Day 39 - Pillowcase Turned Table Skirt

One of my favorite places to buy fabric is the thrift store. Not in their craft section, but in their bedding section. Sometimes I'll buy some bed sheets but the best score is when I find homemade pillowcases. They are usually made with some kind of bright fabric. These pillowcases are usually made with over a yard of fabric each so the fabric cost of my thrift store purchase usually winds up being about $1 a yard. Had I gone to a fabric store the same fabric would have cost me $5-$10 a yard.

So when I got tired of our table today I decided to do something about it. Yes, we've been using this as our end table in the living room.

Call me too cheap to buy anything new.

I cut up a couple of those cheap-o thrift store pillowcases for a skirt for the table. Not too bad for under $3. Not sure I love it, but at least I like it.

Oops, probably should have ironed it.

Day 38 - Fabric Headaches

I’ve prided myself on my plentiful fabric stash. On my ability to find any fabric I want, for any project I’m working on, within my fabric shelves.

Yeah, not so fast.

While my shelves are full, they aren’t nearly as varied as I need for this new quilt I’m making. (Note to self: don’t start a huge new project during a pandemic. If you don’t have the fabric you want, you can’t go and buy any more.)

I’ve been through all my fabrics and this is as close as I can get. (Another note to self: if you work too long during one day, take a break from your project. Your frustration just might give you a headache.)

Day 37 - Picnic Ants

We have this old wooden TV tray we bought at a yard sale years ago. When we picked it up, my dear old hubby decided it would be his outside TV tray. Holds his drink under the carport in the summer and holds his containers of ice melt near the door during the winter.

But this spring it has been our picnic table. With our spontaneous backyard BBQ picnics I've really tried to convince him to bring out a bigger table. Maybe the card table? Nope. The banquet table? Nope. He brings out that dang wooden TV tray and we have to share the space on it. (Guess he wants me really, really close while we eat in the backyard?) So far we've been huddled over the same tray for BBQ hot dogs, hamburgers, and for one of our pizza picnics. I'm tired of the tiny table and I'm even more tired of the look of the tray.

Have I really been eating off this? YUCK.

So like almost every issue arising in the house, fabric becomes the answer. I just so happened to have this picnic fabric I've been waiting forever to use. I added an elastic edge so it's removable. When winter arrives the ants will go bye bye and the ice melt will take their place.

Now that's a surface I can eat off of.

Lunchtime!

Day 36 - Old Food? Be Gone

I can officially say I've been through every single cabinet in my kitchen. The cabinets have been scrubbed inside and out. Even the things in the cabinets are looking pretty darn good. 

As we don't have a dishwasher (other than the one named Ed) things in there weren't as sparkly as they should have been. But they are now. I've washed by hand every single dish, bowl, plate, cup, piece of silverware, pot, pan, and everything in between. 

As I was going through the food storage area, I started finding not everything there was as sparkly as it should be, either. Because they were long expired.

The vegetable oil expired in 2017. Good bye. We weren't using you anyway.

Orange Jello expiring in 2016. I guess we don't use you, either.

Hard to see, but our stew seasoning mix expired in 2014. Oops.

Even harder to see, but our chili seasoning mix expired in 2012. Double oops.

Old food, be gone!

Day 35 - Behind the Shed

Today I took Ed behind the shed and I:
A. gave him a kiss.
B. beat the crap out of him.
C. hosed him down.
D. cut his hair.

The correct answer is D. (Although after being cooped up so long with him I probably would have enjoyed going all Fight Club on him.)

Since we both wear our hair very short, we usually get haircuts every month. Like everyone else now, we can’t get out to get it cut. Unfortunately for us we were already a month behind before COVID-19 closed everything down. February was skipped as we were cruising that month. Then when we were ready to get our cuts in March our place had already closed. While I did give Ed a cut last month, he was already itching for another.

Since the weather is a bit better, it was an outdoor haircut. Behind the shed, in the sun, in the gravel. The clippers buzzed and he came away with a decent haircut. I even got brave enough to shave my head, too.  While not perfect, it’ll work. Not like I have anyone to impress.

Doing our cuts back-to-back and having our clumps of hair next to each other gave me a chance to prove I’m not the gray haired one in the family. Mr. Old Man is clearly more salt than pepper these days.

Young versus old behind the shed.