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5/30/2013

Yard Art and Frustrations

 
So here I am minding my own business.  I am thrilled that for exactly one month I have been wearing a matching pair of shoes!  For the previous 14 months, I have been in and out of an air cast, walking boot, slippers, one shoe and one slipper, etc due to problems aggravated by my RSD.  So fusing my great toe on the right foot eliminated all the pain and swelling I was experiencing with the combination of rsd and aggravated arthritis.
 I have advanced to this pair of shoes---not able to wear anything else yet---but HEY they match!
 But one day last week, I stepped off our foot high porch---no problem right?  Wrong.....I landed wrong on my left foot and my ankle snapped and I went down crying in agony.  I thought I broke it but it is just severely sprained.  I am now back to one tennis shoe and this walking cast for the next 6 weeks!!!  I am trying to remain positive and find the humor in it all.  forgive me if that escapes me for the moment.....but any remarks are welcome!!! Yesterday I actually stubbed my bare right foot and broke my little toe......so am not sure I can even wear my tennis shoe for now.....sighing-----John says he is going to put me in a straight jacket......only so I will sit STILL and mend safely!!!!  HEE

Before all of this, I have been working in the yard and want to share some of my long awaited projects.

These two doors were pulled from the house fire we had years ago and have been patiently waiting for some respect ever since. This is the back door to the garage.

This door is the garage door to the patio.  I scrubbed them both up with a scrub brush and soap and water.  Then grabbed some out door paint and brushed on leaving raw and painted wood exposed underneath.
 
 
This is the first one.  John put them up against the fence and then they are secured with a bungee cord around the fence for support so they won't fall over on someone or by the wind.
                             I purchased plastic planters which were pretty inexpensive.
                               I spray painted them white with a white primer/coat of paint
                          John drilled holes in the backs and screwed them into the wood.
 I then bought some flowers and planted them in the planters.  They are placed where the automatic sprinklers will water them daily so that eliminates the chore of daily watering.
 This old window was salvaged from the neighbors wood pile.  I scrubbed it up and painted it much the same way as the doors but added some white spray paint to highlight the darker wood and painted areas.
 We had lugged this window across the patio three or four times and then brought it out to hang on the fence.  When John picked it up to hang it on the fence, the entire thing fell apart and the window panes all fell out.  Lucklily none of them broke but we decided to leave them out and nail the parts up.  I had a small metal tin to use for a planter.

I am off to work on more projects for the fence.  Hope your thinking of new ways to repurpose things in  your yard.

5 comments:

Laurie said...

The doors are adorable CatieAn. But seems like someone wants you to slow down and take it easy for awhile. Take care of yourself. Have a great weekend!

kath001 said...

OH, CatieAn! I'm SO sorry for your new injuries! I have grown so protective of my feet after a very bad track record. Heck, I got married on crutches after breaking my foot three days before the wedding! I hope you heal quickly and well.

The doors and flower boxes are adorable! I love them...and I have a door in the garage that may have a new life ahead. :)

I'd really like to send you a card, so if would like to receive one, email me your mailing address. I quite understand if you'd rather not, though.

lynn cockrell said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your injury. At least you have those wonderful door planters to look at now. They are so bright and cheerful and it was so smart of you two to be able to use them in the way you did!

"Create Beauty" said...

Those painted old doors are gorgeous! And with flower boxes.... amazing! I love the colors you used. Also, that rose bush where the rose goes through various colors is soooooo pretty!!!!

~ Violet

hula-la said...

Oh my, I love the old doors. I have 2 of them, and this is just the inspiration I needed to kick start that project. I love it with the flower boxes. And I don't even need to distress and paint them. Thanks for sharing. Easy does it there!
Aloha!