girl's day out, painting patio furniture and catching up on other stuff

 My friend, Sue and I headed up to Delavan, Wisconsin yesterday to check out a place called Everything Homespun. We were greeted by an older gentleman who came out of the barn and asked if it were our first time there. We chatted a bit as he explained about the store in his lovely southern accent. We found out he's originally from South Carolina but has lived in Wisconsin for 12 years. He then left us to explore and shop.

There were old ladders...

 

and galvanized buckets...

 

and even an old, rusty bed outdoors. Hmm, I wonder what someone would do with this. Perhaps use the headboard and footboard as garden trellises? I suppose one could get really creative and artsy with those bed springs.

 

The interior of the barn was filled with mostly primitive decor, which I don't really care for, but there were some antiques, too. I really liked this vintage table runner, but the green wouldn't go in my kitchen and it was also priced a bit too high for my liking.

 

A collection of pretty glassware...

Loved this old baby cradle. I would love to have one of these in my home for when I have a grandbaby (hopefully someday!). It would be so pretty when sanded and painted. Once the baby is too old for this type of cradle, it could be used as a doll and stuffed animal cradle for a child to play with.

 

I was also drawn to this vintage painting (much prettier in person - phone camera doesn't do it much justice), but again, too pricey for me.

 

 There's another small building on the property which has old gates, windows, doors, wagon wheels, fence panels, old rakes and shovels...even sections wrought-iron cemetery fences.

Plenty of old windows inside...

 

Some of the old doors were huge!

 

 I would love to use an old door hung horizontally as a headboard. But they are extremely heavy. I'd be worried the weight would rip our wall out! I wonder how in the world you'd even hang something like this to use as a headboard? I'm sure I could find out about it through a Google search. I just might look out of curiosity.

After shopping, we went out to lunch, then took the scenic route home and stopped for iced coffee. All in all, a wonderful day with a good friend.

On the homefront, we have a to-do list a mile long. We have so much to do indoors and out! We're getting little things done but a couple of the big projects are painting our bedroom and also our little front porch/deck and front door. I've also been chalk-painting a nightstand and spray-painting plant pots and patio furniture. In a previous post at the beginning of May, I was deliberating on what color to paint that ottoman. I wasn't sure about painting furniture to match the pillows because I'd probably be replacing them in a year or two anyway. But after reading Connie from Crafty Home Cottage's comment, I decided to go for it and paint that ottoman blue! Here's what Connie had to say:

"If I were going to paint the ottoman I would paint it the blue that is in the pillows. Then in a couple of years if you change your pillows, just buy a couple more cans of spray paint and do it again :) That is the nice thing about spray paint . . . fast and easy:)"

Connie was right - I love the blue ottoman!

 Since the colors on the patio are yellow, orange and blue, I decided to go with yellow and orange marigolds and some other like-colored annuals to place in the patio area. They're all sitting on my front porch, waiting to be put into pots and set around the patio. It's either been too cold, too rainy, I've ran out of potting soil, or...I've been dealing with some pain. I woke up with some neck pain on Monday morning and fought a bad headache all day, so thought it was related. But I've had this neck pain (in the back of my neck, more on the right side) all week now, and sometimes it is very intense and painful. It's not meningitis - I'm not sick. In fact, I feel fantastic except for this neck pain. I talked to my lymphedema therapist the other day when I went for my six-month checkup and she thought it was a pulled muscle. I had tried everything this week...gentle stretches, curcumin supplements (supposed to help with inflammation), moist heat, dry heat (heating pad), ibuprofen so I could sleep (I hate taking that stuff unless absolutely needed since it's bad for your stomach and liver), self-massage, and using Bio-Freeze to numb the area. (Inserting pretty picture of my chive blossoms as a paragraph break...)

Earlier today, I saw my next-door neighbor outside and remembering he was a massage therapist, I went outside to talk to him about my neck pain. He said he'd be glad to work on my neck for about 25 minutes to try and help me. What a nice guy! He has one of his spare bedrooms set up as a massage room, because he does have clients come to his house. He started working on my neck and shoulders as was laying face down on the table and he couldn't believe all the tight spots I had. He said, "You're a train wreck!" He explained everything he was doing and about the different muscles, then did some other techniques and stretches as I flipped over and laid on my back. It is now six hours later and I feel so much better, though not totally pain-free. I am incredibly grateful to have this pain relief though. I just finished making a Greek pasta salad and a batch of homemade granola, so I will be gifting my neighbor with some food tomorrow in gratitude for his help. 

For my friends who live here in the US - happy Memorial Day weekend!