Category Archives: dogs dogs dogs

am I the only one?

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… who finds rusty things beautiful? 
No. I know I’m not. In fact, Wayne is a rusty fan too. Actually he has a big rusty collection. One that is now also mine in that what’s his is mine and what’s mine is mine. hehehe. Ok… what’s mine is his too, expect for my tools. My tools are my tools cause he forgets them on the lawn or borrows them and puts them away safely in a spot where neither of us can find them again.
I shouldn’t be mean about Wayne on my blog… I know his family reads this! (Hi guys! I’m joking. Mostly.)
So… I mentioned my addiction to tip shopping, did I mention that I went tip and op shopping the other day and came away with a pretty good haul of stuff for under $15? Compared to what I see on Pinterest and other blogs, we in Australia are deprived. When I hear about the stuff people in the USA buy for single figures I turn green with envy.
For instance, there are no fancy cabinets in junk stores around here. Nothing with decorative trim unless its 60s laminate stuff. Not that I’ve seen anyway, and trust me, I’ve looked. I crawl around on my hands and knees, over wardrobes, and under piles of grannies old bedding. If we want something like that we have to pay antique shop prices. And when you pay hundreds of dollars for an old piece of furniture you’re a bit reluctant to experiment on it.
Still, I did find some good stuff. I usually do. In fact, most of the time I have to restrain myself.
So, I ask again… am I the only person who gets excited about things like this?
These chandelier crystals are only plastic, not glass, but they still look good and will come in handy for something!
Love these little cupcake thingies. I really must learn what they’re called…
 Ok… old hinges. And old numbers. And old latches. And old bolts. I like ’em.
Hooks and knobs and handles and door hardware…
This isn’t a tip shop find. Its something I found in Wayne’s garage. I have no idea what it is, but its galvanised iron and its cool! Wayne said I could have it. I swear. I picture it holding useful items on the outdoor table. A bottle of water. Glasses. Napkins. Salt and pepper shakers. Or jars full of flowers…
Did I show off my new teapot? I think I’ll use this one as it is once I clean it up.
  
So, here’s a photo of my ‘new’ whiz bang workshop organiser. Eventually I’ll put wheels on it so I can move it easily and I’ll find/make/adapt boxes to fit into the slots as drawers. For now, I’ve started sorting things into whatever containers I had handy which fit into the shelves. I’m so excited. I can finally see my work surfaces again – I only have to pull out 4-5 boxes to find the one I need.
I will be putting labels on them.
 On another subject entirely, here are my beautiful dogs. This is Romeo being sooky.
Cause he was barking at the TV earlier and got yelled at.
Montana doesn’t care for TV. She’s a snob that way. 
Her problem is that her mom finds her too cute and kisses her which wakes her up.
I adore my babies and  love showing them off. I haven’t done enough of that lately!
🙂
z
Still,

i need a holiday

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Just a quick post to let you know I’m still alive… but barely kicking. I’m exhausted and my arm has been sore since I woke up this morning. Usually it has the good grace not to hurt till I’ve been working for half the day. I’m not impressed.
I know I’m always saying I’m tired cause I’m doing too much, but I’m really working my butt off. Pity its still as big as ever… its just not fair.
So, photos of projects will be coming soon, as each is finished, but I’m still working on the kitchen chairs, a coffee table, a coat rack and some smaller projects. 
Meanwhile, the sign outside the door has changed – this one inspired by a sign on Pinterest. Love it.
Montana is fine, but still not her usual self. She’s sooky and isn’t eating much at all. Yesterday when I started packing the car with stuff to take to Fentonbury she got in and stayed there all day. That’s not unusual, she loves the car. Sweet girlie. I hope the results are all good.
 
Meanwhile, Chris has been here since Friday and the guys have been working on stuff. In 3 days they lined 2 walls in the mudroom (they do look great) hung our new/old front door, bought and installed a deadlock on it, and I think they connected a downpipe to our new guttering – a good thing too cause its been pouring.
 
In the same 3 days I made a chalkboard and painted an old frame for it, sanded and undercoated and did 2 topcoats on a coffee table, 2 chairs, a louvre door and a coat rack. Groomed 3 dogs, 2 of which were standard poodles, did the washing and folding of  laundry, loaded the car with things to take to Fentonbury, entertained visitors, went to Fentonbury and cleaned the house and started getting it together, washed dishes countless times and avoided cooking.

Why is it that when men work they take so many breaks? Maybe if I adopted their more relaxed attitude to working I wouldn’t be wearing my wrist brace during the day and moaning about the pain…

z

the dog compromise

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My dogs live in the house. They are part of the family. In Fentonbury they had their own bedroom but here they sleep in the living room, on the couch or armchairs. But then, they’re poodles and they don’t shed.

Wayne’s dogs shed. Lots.

I hate dog hair. I hate cat hair even more, but since I don’t have cats thats not an issue.

Ever since I’ve had dogs I’ve had containment areas for them in the house. In Fentonbury I had a combination of gates to keep dogs in or out of areas of the house. Nothing as banal as baby gates for this little chickie.

I made my own gates using materials I found or had on hand. Old shed doors, old doors, gates, crib sides. You name it, I’ve probably used it.

Here are some of my dog gates, both in Fentonbury and here at the farm.

First is the old door I brought over from Melbourne. This was the door on the bathroom in my house there. It had a large frosted glass panel in it originally. I replaced the door with a regular one and had this just sitting there. You can see it below on the room which was the dog’s bedroom.

One day I was walking down the street when I saw this old gate tossed on the pile to be collected by the council. I grabbed it of course. What self respecting DIY-er would let something like a wrought iron gate go to the tip?

I got the carpenter who was at my house putting in new door frames and a new floor to board up half the door and insert the gate into the middle of it. I LOVED it. Ok, so I didn’t do the hard work myself, but it was my idea! And I carried the gate, cleaned it and painted the door!

Its the perfect door for an area you want closed off – the dogs can’t get over it, under it or through it. It allows the warmth of the heater or the cool air of the airconditioner (I had one of those in Melbourne!) to circulate between the rooms. The dogs can see out and aren’t isolated if you close the door. Its the ideal door. Needless to say it comes with me from one house to the next.

Next are the old shed door gates. I have two of these which I made while living in Fentonbury. They’re only low which means they’re easy to step over. Yeah, that means that a dog can jump over them, but MY dogs would never do such a rude thing!

These gates were made by cutting down the shed door, sanding it back a bit and adding the big hinges and a gate latch. As you can see, they’re not very high but they do the job. I don’t have to worry about dirty dog pawprints on the sheets. Not that I mind so much… but these are the compromises you make when you live with a man who doesn’t really like dogs in the house. And we all know that ain’t gonna happen! So we compromise.

The next dog gate is one I custom made for my house in Fentonbury. It has an open plan kitchen/dining/living room. That meant that I wanted to be able to restrict the dogs to one or other of the spaces. Sometimes I wanted them out of the kitchen. Other times out of the dining room. Or out of the living room. So I came up with this idea to use some cot sides I’d gotten at an auction.

You know, one of those things I bought thinking ‘One day they’ll come in handy’.

First, I cut down the crib sides so there weren’t any large gaps. I joined them up using small hinges so that they formed a folding 4-panel ‘screen’. Finally I painted it antique white USA like the rest of the woodwork in the house and hinged it to the doorway between the kitchen and dining room.

I know you cant see it well in that photo but I can’t find any other photos. In this photo its folded up against itself out of the way. Cause of the hinges and latches I’d put in it could be moved and latched to either the kitchen bench or the other side of the opening between the kitchen and dining room, thus keeping dogs in or out of the spaces as needed.

Last, here is the last of the crib sides. I put it to use here on the farm as a way to keep Wayne’s dogs (the shedding ones!) from the couches. I did the same thing: cut it down to size, hinged it to the wall and added a gate latch to it. Here you can see Romeo and Montana modelling it for you. This is a higher gate and much harder to step over when you’re getting older…

I added a gate latch so it would close automatically when you pushed it behind you. As you can see, I got lazy. This one hasn’t been painted yet.

However there was a problem. This was the first gate I’d made which actually swung back to a wall. It would bang into the wall as you opened it and leave a mark there. Ugh. Not so good. Till today I piled a couple of cushions on the floor against the wall to stop the destruction of my paint job. Not the best solution.

This morning I got off my butt and did something about it. I took one of those foam holders I get when I buy a certain brand of soft pastel. I’d been eyeing them off for a while now thinking they were just the right size to make a ‘bounce pad’ for the gate latch.

Yep. Perfect fit. So I sliced one up, filled it with silicon glue and popped it onto the gate thingy. Now… if this stays on it’ll be the perfect solution.

Fingers crossed!

z

desperate measures

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The weekend has come and gone and there have been no calls from the chicken man about the roosters. Maybe he just lost our number. Yeah. That must be it. I’ll make excuses for him just like every girl who ever waited for a phone call that never came. Maybe I’ll call him. Is it cool to call him when he said he’d call us? Will he think I’m too forward?

Meanwhile, I’ve resorted to desperate measures. So far its not working. We still have five roosters. On the other hand, no one visits any more. Which could be considered an upside since I’m too busy to entertain.

I’m exhausted tonight. I had two dogs to groom, then I groomed Montana and Romeo. One of the customer dogs was a regular little girl who is impossible when it comes to doing her feet. I really must get my database going so I can make notes like ‘Do not attempt to do her nails no matter how long they look’ next to dog’s names. And what I charge them. Have I mentioned how hopeless I am as a business person?

The other dog was a new boy, a schnauzer who wasn’t in a proper trim as his previous groomer didn’t know how to do it. Her failing is my gain. I love doing specialty trims.

I really love it.

Of course I do. Why else would I have spent over 10 hours a weekend grooming a standard poodle for the ring? Only someone who loves grooming, scissoring, brushing, the smell of hairspray and creating hair scultpures would do that.

When I work on the computer I sit in my little office and the poodles usually lie around at my feet and behind me. Sometimes one of them will come and sit beside me and I’ll reach out my hand and run my fingers through their topknot, as much to show them love and affection as to comfort me. I adore the feel of poodle hair under my hands.

Anyway, last night as I sat here blogging I reached out and this is what I felt:

The crunch of crusty muddy bits on a grimy topknot. I’d have said I have no idea what she was doing, but unfortunately I know. She was out there trying to burrow under the casita to get the damn critters that’re living under there. I’ve piled bits of timber and rocks on the spot but she manages to keep going.

So today, after I’d groomed the two customer dogs, I tossed Montana and Romeo into the bath and gave them a clip and scissor. Took me hours! My own fault. I’d let them run feral for ages and last time I groomed them I hadn’t brushed their legs. That means that this time, since I didnt want skinny shaved legs (poodles don’t look their best with their long legs clipped short – thats the long and short of it. Ha ha.) I had to spend a long time dematting and brushing out, then drying out those legs.

I am so glad I’m no longer showing a poodle. My wrist and arm were aching after brushing out 8 legs.

But the kids are looking great tonight, and feeling and smelling way better than last night! Really, there’s just about nothing else in this world as good as a freshly washed poodle (after its dried and the wet wool jumper smell is gone). A freshly washed poodle in show coat is number one, that long luxurious coat and the smooth shaved butt… but a soft, clean poodle in a pet trim is the next best thing. I get a kind of emotional recharge just by hugging my poodles.

Once I was talking to someone who had a realdoll for emotional bolstering. I think I’ll stick to poodles.       

Before anyone goes and calls the men in white coats, I’ll move onto more ‘normal’ things. I already mentioned my new addiction to Pinterest. Well, one of the simple crafty things I saw in there which I thought I’d try was a way to make beach glass as inspired by this site. You know, that cloudy blue colour of glass which has been dulled by the ocean.

So, the other day I got out some PVA glue, some blue food colouring and some of the many bottles we seem to have been collecting since Christmas. I had to find some use for them!

First I washed them and peeled off the labels. I couldn’t get the label glue off entirely in places and I’ve run out of eucalyptus oil which is meant to work really well. I did the best I could. Then I used a 60s fruit bowl thing I had to hold the bottles upside down thinking that they’d dry better that way. Nope. The glue just collected on the underside and dripped, leaving a small round blob.

The mix I’d made was very watery, you can see in the photo that the bottles are very pale blue. When I did the next coat I painted the mix on by sticking a finger in the bottle, holding it upside down, then standing it on paper. I almost got a finger stuck in the bottle but managed to get it off without any damage to my finger or the bottle.

When they dried I was really pleased with how they came up. They feel nice and look great. I cant even see where the label glue didn’t come off properly. I’m using them as a way to keep/display my bracelets.

They sit on the little cabinet above, which I found in a second hand store a few years ago. It was a bit battered and broken down the bottom as you can see, but I painted it, keeping the original latch, and its been a much loved piece of furniture since. Its been used as a bathroom cabinet, a bedside table and is now a handy little spot to store my fabric bits and pieces.

z

those voices…

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Photo: Wayne’s cartoon for a friend’s 40th birthday yesterday.

We were invited to Sharon’s 40th birthday yesterday and Wayne did one of his wonderful cartoons for her. I matted and framed it. The joke is that her husband is making chairs out of horse shoes and it takes 69 shoes  to make one chair. Wayne’s work is great isn’t it?

It was a pretty good night. They had a band and the music was good. I had a few dances with Leslie, a friend and neighbour from Fentonbury. She loves dancing with me cause I can lead swing and she loves learning new steps. Sometimes I really miss my old dancing days… I used to love dancing so much that when I’d get to a venue and the band was playing I’d have to run in so as not to miss one precious moment of dancing. I wish one of my old dance partners would come visit and I could show people how its really done! sigh…

Meanwhile, its Sunday night and what am I doing? I’m sitting in front of the computer. I just cant help myself. I’ve become addicted to Pinterest. I thought it was bad enough when I added Facebook and blogging to my computer time, but now I’ve found Pinterest… Thank you very much Diane! I thought you were my friend!

My eyes are sore. My butt is chair shaped. And still, I cant tear myself away!

Not only that, I cant wait to try the one million, fourty three thousand and fifteen projects, decorating ideas and clever things I see there. I just need a bigger house and a whole lot more time!

I want to redo my kitchen, re-paint the house, landscape the yard, create secret garden spots, cut wine bottles in half, learn to crochet, felt a mouse, make chandeliers out of jars and old fencing wire, build a couch out of used pallets, and thats just the start of it!

I always knew there wasn’t enough time in my day, but now its worse!

I can’t stop my brain. I lie in bed at night and my brain is buzzing and ticking. Last night I couldn’t sleep cause of the voices inside my head, saying things like “I wonder if the cupboard in the bedroom will fit beside the fridge if I move the coats to the mud room once its finished and put the metal suitcase underneath it to hold shoes… and what if I moved the bookcase from one side of the living room to the other or will it be too wide? must measure it… and I still have that felt, I need to make mug warmers out of it, not to mention the rug I want to make out of old tshirts… must remember to go buy more tshirts…”

Its a curse I tell you!

For a minute today I thought I’d lost my notebook – the one I keep ideas in as well as my To Do lists. The thought of having to start a new list of To Do lists boggled my mind. Thankfully I found it. It was under the pile of ‘stuff to file’ on my desk.

But I’ve had a productive day. I’ve managed to cross quite a few things off my To Do lists today.

I say lists, plural, because I have more than one list. I found that having one list was just too hard. The list got too long and unmanageable. I’d look at it and my mind would go blank.

By breaking the list up into segments I’m able to ‘see’ more clearly what needs to be done. I have the lists sorted by area of the house or type of activity. ‘Kitchen’ ‘Deck’ ‘Sewing’ etc.

Today I tackled the sewing. Finally. The funny thing is that once I actually got started it didn’t take that long at all.

A lady who’s dogs I groom gave me some alpaca fleece when she had her boys shorn. It was sitting in bags in my workshop for ages. She said that she makes dog beds out of it every year for her dogs and they love it, so I decided I’d do the same.

Montana and Romeo (the poodles) sleep in the living room on the couch or armchairs as they don’t shed. Mischa and Barney have their own beds and, thanks to Barney, most of their bedding is in tatters.

Long story: when we first moved here Mischa and Barney were outside dogs. They had beds in the garage, then on the deck. When Wayne went to Adelaide on holiday I made a bed for them in the entrace and they’ve been sleeping in the house since. In fact we now have to pry Barney out of bed in the morning or to go out and pee at night.

I found a great, big old box at the tip shop. It was like a large drawer, about 3ft wide, 2ft deep and 7in high. It was painted a mauvey colour and was a bit rough. I sanded it back enough to remove most of the old paint but not totally, cleaned it up, then painted it a pale green. In order to give it a more interesting, aged, appearance, I wiped some of the paint off to expose some of the grain, giving it a limed appearance. I then gave it a couple of coats of estapol to seal it and make it easy to wipe clean.

Once it was finished I put it in the entrance, put in some dog beds and Mischa and Barney curled up together at night. Lately however Barney has claimed it as his bed and Mischa has been sleeping on a thin pad in the hallway. She really needed the new dog bed.

I found some old curtains I’d taken down from the dog grooming room in the casita. They’re lined fabric in orange. Tasteful. I cut off the tape, sewed them together, stuffed them with alpaca fleece (after picking the odd stick out of it) and voila: dog beds. Oh, I also put another cover on the outside. I stitched that closed as they both have a bad habit of taking covers off things. This way I can remove and change covers when they get dirty without then ruining the actual bed.

This is Barney’s bed.

 
And here is Mischa on her new bed. I am experimenting with a hessian bag I got from the tip shop. She seems to like it and I love the look of it.

It goes with my postal bag come laundry basket! This post bag was going to be thrown out so we gave it a home. Took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with it but I love it. I put 2 hooks in the bathroom wall and hang it there. When its full I sling it over my shoulder and take it down to the washing machine. (Our bathroom is Ugly with a capital U. One day…)

The sewing extravaganza didn’t end there. Last week I went into an outlet store having a huge sale. Jeans for $10. You just cant go wrong at that price. I bought 3 pairs, one short and 2 long. Or they’re meant to be long. They’re just not quite long enough for me. You know what I mean… I’d have to wear them like those homeboys you see getting around with the top of their shorts (or more) showing and the crotch of their pants somewhere down between their knees. (What is it with that anyway?)

I had some samples of upholstery fabric which I was holding onto to do something with one day. That day came today. I cut it up, stitched a cuff and sewed it onto the bottom of one of the new pairs of jeans. Now I’m looking for another interesting fabric to do the other pair… paisley would be nice. I’ll be wearing this pair to work on Tuesday. I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂

So I got a few things done today. But you see what I mean about crossing one thing off the list and adding another five? The dog beds were on the list. The jean cuffs were a new addition.

We took Ben up to Ashley to have him saddle broken. Or ‘backed’. He’s had a saddle and bridle on him and we’ve done plenty of work with him. Neither of us has had the guts to get on him. When he’s ready I’ll be going down for a few lessons on his back before bringing him home. Wally and Dancer have been unsettled over his absence.

I also rearranged the grooming room and cleaned it. Dog hair gets everywhere! I removed the lino from the toilet floor to allow the floor underneath to dry (if its not already beyond repair). We are now closing the door to the toilet but its almost impossible to get in cause Wayne has hung a tarp over it to keep rain out. And its been raining today. I did some washing and hung it out just in time for it to get wet. Eh. We have good clean rain in Tasmania.

All in all, its been a good day. I feel good. Hopefully the voices will be quiet tonight.

z