A Target Clearance Item Makeover

I was at Target a couple weeks ago and as usual I had to investigate the clearance end caps.  and I saw this:

It was BEAT UP lamp base. I of course looked at it for several minutes and then on saw the price.

$11.76 is really TOO much for me to spend on a lamp base, but it was originally $46.99, now that is a clearance!  I actually walked away, it was just too much.  but after ten minutes or so, I went back and grabbed it.  I needed a new lamp and I had been searching for months.

 

the first thing I did, was paint 3 coats of Americana Vintage White, let it dry and sanded it down. The fact that the lamp WAS beat up was a selling point for me.

 

it took about two weeks before I could afford a lamp shade.  the shade was actually more expensive than the lamp.  It was a generic white drum shade I got at Walmart for $15.00.  Once again OVER my budget, but I could not find one for less (that would work)  I covered the shade with some of the Burlap now sold at Michaels and I added some sisal rope to top and bottom trim.  I am very pleased with the end result, but I will say the pictures do not do it justice!

 

That black thing you see to the left is my baby Leo's tail, he was laying in his window and I certainly couldn't disturb him

On a side note.  I got quite a deal today!  Joann Fabrics just recently started carrying Tim Holtz' Fabric.  I have been waiting MONTHS for this fabric to come out. The downside?  It's $14.99 a yard.  In the grand scheme of things that really not expensive, but being cheap as I am, well you can see the dilemma.  I knew I needed 3 yards for my project and with a normal coupon it would still be expensive.  BUT I had a coupon today for 60% off.

 So I purchases this LOVELY fabric today:

 

And the retail cost was $56.21 (before tax) and I paid, $24.50 (still ALOT I know, but I did budget for it)

 

I saved $33.73!!!  That does feel good!!

 

 

Welcome to Alpine!!

This was my view as I was driving to Alpine today.  I tend to go to Wright's Field in Alpine every week.  It's a great place for birding, animal watching and if I only want to hike 2-3 miles I can or if I want to hike 5-6 I can do that too. Even if I take the same trail week after week, it's never the same.  And something I love about going here, is I just love the feel of Alpine.  Some people call it the boonies, but really it's only about 25 miles from my house.

This is the view where I have to park to walk to the trail head.

Chaparral, sage brush and boulders the size of Volkswagens pepper the entire reserve

and of course trees trees, trees.  This is one of the few areas in San Diego that has Engelmann Oak trees.

One of the many rocks I perch myself on.  the breeze kicks up and it's a nice view down into the meadow

the meadow down below and the mountains way off in the distance

there are so many intersecting trails that each week, I can go a different way

                                                   as you can see, it is clearly summer, everything is DRY DRY DRY


One of the things I REALLY love about this place is the bird and animal sightings.  I have never seen deer here, but there are plenty of bunnies, squirrels and coyotes.

 

and the birds:

 

this is Emma

 

                                                          This Northern Flicker kept me entertained for some time

 

 this is Jackson.  The picture is horrible because Jackson does NOT like his picture taken!  I always know it's him because whenever I am near, all you can hear is that Red Tailed Hawk scream, I look up and sure enough there he is.  He is a beautiful Red Tailed Hawk and his wing span is massive.  He just really doesn't like his picture taken.  That's ok, I  just love when I get to see him.

this is another elusive raptor. This is Laslo, the resident White Tailed Kite.  when this picture was taken, I was about a football field away and that's as close as I could get.  Once Laslo sees me, he takes off.  I love this bird, ONE day, I will get a good picture of him :)

 

there are many a Roadrunner in the preserve and as you can imagine, the second they see you, they run.  Hence the bad picture!

 

this was a little fledgling American Kestrel.  He was crying for his mama for well over five minutes, then in the distance I heard her and he took off like a flash

 

as I said before, I like to drive around Alpine.  I love these roads. They differ so much from where I live.  One day I would love to live out here.

 

 

right after I took the picture below, a squirrel was in the middle of road, just sitting there. I of course, slammed on my brakes and shouted out the window, "SQUIRREL!!!!" that was enough to get him out of the road. Just as he ran away and I started to drive, I looked in my rear view mirror and there was a cop RIGHT behind me.  I really thought I was going to get pulled over for stopping in the middle of the road,  but fortunately not this day :)

 

As you can see from below, MY neighborhood streets are NOTHING like Alpine

                                        Cars cars cars and power lines, power lines. Nope, we're not in the country anymore....

 

just thought I would mention this.  I pass by this house everyday on my way home from work. it's right on the corner of a rather busy street and it has always frustrated me that the people that lived there, just really didn't take care of the house/yard (esp when all the neighbors take care of theirs)  Anyway, this house just went up for sale and out of curiosity I had to find out the price.  Can you guess?  2 bedroom, 1 bath 1,104 sq feet. RIGHT ON THE CORNER OF A BUSY STREET, I could not find the year it was built, but it's at LEAST 1950's perhaps older. Can you guess.  Wait  for it....

 

$425,000.00

NO that is not a joke!  the front yard is a postage stamp and 'back yard" is more or less a concrete pathway and it's for sale for $425,000.00.  The neighborhood is not what I would call "good" it's ok.  So why is it so much?  Welcome to San Diego, the place where a broken down house like this WILL sell for four hundred and twenty five thousand dollars :)

 

 

*****UPDATE 8/31/13....this house is sold.  Wow, that's all I can say....WOW ******

 

I Found a Downside of NOT Having a Cell Phone

It's true, I don't own a cell phone and I certainly don't plan on having one.  BUT this morning I could have used one.  I was on my way hiking.  I had gotten onto the freeway, it was about 6:45AM and I saw a cloud of smoke from what appeared to be the 805 freeway.  I assumed it was a car on fire and I said a little prayer.  As I continued down the freeway I saw where the smoke was coming from.  It was below the freeway overpass. Down below is the San Diego River and there is a 'natural' area below and between the roads.  I could see a fire and the flames and since it was kind of early and there were very few cars on the road, I thought there was a chance that no one had called 911. I had to call someone and then I saw it (thank goodness these still exist!!)

I carefully moved over three lanes and got out of the car on the freeway and called 911.  Even though it was early and there were very few people on the road, when a car did drive by it was kinda scary.  the side of the road where this call box was is rather narrow.  Once again , if I had a cell phone, I wouldn't have to get out of the car.  No matter, when I got through I was told the fire had already been called in and the fire department was on the way. I felt relief. I took the photo below right after I got off the phone:

the fire was right behind this building in the canyon.  The whole area there is a business district surrounded by the protected land and the San Diego River.  We have so little 'protected' land here in San Diego and we have experienced so many devastating fires.  When I was driving home several hours later, all was well. Fortunately this fire was in a central area and probably distinguished quickly.  There are no homes in the area, but I can't help but think of all the wildlife in the area that may have been affected.  How did the fire start?  Who's to say? Someone throwing a cigarette out the window? A homeless person making a campfire?  Someone trying to start a fire?  Something a lot of people don't know about San Diego, is we receive so LITTLE rain and this last winter was particularly dry and that all the undeveloped land and nature preserves are more or less kindling. All it takes is a spark. Fires are part of nature and are very important to the eco system, but often when humans are responsible, the fire is not a beneficial occurrence. But it looks like this fire was stopped before any true damage could happen.  Always good news!

 

The Story of Enzo

This is Enzo. The sweetest little Cinnamon Teal you'd ever meet.  He arrived at Lindo Lake this last winter. He was the only one of his kind, but that is not unusual.  Many bird species stop off at Lindo Lake and then move on, not Enzo. He stayed. He spent his time with all the Mallards and they seemed to accept him.  One day (the day this photo was taken) I was sitting down, throwing bird seed for the Mallards and Wood Ducks and I felt a tap on my left hand.  I looked down and this little Cinnamon Tea was tapping my hand with his beak.  Apparently he got sick of the competition with the other ducks so he came up behind me and requested to be fed by hand.  I tried to put seed on the ground, but he was not having it, only from my hand would he eat.

In late February Enzo found himself a girlfriend:

Why yes, that is a Mallard. Needless to say not an appropriate mate for Enzo.  But he was smitten and she seemed to be as well.  Her normal companion (a male Mallard) stayed close by, but if he got too close, Enzo became the fierce protector and chased him away.  I felt kinda bad for the Male Mallard, he looked so alone and spent all his time following two ducks that wanted nothing to do with him.

And then, it happened. Spring.  Mating season. Can you guess what happened?  Yes, poor little Enzo was kicked to the curb and he had traded places with the male Mallard.  He followed them and tried to be part of their group and it just was not allowed.  Enzo then started to spend time alone.  he had no other Cinnamon Teals to hang out with,  most of the Mallards were mated and nesting, so poor Enzo was alone.  And then it got worse, I started to notice he was loosing a lot of feathers.

not only was he alone, but he was clearly getting beat up.  Sometimes nature can be cruel.  But to my utter relief and joy, this was not the case.  Enzo was not loosing his feathers due to being tormented, quite the opposite.  He was molting and his plumage was changing and this is my sweet little Enzo now.

I have done some  research and I can find NOTHING regarding this plumage change.  Perhaps he's going through an 'eclipse' like a male wood duck?  Perhaps the rust plumage is breeding or mating colors?  Not sure. All I know is he's ok, he's not being brutalized by any other animal. He's not some poor little loner.  Cinnamon Teal's do NOT practice  monogamy, so his little "romance" with the Mallard did not break his heart :)  And the best news of all, looks like Enzo has decided to call Lindo Lake home.

Wreath Addiction

I only have one door in  my house, the front door.  No back door. No side door.  But I will say I have 13 wreaths in my house.  I love making wreaths.  So yes, it's an addiction.  I have had a wreath on my front door for several years.  I bought the wreath frame at the Dollar Store and it was a "spring" themed wreath.  It had colorful blooms, colorfully painted mini bird houses and colorfully painted mini terra cotta pots. Then one day....I got sick of it.  I needed a change and I came up with this:

I am very pleased with the result.  Once again, it cost NO money, just my time. And since I love to make wreaths, it was time well spent.

I removed everything from the existing wreath and painted everything with 2 coats of Gesso. Then I wrapped the wreath in burlap ribbon.  I knew there were going to be a lot of gaps, since I decided to forgo faux flowers or foliage. So I decided to make a 'ribbon'  I cut a narrow piece of thin muslin and then used a $1 music sheet stamp that I got at Michaels. I then wrapped the 'ribbon' around the wreath.

after the Gesso dried I painted the pots and the birdhouses with Folk Art Vintage White and Americana Slate Green. after they dried, I sanded with sandpaper to distress and then added 'stuff'. The 'stuff' included Graphic's Fairy ephemera, scrapbook paper tidbits and I also used 7 Gypsies "conservatory" stamps and stamped onto some plain canvas fabric.

this little metal pitcher used to have a fall themed sticker, I whitewashed and then added a bird image, some jute twine and a key. The feather's were courtesy of the Canada Geese at Lindo Lake. Sometimes they leave a feather behind and I am more than willing to make use of it :)

I had one 'open' space and no more do dads to add, so I took a bottle cap, cut out a bird image and glued it down

this little bird was one of the spring items at Michaels that I had to have and then didn't use right away.  I painted him Slate Green, dry brushed some white paint and added two little gems to make him stand out

Each little terra cotta pot was transformed into little 'nests'  I filled each one with Spanish Moss and placed two or three eggs in each one.

the butterflies were on the original wreath as well, but they too were brightly colored.  After several coats of Gesso and white paint, I then added Tim Holtz Tissue tape to each one.

 

I will say I am in LOVE with this wreath!  I really wish I had taken a 'before' photo.  It was a complete transformation and sometimes when I finish a product, I'll say to myself, "I'm good"  not in a cocky way or anything, just a patting myself on the back for a job well done