The Most Excellent Painting Tool

Freshly painted, with assistance from my kitchen drawer.

by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

I just finished repainting our shoe shelf with a fresh coat of clean paint. Now it's ready for storing shoes at the RV. Welcome to our shoe-free zone. Come on in, but plant the shoes right here!

We've used the shoe rack for years and it's been very handy to keep most of the shoes off the ground. But it was ugly. Add paint.

The problem was the paint. Color (secluded garden) was lovely, but as it hadn't been used in years since the Blue Door Table was painted, the ingredients had separated.

So there I stood, mixing with one of those silly wooden sticks they give you at the hardware store. I think it would have taken hours. It would've been faster to drive to Lowe's and ask them to remix it for me - at least a 45 minute round trip.

Hmmm, how could I assist and speed-up this remixing process?

Aha! I needed to sacrifice a kitchen whisk. That should work.

Oh boy! Work it did! I LOVE my new discovery of the most excellent painting tool. I whisked that paint right back into shape. Perfect!

My new favorite painting tool - a whisk!

Maybe you've already had this idea, but for me, it was original. Guess I should check out the rest of the kitchen section before I take on any more painting projects.

What's your favorite painting tool?

Do You Remember Free Towels?

by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

I don't usually dwell on where my towels originated, other than to contemplate how old the ratty ones are and consider if it's time for a towel shopping bonanza.

As all but the last few ancient, ragged towels are happily ensconced in the RV, awaiting our arrival, we are making due with some threadbare specimens.

No remaining borders, faded designs, frayed edges, thin fabric - this is the state of the towels piled in the cupboard. If my sister saw them, she would zoom straight as the crow flies to a nearby department store and stock us up with new fluffy towels.

But sister, never fear. We have plenty of good towels. They are just living in our other home.

Tonight, as I dried off with one of the antique versions, tiny in size but amazingly colorful, I had a flashback to when towels came free.

In detergent boxes! Do you remember those little plastic encased free towels? I'm not entirely sure that this blue floral number is not one of those freebies. It's still in use, at least 25 years later.

After an online search, I found several old detergent brands that offered free face cloths, knives, glasses, and towels. Breeze sounded familiar, but the images I saw only offered face cloths. Bonus advertised a full sized towel, but that name doesn't ring a bell. How fun to look at the old packaging, all the way back in the late 1950's and 1960's.

Wait! I found it. Breeze is one of the detergents that included free towels. Check out my Pinterest board (For the Home) and scroll to see the Breeze box. Angie's Pinterest Boards

Ahh, memories. I truly am not old enough to buy detergent in the 50-60's, but let's try the 70's. Back in the good old days. . . free stuff when one went shopping!

I still love free!

I'd love to hear your memories. Were you ever the recipient of free towels? Glasses? Dinnerware? Green stamps (you could buy all sorts of wonderful items with green stamps)?

My New Favorite Packing Tool

By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

This girl has some hard-to-wrap-and-secure items.

Enter plastic wrap. It's my new favorite packing tool.

Not only can I easily see what is packed inside the wrapping, the items are secure (should a moving earthquake occur and miniature items move around), the glass is held firmly in place, cords are stuck together instead of trailing around, and I always have plastic wrap on hand.

It's a win-win strategy!

You're welcome.

Moving

 by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

The box that was filled with flyers listing our home as FOR SALE is empty. That doesn't mean we are done with this whole moving process. Not at all.

For instance, as I tidied and prepped, boxed and bagged, I discovered that I had 3 of those old fashioned hair dryers.

You know the ones. The type that comes in a hat-type carrying case, with a long hose leading from the base to the plastic hat, and the lovely plastic hat that one puts on over curlers. Or, in my case, over my plastic bag wrapped deep conditioned hair. It really works.

But 3? Who needs 3 hair dryers of that sort? Last time I checked, I only had (and still have) 1 head.

What can I say? This scenario has been repeated several times with different items as I've cleared out closets, drawers, and cupboards. Hoarder? Yard sale hound? Bargain monster?

I prefer to call myself a collector.

The good news is, we can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. Piles of this and that for various people have mostly been sent to their new homes. The debris is disappearing a little more every day.

The adventure continues! How to fit everything we need - or think we need - into an RV. It's a never-ending puzzle.

Hair dryer anyone?

54 Years Later - Nana Finally Gets Someone Who Resembles Her

Little baby Angie

by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

Actually, it is 53 years - until my birthday in November. Why am I making myself older than I am???

A tiny baby girl was born 53 years ago. When that girl was married, she had 2 children, a boy and a girl. Neither resembled her. YES. She was there for the birth, so she knows they are hers.

Much later, the boy and girl both married their lifemates and produced wonderful grandchilden. None of which looked even the slightest bit like the Nana. Rather, they looked like mommy or daddy or this cousin or that one, or even aunties and uncles. No one resembled short little Nana.

Until now. Nana giggles and rubs her hands together with glee.

Little Autumn, the youngest princess, coming in at barely 3 months old, finally shows signs of having something in common with the Nana!

Autumn's eyes look like Nana's eyes. A family resemblance - how nice for me!

Little Autumn and her Nana eyes!

This Nana is happy with even the slightest hint of "she has my eyes." I would be fine if she had Papa's height and not my lack. Actually, I am very happy that she is healthy. A slight resemblance is just eye-cing on the cake. Wink, wink.

Yippee for grands.

Do your children resemble you? How about those grands?

Just chatting with my Nana.

Early Pumpkin Harvest

Safe and gorgeous

By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

I harvested 8 pumpkins this morning.

It's August.

Harvesting pumpkins in August just does not sound right. Especially when it will be around 90 later this afternoon.

Not right at all.

Extenuating circumstances encouraged me to wade deep in the bristly pumpkin patch and knee high grass to grasp my favorite orange fall buddies. Er, I mean, signs of the season. Sure, I talk to my pumpkins. And those dratted slugs and squash bugs. I do admit to speaking kindly to my pumpkin pals. Not so much with the vermin.

Doesn't everyone talk to their plants and garden inhabitants? No? Hmmm.

Slugs. They were eating HOLES in my pumpkins! I rolled one large pumpkin over and a huge spotted slug, probably 3-4 inches long when stretched out, was coiled comfortably in the blossom end hollow. UGH. Tiny little slime booger slugs were creeping all over as well.

Odd. Spring. Weather. We had the weirdest spring. That is all I can blame on the extremely early crops. It was very warm, very hot, and then very cold. Plants in my area don't know what to do. Except grow.

Squash bugs. I've been so busy packing up the house, I missed recognizing the sign of yellowed leaves that indicated I had extra special garden pest visitors. Why, those hungry little insects have moved right in!

Orange. These pumpkin babies were colorful and ready to visit my porch.

Snip, snip, tug, and off we went away from hungry mouths to the safety of shade and protection.

Fall (in August) here we come!

How is your garden growing this year?