Author: ModFruGal

SO…..

….I went to the flea market at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds this weekend.  I’ve never seen SO many people there before…I guess with all the rain, everyone had cabin fever and decided to bundle up and head out.

globes at flea

vintage christmas at flea

I was toodling along, and just as I turned the corner past the mule barn…

mule barn at flea

I saw them….

the letters at flea

I loved them, but did I really need them?  I hadn’t seen everything yet, SO I kept walking…and found myself back in front of them 20 minutes later.  I walked on again to check out the last building I hadn’t been in….when I saw something SO rad…..

I was in love….driven to distraction.  The stag horn sheep I never knew I wanted.  What I didn’t want was the price.

I really couldn’t haggle since I was only willing to pay less than half that…can’t be a TOTAL ass….

SO…..I marched back over to the letters and decided that it was destiny they should still have an “s” and “o”, since I’m a blatant over-user of the word “SO”.  Haggled to $60, which was still too much…but, since I couldn’t have that stag horn…

Third time’s a charm.

UPDATE:  Thing Two thought it was “50”…. anticlimactic, no?

Avian Obsession

While both my fawn love and avian obsession have been mentioned before..I’ve also long loved maps and atlases.  One of our favorite wedding presents was a big, new National Geographic atlas.  I can still sit with it for days on end.

My point is… British artist, Claire Brewster, has managed to combine two of my favorite things...although not for sale. I might have to steal this idea for some bird silhouettes of my own.  Handcut from atlas pages…she creates beautiful, intricate creatures and objects.  You go girl.

redthroathummingbird claire brewster

11.4.09   UPDATE!!!  Apparently her work IS for sale….contact her via the link above!

Redneck Modern

neckin out

I’ve had a wonderful pair of original Marcel Breuer “Wassily” chairs for many years now.  These in particular have a personal and special history for us, but the Crafty Counterpart has always found them a little uncomfortable. Give him an “E” for effort… He dyed and sewed new leather to replace the missing straps himself..but alas…still, not quite right.  Especially in the winter, the cold chrome freezes his legs and back (yes, they are vintage, so worn, sagging leather makes the chrome contact possible).

I guess now is as good a time as any to just go ahead and call us the redneck modernists…I did the unthinkable…I covered the gorgeous architecture that is a Wassily chair with a big honkin’ sheepskin. Bertoias are one thing..you can’t sit on waffle weave metal without waffling your ass uncomfortably…these are supposed be exempt from such ridiculous behavior….

fur frenzy on the breuers

Gotta love daytime shots with last nights wine glasses…pathetic.

If you’ve been reading, you know that, at times, I am willing to sacrifice form for function, because…oh, I want to stay married for starters.  This was one of those times.  I’ve never seen the CC so freakin’ excited about those chairs until the skins arrived….just in time for our first winter weather weekend.  As we sat in front of the first autumn fire in our bedroom, we chillaxed…and every time I looked over, he had this big grin and said…”These are SO comfortable now.”  Huh!

If Edith and Archie Bunker were redneck modernists…these would be their chairs..no meatheads allowed.

fire time

(Not) Shi**ng my Pants

big wall

more big wall

So…the wall/s….were looking WAY bigger than the Plan dictated.  I was a bit scared and freaked out, but I’ve been hangin’ with these guys for awhile now and I watch how they work..they seem to get it, know their stuff and best yet..are good communicators.  Inspection time for sourced out jobs is most revealing when the crew have knocked off for the day and there’s still good daylight to see what the day has brought.

The day this wall was built had me a little unnerved, but I knew Rodger was with me…I watched as they shot the laser levels to make sure the grade was within centimeters of the plan…but it just looks SO BIG.  It measured out accurately, but I envisioned the bottom step area more open, more welcoming,  than the previous “rotten wall of go away” Just as I began to worry…I am reassured the following morning…..”all these tall blocks…they’ll be cut down at a sloping angle to act as a handrail to follow code”…and to be less visually intrusive. “Phew..I was a wee bit concerned.” Heh.  Nah..I didn’t need an extra glass of wine last night..I was cool.  Rock on Rodger.

See, I knew these boys were on my team.  It may look bizarre and scary now, but I’m keeping the faith with my dudes.  I’m imagining the final, SMALLER product… rendered in tinted concrete and filled with zen modern plantings…..and in the end…I just want to finally sit under my Sugar Maple without being smack dab in the middle of a termite eaten snake pit.  It’s all good.

eyes on the prize - sugar maple

Staycation

So, by the luckiest of lucky wild and rare wonderfulness that is my lot when it comes to the following scenario….WE GOT A 5 DAY STAYCATION……WITHOUT THE MINORS.  You can’t possibly know (or maybe you can) how thrilling this is.

dr_seuss_thing1_thing2_plaque

Thing One and Thing Two have gone to spend fall break with their grandparents.  It will be like before we had them…back when we could sheetrock, mud and paint a whole room in one weekend….really…remember that?!!!  I could build an entire zen garden….I could….WAIT!!!  Slow the hell down.  Let’s get realistic.  Maybe we can just paint the playroom and…what?! Crafty Counterpart wants to resupport all the roof beams in the attic?  Now?!  During the STAYCATION?  But, but….it’s not fun…or pretty….it’s...important and that makes it all business….like school.  Ack! We’ll see how the compromise works out….Things WILL be accomplished…just which things is TBD….

Hog Wild

So, the upper deck at the front door will remain, but all around it will be different.  The access will be moved to the driveway side and the heavy railings will be replaced, hopefully, with something like you see below.  These are hog panels…yeah, I know…my own pig pen!

The panels run, on average, $20 each.   I love the idea of these budget railings since they can be DIYed easily.  The owners of this house took all the photos below….with more here.  A great solution that I hope to steal once the mudfest subsides.  I’m thinking we’ll probably stain the wood which will (hopefully) add to the look.

hog panel railingtexas plathouse rails