Town House Homestead Tuesday

Today is a very exciting day for me. The blog post I have been waiting so long to write is ready. Now to get it out of my head and on to this page. For the past few months I have been posting so many adventures, but the one we've worked hardest for is close to done and more than functional as of Sunday. This is how it began. 

It was a dark and dingy basement. This photo is after we pulled down a drop ceiling and dragged out bags of refuse like old wood, broken cement, and left behind trash from previous owners. The windows hadn't been opened until we opened them, and the breathing status of the basement was very poor. After pulling out a lot of the old fiberglass insulation, after the wasp situation, it was doing much better. As of last week the new furnace was installed, and a dear friend of my daughters spent an afternoon placing the washer and dryer in their proper locations and got it vented correctly.

So this is what all this progress has been for. Five months of hard work with the help of several friends and this is what it is now. This portion of the basement any way.

One up and coming work/sewing studio. Room for growth and more than one person to work, play, create, and imagine. It was a race against mother nature to get most of the boxes out of the garage and unpacked before cold weather, but they did it and as of Sunday my daughter has had a couple of hours to relax and sew. But, all our time was not just spent on the basement renovations. 

This was a side project. We found this vintage cart on Craigslist for $25 and took it apart, and spray painted it. Now that it's cleaned up it has been set in the basement to use for the extra microwave and coffee pot. She will need coffee to keep going while she works and the microwave will be used for projects she loves to do. 

I have been busy during the day time hours taking advantage of sales and enjoying cooking in my cast iron dutch oven. This is a BBQ pork shoulder that I made into pulled pork and there it is all canned for the pantry along with another slow cooker batch of apple butter. 

I also cooked a reasonably priced turkey and canned some meat, made some soup, and put more broth on the shelf in the pantry. We are ready for cold weather when it finally arrives. Can you taste the pot pies and casseroles yet? 

For me canning is never over. There is always something to put up. I went to the farm market for my butternut squash, so next week it will be canned squash, canned squash soup, and for the holiday a squash pie. I was able to stock up on a few jars for the next month or so to insure that I could keep going. With all the expenses fixing up the house it has been a blessing knowing the pantry shelves are filling up. Along with what we did before we moved I think we'll be able to survive the winter. That's what's happened the last couple of weeks here at our new Town House Homestead. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week. 

Town House Homestead Tuesday

We are still going strong here at our new home. We still unpack a box here and there, but until we finish deconstructing the basement, and making it a little more finished, a lot of unpacking will be done a couple months down the road. Being an old 1950's home it needs a lot of work yet to bring it up to where it should be. The basement is keeping us busy. It had a drop ceiling with Styrofoam glued to the walls and Styrofoam used as the ceiling panels. We have torn it all out and this week we are having some one come and pick up the mound of scrap metal and we have almost hauled all of the old floor out for collection. As you can see we are close to a clean room to start washing it down and painting. 

This is only one quarter of the basement that will house my daughter's sewing and craft studio. This week we have been fighting yellow jackets that are coming in and dying, but one stung her on the back of her neck while she was working. We'll pull all the old smelly insulation out and seal holes to prevent this in the future.

We are starting to get back to thrift store shopping and checking out flea markets to find some tools and items we need for the house. I found this vintage tablecloth. I love this pattern. A few years ago my daughter gave me one that was so badly stained that I could only use it as a cutter. I was excited to find this one and although it has a few stains that stubbornly won't come out it is in very usable condition. From the cutter I made place mats, pan handle pot holders, napkins, and hot pads, and still have pieces left that I was saving to make a table cloth that I can use for pot holders and oven mitts. It's been a fun sewing project.

Some other thrift finds were books. I can't wait to have time to read Solar Power Your Home for Dummies. 

We found a few more holiday items. Easter egg plates, made in Japan Christmas choir singers, a glass Valentines day jar, an aqua planter and a set of vintage Ball salt and pepper shakers.

We found some vintage linens. Some are sold already, some will be sold, and some will be used for sewing. All are in great shape and I can't wait to sew more.

The best find ever was this 5 quart Wagner cast iron dutch oven. They have become very expensive at thrift stores and flea markets and are usually in much worse condition. We got this one for $19.99 and I am already starting to clean it and season it. It is looking much better, but has a way to go before I'm comfortable cooking in it. I have wanted one for so long, so I can be patient. The container garden is slowing down. A few more tomatoes to go and maybe a few peppers and beans, but now it will be all farm market vegetables. Thank goodness that option is available and it's always nice to shop local. That's what's be happening this past week at the Town House Homestead. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week. 

Town House Homestead Tuesday

It was bee tending time again this past Sunday. The weather finally allowed good conditions to inspect the hive. These bees are strong and working hard. They are building and have filled most of the supers with lots of honey. There are five stacked here and another is soon to be added until the owner arrives back in the country to harvest the honey. 

On the way home from tending the bees we stopped at a co-workers garage sale. She had posted pictures on line and I was in need of planters and any pots because of all the newly donated plants and cuttings people have given us to brighten up our new home, and of course indoor herbs. 

This is the collection I came home with. Not too bad for $23. These are very good heavy pots and one pot was marked $28. I think I did well.

This is my kitchen herb garden so far. I have added a jar of Rosemary to root and will plant is as soon as it does. I have also started a new pot of Basil because the Japanese beetles liked it as much as I did if not more, killing it completely. 

After the garage sale we hit up a thrift store and found some vintage items, The cupcake mold we got at the garage sale. There were a couple of linens, Vera scarves, holiday cookie cutters, yes more plant saucers, Tupperware items and a stacking Santa. 

My daughter rescued this wonderful chair from the trash. Why anyone would throw something this great away is beyond us. I washed it all up and got years of dirt off it and she continued the challenge.

She simply unbolted the four bolts and is giving it a coat of spray paint to change it from an off white to a bright white for my office in the closet. Total cost will be about $6 for the paint and a few minutes of work. The chrome legs just need a little more washing, but are in excellent vintage condition.

This gray rolling file cart she also rescued from the trash. I spent two afternoons scrubbing and peeling all the years of dust, dirt, coffee and tape from it and today I started to spray paint it a hammered bronze color. I will use this as a planter. Once again, why can't people see beyond the box and make something new out of things? So glad we have space to have up cycled things now. So, that's what's new at the Town House Homestead this week. Thank you for stopping by and have a great week.

Thrift finds and freebie economics.

This past Sunday I went for a ride with my younger daughter to a baseball game for my youngest grandson. He had to be at the field an hour before the game, which his team won, so we took a few minutes to head to a local thrift store. Lots of great things and plenty available, but I continue to purchase needs and not wants. When I walk through a thrift store I wonder why everyone doesn't have everything they need. 

I purchased the salad spinner and the vintage Mickey and Minnie contact paper. The salad spinner was on my list and the contact paper will be sold. My younger daughter got the quart size canning jars for $2 at a yard sale for me and they are all cleaned and ready for canning season.

This large bundle of bath tissue was free. My eldest daughter got an eBay coupon for $25 and this was purchased and shipped free.

Bourbon was on my wish list. I wanted to make extracts and barbecue sauce with it and sure enough the message was heard through the universe and we were given this bottle of Kentucky bourbon. I love how the universe works.

These two divided wooden cubes measure 18x10x8 and were salvaged from a renovation project at my daughters place of employment. They were going to demolish these and many more, but she convinced her supervisor to take them down and either sell them or give them away. They were all saved and my daughter took these for her future home. They are small enough for her to use for now until she resettles. This is not bad for living frugal and taking advantage of what comes your way. We are very grateful for all things good. Thank you for stopping by and have a great week. 

Thrift finds.

We had to take a day for ourselves this past weekend. We had a list of things that we would like to do and set off to see what we could get done. Needless to say that there were a few stops that just happened and thrift stores were a couple of them. We also found a church sale that was in it's last hour and it was fill a bag for $4 and we got some neat items.

Here you can see we found some vintage cook books, holiday decorations, canning jars, a clear Pyrex round baking dish and a butterfly cookie cutter. We found the utensil crock which was something that was on our search list for the kitchen, a religious artifact and vintage tea cups.

The aqua and orange serving trays are a wonderful find and fit right in with my daughters decorating colors. Tupperware was abundant and this cake taker was slightly used. The Tupperware Jello mold is new and I think I may use it. I'm not a big Jello fan, but there may be a party. We also found a new in package vintage Avon Humpty Dumpty coin bank. 

The nylon hamper was on the shopping list. The one we had wore out. We found fabric, yarn and scarfs. The camouflage yarn will be used for gifts.

This Jimmie Hendrix t-shirt will be made into a pillow for the store. My daughter will tell you that this was the best find.

The church fill a bag sale was awesome. I didn't realize how much I could get into two plastic grocery bags. To start there were the three pieces of fabric and then I found a box full of vintage doilies, pillow cases and table runners. I think I made a woman mad because I was just packing them into the bag and knew I would look them over once I got home.

This is more heavy duty cotton fabric we found that's a nice neutral upholstery kind of fabric. I'm sure I will make something out of it and more of the vintage linens.

Here are more of the vintage linens and do you see the pair of blue baby booties? They are hand tatted. I have these items soaking and will make sure they are clean of settled dust and dirt before we use them for sewing projects or list them on the store. poetcharms.etsy.com

At one thrift store we found this darling coral sun dress with aqua embroidery. It is all cleaned and ironed and ready to be listed. It is size small and would be nice to wear over a swim suit. I found the olive green sweater and the white jeans at the fill a bag sale. I am going to cut the jeans into a pair of Capri's and the sweater is large and will go over a long skirt for winter. It's been getting very cold here in the northeast in the winter. Our day also included a stop for lunch and ice cream, the library and the garden shop for my herb plants. We found more articles of clothing, but I am writing a post tomorrow called Thursday's Threads and I will include them there. Until then have a wonderful day and thank you for stopping by. 

Thrift Finds

This past Saturday we went to a Church sale with the intention of finding one small item and coming home. It was close by and why wouldn't we find this one small always available item. Well, we didn't so we moved on to a thrift store. We found that item and it was only .99 and then the hunting bug hit her like an F4 tornado and look what she did!

She hunted and hunted and kept putting things in that cart. It was fun to be out, but I think that short trip turned into two thrift stores on top of the Church sale. 

She found a wooden box, bar ware that she sold within minutes of her purchase, shipping envelopes, a spice shelf, sewing notions, the card board book which was the reason for the adventure and a framed print of a female artist she adores, but cannot find any information about.

She continues to bring home vintage sheets and pieces of fabric to sooth her addiction and we found a primary print JC Penny Snoopy drape.

And may I say yes, she got me 15 more canning jars and let me tell you the Good Will was loaded with them, but we play the color tag sale for the 50% off items and the one's we left were not that weeks color. The cashier tried to say they may not be there when we come back, but anyone who pays $1.99 for a used canning jar can have them when you can get a new case with rims and lids for a lot less. I have not filled these. I washed them and put them on the shelf because fruit and vegetable season is coming and we are trying to get some empties on the shelf. This is what happens to her when she needs one very small, always available, most anywhere item. 

Thank you for stopping by my post and have a great week.

Thursdays Threads

My favorite thing to do is sew. I think in front of a machine is where I am meant to be. My daughter is also quite a seamstress. We both find it very relaxing. Lately we've been trying to use up the multitude of scraps that every seamstress accumulates. It seems endless some times and the scraps range in size from half a yard to one inch pieces. Believe me when I say there are piles and containers and bags of them. 

I used a lot of red pieces of reclaimed sheet and one inch pieces to make this quilted library bag for my younger daughter. She likes a bag for holiday time. The lining is also remnants as is the cotton batting used to quilt it.

My eldest daughter made these sets of up cycled fabric napkins over the holidays. They are listed for sale at poetcharms.etsy.com. You can stop by and see all the wonderful items she makes. These were made from reclaimed fabrics and linens and they are 13 inch square. I'd show you the piles and bags and containers, but it is a bit overwhelming so I stay away until I have time to work. It is our goal to keep using and sharing the bits and pieces throughout 2015 so stay tuned for updates. For now I've got to go take care of conversation threads. Thank you for stopping by and have a great weekend.

New thrift finds and oh those freebies.

We stopped by a local Savers and Amvets and found a few items plus the townhouse complex had a garage sale. Kind of a flop because out of 200 units maybe a dozen participated. The universe on the other hand thought it would be good to us and send many freebies our way. Counting our blessings.

The only item I found at the garage sale was the Coleman camping lamp. Great price and after new batteries it works wonderful. I'm putting that with my camping gear. At the thrifts I found a 10 inch pot for more peppermint that I am propagating. I would love to dry the leaves and have enough for tea, extract, sugar and syrup. I think I may get plenty off the original plant. I found two wire bail pint size canning jars at 49 cents each, another bread pan for 99 cents and a plastic bag of emergency candles that had a hand held fan with it. That's the blue item between the jars. Unfortunately it was broken and went in the recycle bin, but not before I salvaged the strap for future use. 

Other finds included a green Wilhold sewing box, a NIP yellow daisy queen size sheet, a large green Cinderella Pyrex bowl, a red Pyrex casserole bowl, some small embroidery hoops for small craft projects, straw trivets and a lovely pair of cast iron floral star candle holders. These will probably be spray painted.

Linen finds included a pair of orange poppy curtain panels, a purple and pink floral bed cover and the bright pink is a home made house robe that has lots of yardage to it. Yes the imagination is working.

The freebies from the universe this week were exciting. Different, but we will put it to use or sell it.

First up:

Top left: Many dollars worth of watercolor paper.

Top right: Many more dollars worth of watercolor paper.

Bottom left: A metal cutter, two dollar store mesh strainers and two wooden apples.

Bottom right: Large fold of cotton batting, 25 new wooden blocks, a variety of sponge and paint brushes and a wooden card box.

Next up:

To the left a free clamp on lamp and bubble wrap and to the right more bubble wrap. We have discovered that appliances purchased for the townhouse complex are shipped and sometimes are wrapped in bubble wrap. We picked the recycle bin for it and we put the word out that we'd reuse packing material and it's starting to roll in. Needless to say there was quite a variety in the freebies and quite a lot so when I say we are counting our blessings, believe me. It's been an awesome week here. 

Happy Fourth of July to everyone. Thank you for stopping by.

Townhouse Homestead Tuesday

Wow that was a fast week. To say time flies when you're having fun is not totally the truth. Let's say time flies when your busy. To start from the townhouse this week I've gone back to seriously baking and cooking. Doing what I can to eat better, but still enjoy food and life. I've gone back to baking my own bread. I've tried a lot of new recipes floating around on the Internet, but I'm going back to my good old Betty Crocker recipes I got as a teenager in the sixties. I just like the result, taste and I like the kneading. I know it's easy to let the machine do it, but when you've spent so much time doing something a certain way it's hard to let go.

I like home made bread better for French toast. I can slice it to the thickness I want and when soaking in the egg mixture it holds up better. Doesn't that look yummy? It certainly was.

I also make this ahead and keep it in the refrigerator so my daughter can take it to work for breakfast. I never did this when the kids were younger, but now it works great for her. 

Another task this week was cleaning the recipe files and papers. Over the years I've accumulated so many books, papers and clippings that I could never find what I needed when I needed it. I got a good start, but there is more to do.

This is some of the before. Can't believe I let it get so out of control, but...

look how neat the after is. I found recipes I thought were lost and would never find again and I can now just go to the right spot and get it. I put printed recipes in plastic sleeves to preserve them and can just pull them out of the notebook and wipe clean if they get messy. 

From the sewing and craft room this week I used a few scraps to make a candle cozy for 4th of July decorating. I don't do a lot of decorating any more so I'm keeping it simple with a holiday candle.

Sewing projects listed on the store have already started selling. There were pillows and napkins.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/192554082/hand-made-16-inch-black-cotton-pillow?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/192563409/hand-made-16-inch-teal-pillow?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/192564741/hand-made-screen-printed-buddha-pillow?

The pink napkins have sold, but the green napkins can be found here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/192558851/set-of-4-double-sided-13-inch-napkins?

Well I guess that's why the week flew by. I harvested parsley and basil from the garden this week and dried it for my soup mixes. I also took some clippings of my peppermint plant to start a new one and it's already rooting. Everything is growing nicely. It's small and mostly herbs, but it's my bit of earth. 

Thank you for stopping by and I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Linking to: We Call It Junkin