Faux Blue And White Enamelware

Now, does this look like the real thing to you? ~

It's not!  I broke my ceramic compost bucket, which was a great relief to me.  It looked good but was heavy and hard to clean.  That meant I could go back to the convenient metal one with a removable liner that washed up like a dream.  The problem with the metal one was that is was really, really ugly.

I forgot to take a before picture so here it is upside down and already spray painted white on the far side. ~

It's a Homesense item that I think I bought for $7.  I taped off the wooden handles and spray painted it with white enamel.  It was a definite improvement over the orange but boring.  I was rummaging around the craft room and found a can of dark blue enamel spray paint.  Inspiration stuck!

I taped a plastic bag over everything but the rolled rim at the top and gave the rim a couple of coats of the dark blue.

A little distressing on the handles (done with a metal pot scraper because that was easier than hunting around for sandpaper) and it looks pretty authentic. ~

There is a hook on the side of this bucket for a scoop so I guess it was intended to be a flour canister. I decided to hang a rustic tag from it instead.

Some simple materials and a stamp set and I'm good to go. ~

I've never stamped before and sure need to work on my technique! ~

  

Okay crafters, how do you stop the ink from getting on the edges of the stamp?  HELP!

Now, I'm eyeballing every piece of metal I come across to see if I can turn it into enamelware!

I'm sharing this with Make It Pretty Monday, Tweak It Tuesday, What's It Wednesday, C ottage Style Party, From Dream To Reality, Tuesdays With A Twist, Show Me What Ya Got, Create It Thursday, Time For A Party, Anything Blue Friday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Open House Party, Party Junk, From The Farm Blog Hop, Inspire Me Monday
The HomeAcre Hop, Freaking Awesome Fridays, Wow Us Wednesdays

Simplicity And Autumn Colours

It was a glorious autumn day in Ontario and would have been a sin to waste the warmth and sunshine by staying indoors.

The muted shades of grasses going to seed and bare earth in the denuded gardens, contrasting with the brilliant colours of  autumn leaves, inspired me to bring a touch of that feeling indoors.

Clippers in hand, I wandered the yard and cut snippets of what could really be considered weeds. ~

A tall vase and some sand is the base for a simple arrangement of grass plumes, a weathered stick and a strand of Virginia creeper.  A little bird perches on the vine.

I thought this height was perfect against the old, chippy door in the family room. ~

Unfortunately, the whole thing was a bit too tippy with two crazy kittens hurling themselves at the vine and had to migrate to the sideboard. ~

I promise to get back to all the indoor painting I'm supposed to be doing, unless the sun shines again tomorrow!

Quick, Cheap & Easy Crackers

Avoiding packaged foods has presented a few challenges over the last year.  Crackers is one of them. Company drops in and you just want to whip out some cheese and crackers.  I've been meaning to find an acceptable substitute and, when my sister said her husband didn't want to give up his saltines with soup, I figured I'd better get on it and maybe we can convert him.

This was so quick and easy to do and tasted just as good after being frozen.  

I picked up a loaf of day old french bread for $1 and sliced it into very thin rounds. ~

Brush the slices with olive oil and herbs.  I used the pesto I had made from extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, sea salt, pepper and basil.  Those little, frozen cubes of pesto are a true kitchen lifesaver! To find out how to make and freeze pesto click here. Grate a little Parmesan cheese on top if the mood strikes you.

Spread the bread slices out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and put under a preheated broiler.  I did mine on the toast/broil setting in a toaster oven and they were done in 6 minutes.  ~

You don't want to over bake them.  Just as they are getting a golden sheen and are a little crisp is the perfect time to take them out of the oven.  Otherwise, they'll be as hard as those jaw breaking mini toasts they sell in a bag.  Cost wise, they were $1 + oil and herbs.  A similar product at the grocery was $2.35.  If you freeze them, they thaw almost instantly.

Plate them up with some cheese, dip or hummus and you are ready to go. ~

Are you saying, "Please tell me those herbs didn't come from the planters that the chickens are roosting on!"? ~

Gertie says, "Mind your own business.  I want to see what is going on in the house!". ~

Gertie never loses faith that, if she pecks at that glass long enough, I'll eventually let her in.  If the kittens keep clawing that screen door, she'll be able to waltz right in!

Falling Behind

I've been feeling kind of bad that I don't have my fall decorating done yet.  I'm into a whole lot of big projects and maybe, just maybe, I'm in over my head right now.  My sister will be laughing because she says I always think I can do more than I can and wind up frustrating myself.

Last year by this time, the front porch looked like this. ~

Why did I start painting three rooms, yes three, when I have chicken coop winterizing to do and the yard to shut down?

I have taken the last of the produce out of the vegetable garden.  A vine that popped up on on it's own has yielded 19 nice squash. Don't you just love getting something for free? ~

As I moved the basket onto the front porch, I thought all the produce sitting out there waiting to be stored was a sort of harvest decorating in itself and I snapped a quick picture. ~

Better Homes & Gardens won't be beating down my door for a photo shoot, but it is real.

A quick update on Ann Boleyn.  She's starting to settle in and letting me get a little closer to her. Today was the first time I let her out into the main run. ~

I made sure the other gals were locked out of there.  As you know, they've spent all their time busting out of the run.  The minute I locked them out, they spent all their time trying to bust back in! Stupid chickens. ~

The reason poor, old Utah looks so cross as he lies on a chaise,

is that Gertie gave up trying to get back into the run and took over his favourite napping spot on the stone step. ~

I may not be able to show you my fabulous fall decor but who else can show you a chicken sleeping with a mermaid!

And really, could I improve on the beauty of this thistle gone to seed on the farm fencing? ~

Welcome to fall in Ontario!

Chicken PMS

I thought I was done posting about chickens for awhile.  Well, at least until I got to the fascinating story of insulating and whitewashing the coop.  Oh, and there will be the one about dusting the birds for lice.  That will be a blockbuster post for my city readers!

But, today we have to deal with angry chickens. ~

When chickens are stressed, they get very, very mad!  And, you'd be surprised at how many things can stress a chicken.  For creatures that don't have to climb any corporate ladders or pay mortgages, they sure can make a big deal of the little bit they do have to put up with.

Then again, I've never had to give birth every day or had all my feathers fall out twice a year.  Still, you'd think they'd count themselves lucky to never have to worry about their breasts drooping.

One of the biggest stress factors for chickens is going through their semi annual moult.  When you start to see this in the coop, you'd better be on guard for trouble!  ~

It gives them the worst case of PMS you have ever seen!  You see, they don't have access to wine and don't have husbands to take it out on so they do the next best thing.  The gal with the worst case of PMS decides to kill whichever one is on the bottom of the pecking order.  That looks like such a good idea that all the other hens decide they should join in.  It's the same thing that happens in big offices only these girls actually draw blood.

My gals seem to be going through this moult without turning homicidal.  It could be that they free range or it could be that I'm religious about giving them a food mixture that builds up the calcium in their bodies. ~

You can see how to make this yummy meal by clicking here.

I'm afraid a friend of mine has not been so lucky with her gals.  They pecked one poor chicken almost to death. After a couple of weeks of segregating her they tried to reintroduce her to the coop.  Failure.  They isolated the most aggressive chicken and the others started in on the poor thing.  So, the decision was to end her suffering quickly by chopping off her head.

I said, "Great idea!"  Just kidding. You know me better than to believe that.

Guess who came to live at Bramasole today?  I've renamed her Ann Boleyn.  But, this Anne has escaped the axe. I couldn't get a very good shot of her because she doesn't quite trust the lady who stuffed her into a cat carrier and dumped her in my quarantine coop. ~

So far Lizzy, Kay, Molly and Gertie are ignoring Ann. ~

Look at poor Molly's bare spots.  She gave Ann a glance and that was about it.  Ann will have to stay in there for about a week and then I'll referee the fights while she finds her place in the flock.  Did you notice she's not white?  We finally have a lady of colour!

She was a little suspicious of the special dinner.  Yay, she's eating it! ~

Now, if no one calls any of these girls fat or looks at them sideways, we may be able to make this work and Ann won't lose her head to the block. I'm even hopeful my friend is wrong when she told me Ann doesn't lay eggs.

Yeah, I know, I've officially become the crazy chicken lady.

Securing The Chicken Coop

The problem is that raccoons really do like chickens ..... FOR DINNER!  

I have an 8' tall chain link fence around my chicken run.  It was a safety zone for the girls from any local dogs that got into the yard.

Unfortunately, the two new chickens didn't want to stay in there and they taught the others to do this. ~

So, the minute I let them out of the coop in the morning, they all fly over that fence and wander around the yard.  They wander into the neighbour's yards, even though they have dogs.  My neighbours have been very good about having my girls dig in their flower beds and eat their tomatoes but it's just not safe.

They do love to come to the patio door and squawk at me for treats.  I mean, who doesn't love having chicken poop all over their patio?

I don't really mind having to hose a bit of poop off and they provide hours of entertainment for the kittens. ~

But, the other day when I came back from visiting a couple of doors away, there was a raccoon in the yard! A raccoon can rip up four chickens in no time at all.  It was a young coon and it ran off when it saw me but I knew I had to get moving on closing in the top of the run or it would be Bye Bye Birdie!

I share the chickens with my sister and brother in law and they came to help close in the top. ~

It's not pretty but it gets the job done and I don't have to worry the whole time I'm away from home. ~

I'm going to have to grow some kind of vine up over the whole thing and disguise it.  Hmmm - what to grow? Any ideas?

Just when I was feeling good about living with an eyesore for the sake of the girls, a neighbour told me his dog had chased a couple of them the day before.  Okay.  Then, he said all four chickens had been perched on top of the fence this morning.  Okay.  Then, he said he hoped they didn't get their necks caught in the roof fencing when they tried to fly out.

WHAT!

Why did he have to put that thought in my head when I was sure I was done worrying!

Saving Summer Flavours

Fall has arrived in Canada. ~

The garden is winding down.  Gone are the bowls full of beans, peas and leaf lettuce.  Even the tomatoes are close to being finished.  That is, all the tomatoes except the cherry tomatoes.  There seems to be no end to those little, red delights.  I've kept a bowl full in the kitchen to eat like candy, when I pass by, and given as many away as I can possibly force on the neighbours.
Last summer I came up with the idea of using them for bruschetta and seeing how it would freeze.  It froze great and tasted garden fresh all winter long.

I finely chopped a clove of garlic and some onion. To that I added a red pepper, chopped in small pieces.  I halved or quartered the cherry tomatoes, depending on their size.  Toss it all in a bowl and mix with sea salt, fresh ground pepper, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil.  It's such a simple recipe and you can dress it up with any herbs or spices you like.

Let the mixture sit for a couple of hours for the flavours to blend and freeze it.  That's all there is to it!

I did go a step further this year.  I had a day old french loaf in the house and wanted to use it up. ~

I brushed one side of the slices with olive oil, added my bruschetta topping and some grated Parmesan cheese. ~

Into the freezer it went and long after all of these are down ~

I'll have a 'taste of summer' appetizer reading to go under the broiler for a couple of minutes and serve my guests!