Finally...Christmas Decor at the Cabin

Finally made it to the cabin this past Saturday to put up a little holiday decor just for fun...actually because I was really missing the cabin and didn't want it to be lonely during the holidays!  No matter that it has been without holiday decor for most of its 73 years...I bonded with the place during the two years I lived there...so it was up the canyon on a whirlwind, single-handed rustic holiday staging event.  I had dog walking duty at 9 a.m. and again at 6:30 p.m. and it takes about 40 minutes to drive each way.  I would have enjoyed a more leisurely approach...I felt as if I were going down a checklist and marking things off...

Thing One...Load the car, including my boon companions, P.E. and P.E...Polar Express and Panda Express...

I found them the first time I went to the Golden Community Garage Sale in Golden, Colorado, in the fall of 2010, if I recall correctly, so the cabin was their first home after they were donated and turned up at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.  They wouldn't miss a trip to the cabin!

Thing Two...After unlocking the cabin and unloading the car, check the temperature...

Thing Three...Start a fire...

...where there's smoke...took awhile to get this hunk of cast iron warmed up so it would draw...

Thing Four...Check to see how things had fared in my absence...Obviously some high winds...this picnic table bench ended up in the neighboring meadow...

...I thought if water could expand up when it froze, it wouldn't break the container...Wrong!  Riven.

Thing Five...Check for signs of wildlife...No signs of mice inside...outside the neighbors had turned over the fox dish and put it back under this bench...the foxes had left their standard "thank you" even though there was no food...

...I don't know if they do this to mark their food or really do acknowledge the hand-out, but I righted the bowl and filled it with kibble before I left...

Thing Six...Go for a walk, visit the creek and cut greens...OK.  More than one thing...I'm multi-tasking at this point...Love this footbridge and bench in the background...

 ...and these patterns that freeze in the ice...

 ...Just a bit of open water...

I went off trail, cut from the bottom and made sure there wasn't a cabin in the immediate vicinity...

...On the way back to the cabin, the wind came up and it started snowing lightly...

By the time I got back, the ice in the water in our makeshift reservoir was melting.  Most wood stoves used to have a water reservoir attached to the side away from the firebox as a ready source of hot water, but they always collected mineral deposits and eventually rusted out, so it's hard to find an antique wood stove today that has a reservoir and this pan serves the purpose...

The two bears were enjoying the view...

Thing Seven...Put on some Christmas music...

Thing Eight...Eat lunch...

I brought chicken soup, oyster crackers, some cheese and an apple.  This Nissan brand thermos I bought at Goodwill for $2.99 really kept the soup hot.  The remaining soup was still steaming when I got back to the apartment...

Thing Nine...Start decorating!  I had seen this clever Christmas tree made out of galvanized containers on Laura's blog, Finding Home lauraputnam@citlink.net via google.com...



...This woman is so clever.  You really need to visit her blog if you've never enjoyed it.  When I saw this photo I realized I had everything I needed at the cabin to make my own little "knock-off"...

...I interspersed my galvanized containers with some of the greenery boughs I had just cut, hung my upholstery webbing vertically and tucked in some Christmas ornaments.  This is in the middle of the kitchen table...It doesn't meet the criteria for a well-designed centerpiece...one low enough you can see over it or high enough you can see under it, but it sure looks cute...

Here are some of the other little holiday touches I quickly tucked here and there...Two canvas cats in a birch bark sleigh...

...the cabin gnome about which I blogged last post.  Very out of focus.  Sometimes I wonder about myself.  I had about ten shots of the cats and took only one of this guy...He is without stache.  If anyone thinks he looked better with it, I'll have to take it and the glue gun with me next time I go to the cabin.  It's currently lying on my kitchen counter here at the apartment!  I love the fact that his boots are super heavy so he sits very well balanced wherever you want to position him.

 A metal "Welcome" bear sign...

An outsized moose ornament hanging from the old canary cage hanger...

  

A throw I bought two years ago in Mount Ayr, Iowa... Looks holiday cute on the rocker...and doesn't go too badly with the colors in the pillow...Got the little stockings in Golden...

A little cardinal in a ski hat tucked among greenery in a Scotch plaid bottle carrier...A bit of North American wildlife!...

Some tea cup ornaments and an Eiffel Tower tag hung from the twiggy branches of a lamp base...

...A quick greenery and pine cone arrangement in a little sleigh that has a Scandinavian look...

Another greenery and pine cone arrangement with some faux berries in a small copper pot...

...This was supposed to be one of the surprises, the galvanized Christmas "tree" being the first, but I chickened out....

I had thought it would be really fun to put these lights on a timer and have them come on for a few hours in the evening as if someone were still living in the cabin.  I had budgeted for a single string of brand new cool LED lights and after pricing a timer at Michael's at around $9, stumbled across an identical timer at Savers and bought it, I think, for  $1.99.  I had an industrial strength extension cord at the cabin for my power tools, so thought I'd feel comfortable having these lights plugged in.  Then I found there were no instructions with the timer and I couldn't figure out how it worked.  Then I read the instructions for the lights which, of course, advised not to leave them unattended and stressed that nothing, including fabric, should be put over them.  To be safe, I thought I'd have to take the curtains down and my family has always kept the windows covered for security purposes when we're not there.  I finally decided I was literally playing with fire and unplugged the lights before I left....still a fun thought.

Whew!  Done!  It seemed as if the hours had really passed quickly...I decided I should start back about 5:30 p.m.  By the time I got everything cleaned up and the car loaded, the clocks in the cabin read 5:45 p.m.  Then I got in the car, looked at the car clock and realized I'd been operating on  "Cabin Time"!  I hadn't been back to the cabin since the autumn time change and had lost an hour the minute I stepped inside.  It was only 4:45 p.m.  

I got caught up in the traffic leaving the ski area, then we all got caught up in a stately procession led by an RTD bus, which apparently had become disabled halfway down the canyon then had been set right by a tiny tow truck.  There was the bus, followed by the tow truck, followed by two cars, then me, then everyone who had been skiing.  We snaked our way down the mountain at a steady 40 mph, but I got back in good time to get the car unloaded and take Kooky for his walk at 6:30 p.m.

What a day!  But I'm glad I did it.  I think the cabin is happy and I know I'm happy thinking about it adorned for Christmas...and if the angels from Connecticut are seeking a staging area before going on, I can vouch for this place as a safe haven....a little heaven on earth...and they're welcome.  Teddee

Playing and Planning

I've been playing animal umpire the past few days, trying to "feed up" the skin-and-bones nursing female fox who is getting almost too comfortable around the cabin or is so hungry she's throwing caution to the winds and playing with fate around the dogs whose owners allow them to run loose...

She seems confident she can outrun all of the dogs and really plays with Dixie's head, seemingly aware that Dixie's missing hind leg leaves her at a disadvantage, walking to within a few feet of her, jogging away just fast enough to keep in front of her if Dixie tries to give chase.

Yesterday morning when I got up and pulled back the curtain on the west window the fox was was lying in the yard waiting for me to get up and provide food, which I did.  She was enjoying the fact that Dixie and her running mate Jimmy...

...were nowhere around.  Dixie's owners had left her with me until 10:30 p.m. Saturday night--I'd closed up shop and turned off all the lights but my reading light thinking they'd just decided to let her stay all night when they finally showed up to claim her.  I guess for that reason they decided to keep Dixie and Jimmy in yesterday even though it was a nice day.  So the only dog we had to contend with was Apollo who lives across the road to the east...

I'm surprised the fox doesn't have an ulcer, being in fight or flight mode at all times, but she seems to be an escape artist.  Apollo keeps her on her toes, sometimes coming around the north side of the cabin, sometimes the south, and I'll hear the skittering of nails and claws on the wooden deck, barking pulling away into the distance and shortly Apollo comes back, panting, tongue lolling.  I keep my fingers crossed and eventually the fox returns when she thinks the coast is clear, having worked off most of the calories I've fed her, ready to eat again.  So we go along.

I'm planning, if these winds quit, to complete a project I started last week.  When I was cleaning out the woodshed trying to dig out my summer tires, I came across a plastic bag in which I'd stored two generous lengths of oilcloth I'd bought last year at Goodwill for $1.99 each that I want to use on the picnic table and benches this summer...

Last year I used a plain beige and white check...

I managed to get the table and one bench covered before I left to spend the month of July with my brother and his family in Tacoma, thinking my sister and her husband were coming to Colorado, only to find out after I arrived in Tacoma that my brother-in-law was having a heart valve transplant and they wouldn't be coming.  I never got the other two benches covered and now the oilcloth I put on last summer looks like this...

...and this...

...the severe weather here in the mountains and the ultraviolet light are very damaging, and I really need something to cover the wood and prevent injury from splinters...

I got a square of oilcloth cut for the table top last week so can proceed as soon as the weather cooperates.  My thermometer is climbing toward 60F degrees, but with an overnight low of 30F degrees and wind gusts of up to 26 mph this morning, it has seemed chilly.  Perhaps I can get out this afternoon.

I actually did something rather thoughtful last fall when I stored the oilcloth.  I put the hummingbird feeders in the same sack! 

Thinking all the time.  With the quixotic weather we've had this spring, I'm not sure when the hummingbirds will return, but am looking forward to it.  In the spring it's their call based on the meadow flowers starting to bloom I suppose.  In the fall, we are cautioned at this altitude to put all of the hummingbird food away after Labor Day because we can get freak snowstorms that will freeze the birds in their sleep at night.  If we remove the food source, they are forced to move to lower altitudes to find food and, hopefully, won't get caught by a cold snap. 

It's hard to do because they are feeding at their most frenzied at that point getting ready for the long trek south and I feel terrible removing the feeders.  They line up like jets waiting for clearance to land.  I think I see five in this photo, counting that one in the distance...


Here there are four feeding, or trying to, simultaneously...

They can get pretty aggressive with each other.  Here's a more bucolic photo...

...something to look forward to.

What are you looking forward to this summer?  Teddee

Well, That Was Neat

When Dixie and I got back from our outing today, the fox was relaxing in the front yard waiting for our return just like a domestic pet.  Of course, I was so taken aback that I forgot to take any photos.  I drove about halfway in toward the cabin and she wasn't even afraid of the car.  I kept Dixie shut in the car and fed the fox, but the dog Apollo from across the road east came over after a bit, scared her away and ate one of the chicken drumsticks I'd put out for her.  She'd eaten one and I salvaged the other before he ate it.  I'll put it out later tonight after people have taken their dogs in.

I've found that raw eggs in the shell work great because the dogs don't know what to do with them. The fox carries them off, so I guess she's breaking into them and sucking the egg out just like she would if she got into a chicken house. 

I did get some photos earlier in the day.  We had this much snow overnight and although it was over 40F degrees this morning, the wind was really blowing and it was cold...

After I'd done my stint on the computer and Dixie and I had our breakfast...

...I'm calling this photo "My Skillet!"  I let her clean the scrambled eggs out of this pan or try to.  I'd run out of Pam so they really stuck and she'd finally given up and was just enjoying the heat from the stove...we piled in the car and went to Boulder and Lafayette.

I hadn't planned to go down because I didn't think Goodwill was having a 50% off sale today--I hadn't received my usual e-mail--and I had promised myself no more thrifting this month, but I wasn't in the mood to be kept prisoner in the cabin because of the winds, so put Dixie in the car and headed down. 

Rock climbing is a big sport here and anytime the weather permits, there will be climbers all over the rocks in the canyon.  Today I pulled over and took some photos.

I couldn't see anything in my viewfinder, so was interested to see what I'd managed to capture.  I played around with the contrast and color on the computer and can't get anything better than this.  Next time I'll spend more time and make better use of my 5x magnification.

I first went to Savers in Boulder because I have another filled punch card for 30% off, but found absolutely nothing.  I didn't even stop at the Boulder Goodwill, thinking there wasn't a sale, and drove east, not really knowing what my destination was, but ended up turning south to Lafayette and the Goodwill there.  I discovered just as I was leaving, having only found one top, that everything was 50% off.  No big signs in the windows of any of their stores, just little signs on top of the racks.  I wonder what has prompted the change?  At any rate, since I'm having so much trouble finding a market for my small decor items, I'm now in the market for furniture with doors and drawers for the cabin to replace some of the things that are here now.  I can't fit anything very big in my car.  I had seen and rejected this piece because it was $30. 

After I realized things were half off, I returned to the back of the store and got it.  I haven't decided exactly where it will go--since it has a place for a rod, probably replace the shelf over the wash stand-- but wherever it ends up, those drawers will come in handy.

Now I need a really skinny chest with fairly deep drawers for sheets and towels to go between the end of the bunk and the hide-a-bed I'm keeping.

Do you have storage challenges?  Teddee

Errands and Projects

I felt so tired and achy yesterday I thought I must be getting the flu, but awoke feeling OK, so decided I would prepare some things to take to Wild West Mercantile in Rollinsville, which had been closed yesterday anyway.  Since I had never heard back from the proprietor I thought he must have decided to accept what I'd taken in for consignment a few weeks ago. 

I took photos of everything and left the tags on showing the prices the various thrift stores had put on them like so...

The owner's assistant had indicated the last time that they would appreciate guidance on how to price things and I had removed the price tags from the few things I had taken that day.  His prices are high by my standards so I told her I didn't think underpricing would be an issue and I'd leave it up to him.  I'm not out to make a killing. My retail philosophy, if I had my own shop, would be to provide a fun, inexpensive shopping experience while making just a bit of profit.  I enjoy the hunt, and since I'm consigning, I'd probably be happy just to get my purchase price plus a little to cover my mileage.  I think I'd mentioned in a previous post that when I took the first lot of items to the store, I was told the owner didn't want anything he couldn't price at at least $50.  That seems excessive to me.  I think mixing in more inexpensive items would attract more customers. 

It's not as if the store is in Boulder on the 28th Street Mall.  Here is "downtown" Rollinsville.  A view looking west. 

Wild West Mercantile is the dark brown building in the left foreground.  The Stage Stop is a restaurant and bar. 

Here's a view looking east...the Stage Stop and the requisite liquor store.  And that's pretty much it.

When I arrived today,  The Wild West's owner, once again, was not in.  His assistant said she didn't think he'd put out anything from the last lot I'd brought in and she wasn't willing to take anything else until I talked to him.  She said she'd ask him to phone me tomorrow morning, so I'm looking forward to hearing from him.  It's only about eight miles from the cabin so wasn't a big deal.

Here's one of the items I'm undecided about consigning if it ever comes to pass.  I bought this hanging candle holder (at left below) at Goodwill on a 50% off Saturday.  I'd removed the price tag and can't recall what I paid for it. 

When I selected it I thought it was orange glass, but the customer behind me in the checkout line pointed out that the paint was peeling.  I decided I liked it enough to go ahead and get it, scrub the paint out of it and try a paint technique I'd seen on line that was supposed to replicate the look of mercury glass.

Today I tried the paint technique, and although it didn't turn out to look like mercury glass, I rather like it.  You spritz the inside of any clear glass container with water then spray the inside with Krylon Looking Glass Paint. 

 
I had the same problem with the lid on this Krylon paint as I had on the last can I used...

Even when they were metal, I detested these lids that require the user to insert a screw driver into the slot to pry them off.  Now that the lids are plastic, they don't work at all.  I think I'm going to write Krylon and inquire why they continue to put this type of lid on their spray paint. 

Here is the finished product...

I am not a fearful person, but do have an almost obsessive concern about setting the cabin on fire, especially after the cabin across the way caught fire in the summer of 2010, so I'm using battery powered candles. I used several for the photo.  It might be even more dramatic with a real candle.

What projects have you worked on recently?  Teddee