goodbye erik, you left a hole in our lives

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Every now and then a very special dog comes in to your life.
Erik was that dog.
A good friend of mine offered me Erik to have, to show, to love. I said YES. I wanted him from the day I saw his photo as a puppy. It was fate, I knew it. He was mine.
I told her he’d be happy here, he’d be adored and he’d love to live on a farm with 3 other dogs to play with, with geese and ducks and chickens to watch, horses to learn about. I’d take him everywhere with me and he’d be my No. 2 meet and greet dog when I was grooming. Barney is No. 1 meet and greet dog, but Erik was better at it. He would greet everyone who came as if he’d known them all his life, he’d stay by my side while I groomed, content to lie and nap while I worked.
I promised my friend that he would live a long happy life here, with us. But I was wrong. Erik died of a snake bite yesterday. I’d only gone out for 2.5 hours. I drove into Hobart to pick up Wayne and go to the hardware store and for coffee and I didn’t think it would be a good idea to take the dogs. Not even Erik who I spoiled. I didn’t think it would be an issue. We’ve lived here for 7 years and in that time we’d go to work and leave the dogs out in the yard, with the porch and grooming room for shelter, for 8 or more hours at a time. 
We’d never had a snake in the yard before. 
I wish I could go back in time and take them all with me to the city. I wish I’d left them locked up in the house. I wish Erik was still here with us. He was that one in a million dog who came into our lives and won us over instantly. Two and a half weeks with Erik was enough to imprint him on our hearts forever. He brightened our lives and made us smile every day in the too short time we had him. 
Since he died I’ve been tormenting myself. If I hadn’t gone out. If I had taken him (them all) with me. If we didn’t stop for coffee. If we didn’t stop at the letterbox. Coming home to find one dog missing at the gate and a dead snake on the drive will haunt me forever.
I’ve spent the day reading everything I can find on snake bites and dogs – It was probably a tiger snake, this year has been worse than ever for tiger snakes in Tasmania apparently. Its the most venomous of snakes. He could have died anything from 15 minutes after being bitten to 2 hours or so. Maybe I could have saved him if I’d been here. Maybe not. I’ll never know, cause I wasn’t home.
I’d like to remember Erik in this post because I know I have to stop crying and begin living again and I hope that this will help me say goodbye to him. I love him. I miss him.
We picked him up from the airport on January 28. He died on Valentine’s Day, February 14. He was only 13 months old.
Here he is with Wayne. He walked out of his crate and wrapped Wayne around his paw. It was love at first sight. I thought I’d have to convince Wayne to keep another dog… No need. Erik did that on his own.

Erik was so affectionate. He would come to you and just lean in, rest his head on your leg, and snuggle up. When I patted his face he’d close his eyes in bliss. His skin was so soft and smooth.
He loved to lick – an annoying habit really, but he quickly learned ‘no lick’ and would give you a sneaky quick lick then act all innocent. He had a way of looking at you through the side of his eyes that we couldn’t resist.
On our way home we stopped for coffee at a cafe in New Norfolk. Erik was wonderful. For the first time in my life I was the one with the best behaved dog, others were the ones embarrassed for their dog’s behaviour.
I gave him the bacon from my BLT.
When we got home Erik met the other dogs in the driveway – when Erik saw the horde coming for him he ran up to them, full of joy to meet new friends. They then raced around the yard like lunatics till they were worn out, then they lined up for pats from daddy.
Erik adored Barney on the spot. Barney is so easy going, he’s never minded being licked to death. Erik and Barney would roll around on the floor together, mouthing each other every day. It was a game that never got old.
He was such a beautiful boy, not just on the inside, but on the outside too.
First night at our place Erik chose to curl up at Wayne’s feet. He loved to lie on his back and expose his tummy for a rub. I couldn’t resist kissing him every time I walked past him.

My friend told me he never got on furniture… Not in this house! Our dogs own this house as much as we do. Erik curled up next to me on the couch too on his first night here. He didn’t play favourites. He loved us both and made sure we knew it.

On his second day, Erik battered his nose digging in the garden. How’s that for a show dog, huh? A nice big pink spot on his nose. He was not ashamed of himself, not one bit. He was such a happy boy.
A few days after he arrived I decided to cut him into a continental. For two reasons. I didn’t think I could maintain that much coat (I was right). And I wanted to see what he’d look like. Ok, three. I love a poodle in continental. 
And he looked spectacular.

Erik was with me while I groomed every day in the short time he was with me. You can just see a little dog behind him in the picture below. I didn’t have enough time to take more photos. I thought I had years.


Erik would lie on the floor while I groomed. In the old grooming room he’d lie on the concrete, even though there were beds and rugs on the floor. At least in the new grooming room I had vinyl. Even in the house Erik would often prefer the floor to the couch or the beds. He’d sleep outside our bedroom gate. If the gate was open he’d come in and say hello, then go back out to sleep in the living room with everyone else.

I took Erik to a cafe in the city to meet a friend. I took him into New Norfolk to meet other friends. I didn’t have enough time to do everything I wanted to do with him. Everyone who met him loved him, even if they did think his haircut was weird. He was just that sweet. He brought so much joy into our lives.

And there were more games. Lots of games. I bought him a rope ball with a loop, he loved it. He’d torment the others with it, instigating chase and tug of war. He was the only dog I ever had that always brought the ball/toy back.

There was a lot of peeing. My guys have learned to empty their bladder in one go but Erik liked to stretch out his pee, encouraging a bit of ‘I can pee over your pee’ in the pack.
And then more chase! Erik brought new life to the pack, even Barney was running more despite his arthritis. And barking. A lot of barking. Barney, not Erik. Erik rarely barked, and when he did he had a huge bark, the bark of a much bigger dog. Surprising when he was smaller than Romeo and finer than Montana.


Here are the only photos I have of my bigger pack. I loved having three standard poodles. I loved having four dogs again.
They all became best friends. He fit into our family so easily. We all miss him. He was my baby boy.
Every morning we’d pile into the car and take Wayne to the bus stop. In the afternoon we’d pile back in and pick him up. I’d take the long way so they could all get a bit more of a car ride.
Erik loved to look out the back window, never the side or front. He was so funny… his butt on the edge of the seat so that if I hit the brakes he’d land on the floor. Yep, back to looking out the back window. My funny little man.
And kisses. Lots and lots of kisses. Both ways. He gave my ears a few good cleans. And I’d kiss him on the nose, on the neck, on the cheeks, on his thighs, on top of his back. So soft, so smooth, so warm.
He had the most beautiful full tail. He had the best angles and pretty feet. The cutest expression. Such energy. Such love of life. So much fun in the way he lived every minute of the day.
Then this weekend I decided I would cut him off. I know I was planning to show him, but after spending 3 days dealing with huge matts, I decided to give it up after one two hour session that got me nowhere. I clipped him off all over. You should have seen the way he kept looking back, like “where did my hair go?”
I’m glad he had some time to just ‘be a dog’ before he died. I’m glad Wayne got to play with him without me worrying about his coat. I hated telling Wayne not to rub his coat, or to be careful when playing with him. I didn’t want him to pull away from Erik. So I cut it off. And Wayne was able to spend a few days rubbing Erik all over, scritching his shoulders and rough-housing with him. I’m so glad they had that. 
I’m glad he was able to be a farm dog for the tiny amount of time he had left on this earth and that I wasn’t too worried about his coat to let him enjoy it.
The only photos I have of Erik without his coat. Sleeping on the rugs while I groom. I shall be so lonely grooming now.
These are the last photos I have of my little man. The night before he died. He jumped up next to me on the couch, between me and Montana. I watched TV with my hand on him.
They say only the good die young and you were the best. Maybe that’s why you had to go. You have left a hole in our lives and our home, way out of proportion to the time you shared it with us. The house is quiet without you, the other dogs are subdued, we are heartbroken.
I wish we’d had more time with you little man. I will miss you every day till the day we meet at the Bridge.
z

grooming room leash storage

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The grooming room is slowly taking shape. I’m moulding it into ‘my’ space.

And by ‘my’ space I mean I’m slowly filling it with things which I love, I made or which suit my needs.

Don’t know if you remember the tap coat rack I made a couple of months ago…

Well, I really liked it. And I needed somewhere to hang dog leads in the grooming room. Ideally somewhere near the door so I wouldn’t forget to hand people their leads as they leave with their dogs.
I’m notorious for forgetting. I still have some leads left over from last year…
Another thing I needed was a chalkboard on which to write dog names so I would know which lead belongs to which dog.

So I made this quick chalkboard, lead hanging thingy.

Ok, the spacing between the taps is off. No idea how I managed that as I actually did measure it all out before drilling holes… But I’m talented that way.

The chalkboard part is part of a box I’d pulled apart. I made a key storage out of one part, and I still had one door and a couple of box sides left.

I used the door for the chalkboard and one of the sides for the tap rack. I had a bit of the green paint I used on my meat safe towel cabinet left over…. it was almost dry but I managed to dry bush it onto the timber piece.

Do you get a sneaky feeling I like green? That antiquey greyish, bluish green?

Why on earth would you think that?

z

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my new towel cupboard (in my new grooming room)

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Yes! I’m in the new grooming room!

Its not finished. Well, not entirely. But then again, is anything ever really finished?

Ok. So the grooming room is usable-finished. I began using it as soon as I got the vinyl down on the floor. Even before I had most of my stuff moved in there. Or the door finished. But I have a new cupboard for my towels!

I’m sorry I don’t have any before photos – cause when the urge to paint hits, well, its all I can do to put on painting clothes!

***** I found the before photos. Well, more like the ‘almost before’ photos. Here it is with legs and masking tape…

And here it is with the painting just finished.

I got this little meatsafe/cupboard from a tip shop a few years ago. It had no top or legs, and was a stained and varnished wood colour. But the metal screen was fine.

I used a piece of pine I had to make a top for it and searched my leg collection for some legs that would work with it. I wanted it tall enough to be out of ‘pee’ reach.

It IS a grooming room after all!

I had some old green paint from a room I painted long ago (it was a hideous colour, no idea what I was thinking!). I poured some of it into a plastic container, added a bit of light blue I’d made up for another project and voila: the perfect antique green!
Being the lazy sod I am, the only prep work I did was mask off the handle, hinges and metal screen.

Since I chose not to sand, I mixed some fine grout into the paint, making it a chalk-like paint and just slapped it on. It took 2 coats. Once dry I gave it a light sand to encourage a chippy look.

The new towel cupboard sits behind the inner door of the grooming room. Its not big enough really, but its pretty. I might one day make a base for it, another cupboard… Who knows? For now it holds clean towels and my cd player.

So here’s a pic of the other side of the new grooming room, in use! Erik lies on the table with the dryer on him. Such a good boy. He didn’t move while I changed cds and took the pic!

There’s a lot to do but I’m taking my time. The old grooming room wasn’t perfect by any stretch, but I got used to it – I worked in there for 7 years! It kind of grew around me. It’ll take a while for this room to grow around me too. I’ll need shelves and hooks for my tools. I’ll need pictures on the wall and hooks for leads…

I’ll need to put the window on the door! And a door handle!

Its a work in progress.

z

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mounted pug head

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Thought I’d share a little project I’ve had sitting around for a while now.  This is Pugsly. A mounted pug head.

The best kind of mounted pug head: a fake one.

This little guy is made from old newspapers, diluted PVA glue, air dry clay, old comics and an old cheese board as a mount.

Talk about recycling.

Doesn’t everyone need a wall mounted pug head? Especially one as cute as this little guy!

I’ve listed him for sale on a Facebook selling page but no nibbles so far. I’m keeping it a secret from him so he doesn’t feel rejected and unloved. You have no idea how much a depressed pug head can bring down the mood around the house.

z

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playing with barbies

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Meet the girls. From left to right: Barbie, Barbie and Barbie. And their poodles – Larry and Peggy.
These are my girls. The one on the right is the first one I bought – Fashion Queen Barbie from 1962 or 63. The middle one is a Ponytail Barbie from 1962. And then there’s the blonde Ponytail Barbie from 1961. I have one more brunette Ponytail, also from 1961, but she’s not dressed. Yet.
The blonde girl is in her original clothes. I got her on ebay. The other two I bought from a local collection. They came in their original bathing suits and I had planned to make their clothes myself but have you ever seen how TINY their clothes are?* I ended up buying them dresses from a very talented lady on etsy who’s probably way younger than me and has way more patience (and better eyesight!). You can visit her shop here. I already had shoes to match their outfits thanks to a friend and her collection!
The white standard poodle is also an ebay find from many years ago. She’s been living in my poodle collection since I bought her over 16 years ago. She’s now finally got a mom of her own.
The miniature poodle was a recent ebay find. When I went Barbie mad and went looking for an early Ponytail model I came across him. He came complete with two outfits, two leashes, a food bowl and a couple of other bits and pieces. How could I resist?
I love them, though to be honest, I think I could probably make a pipe cleaner or felt poodle that looks better than either of these… their charm is in their vintage-ness.
I have big plans for these girls. But I have things to do before I start playing with dolls. (Playing MORE with dolls). I have a grooming room to finish, an office to clean up (so I can find my projects) and Bratz dolls to make over and list in my etsy shop.
The To Do list never gets shorter. It just changes so I don’t get bored of it.
z
* Tiny clothes on Barbies says the woman who’s now making clothes for repainted Bratz dolls!

progress in the grooming room

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Its been slow. I mean, its been months! A project I thought would take me a couple of weeks… ok, a month or so… has taken ages. Partly cause it was a bigger job than I thought (ain’t it always?) and secondly cause I haven’t actually been working on it as regularly as I’d planned.
Things happen. I get busy. You know how it goes. Sometimes a book just has to be read, or a TV show becomes an addiction you can’t ignore.
Despite that, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.
This last week I finished the walls and ceiling. Those were the big things. 

The ceiling was the hardest. I used 3mm MDF sheets to cover the flakey, gappy, holey baltic pine ceilings. I’d have loved to remove the baltic pine to reuse but the job would have been way too big. I opted to just cover it, last thing I wanted was stuff falling down on me every time I groomed a dog. Now I have a smooth surface to paint.

The electrician is coming tomorrow to put my lights in – fluoros so I can see! There are no windows, just the one in the door, so I need plenty of artificial light.

Speaking of windows, I’ve made the window/door frame and have perspex to put in it, it just needs to be painted.

As you may remember, the right hand wall is covered in recycled masonite. It needs a good wash before painting. And everything needs undercoating before I paint the entire space white.

I’m leaving the center panel with its shabby paint look. I love it.

It was really hard to do this room cause nothing is straight. The ceiling and walls don’t have straight edges. Look at the gaps! I did all kinds of dodgey patches to try to minimise gaps. I also ended up lining the back wall which I thought I’d leave as it was (ie old) but I had pine left over. Not enough to go all the way up the ceiling though. I used leftover bits of MDF at the top. Very unevenly. I figure once the entire space is painted white and I put things on and against the walls no one will notice.

I hope.

Don’t look at the mess in the workshop outside the inner door.

This is better. Forget you saw that mess.

The room is clean now, swept, tools and rubbish cleared out. I just have to wash walls and move the compressor back to its spot in the garage and I’m ready to paint.

Outside in the tiny yard I’ve put flashing against the bottom weather boards to stop rain soaking in over the concrete slab. Hopefully that will stop any dampness – not so much in the new grooming room but in the old one.

I’ve sprayed weeds and have cardboard and newspaper to spread over the ground, then I’ll get pine bark to fill the space which will keep it from getting muddy.

Meanwhile, it’s been so windy here that I’ve had to go to extreme measures to save my little silver birch. There was a huge cosmos flowering to the left of it but it was broken by the wind. So sad.

The garden is looking awful right now. Everything that flowered in early spring has died (or gone to seed). I now have to find the time to cut back the dead stuff and pull out weeds. Then all I can do is wait for the summer flowering stuff to start looking good. 
z

i picked up a whale

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Yeah, yeah, yeah. 
I know.
It’s been ages since I posted. I have the best of intentions, then things happen. I get busy, distracted, lazy, sick, tired, out, whatever. You know… LIFE.
I had meant to post last weekend, or was it the one before that? Wayne and I went out for the day so we wouldn’t be tempted to spend the day working on ‘things’ around the place. We wanted to just ‘be’, spend time together, have lunch out…
We drove up to Oatlands and Ross in Tasmania’s midlands… visited some antique shops, had coffee in Oatlands lunch in Ross. It was a lovely day.
Oatlands is a beautiful town, famous for its working windmill, sandstone buildings and dry stone walls. I could happily live in Oatlands… a fact I mentioned to Wayne a few times on our walk through town.
Ross is a little further north, a little further from Hobart, but just as touristy. I love the old take away shop. 
Wayne told me the story of the Four Corners of Ross. What a great story:

The Four Corners of Ross

The town is centred on the crossroads of Church and Bridge Streets with a field gun from the Boer War and a war memorial as a central part of the intersection. The crossroads area is humorously referred to as the “Four Corners of Ross” with each corner having a label:
Ross also had the best antique store – it went on forever… In one corner we found a suit of armour!
With a cute little reindeer made of wood and real antlers sitting below him. His trusty steed perhaps…?
There were tons of things in that shop that wanted to come home with me, but I was tough. I said no. I had no room, no need, no money. But then I saw this:

Its a whale! A glass and aluminium whale. 
Ribbed glass, hollow with an open mouthed aluminium head. What on earth could this have been used for? Its not an ashtray, there’s nowhere to rest a cigarette. It’s not a sugar dispenser, the mouth is too big. Its not a decanter, it sits on is stomach and won’t hold liquid. The store owner had no idea, so I’m asking you. Has anyone seen anything like this before? If so, what on earth was it used for?

I mean, obviously, apart from looking pretty. Cause it sure does that well.
I love my whale.
Oh and the shop is for sale. 
I was tempted.

I forgot to mention… In Tunbridge, Wayne fell in love with a property. It was empty, the garden was overgrown, the fences in bad need of repair, but it had such character. I think the fact that it was opposite the only pub in town might have helped.

z

my new farm gate

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Progress on the new grooming room is slow. I had one day where things kinda just flowed and things got done. I was up on ladders, using my arms and head to hold up sheets of MDF to the ceiling and using the nail gun to secure them there.
Then I ran out of MDF.
Turns out I’d measured correctly but remembered wrong. I needed 6 sheets (of the biggest size I could handle on my own) but remembered to buy 4.
Live and learn my friends.
So, having NOT finished the ceiling I couldn’t very well finish everything else. I had one and a half walls I could put ‘skirting boards’ and ‘cornices’ on.
I placed those words in quotation marks cause I’m not using either cornice or skirting boards for the job. I got plain pine boards cause it was the cheapest way to go. The end result is the same: I’m covering gaps where walls meet ceiling or walls.
Having done the bits I could do without finishing the ceiling, I looked around at what I could do next…
…and found the gate.
Ok. I didn’t find the gate. I found the gate was a job I could do which wasn’t affected by the unfinishedness of the ceiling.

I had planned to use pallet wood to make the gate, but I had 2 long pieces of old tassie oak flooring outside the grooming room, in the tiny yard, just waiting for a use. So I used them.
Firstly I had to measure the distance between the cement slabs the casita and the tiny shed (its an aviary) are sitting on, then the distance between the walls. I’d already attached an extra post to the one on the side of the casita which holds up the porch roof so I could swing the gate off it.
I cut my timber pieces the height I wanted – tall enough to stop a dog jumping over them. 
Then I did what any sane, mathematically challenged person would do: I marked the measurments out on the floor and lay the timber down, spacing the boards by eye and laying the cross pieces over the top. Good enough for me.
I joined all the boards together using screws then reinforced those with nails. 
I cut my Z pieces. I did two cause I couldn’t work out the angle to cut a single one on… I did say I was mathematically challenged! In order to save wastage I went with 45 degree angles and 2 Z pieces. It should work fine.
I hope.
Last I used some nice strong chicken wire over the back of the gate cause the gaps are big enough to allow dogs through. I had wanted a picket style gate with small gaps but I didn’t want to spend money on treated pine or fence pickets.
This is one heavy gate cause tassie oak is heavy stuff. I had to get some pretty strong hinges from Wayne’s collection of rusty items to hang them with.
I love my new rustic gate. It fits between the wall of the casita and the aviary and will stop dogs from escaping into the paddocks.

I’ll be putting a bolt onto the gate at #1, put a hole into the aviary wall for the bolt to slide into.

#2 shows where the end board is cut short to accommodate the height of the concrete slab. I found I had to reinforce that spot as the wire could have been bent by a particularly insistent dog bent on escape. (haha)

#3 is where a sliver of wood was removed to allow the gate to swing without hitting the concrete on the casita side.

All in all, a job well done.

I’ll finish this post with a gratuitous photo of a poodle: Romeo was overseeing my gate-building efforts. He approves.
z

update on the grooming room

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Well the grooming room is still far from finished.
You can’t rush these things. It takes time to think, measure, plan, get your materials together, find the energy, the time. Have you ever noticed how much STUFF needs to be done when you plan to spend a day working on a project?
… Then one day the planets align and things start happening.
Yesterday was that day. 
I’d already drawn a ‘map’ of the last wall, drew in the posts and noggins (that’s the brace type of horizontal studs, yeah, I didn’t know that either), numbered and measured the drawers I’m going to use, and, using Illustrator, did a jigsaw puzzle to figure out how to fit it all together. The map helped me figure out where I needed noggins to secure the drawers to the wall.
I went down to the casita, turned on the air compressor and began putting noggins between the posts where the map told me to.
I then pulled out all the sheets of masonite I had stacked against the wall in the workshop area. I knew I had used sheets but had no idea how many and what sizes.
Turns out I had 1 large sheet of 6mm, 3 smaller sheets of 6mm and 3 medium sized sheets of 3mm.
Naturally I began with the largest sheet, starting in one top corner. I measured, cut out a nick to make it fit properly, trimmed it down so I could join the sheets on a post, then measured it again and cut it again as I got it wrong first time. Thankfully I cut it too long, not too short. Phew.

The biggest sheet at the top far end is painted green with a bit of white over one section. That obviously came off a wall somewhere. The darker, smaller pieces came off the floor when we ripped up the vinyl in the kitchen. I was sure I had more of that stuff, but I don’t. Must have thrown it out cause most sheets cracked when pulling them up.

Whatever.

I used the 6mm stuff for the top of the wall since that’s where I’m going to put my drawers.

The bottom area won’t have things hung on it so I used the 3mm masonite there. That’s all painted yellow, also obviously second hand. I have no idea where these sheets came from as I didn’t remove them from anywhere. Another of the bonuses we got when we bought the farm. Like lots of old bricks, old timber and loads of rubbish.

I had to overlap the thinner sheets a bit cause I didn’t work that out well (ie the joins aren’t on posts. ooops.) so I used liquid nails and nailed them as best as I could. This wall will hold crates and dog beds so it should be fine. Unless a rhino head butts the wall we’ll be good.

It looks funny with all the patches of colour. When its all painted one colour it’ll look much better. I’m sure.
Next step is the ceiling. I’m going to cheat there. I do not want to sand back all the flaking paint and I definitely don’t want to try to fix the saggy or gappy bits. I’m going to get some thin MDF and just cover it.
Easy.
Famous last works.
Anyway, we’ll see.
Of course there’s still one more wall. The interior wall. I can finish the room and leave that wall as it is and still groom, with the old timber showing. In fact, that’s what I planned to do. But now I’m having second thoughts. I’m wondering whether I should do some kind of patchwork on it…. use old shutters… that’d be interesting!

Like this:

Or this (swoon):

But with all the hair flying around in a grooming room, I’m not sure that would be a good idea. Maybe I should use cupboard doors… less gaps.

Like this:

Or this (swoon):

I’ll have to see what bits I have and how much wall I can cover before I go buy anything new.
Oh, I also fixed the interior door. It wouldn’t close. Its got an exterior lockset and the latch wasn’t catching. Well, I fixed the sucker. I got the hammer and wacked it a few times till it worked. Ha.
I also learned how to fit a handle on a door so I can do the exterior door. Thank you YouTube.
So, basically, what I’m saying is that the room is coming along, but there’s still a lot to do:
1. line the ceiling
2. put in powerpoints and lights that work (electrician job)
3. paint all walls and exterior door
4. paint ceiling (once its done)
5. paint the floor
6. put a lock/handle on the exterior door
7. make a window for the top of the exterior door
8. make gates for both doors (to keep dogs from escaping)
9. put shelves in the drawers, paint the drawers, put poodle figurines in drawers, put glass or perspex on drawers, put drawers on the wall
10. make a canopy for over the door
11. make a gate for the little yard
12. sort out the ‘landscaping’ in the little yard
13. run screaming into the hills
Sheesh.
Whose idea was it to start this?
Its going to be great! I’ll keep telling myself that.
z

recycling christmas

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This year I really didn’t feel like doing much for Christmas. I wasn’t going to decorate at all. 
But then, while cleaning the office, I found the Christmas tree I made last year from the sides of an old cot. I’d wrapped it in plastic and left it as it was – with the wire and stars, ready to go. So… well, it was ready to go… I figured I way as well use it.

With one small difference. This year I put fairy lights on it! (’cause I found them while cleaning the pantry!)

I also put it in a different spot this year. Last year it was on the wall over the air conditioning unit where I now have my industrial stencil artwork.

Since I needed it close to a power outlet for the lights, it made sense to put it on top of my pretty antique cabinet.

This spot means you can see it from the kitchen as well which is an added bonus. I love fairy lights and this just makes me smile. I think I might leave it up for a long time… at least till the end of January.
z