By admin, on November 11th, 2009%
A few thoughts from my home today, a very rainy day with wind blowing gusts of rain drops into the window panes. It’s a wonderful day to be inside with my children. It’s a perfect sort of day for reading picture books and journal writing. It’s a perfect day for Lemon Zinger tea with honey.
Last night before bed, I straightened the house up so I could wake up to a nice clean house today and hopefully just enjoy a quiet day at home. One of the things I did was to change out a curtain that covers a huge shelf in my old kitchen. There’s not a lot of cabinet space in an old house, but this shelf I found a couple of years ago at the thrift store has been a lifesaver as far as space is concerned. Thomas mounted it to the wall with brackets and we have enjoyed its expansive shelves immensely.
The reason I am sharing this particular project is that the curtain is actually a king size duvet cover that tied at the open end. It came from Goodwill for 5 dollars. I took one look and said to myself that the ties would make it a perfect curtain.
I love unusual things like this. The pattern on the fabric makes me so happy!
On a Veteran’s Day note, we are thinking about my dad today, my children’s grandfather, who served in the Air Force in air traffic control, as a drill instructor, and in Vietnam as a combat controller.
He was a handsome man with a kind, service-oriented way about him. I miss him and think of him often. I appreciate all of our veterans and active duty service men and women. Thank you.
I hope you enjoy, as Pooh would say, this Winds-day, for around here it really is a “winds-day”
Lynn
By admin, on October 7th, 2009%
Yesterday I was reading a post by Clarice at Heartfelt Thoughts from a Mother to Her Daughters. It truly inspired me and it was exactly what I needed to hear read yesterday. You should go read it for yourself. It’s worth it.
One of our upstairs bedrooms, which my two oldest boys now share, had gotten ugly enough. I mean for goodness sake HELP already! We do vacuum and dust, but the walls were covered with the kinds of marks boys make through the years by firing lego pieces with a Nerf bow, wrestling, throwing things (gasp), and rearranging their furniture and dragging things across the walls. Hopefully that sort of activity has died down a bit and we can expect this room to stay pretty now.
BEFORE:
Keep in mind that this is an old BEFORE photo. The bunkbed has long since caved in and been discarded. The high shelf on the wall is long gone, the walls were horrid and I’ll stop there.
While their room still needs work (ceiling, carpet, trim) it is SO MUCH BETTER today than it was when I woke up yesterday!
AFTER:
The paint color, Jamaica Bay by Behr, was chosen from the fabric of the thrifted orange and blue curtains.
The quilt hanging on the back wall was also thrifted ($5.59) and I think matches the paint well.
I really like this little corner of the room. It belongs to Big Joe. 
One of my favorite things about this corner is this framed print I found at the thrift store yesterday for… Are you sitting down? Only 3.99. I think the print is actually really old. The frame is not.
I’m not sure you can see the detail of the print, but the top corners are a bit worn and there are faint “cracks” in the finish. I love it!! And the blue dress is lovely with the blue paint!
Perhaps it does not look exactly like a boys’ room, but how about a grown boys’ room? Yes? The boys still have their clutter and their man cave stuff, but the room is a little more mature. After all, they’ll likely be married one day so they best get used to this type of decor, right??
One last framed print I purchased at Goodwill yesterday for 3.99. I thought the yellow bird was also pretty against the blue paint.
This room actually needs a COMPLETE OVERHAUL, but that will likely not happen until the boys move out. In the meantime it didn’t cost much to make it look presentable since the boys are older, and enlisting the help of the children and several paintbrushes and rollers, it only took two hours to wipe the walls free of dust and paint.
TOTAL COST:
Paint: 21.00
Thrift store curtains: 3.29
Wall quilt: 5.59
Curtain rods: 23.00
Thrifted framed art: 8.00
_________________________
Total: 60.88
By admin, on August 20th, 2009%
Sometimes you have to let go of the scheduling and cleaning and worrying (yes, I worry) and have fun. My mother came to visit me this week and we spent a couple of fun-filled days together. Even though she lives only an hour and 20 minutes away, we still don’t see each other nearly enough. She’s the best mom in the world, by the way! Would you be surprised if I told you one of our favorite things to do together is go thrift shopping?
First let me tell you about this blue shelf. I am so happy with it. The weathered cabinet on top came out of a local barn, I bought it at an antique store a few years ago, and until recently it was sitting on a wooden nightstand that had a scarf over it. I knew that someday I would find something thrifted to “fit” as the bottom to make a cupboard-type look.
This week I found it for 10 dollars at The Scrap Exchange! My mom loves to go there but doesn’t get the chance until she visits me, so we went together and took two of the children with us. This cabinet started out with yellow shelves and a dark reddish-brown outside. I should have taken a before picture, but time just flies around this house (does it fly at your house too) and I wanted to get so many things done so I jumped right in painting!
The yellow shelves inside the cabinet were actually a decent color, so I used a candle to wax a few areas of the shelves that would naturally get heavy traffic. Then I spray-painted the entire cabinet blue. Once done, I used an old cloth to wipe over the areas where I had waxed and the blue paint came off, showing some yellow from underneath. Having old paint showing through in areas like that makes it look old. (I think I first learned this from Kimba). I love the way it turned out. The top and bottom cabinets are the perfect size to put together and make one piece!
I’ve been trying to focus more on healthy breakfasttime around here (thank you, Diane), so the lower cabinet became my breakfast cabinet. The top shelf houses my aprons, but then I have oatmeal, grits, peanut butter, jams and jellies, syrup, pancake mix in an old container, and more in the lower shelves.
Another really wonderful find was a pair of quilts for 5.59 apiece at Goodwill. The one with bright colors will be perfect in Michaela’s bright green room! I didn’t get it in the picture, but I also found her a bright April Cornell pillow cover for her large reading pillow. Her room will be so exciting with these new linens!
Because of the lighting, I don’t think you can fully appreciate the lovely rosy color of this comforter. Looking brand new, it was another 5.59 find. This evening I’ve been laundering linens to put up.
The little ceramic pomander was only 69 cents at GW, and I got out a jar of my lavender to fill it with. I collect birds for my office and this will fit perfectly. Is it possible that smelling lavender throughout the day will cause me to enjoy working even more than I do now?
These you won’t believe! They are old and you must pardon the dirty glass in the frames, I have not cleaned them yet. They look to me like they are at least 1920, if not older, based on a needlework I have that I know was done around 1920. They were 25 cents each at the Habitat for Humanity store.
Again, poor lighting and probably angle too, but this basket is the most delicious shade of blue, with just enough chipping to show through a hint of red here and there. It’s great! 3 dollars.
And the large picture I fell in love with for 2.99! I am planning to paint the frame, and I may use the same aging technique, I just don’t know what two colors to use.
- Black and pink?
- Pink and white?
- Black and white?
- Blue and white?
- Blue and black?
- Green and white?
- Green and pink?
- Or use the gold to show through a paint color?
And which color would be best just peeking through in a tiny amount?
Help me out!! What do you think?
The frame has little roses on it (yes, that what’s all around the edge looking like little circles) that would look great with a contrast, old-paint-showing-through thing going on.
I must go upstairs and read to Michaela now. Every night we hide away in her room, close the doors and let the bunnies out to run around while we continue on through the Little House books. Tonight we’ll finish Little House On The Prairie.
Lynn
By admin, on August 14th, 2009%
Did I mention curtains in my last post? Was it yesterday? The day before? Ahh, I lose track of time on my days off.
Maybe you’ll remember the duvet cover that I found quite a few months back. I had the idea of curtains for Princess of the Universe. However, after painting, her room is not quite the right shade of green for this fabric. And she lets out a mortifying gasp when I mention putting flowered fabric in her bright room Oh well. I was tired of what was in the den anyway, so into the den the new curtains went.
Today’s a work day, but I love walking into the den and looking at the curtains I made on my days off this week! Did I use a pattern? No. Are they perfect. No. Will they do? Yes! Because I think they fit right in with the frayed-elegance look of Shabby Chic.
Of course there are other aspects of the room that are so not shabby chic, such as deer heads on the wall (Thanks, Hubby), and don’t forget that this is our science and nature room, with microscope, etc. Little shabby chic touches here and there make me happy though.
Hubby would really be in trouble if I was the kind of woman who had a hard time living with a mix-and-match decor.
Happy Friday!
Lynn
By admin, on August 12th, 2009%
It’s been about 2-1/2 months now since our last visit to the Scrap Exchange where I bought a metal structure that I planned to turn into an easel. So with a new school year close on the horizon and many a nature study planned, I worked on the easel today!
It sits in a tiny nook in my living room, very near to my purple chair. I can just envision our naration and nature reading and water color painting. Behind the easel is our nature and science bookshelf.
And underneath the easel is a basket of paints and Peter Rabbit holding our brushes. My sister was with me when I found this ceramic Peter Rabbit watering can, and she said, “Wouldn’t it be cute with brushes in it?” She was so right.
I sanded the metal frame and painted it black. Then I was lucky enough to find a cheap, large picture frame with an excellent, sturdy backing. I removed the backing and it became the front of our easel. I had thought of putting a ledge of some type on the easel, but one piece of metal wraps around the front and makes just enough support for the board to sit on, and a couple of metal clips to reinforce are all we needed.
The board itself is Mod-Podged with all sorts of nature scenes. When we are ready to paint, all we need to do is clip on our paper with a couple of clothespins.
I love all the little scenes.
The pictures are good for inspiration, and then they are covered up with our large white paper when we draw or paint.
Are you wondering about her yet? At the top of the easel was a hook that was actually rather sharp. I twisted a wooden bead onto it for safety and then drew on a clever little face and some curls. We hot-glued a little hat into place, and I feel like Miss Mason herself is perched atop the easel helping us with our lessons.
My to-do list has just a ton of stuff on it. I made some curtains today as well, from a duvet cover I found at the thrift store awhile back. I received two new books in the mail today for our Ambleside lessons. My list also reminds me that I’m supposed to be reporting to my readers about the history of the American diet from the 1700s to the 1800s. I may be slow, but I will get to it.
Happy Wednesday Evening,
Lynn
By admin, on July 16th, 2009%
Yesterday my sister and my mom and I got together and went thrift shopping. I guess the skeleton’s out of the closet now and you realize it’s a family addiction and we all readily enable each other whenever possible.
I fell instantly in love with these dishes and the vintage-y table cloth. The dishes made themselves right at home, got acquainted with our dishwasher and replaced some old dishes that I’ve been wanting to say BYE to. The tablecloth… Well I love tablecloths.
How could I say NO?
The tablecloth got along wonderfully with the lavender laundry detergent and lavender dryer sheet.
I’ve decided to share with you a MAJOR cleaning breakthrough. It’s the super-cleaner’s way to mop.
I take two cleaning rags out and wet each one with hot water and then add a squirt of dishwashing liquid to each one. I wring them out and put one under each foot. I then skate around my kitchen.
They say housework done properly can kill you. So you can quit worrying about me.
Lynn
By admin, on July 6th, 2009%
My daughter and I recently had the opportunity to go to a thrift store we don’t visit that often. We were thrilled when we arrived to find that they were having a three-day 4th of July sale and everything was 50% off!
We did quite a bit of browsing — so much fun! — and I found some amazing deals on clothing, including a 62-dollar pair of men’s dress pants with the tags still on them for only 4 dollars.
Just as we were heading to the check-out, I spotted three little dolls that looked perfect for the doll house.
Just look at this trio! Who will win her attention?
Just look at her face! She really knows how to roll her eyes around. And maybe it’s just me, but I think the dolls look old. I’m no doll expert, however.
The back of her little felt hat is decorated with a feather.
Do you think she’s old? Look at the craftsmanship. If any of you know about dolls, I would love to hear what you think.
Next is Mr. Suave. Joseph and I were trying to figure out which country he’s supposed to be from. I honestly have no idea. His vest makes me think one thing and his pants something else.
His boots. His curled up mustache. His pants. His tie. Where do you think he’s from?
One thing’s for sure. He’s a fancy-pants alright.
Or wait. Maybe he’s the fancy-pants. Check out his intense expression as he dances around. I ask you. Where is he from?
He snaps around with his pouty face, trying to get the blond with braids to look at him.
He’s a dancin’ man, for sure! (Joseph said he wouldn’t be caught dead standing like this.)
I’m afraid Ms. Blond-Braids has eyes for another man anyway.
I would love to hear what you think about our dolls! The cost?
Ms. Blond-Braids 1.99 .99
Mr. Fancy-Pants .99 .50
Mr. Dancer-Man .99 .50
Michaela asked me last night what we should name them. We remembered that one of our readers gave us a great name for a previous mysterious foreign doll who came to live in the doll house: Mei Ling. So why not ask our readers to name these dolls. Any ides for names? We’d love to hear them!
Lynn
PS – I can hear the commotion in the doll house already. 
By admin, on June 10th, 2009%
In a pile of old books…
is one of my very most, new favorites. I have to show it to you!
Deuxieme Etape
Basic French Readings
Books Six to Ten
copyright 1942
Since I studied French in high school and college, this book immediately appealed to me. Princess of the Universe has also mentioned that she’d like to study French, so I liked it even more! I bought it and took it home to look more closely.
Upon opening the book, I saw that it belonged to Arthur Cleary who attended Brooklyn Prep. Hmmm. Sounds pretty prestigious to me. I am a detective at heart, so I had to find out more. I did a quick Google search on line for Brooklyn Prep. Ah, it could certainly be that Arthur attended Brooklyn Prep. What an interesting history. Listen to this:
The initial group of 226 students were greeted by the Reverend J. F. X. O’Conor, S.J., founder and first president, as follows: “…we wish to make you – Christian, educated gentlemen…Brooklyn Prep men are RICH – R is for Religion, I for Intellect, C for Character and H for Health.” The first commencement exercises were held on June 15, 1909. Tuition was $25.00 a quarter plus a $25.00 entrance fee.
Now, look at Arthur’s address. 1771 Marine Prway. I am thinking it is 1771 Marine Parkway, and look at this. Doesn’t it just give you chills? Located in Brooklyn. Built in 1925. For sale in recent years. Is that where Arthur lived? Oh, I wonder where Arthur is now, if he still is. Do you, as I, mourn the loss of that generation of men and women born in the early part of the 1900s? My late maternal grandmother was born in 1918 and she knew a thing or two about hard work, doing without, frugality, and thankfulness.
I’m guessing Arthur was born in the late 20s. What do you think?
I can say one thing about Arthur. He was resourceful. Look what he did to his index! He cut right up the sides of the pages, making his index an ABC tabbed index. Wouldn’t you like to meet Arthur right now?
Thought you might want to see one of the two illustrations in this book.
Now for the fun stuff. What’s this? This piece of paper sticking out of the book?
I take it out.
At first glance I’d say it’s a bookmark. But wait. It’s really a folded up piece of paper. We’ve got to see what it says!
Ha ha! Cleary is a stiff. Now don’t you really want to meet Arthur Cleary? I know I do. I sort of knew what a stiff was. My first thought was a stick in the mud, but I did look it up. A priggish person. Okay, so I had to look up priggish too. A prig is “a person self-righteously concerned with the punctilious observance of proprieties.”
I don’t picture Arthur as self-righteous at all. Do you? Punctilious maybe, but not self-righteous. Perhaps my imagination is just out of control, but I picture a beautiful, dark-headed Brooklyn girl trying to get Arthur’s attention, but he’s too busy working on his tabbed index to notice her. She gets mad and writes “Cleary-is-a-stiff” and throws it at him. Then he, being the studious and industrious young fellow that he is, says, “Why, this would make a great bookmark. Thanks, Beatrice!” (Or Louise or Hallie or Jewell or Eva or any other great 1920s or 30s name you can come up with.)
Or, wait, wait!! Here’s another scenario. Arthur likes the beautiful, dark-headed Brooklyn girl and he tells his friend George. (Or Charles or William or Humphrey or any other great 1920s or 30s name you can come up with.) George, trying to put his feelers out and get some information for his buddy Arthur, asks Beatrice, “What do you think of Arthur?” And then he gets the “Cleary-is-a-stiff” note thrown in his face.
Sigh.
I wonder, when I’m gone, if I will have left behind anything quite so interesting as all this.
Lynn
PS – Arthur Cleary, if you come across this, we’d love to hear the story.
By admin, on May 29th, 2009%
I have two words to say about yesterday: Scrap Exchange.
Yesterday Michaela and I were out birthday shopping and we drove to an area that we don’t visit very regularly. It was near the Scrap Exchange in Durham, and we have not been to the Scrap Exchange in awhile, so we definitely took advantage of where we were and dropped in to fill up a bag.
Some of the items above are not “bag items” but rather individually priced items. They are still great buys if you have a use for them. The remnants of carpet, for example. The large one was 1 dollar and is going by my bed to warm up the wood floor where I first put my feet down in the mornings. The two little pieces were 50 cents each. I think we can get four lovely dollhouse rugs from them.
I really like the brightly colored, heavy cardboard tubes. I think we’ll construct them into a nice pencil, pen, ruler, and scissors holder. We’ll show you when we’re done.
This metal easel-type structure is going to become just that: an easel. For Michaela. We plan to sand it, paint it, put a ledge across the front and use it. More on that later as well.
They also had these green tea boxes, individually priced items as well. They are so lovely and they really have a green tea scent. I could not figure out if they’re somehow crafted from green tea stems or something, or maybe it’s some type of grass and was used to hold green tea. Oh well.
We knew we needed to get back home in good time since yesterday was a school day, but we stopped by one more place while we were out on our errand: Everything But Grannies Panties.
Boy was there an interesting conversation in our van when I asked Michaela, “Have I ever taken you to Everything But Grannies Panties?”
That’s all I’m gonna say about that!
I found this pretty bust. Do I need it? I think I do. It was only 2.50. I could not help myself, but this madness has to stop for awhile now. A couple of weeks at least.
I like her.
Do you?
There was a large basket of old photos. Most of these photos were 50 cents each. The large one was 1 dollar. I could not let them stay there. I’ve scanned them and I’ll try to show you close-ups later. The detail is interesting.
Last, but not least, Michaela was busy crafting with items she got from The Scrap Exchange while I got supper ready. She made a drinking hat. (Be careful as you walk past Daddy.) Our neighbor’s little boy made one to take home with him as well. I know they really appreciate us over there at his house, where he now has the capability to walk around their house with two glasses of tea strapped to his head.
Today’s Quote
Abraham Lincoln (concerning the bible): “Take all this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a better man.”
Happy Friday!
Lynn
By admin, on May 27th, 2009%
I’D GO CRAZY.
I don’t remember. Was it me who said, on Prairie Tuesday, that pioneer women didn’t have all the annoying distractions of the modern world? Hmmm. I think it might have been.
Well, sadly, they did not have thrift stores either. Can’t you just hear it if they did?
“Paw, me and Maw are gonna run over to the Pioneer Goodwill and look for some new bloomers and a cast iron spider to cook pancakes on. We should be back by the time that field’s plowed.”
Anyhoo.
I went to the thrift store today. To two of them actually. And to a local antique store who said business was slow and one of the vendors had all his books half price! I just recently left a comment for someone about that very thing happening! His books were already very low-priced, so I got most of these for a dollar apiece. The most expensive one was 3 dollars.
First up is Outdoor Visits, copyright 1932 by The Macmillan Company. It’s a fine book and I know we’ll be reading it for nature study.
It is full of wonderful stories and illustrations and questions for the student to answer.
I love this picture! It reminds me of Pocketful of Pinecones . I love it!
Next: World of Fun and Story copyright 1915 by Cupples & Leon Company. It’s edited by Francis Hodgson Burnett.
I wish I could show you ALL the illustrations in this beautiful, old treasure.
“Now I’m Going!” shouted the boy, who was already standing on the window-sill. The name of the story is Two Boys and a Baby. I think the boy passed the baby over on the clothesline from the burning building, but we have to read the story and find out!
Look at Mother Rabbit dye the eggs! The next page? I’ve not read enough yet to know if this picture’s tied to a story. I think it is.
This next book is a book a music and history about Stephen Foster: A Treasury of Stephen Foster. Random House, 1946. The illustrations alone made me stop and ponder.
Oh! Boys, Carry Me ‘Long
Oh! Susanna
Willie Has Gone to the War
Next is a Childcraft Book, 1949.
IT”S ABOUT…
AND
It has a lot of valuable information in it. Here are just a few pages showing how the book is written. If we memorized only what is in this book… Well, it would just be grand.
Little Margot Berard
By Pierre Auguste Renoir
Famous sculptures
The Boyhood of Raleigh
By Sir John Everett Millais
I’m inspired to learn!
Now onto some STUFF.
I happened upon two very cool bags. One has cross-stitch supplies, not that I cross-stitch, but with our Prairie Tuesdays, I thought it would be great to use for samplers! (The little box in the back is going to be Mod-Podged later tonight into a cute little pencil box.
All of this for 3 dollars!
This bag was full of herbs and a little bottle of rose oil. Again, for 3 dollars! How did they know I’m working on a HUGE batch of potpourri? I am so excited to have all of this to add to it! Lemon peel, lavender and more!
What about clothes, you say?
Looks like the prairie to me. A pretty blouse for me, to go with a LONG skirt.
Another prairie blouse for me.
And this cool shirt is long, long, with two pockets and it’ll be so amazing with leggings or pantaloons for evenings around the house.
Does that tag tell you a bit about the style and fabric? I love it. I think he is a local crafter and sells many types of clothes.
Soap? Still in the original store wrapping:
Made in Italy. So pretty and they smell so good! They came right out of the box and went into my bathroom.
I leave you with that.
Happy Thrifts Store Trails To You,
Lynn
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About Lynn
I am a 40-something-year-old mother of four delightful children, have been married for 22 years to my carpenter husband, and live in a 1921 farm-style house. I find the most joy in my garden, growing and harvesting herbs and flowers and caring for our pet rabbits.
I have a 21-year-old son, a 19-year-old son, a 16-year-old son, and a bright and bubbly (and very funny) 11-year-old daughter who is homeschooled.
I'm a North Carolina girl and I love sharing North Carolina links and information. I'm a book lover, bird lover, gardener and aspiring herbalist. I seek no help for my thrift store addiction. I do medical transcription from home part-time.
The Players
Mom and Dad
Daniel
Big Joe
John
Princess of the Universe
Annie
Oreo
Coco
Basil
Midnight
Boomerang
A Pond of Goldfish
My Symphony
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.
William Henry Channing
1810-1884
Contact Me 
I would  for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
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