Ugly Duckling Makeover

I found this hideous gameboard at the thrift store. I almost walked right by it, but something told me that there was still hope for this ugly duckling. After all, it was only 75 cents, so I didn't have much to lose.

I started by sanding the board all over to make it easier to paint.

Then I painted all the blue squares black and painted the background cream.

Next I painted the board red. It took 3 coats. Two were burgundy and the top coat was barn red. The last thing was to stencil stars, black and cream, all over the board.

Then I placed it on top of my china hutch along with my other thrift store treasures including, Pfaltzgraff dishes, chippy paint birdhouse, and large mirror.

I would say it was 75 cents well spent.

Blessings.

As the deer panteth..

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.-- Psalms 42:1

Blessings to you on this Palm Sunday.

Freezing Fog and the promise of spring

Last month we awakened to find that freezing fog had descended upon our little farm. It may be the most unusual weather phenomenon of all. It covers almost everything with a fine coat of ice which looks like a heavy frost, but different. Each tiny ice crystal seems to freeze individually, stacking up on top of each other. What amazes me most is how they appear to defy gravity. I can't even find the words to describe how they build on top of each other. You will have to enlarge the photo of the leaves to see what I am poorly attempting to describe.

While the freezing fog may be beautiful to look at, it is treacherous to drive in. That is why I am happy to say that I think winter may be done here. Woo-hoo!! The snow has finally, completely melted. This is a glorious day. We have had snow on the ground here in our little corner of the prairie since December 1st, 2009. The craziest thing is that the weather is not supposed to be like that here, because I don't live that far north. It just so happens that I moved to this area just in time to experience two of the coldest winters in more than a century.

I am pretty sure it is over though. I actually heard some birds singing when I was walking the dog. The dog was so surprised that she just stopped and looked to see where the birds were at. Then we both just stood in the field for a few minutes quietly enjoying the hint of spring's sweetness whispering to us. I can hardly wait for the beautiful wildflowers and grasses to return to the prairie. But for now, I will just settle for seeing the sunshine peeking through the curtains beckoning me to return outside, because it holds a promise that the fields will spring to life again soon.