Ten Things Learned From A Purple Chair

   It is no secret that the Little Bayou House is quirky which means...I am quirky.  I have been called everything from weird to eccentric and I have to admit, they all fit.  But...that is me and I need no one else's approval.  At this fine age, I am fully allowed to just be me.  

  The other morning it dawned on me that the two thrifted glider rockers that sit among the other odd pieces of furniture were in dire need of some help.  Both were decked out in the lovely off-white fabric that was so popular when the chairs were originally sold.  The chairs were grimy looking and just not the right "era" for my mindset.  In their favor, they were super comfortable so something had to be done to salvage them if possible.  Out came the only fabric that I had on hand and some tools.  I recovered both chairs turning the once lightly padded rockers into upholstered rockers.  I could not be happier with the results.  The workmanship with arthritic hands may not be the best but the chairs "fit" now.  Son dubbed me as the "Glider Rocker Purplizer" for my efforts since the only fabric I had on hand was a lovely shade of purple!.  (Could be worse, I supposed.)  I did learn a number of things with the onset of the task.

1.  Never let fear of failure impede your dreams.  You can always began anew.  If fear was a logical emotion we would never learn to walk, talk or anything else as a child.  Fear is only there to  stir the adrenalin and make us strive harder.

2.  Do not procrastinate!  If you want something done...just do it.  Do not wait for others because it will most likely never happen. Just do it.

3.  Purple is a lovely color for anything.  It evokes a  sense of calmness yet a sense of the mysterious.  It also "goes" with just about anything given the circumstances.  

4.  Let your inner weirdness free and do whatever makes you happy.  One friend said she had purple porch furniture but had to change it because her husband did not like it.  Why?  I figure if I am the one doing the work, I should be able to do whatever it is I wish.  (Just a note here, Mark loves the chairs!)

5.  Glue guns are friends.  Staple guns are not.  At least in my case, the first was much easier and held things in place until the fabric could be permanently secured.  The staple gun wreaked havoc on the poor hand and the staples did not hold.

6.  At the same time, glue guns can be EVIL!  Aside from the obvious burnt fingers, I will be pulling glue strings for the next ten years.  Everything from the chairs to my hair have a gossamer webbing.

7.  Don't let your brain convince you that some projects can be done in a "couple of hours".  At least, plan on a few days.

8.  Take breaks from any task to rejuvenate that first enthusiasm.  The project will go much smoother.

9.  Have the patience of a saint.  You will need it.

10. Once complete, pat yourself on the back and tell yourself "Job well done." Then...sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.  Remember...YOU did this.  YOU set a goal and achieved it.  

  While purple rockers are not everybody's choice of furniture pieces, they are mine.  Before setting to the reupholstering, I checked around to see if new chairs could be reasonably purchased.  Nope.  I refuse to pay up to $250 for single chair. (Yep, purple chairs highly similar to these are expensive!) Since my chairs were both thrifted ($15 and $20) and the fabric was free, the major cost was glue sticks, time and patience.  For less than $50 I now have two chairs that bring a smile to my face and a sense of satisfaction to the soul.  They fit the Little Bayou House and me perfectly...all of us are a tad unconventional.  

Sunsets, Woods Fires and Peach Switches!

   Yesterday evening, the sky was ablaze with brilliance.  The setting sun had cast an eerie glow between the pines and I almost missed the opportunity to witness it.  On a whim, I decided on one last stroll through the Small Gardens.  Again, I was thankful for the camera giving me the chance to get ONE photograph before it had enough for the day.  (It seems that one is its limit for the day.)  

  The fiery glow brought back memories of "fire watch".  Whenever Pop would get word from a neighbor that a woods fire was nearby, we were all "put on guard".  As kids, we knew we had better be alert and let Pop know if we smelled or saw smoke.  It was of high importance because, not only would the house be in danger, but the barns, as well.  The farm animals needed protection, too.  With no fire department anywhere near, it was up to each of us to do our part.  

  There was one time that my brother and I disobeyed the rules about setting fires.  Before we were even school age, he and I decided to "boil" some chicken eggs that we found while searching for an errant hen.  Her nest was found near an upturned washing machine drum that had been used as a feed bin at some point.  We gathered pine straw and a few sticks to start our fire UNDER the tub.  Our eggs were in an old metal coffee can heating on the top (which was actually the bottom of the overturned tub).  Brilliant!   We were going to feast on those eggs!  Well, that did not happen.  We did not take into consideration that the eggs were rotten, that we needed water to boil them and that Pop would smell the smoke.    You can imagine the outcome.  Without water, the rotten eggs exploded and covered us with the most awful stench then...Pop came on the scene.  Oops!  Whew!  Were we ever in trouble!  For any city folks who have never had to suffer a whipping with a green peach branch, trust me when I say "IT HURTS!"  Was that child abuse?  Nope!  THAT, my friends, was discipline (which is something that is sorely lacking in the world today).  Our stupid act could have had a dire outcome for the entire family, the farm animals and our neighbors.  Thankfully, Pop caught us!  My brother and I never....NEVER lit another fire in the woods!  (We, also, learned the proper way to boil eggs.)  Crazy to think a simple sunset can evoke memories from back in the dusty corners of the brain.  

Southern Flannel Caterpillar....Fluffy Pain

   Am I the only one who will find an interesting critter, pick it up, play with it THEN go research it?  You, know, research it to see if it is potentially harmful.  Yeah, well, maybe I am or, at least, maybe I am the only one that will admit to this goofy practice.  The thing is, I do not carry my phone with me so I do not have an instant method of finding out things.  Google has us all spoiled!

  This afternoon, I noticed that the basil needed water so I was giving them a drink when a critter caught my eye.  Oh, my gosh!  It was the cutest thing ever!  A brownish colored caterpillar was on one of the pots and it looked a whole lot like a tiny kitten!  It even had a tail and long, soft fur!  The two inch long critter was so fluffy that I just had to pet it!  I did!  Then, the thought was to run inside and grab the camera.  I needed photos of this adorable critter!  Yep, all of this happened BEFORE the idea of researching the safety of handling the caterpillar.

  To be honest, after the photos were taken, I did research the critter and found it to be, well, not safe.  This is a Southern Flannel Caterpillar and those lovely, soft hairs can cause skin irritations.  They also hide spines that are connected to venom glands.  If those spines make contact with your skin, they act like tiny hypodermic needles and shoot venom into your body.  Not good.  Not good at all.  In fact, this is considered to be the most venomous caterpillar in the United States!  How about that?  I was playing with a very cute critter that could inflict a good amount of pain.  I am just mighty fortunate that the critter obviously did not see me as a threat.  Thankfully, my hands are not irritated, not itching nor was I pierced by the spines.  

  Folks, this is a case of needing to use a bit of commonsense.  I admit that mine usually flies out the window when I find a critter.  There are very few that I will avoid and those are ones that are quite obviously dangerous.  I need to learn a few lessons in reasoning!  Yep, research that critter before handling and not after.  Sometimes the brain wanders, I guess.

Learning From The Critters

  It is no lie that I spend a lot of time watching the critters of the Bayou.  I learn from them.  Critters are smart.  Their whole lives totally depend upon their survival skills and they have honed those to perfection.  People, on the other hand, have become lackadaisical and soft.  There are many who could not survive a week without some assistance.  By studying the critters, I have discovered so many useful ways and have been applying them, in a lot of instances.  These are all things that have made life easier for me.

  This afternoon, the sun came out for about an hour so I took full advantage of it and stacked yet more firewood.  With the two wood-burning stoves going full tilt, the pile dwindles quickly.  Stockpiling during nice weather sure helps.  It was then that I noticed someone else stockpiling.  A beautiful Red-bellied Woodpecker was helping itself to the birdseed that I had strewn on the ground.  The bird had eaten its fill and was stashing a good number of seeds in the bark of the nearby oak tree before moving on to the hickory tree.  Red-bellied Woodpeckers are known to store up to four times as many seeds and acorns as they need to survive.  In fact, they can (and do) stash thousands of food items in nooks and crannies and have an uncanny sense of finding them again when needed.  The bird was stockpiling food for hard times.  

  People need to be more like the critters and not expect handouts.  My pantry shelves are lined with hundreds of jars of home-canned food items and the garden is producing a fine winter crop.  This is all fine and dandy as it keeps me from having to go to the store for items.  My pet peeve is to hear visitors to the Little Bayou House exclaim "We know where we are coming if things hit rock bottom!"  Nope.  Everyone has the same opportunity to fill their own pantry even if it is with "store-bought" goods.  We are not playing the "Little Red Hen" game here.  Folks, just use a bit of commonsense.  You do not have to go to extreme but having a few things on hand never hurt anyone. Or, perhaps, commonsense has gone the wayside.