springtime, plus a couple "steals" and deals!

Since my last post, Spring has turned her back on our part of the Midwest. The mornings are now filled with quick bursts of cold air, icy rain, and slate gray clouds continue to hide any blue that's surely hidden behind them.  

The lilac bush by the garden has given us just a few blooms. Monday I snipped several of them to enjoy indoors, fearing that once again temperatures would dip below freezing and they would be gone for another year.

I found some vintage aerial photos and it looks like the lilac is about 50 years old...does anyone have tips or hints for helping lilacs produce more blooms each year?

In the few days that were actually spring-like, it was wonderful to be outdoors enjoying fresh air and dazzling sunlight. Compulsive activity had me starting with the chicken coop - which, I have to say, I don't recall ever being so messy! I put on my headphones and an apron, found the broom, shovel, and wheel barrow, and then filled a bucket with hot, soapy water. When I was finally done, I felt the need to get a little creative, so I rearranged the run to give them a little dust bath area, along with some logs and branches for a "playground." Clever ideas can be found online, but I decided to skip hanging a chandelier...which truly was in so many coops. What do you think, am I dismissing it too quickly... I have an old one...maybe I should reconsider?

Well, that's the springtime in my post, now for the "steals" and deals...

My cold frames are alongside the chicken run and I've found it's just the right spot for a couple of those old, springy, metal chairs. There's a simple pleasure in sitting there as the day ends, with the twinkle of fairy lights and sounds of nature. 

Each year I pull out those retro chairs, with their chippy layers of multicolored paint from all of the owners before me. They were a steal at a flea market ages ago, just a few dollars each. Every spring I look at them and try to decide if I should sand and paint them...maybe even sandblast them so they look new. And then each year I decide not to...there's just something about them I love. They're still springy, and the layers of paint just seem to tell a mid-century story.

  

I thought I'd take a look online and see if I could find a couple more to add to the little seating area, and so:

Look what I found...better yet

LOOK
AT
THE 
PRICE

$4,320 for the pair...chippy paint and all.

Hmmm, I'm thinking I won't ever sand or paint mine (I wonder if they found a buyer?)

A few days later, at a sweet little shop in a nearby town, I found two more retro metal chairs for $8.50 each! The lady was anxious to get rid of them because of their rust, and asked me what color I was going to paint them. 

My reply?

"I'm not afraid of a little rust!"

My last "steal" for today, a zinc-topped table I've had my eye on. When the time comes, I'd like to re-do the kitchen in the old "unfitted" style, using freestanding cupboards instead of built in cabinets. I love the look of the dark blue-gray zinc patina and I learned that zinc has anti-bacterial properties making it a great surface for food prep - it was ideal for my kitchen dream!

A few days later I was back at the same little shop the yellow chairs came from, and decided to ask the price - it was unmarked. Because it had been there a long time she wanted to get rid of it...she asked me if $30 dollars was too much. 

I brought it home - happy dance!

On-line I found similar tables ranging anywhere from:

$295 - $800

The stars were aligned...what luck, and I couldn't be happier.

Soon I'll show you what I did with a freebie chair and old window box, and then tell you the story of a mini greenhouse that makes my heart happy.

Enjoy the week friends...