Painted Floorcloth Class

Painted canvas rugs had their beginnings as cloth game boards, playing cards, and table covers as far back as the 1400s.  Until the 1700s textiles were considered too precious to be used on floors.  Indeed, most homes had floors of either tamped earth or unvarnished wood and were generally left bare.  In the 18^th century, “floorcloth” was a generic term that referred to a carpet substitute of wool, flax linen, or cotton and went by many names.  By the middle of the 19^th century, floorcloths were referred to as oil cloths.  Linoleum and a growing taste for area rugs caused floorcloths to fall from favor.  In the 1920s they were advertised as stove oil cloths for use where ashes and grease could damage other floor coverings. 

I’ve had a floorcloth at the entrance to my home for several years with no maintenance except for vacuuming.  With three large dogs who rush the door multiple times a day, it has held up surprisingly well.  Although it could now use a replacement if only I could decide upon the design I'd like to use LOL 

Yesterday we had a class here and had so much fun!  We took the size back down to the table and completed a small rug that may be used as a placemat, table mat for the center of a table, or game board.  The key to a floorcloth is thinking layers and thinking from the bottom up. 

Here are Laura, Jennie, and Kristen trying to decide on the background color for their rugs.  So many colors - which one shall I pick?

 

And Jennie hard at work trying to figure out her new camera.

 

Jennie’s beautiful basket floorcloth before she finished antiquing it.

 

Kristen looking well satisfied with her fabulous mod design.

 

Laura antiquing her wonderful birdie in a nest folkart floorcloth.

 

And here is mine – it hasn’t told me yet that it is finished…and yes, of course it’s out of the box – I don’t know how to do IN the box LOLOLOL 

 

What a fun day!

Reds - Good Ones and Maybe I Shouldn't Have Done That Ones!

There are good reds and then there are reds that you might regret later.  Hmmmm...let's see,

Vintage red child's booster chair?  GOOD!

Red coffee pot?  GOOD!

Vintage metal cup trimmed in red?  GOOD!

Red heart angel?  GOOD!

Red bloom on Japanese maple?  GOOD!

Red polka dots on door angel?  GOOD!

Painting a wall in a bedroom red?  MAYBE NOT SO GOOD!

Shown after one coat of Kilz2 guaranteed to cover.

Can you say two to three coats might cover?  LOLOLOLOLOLOL

A Little Bit of This.......

and a little bit of that.  Everything seems to be growing - yea!  I might be setting a Jill record this year - I think it's the longest I've kept this much alive (and weed free) LOLOLOL  The dinosaur kale came up last week. 

Stonecrop went into my typewriter since I couldn't find chicks and hens at the nursery. And wonderful Mexican petunias behind it - this is the first time I've tried them and they are loaded with buds.

A purple plant of some sort in the pot on the porch. Of course I didn't keep that tag and can't remember the name of it.  Lucy is gazing longingly out the door and you can probably see doggy nosies on the glass too LOL

And marigolds around St. Francis - if that darned solar lantern doesn't work so well then the marigolds may be bright enough to light the way LOL Hubby does like yard art! Oh and my daughter brought me three Mexican sunflower bushes. Something that somehow found it's way into her garden last year and is really fabulous in full bloom. One heavy stalk just full of small sunflower blooms.

I planted some herbs last weekend - Tabor thyme, rue, marjoram Gold Tip, sweet marjoram, tricolor sage, Greek oregano, and Boxwood basil. Lots more basil to get this weekend and hopefully will be able to find some lemon verbena. My last batch grew wonderfully for two years and then died out.

I hope you have a lovely rest of the week and a wonderful Easter weekend!

 

Peas and Carrots, Oh My!

As I sit here with zuchinni/banana/pineapple/pecan muffins scenting the air, feeling a little puny today (I can't be catching anything because I have to teach four days this week), maybe I need to eat my peas and carrots!  Well they aren't quite there yet but they ARE growing - and not a weed in sight - yea!!!

No peas and carrots on the menu for dinner tonight but I did make it to the international farmer's market today and have fresh filled pasta, corn on the cob, pole beans, and mushrooms in mind (oh and one of those muffins) - yum!

What a beautiful weekend we've had in Georgia - sunny, breezy, and in the 70s - just right.

A Giveaway

OK we have a winner(s).  I truly appreciate everyone's guesses - I wouldn't have gotten it right if I hadn't already known what it was LOL  Here in Georgia starting right about now and lasting until about the beginning of June, we have yellow pollen so thick on our cars, yards, porches, and anything outside that it changes the colors totally.  I think if I went out in my yard and stood there for an hour I'd be covered LOLOLOL  That picture was a closeup of a portion of the hood of my car about one hour after I got home from North Carolina yesterday.  And it rained and cleaned my car on the way up and way home.  So you can imagine what that car looks like today!  LOL  I think the ring you see in the middle might be a reflection of my camera lens.  Because the two Debby/Debbie's fought the valiant guessing game with such good guesses, they both win.  Debby will win the bird pictured.  Debbie will win another birdy that I hope she likes just as well.  And for good measure I'm sending Linda a little surprise too.  So I'll email you and I'll need you to send me your snail mail addys.  Thanks for playing!

Bwahahahahahahahaha!  Nope, not giving away what's in the picture.  But it IS a clue.  Whoever guesses right first in comments, wins a little prize from me. 

I made some sweet birds and this one will go to the winner.   Hand sewn and embroidered with vintage lace, buttons, tinsel, and pipe cleaners and a really cool bead.

So come on people - make those comments!

Third Time's The Charm???

And so she tries again.  First year had a handful of beans and a few tomatoes, lots of peppers (which I don't eat - at least the hot ones) and little else.  Second year a few cherry tomatoes, more peppers, and pretty much nothing else.  This year I'm bound and determined that I'll have something to show for my garden!  Yard boy made a raised bed container

out of the top of an old picnic table and some pressed wood (which probably won't last one season but we'll see). Two more made of pallets will be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks (I hope).  I mixed and mixed and mixed bags of mushroom compost, potting soil, vermiculite, bullshit steer manure, and peat moss - nice light soil.

And then I planted. Onions yesterday - sweet Georgia yellow. And today nasturtiums, peas, and carrots. Of course I can't just plant the regular types of things - have to be those fancy schmancy seeds from Seed Savers. The carrots look like radishes on the package and are called Paris Market - oui oui. The peas are called Tom Thumb and evidently are very small - the plants that is. The nasturtiums are called Ladybird and should be very pretty if they grow - nice looking in salads.

So...after all that planting I decided that they should have some water. Nice wet water...wait for it...where were the seed packets with the rest of the seeds in them???  Oh yes, folded over ever so nicely and sitting right up against the end of the raised bed.  Uhm hum...got nicely watered too.  Luckily not so wet that I couldn't pour them out of the bags into nice dry plastic bags.  LOL

Hope that's not an omen of things to come (or not come as it may be) LOLOLOL

Shake, Dump, and Throw

I often take meals up to my step-father’s home to put in the freezer and of course I label them. Weeks later I’ll get a phone call asking for a recipe and because I’m a “shake, dump and throw (SDT)” sort of chef, I’m usually unable to tell him what he ate LOL


Last night I made an SDT chicken that was really delicious so I’m sharing the recipe here while I still remember it. Please note that the measures are approximate – I just usually SDT until it looks right.


6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon dried basil
Small box white mushrooms
2 leeks
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar


Heat extra virgin olive oil in oven-proof skillet. Add chicken thighs and salt and pepper them. Let them brown at least five minutes especially if you aren’t using a non-stick pan (otherwise they will stick). In the meantime, slice cleaned mushrooms and chop leeks (if you’ve never used leeks before, only use the bottom white/light green part – the dark green leaves make great compost but are tough as nails; cut them in half lengthwise and rinse between the layers really well – they may be full of sand – then slice across the halves into narrow slices). Turn the chicken thighs over and give them about three more minutes to brown on the other side. Remove from pan onto plate. Add mushrooms, leeks, and spices to the pan and sauté until the leeks are slightly translucent. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir in. Turn off the heat and put the chicken back into the pan on top of the veggies. Put into a 350 oven uncovered for about 25-30 minutes. Enjoy!