know you spelled happy wrong right?  Duh, didn't think I had to explain "hoppy" with ears below it...on Easter.  The chalkboard is on my counter now and the menu is still on the other side.  I think it will next be used for my son's graduation in May.  Thank you Kristin and Daune, I'm a lucky duck.

More?  Yup.  There is one more.  Karah at The Space Between had an idea called the Pass It On Project.  She got some other great bloggers involved, and I was one of the recipients of a gift from Linda at It All Started With Paint.

What a clever use of paint chips.

She passed on something that is very valuable to me as I am someone who can't sew....... pillows.  She had the gift all wrapped, and cute tags (which I saved it all to reuse when I do my pass it on).  The care and kind note, I tell you, this blogging stuff chokes me up.  The pillows are sitting on a chair in our bedroom waiting for me to decide who I will pass one on too along with the gifts I make.  That's a hard decision to make, so many wonderful blog friends. Thank you Linda, I love my pillow.  Yes, I am a lucky duck indeed.

And what's up with all this lucky duck quack?  Well somewhere in the middle of teasing another blogger about making a duck scarf for her kids' two ducks, a duck came to live with us.  (I'd say be careful what you wish for, but I didn't wish for a duck!)  One of my son's friends bought one and I guess it wasn't working out at his house.  So the day before Easter he asked if my son could duck sit.  Needless to say Klous now lives with us and my daughter bought him a friend.  Clyde.  Now those are a couple of lucky ducks!

Long Live Rock Teen Boys Dresser

It's Only Rock and Roll, but I like it!

What started out as an 'ol lemon needing a LOT of lemon-aid, has turned into a cool drink of summertime rock & roll.

Everyone Say HEY to Kirby UPDATE

 A BIG 'OL APRIL FOOLS to everyone.  Here is how the story of Kirby below actually went down.......  Kirby was playing a joke on HER followers, one of which I happened to be.  Not one to let anybody have the last laugh I decided to turn it back on her.  So I commented on her blog about her being with child so her followers would run with it, and to make it even more ha ha we got YOU Kirby, I posted it on mine.  And because I know I have ABSOLUTELY the best followers in the world of blog, I knew I could count on you to stop over and say hey to her.  But I can't let it go on any longer, my April Fool Catholic Guilt has set in, The Kirbmeister is NOT with child, but in truth she is feeling her way in the comment world and if you aren't too mad at me for the joke being on you (come on it is April Fools Day for crying out loud) then become her follower.  She is worth every read, especially to those of us thinking we never have to tell our 50 something husbands that they are once again gonna be a daddy.  After six kids Brawn would sell my baby making self without batting an eye!

And if no one else can own it on this April 1st....... you can proclaim "yeah, someone got me this year".

          Love you all, especially because you showed Kirby your caring side.

~Bliss~

April Fools right?  Sometimes the joke ends up being on you huh and you don't think it's all that funny.  Like all the jokes me and my friends make to each other about midlife babies.  It's always funny but not when it happens to you.  Well this fits in with the theme of the day, jokes and fun, and yeah, I think it's funny because it didn't happen to me.  However my friend Kirby of KirbAppeal took the hit for all of us other mid-lifers.  The other day she let me know that she was going to be taking some time off from her blog, you can read about that here.  She is a teacher and a few months ago also found out that she would be welcoming a new baby looooong after she's been an empty nester.  That's news I happily don't have to break to Brawn, but Mr. Kirb, well lets just say it hasn't sunk in yet, he is still adjusting.

Kirby needs some love, she is a bit down in the dumps so I would love if my followers would stop over and leave a kind word for her.  She is due in June and the reality has not hit home with her yet.  You will love her wit, and well...... honestly.....I'm just glad it's her and not me.

My Friend Kirby

DeDoor, DeClutter, DeDresser

 #1. De-Door.  I wanted to get the front door done for a party at Southern Hospitality and more recently for Favorites on the First at The Polo House.  I love how link parties are the pin jab to get me moving.  Recall last week I painted the front door (here) then watched paint dry.  It seems as though everyone has *Spring* and while Spring might have come early here in Minnesota regarding the temperature, we still don't really have the blooming part of it.  I do have one flowering shrub on 25 acres.   So I clipped a branch and put some flowers on the front door with the burlap and chalkboard tray.

The one and only flowering anything at Bliss Ranch

#2.  De-Clutter:  It's Thursday, and for me that means another installment of Bliss De-clutters with Iesha over at Uncluttered Lifestyle.  I don't always have time to post my de-cluttering, but each week regardless, I DO un-clutter something just to keep up with her.  She does great things, I just un-mess an area, but that feels good to do. 

I already knew I was not going to rework this desk or do any new deco as it is slated to be removed, but that is no excuse for the mess to pile up.  So I put the stuff back on it that I need and it can stay like this till it is tore out.  So much easier to think when the clutter is removed.  After we tear it out not sure where I will put photos!

Before

After

Under the mess was a few treasures.  

 A box of misc. silverware my daughter makes things out of.  It is now in the craft pile.

 I picked up these metal numbers & letters last September at Junk Market.  I'm going to put them on the baskets in the mudroom cubbies and they each stand for something.

And a Christmas gift to myself for all those times when I want just a little bit of wine.

#3.  De-Dresser:  I found my first freebie by the side of the road today, right at the neighbors house.  FREE is so exciting.  I tried to snag something earlier in the week but when I came back it was gone.  This time I took no chances.  I was leaving when I spotted it, so called my son and left a message... "DAD said, when you get home from school take the 4 wheeler & trailer and go get the free yellow dresser at the neighbors".  (They always are more accommodating when dad wants something done than me.)  When I came back by the dresser was gone so I anxiously drove up the drive looking for something yellow in my yard.  And there it was.........

My very own craptastic dresser.  It only has one bad spot on the left there, nothing a piece of trim won't fix.  So stay tuned for my first trash picked transformation.

 Linking up to:
Favorites on the 1st @ ThePoloHouse


The door: at Southern Hospitality Door Party
The Clutter at:  UnClutter it Thursday at Uncluttered Lifestyle
And if I can find a trash picking party I'll link up the dresser too!

OK, this is NOT a trash picking party, but there are no rules for the Stinky Linky party at HatingMartha so I linked up my free "lemon-aid" dresser.  (Thanks to Laura from TopThisTopThat for the idea to call it a lemon).

It's A Cinch Stove Grate Cleaning

While blog reading I went to look at one thing and of course found something else I had to check out.  Vivienne over at The V Spot had a tip for cleaning the grates on a stove.  An easy peasy tip and there IS an It's a Cinch party going on.  Lord knows I had me some baked on mess to try the tip out on, just needed to pick up Ammonia.  Set me back a whole $1.78 and I hardly used any.  Pretty powerful cleaning supply for just pennies.

 Problem is, at Vivienne's the recommended way is to put each grid in a Ziploc and wait 12 hours.  The fumes, not the liquid of the ammonia, is what degrease's and cleans, she recommends 1/4 cup per zip-lock/grate.  I didn't have 12 hours but mostly I didn't have big enough Ziplocs.  And let me tell you, I always thought my Ziplocs were plenty big!  So I opted for the next best thing..... my giant size box of plastic wrap -  (a Christmas gift from a BFF in 2010 - we dated it to see how long it lasts) and my kitchen sink.  Only a BFF knows you well enough to know you will LOVE a giant roll of Purity Wrap.  Sounds more like a chastity aid.

At The V Spot Vivienne also says don't judge.  She cooks, stoves get dirty.  I agree.  I wish we didn't need a before picture for this post, but we do.....

Shameful, but real

Remember I'm not the only person who cooks in this house, but I am the only person who cleans the stove.  And here is my disclaimer:  I only did the grates and trays, not the parts that look like there is white ash from a fire on them.  Yes there is white ash from a fire on them.  I'm hot when I cook.  That part of the stove just got wiped off along with the surround, I didn't feel like scrubbing and polishing stainless today.

DIY giant Sink Ziploc

I loaded up ALL of my grates and drip pans in the sink, poured in about 2 cups of ammonia and then sealed that sucker up with the industrial plastic wrap.  The avocados are optional to hold down the plastic, 68¢ each on sale.  The smell of the ammonia reminded me of my mom when she was dying her hair when I was little.  Stinky.  Do not mix your ammonia with anything, and don't stand over it and breath, it is hazardous.  In fact don't do this when you are alone in the house, if you pass out from fumes no one would be there to help.  If you mess this tip up I am not responsible!  For full directions head over to The V Spot, but she's not responsible if you mess up either and end up with ammonia nostrils.

I only fumed it for about 4 hours, mostly because I was too anxious to see if it would work and partly because I had dinner to cook.

The black spots are water beads, I said I couldn't wait so it didn't get to dry

I am happy to report that YES it did work and it worked very well even in that short time.  The grates could of used a bit more fumeing, so next time I'll do that part over night for the full 12 hours, but The V Spot Ammonia treatment will be my method of grate cleaning from now on.  It was the easiest cleaning on them I have ever done, really effortless.  For those of you who already knew this little tip, shaddup!

**UPDATE**  A smart blogger informed me (and a big DUH fell over my brain for not thinking of it myself).... that I could use a trash bag for this chore, put it in the sunshine to heat up and work faster, and then hose them off in the yard.  BBQ grates, oven racks, you name it.  So next time I won't have to have a DIY ziplock sink .

 

Linking up at:

RamSign Giveaway Winner

 It's time for the RamSign Giveaway winner to be announced.  Thank you to EVERYONE who entered.  If I could give a sign to each of my fantastic followers I would, but hey I don't get one either, so I'm in the same boat as the other 52 of you who didn't win.

RamSign

  If you have never entered a giveaway over with Angie @Knick of Time then you won't know that I so copied her idea for a random number generator.  She uses her family members and I think that's fun, and also much easier than figuring out how to do it the internet savvy way.  Besides I thought one of my kids would enjoy it.  My daughter said sure, till she saw the camera.  My middle son covered his head with a throw.

So I yelled for my youngest son "L" and when he came in I told him I needed him to be a random number generator for me.  Then he saw I had paper and a marker in my hand he asked what he did wrong.  Huh?  Guess he thought I was gonna do something random like make him write his name 100 times because I do that every day (or like never).  So I told him to pick any number from 1 through 53 and write it on the paper and I thought he was writing his name (L) but it was the start of the winning number.......

And the winner is................

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Betsy over at Coastal Colors

Congratulations Betsy you are the very first Bliss Ranch giveaway winner.

In case you want to know, that blank look in his eyes says

 "mom.... I have no clue why I just did this".

Watching Paint Dry

 Today I needed to not sit and just read blogs - fun but not very productive.  So between reading I painted, and then watched the paint dry... in my jammies.  I've gotten used to chalk paint with it's fast dry time, and waiting for regular paint to dry seemed to take forever.  Being the impatient decorator I am - I'm quite sure I slapped the second coat on before #1 was dry.  I didn't mind a white door, but from the outside the white was boring.  I usually hang seasonal flower things from the little hook in the center to jazz it up.  The storm door is white, the side lites are white, the door just didn't stand out, it was just a wash of white.

Under the white is a nice solid wood door.  No way I was going to strip the door when we have perfectly good paint left over from another project.  The color wasn't as important to me as it just not being white and brass anymore, so I went for it.  A close to wood color.  I was thinking of trying a nice vibrant splash of color but I'm not very good at picking paint, and besides I didn't want to get out of my jammies to go buy any. 

Before

After

I had to sand the brass hardware and fortunately we had some chrome spray paint, otherwise they would be black 'cause like I said I wasn't getting out of my jammies.  A Good Will tray from my shopping trip last week went on the hook.  It's big and heavy and I probably over paid for it, but I wanted it.  Two holes were drilled, some burlap as ribbon and it was done.  I also got the stairway basket below which is big and heavy and I wanted it too.  I forgot before photos - the basket was a light color with red and green bands woven on the top.  Brawn painted it when he painted the porch furniture, and the tray was exactly the same except now it has chalkboard paint in the center.  I am going to hang a number tag on the basket, but my day is over - I got dressed at about 5:00 when Brawn pulled in the driveway.

So far no one has used the basket for anything; stinky socks are still dropped right next to it as well as any books that need to go down the stairs.

The last thing I did today was buff the rocking chair I waxed a week ago, and I had painted it a week before that.  If you are keeping track, I was not in my jammies for the final project.   The buffing really really made the wax shine.  The chair was my mom's - not vintage, just a nice solid rocker for singing to my grand babies and it needed an update.  Some distressing makes it seem like it has been around longer than it has. 

Mr. Gadget's Birdhouses

 **Don't forget to enter the cool porcelain RamSign giveaway here.  

You have till Saturday, winner announced on Sunday.

I always check out my new followers.  So don't sneak in and think I won't notice you.  Yesterday I spotted a new one with the name Gadget in it.  Inspector Gadget is in the house.... the birdhouse that is.  Sounded interesting so I went to read more and found myself looking at every single thing this guy makes. He does the type of stuff I always imagine my husband doing when he retires.  I'd pay Brawn now to do it if it would get rid of all the schmidt in the garage.  Brian transforms junk into amazing junk.  Birdhouses out of anything you can think of.  If you want to see more go take a peek at his website GadgetSponge, or his etsy shop where you can buy his creations.  He also re-purposes items out of wood.

I picked my fav's to show you...

Look closely at all this to spot what he uses for the details.  I think the birds that fly in after Winter to live at my house would feel styl'in if they had a house like this.

Or this, the Chevy version for fast birds.

This copper beauty would look good at a certain bloggers house.  

Kim @ SavvySouthernStyle collects Copper Molds.  

I think she needs this birdhouse in her Southern yard.

I have to say it again... remember to look at the details.  

This red house is my favorite just for that reason.

Yes Virginia there is a birdhouse for you.  Holly over at DownToEarthStyle told us yesterday her house is on the market and she's moving to Virginny!  I can see this birdhouse IN her new house.

Last is a lamp made by Brian.  It's just darn cool.