Two Day Reprieve

The trio of guinea pig fosters have an adopter.  We were supposed to be heading towards Dakin right now to drop Bear, Bolt and Browny.  However, I received an email yesterday to postpone coming in because the vets are backed up.  

We get to hold onto the gals for two more days.

We've had them since early May.  It's been quite a stretch!  They've been here long enough that Bolt had a baby, wean him and send him off with a buddy.  They've lived here long enough to be fully comfortable with our routine and learn what type of begging is most effective to get treats (but not get picked up and snuggled).  They don't shy away when I come near the cage and sleep out in the open.  They've been here so long they've had to endure nail clipping (which was put off an extra day or two because I couldn't find the nail clippers). 

I'm ready for a break from the hay and the constant cage cleaning (three pigs in that cage with the heat and humidity means lots of pig laundry).  But boy, I'm going to miss them.  I've never had a herd that gets along so well.  Each of their personalities are so different (maybe that's the secret of their success).  They've been delightful guests.  I hope they are happy in their new home. 

I Like Thursday: Fairy Lights and Finishes

What a weekend.  Over three inches of rain.  Happy garden!  Cool enough that I could bake (blondies, date bars, granola).  I was on call and it was quiet.  How nice!  

I like that the fawn that was hit last summer is still alive and kicking.  Turns out he's a buck - he's sporting a pair of points this year.  His right hind leg is a lumpy mess, but he puts full weight on it.  Impressive!

Pressing Table

I finally replaced my old ironing board.  It needed a new cover and it was set up in the living room all the time - so I wanted to replace it with a real piece of furniture.  This has been my goal for many, many months.  A little over two weeks ago we picked up a console table that was much too short, although it looked like I could modify it.  Some wood, varnish, batting and fabric and voila!

Before and After

Saturday was a day of before-and-afters.

The first one was bittersweet:

I Like Thursday: Birds, Snakes, Pigs

Too damn hot this week.  Thunderstorms moved through last night, which was a lovely break.  Yay for rain.

Mom visited over the weekend so I could set up her smartphone (I've got a cute photo of that... but I won't embarrass her by posting it).  I've now been using my smartphone long enough (2 years?) that I forgot how overwhelming it was to learn it all.

Mom brought a ton of fabric for me to take to Swanson's - lots of wool.  I hope someone likes making rugs!  She also brought this cool pelican to hang out with my other metals birds.  I love it!

June OMG Fail

I totally failed my June OMG.  Which bums me out - I'd really like to get this wedding gift done!  I did get as far as pulling fabric out and looking at the patterns again.  But I didn't sew a single stitch.  

It's not like I slacked off this month. 

Currently, I'm converting a console table into an ironing board.  I've been searching many months for a suitable table.  This project bumped up in priority when I finally found a table I could convert.  I've raised the height of the table and last night added padding to the top.  Still needs sanding and the cover cut and sewn together.  I would really like to have this finished before starting up any quilting projects.

I Like Thursday: Shop 'Til You Drop

Lots of shopping last weekend.  It started out with buying a console table that I'm converting to a new ironing board.  Then we stopped off for ice cream on the way home at this little creamery we hadn't tried before - great stuff!  We'll go there again!

Next purchase - I needed fabric to cover the new ironing board, and I knew Swanson's was the place to get it.  They always have a ton of decor fabrics.  I picked up three yards fleece I don't need, but would look cute for guinea pig cozies (and at $4 a yard, I couldn't go wrong!).  I also found two different fabrics I liked for the ironing board, plus several yards of elastic.

Ironing Board Upgrade

I've been looking to replace my ironing board.  For various reasons it's parked in the living room and has remained there for nearly a decade.  I rarely fold it up it has become a useful sofa table when I'm not using it to iron.  But let's face it - it's not exactly the prettiest piece of furniture, plus the cover needs to be replaced.

Rather than replace the cover, I decided to create an ironing table. I've seen some neat ones on the web, converted from various types of furniture.  Now I won't have to figure out what to do with the ironing board when I have company over (I'll just have to clean off the top).  While I'm at it, I want a rectangle top that's at least four feet wide to make it easier to iron yards of quilting fabric (a full width of fabric hangs over a bit on the ironing board, so I have to keep shifting it side to side when I iron it).

After months and months of searching I found a console table at a good price that wasn't too far away to pick up.  The table is far too short for my needs, but looked like it was constructed in a way I could convert it to what I need.  We picked that up on Thursday night.