Washa, Washa, Washa...

Brynwood Needleworks - Pool Wash

I wanted to surprise Handsome when he came home from his week-long music convention. While he was away, I hired a service to trim up, move out and generally clean up our overgrown yard. Here, in Florida, you can practically toss a rock in the yard and it will grow (just kidding)! But seriously, it doesn't take long for the palmettos, shrubs, vines, and even grass to take over.

We had a too-large Pygmy date palm tree threatening to push out the screens in the pool enclosure, and the jasmine bushes were completed out of hand. After discussing the option of moving vs removal of the palm tree, it was decided to simply remove it and its root ball from the pool area.

After it was removed and the jasmines were completely cut back (to start over), I took on the task of power washing the pool deck and brick courtyard. Our next door neighbor loaned his power washer to me and it was game on (Saturday afternoon).

Brynwood Needleworks - Pool Wash

By dark, I had cleaned all the pavers on the house side of the pool. (In case you didn't know, the pool enclosure measures 40' x 40'.) That's a lot of pavers! By then, I needed to run out for more fuel. I got back with about half an hour of daylight left, so I turned on the yard/deck lights and kept after it. I really wanted to finish Saturday night!!

As it turned out, I got my aching body up early on Sunday and finished the courtyard and patio furniture by 11 am. Just enough time to hop in the shower and get dressed to go to Handsome's afternoon jazz concert in Sarasota. (It was fabulous, by the way.)

Brynwood Needleworks - The Wanderer Travelers Wallet

 

Needless to say, this project didn't get finished over the weekend. I'll complete it today, instead. It was worth waiting with this, though. Handsome was really impressed with the results of my hard work - and timely hiring (in the case of the yard cleanup). Now, if I could just get these old mature bones to quit aching!

As always, I'll take Tuesday off (from my blog) so Tag can weigh in. I'll be working in the studio on this - and the next - project. I'll share later!

Tuesdays With Tag - I'm Such A Good Guy...

 Hi, Everybody!

It's been just a great week. It's been dog-kickin' hot.

You know what that means, right?

Yup. POOL TIME!

Dad uses the pool for Bella's retriever trainin'. It makes her strong and keeps her cool at the same time. Of course, bein' a dog in our house means you're gonna be a pool dog! Mom and Dad already promised that our next place will have a pool, too. I mean, really. Who would want to live here without one?

Mom shot more video for you to watch this week. Bella is in the first part. That's why her name is first on the video. Try not to be too bored watchin' her. (Juuuuust kiddin'. She's really fun to watch.) The good part it after I get in the act, too. Stay with it and you'll be rewarded by gettin' to see my Olympic moves. (That's what Miss Meri of ImagiMeri's blog calls 'em!)

I'm such a good guy, I'm sharin' my blog time with that puppy again!
Enjoy!

Direct video link: https://youtu.be/ovuh7X_Bryg
Well, wasn't that fun? Don't you feel cooler already?

You know I'm a multi-media dog, don't you?

Well, on Facebook, it's "Tongue Out Tuesday". Here's my contribution this week. Try not to giggle. 

Oh! I think Bella's callin'. She can be a pretty demandin' puppy, you know. She sometimes wears me out, and I just have to take a nap!

I'll see you again in seven! 'til then...

"Chase A Dream - Or A Squirrel".

Custom Creations For The Holidome...

When I've posted photos of our pool area lately, these are the chaise lounges that usually appear in the photos. They're wonderfully maintenance-free. The fabric is mesh, so it doesn't hold water and the frames are powder coated, so they're easy care. All I have to do is them wipe with a damp cloth. They're great.

These are the chaises I usually don't photograph lately. The upholstery has seen better days, but the frames are extra long and in great shape. You can see that they require more maintenance than the mesh seats, and they need "drying time" after a rain, but the cushions are so comfortable.

I've been holding off on ordering new cushions because I think $179.00 each (+ tax and/or shipping) to custom order the longer cushions is too expensive.

I decided yesterday to see what color and pattern choices I might find at Hancocks. I wanted something that would coordinate with the color of those other chaises on the pool deck and found this outdoor fabric. They were having a 40% off sale, so that was even better! I purchased six yards.

I got home around 1:30 yesterday afternoon with my fabric and immediately set to making replacement covers for the cushions.

I took my design cues from the originals, creating a cover for the top section, a separate cover for the bottom section and then, the attached ties. I sewed a seam across the top and bottom fronts to join them, leaving the back open. (I did turn 1/4" down and sewed across it to finish the opening in back.)

Next, I placed the fitted covers on the original seat cushions. Then I pinned the opening closed, took them back to my sewing machine and sewed the seams closed.  

By 5:30, I just had to clean the second chaise before attaching the second cushion. So, here's how I broke down the savings...

Ordering custom cushions - 2 at $179.00 each = $358.00 (+ 7% sales tax $25.06, if ordered locally) and wait 2 -4 weeks for them to arrive. Total $383.06.

Brynwood custom cushions - 6 yards of fabric from Hancocks = 71.00 (+ 7% sales tax $4.97) which I brought home with me. 5 hours of work; cutting, sewing and installing. Including 1 hour cleaning the frames. Even if I pay myself $25 per hour ($125.00 total), my total investment in the new cushions is only $297.00!

Savings: (Including paying myself!!) $86.06, and when you consider that work done for myself, Handsome and our home is work I happily do for FREE - I actually saved $211.06. Don't forget the "instant" gratification of my very own Same Day Service! Oh, and I have enough fabric left to make a coordinating pillow for each of the mesh chaises!

Of course, there's also the bonus of Corgi Tested and Handsome Husband Approved!

Rainy Days And Mondays...

Nothing quite like the sunlight coming in on our
pool deck in the morning...

Unless it rained the night before, and the raindrops are

still clinging to the screens on the roof of the screen enclosure.

God's little diamonds, greeting us as we sip our morning coffee.

This is indeed a fleeting sight.
Within a short period of time, the breeze and sun had
dried up all the raindrops.
Lucky Girl...I caught a few frames before this gift disappeared.

Our Weekend In The Holidome...

I hope all of you had a super weekend. The weather in south Florida was perfect. It was sunny, breezy, warm and not too humid. Around Brynwood, we spent the weekend enjoying the weather and our yard. Handsome has a new Kindle (which he loves!), so he and Kes took to the chaises and got in a little sun time. (I did, too, but no photos, thank you!)

On Sunday, we swept the deck and pruned the plants getting our pool ready for the house-full of family and friends that will be arriving soon. (Hmmm. I just noticed that the waterfall isn't running in this photo. It's much prettier when the waterfall is on.)
We built this pool after we purchased our home, and in order to have the sun on the water year-round, we needed to move it away from the house. Our back yard is on the north side of the house, so during the winter, the house' roof line would put the pool in shade. Because of where we decided to place it, we have sun on the pool all day, every day - but it required a huge, honkin' pool cage to keep the bugs and critters out and still be attached to the house. From the day we beheld the finished and screened pool, we nicknamed it "The Holidome", and we use it almost daily.
Oh, yes...and so does Kes. After patiently waiting for what must have felt like forever to an impatient Labrador, she decided to just jump in and cool off. No wonder we have to clean dog hair out of the filters! Such is life in The Holidome. Yeah, I know...we've got it rough...really rough.

Sunday, I Was "In The Pink"...

Sunday was a really nice day. Handsome spent some time doing yard work and I was in the studio. I was sewing sashing to the pink flannel quilt blocks.

Of course, after he had finished his yard work, a swim was in order, so we both went on break and spent about an hour in the pool. I'm so sorry if you're in the North and subjected to the premature cold weather already. It's still in the 90s around here and we so were anxious to cool off.

After our swim, I headed back to the studio where I put together all ten strips - each made up of six four-patch blocks and separating sashes. I was pretty proud of myself for matching up all the seams when I joined the first two long strips together, then gave myself a beaver slap to the forehead when I realized that I hadn't attached the long sashes yet. (There has to be a long sash between each long strip of blocks to match the ones I stitched on the sides. The finished effect is a contrasting block around each four-patch. It's a necessary step, since we all voted for sashing!) You can see the side sashes in the second photo. My bone crochet hook - which I use to guide fabric through Miss Ellie's presser foot - is pointing to the sash fabric.

I should say one more thing about my technique here. I do not stress over lining up plaids or stripes in my quilts as I do in garments. I like the random, haphazardness that comes from just sewing them together as they want. You'd think with my Type A personality, I'd be working toward perfection. I'm only that way when matching seams, not when lining up those straight fabric patterns. I tell you this so that you don't think I'm just a sloppy quilter. I do this on-purpose.

Anyway, you guessed it. When I realized that I had missed the long sash, out came the seam ripper to unsew that one long seam. By the time that was done, it was time to prepare dinner, so I turned off Miss Ellie, the fan and the studio tv and walked away.

Today, I've got a fresh outlook. I'll first cut all the long sashes, and then I'll set about correctly joining all the long strips of blocks together. When I'm finished, the quilt top will be all assembled. Then, all I'll need to do is assemble the backing and it will be off to the machine quilter's this week.

I want us to be able to keep all these completed quilts straight, so I'm calling the nine-patch quilt from this post "Garden Magic", after the name of the fabric line. This pink flannel quilt I'm calling "Cotton Candy" because that's what I think of whenever I see the pretty pink fabric. Of course, there's no better name for the red and grey quilt shown here than "The French General" named for the designer of the line. Besides, I don't know how to pronounce the fabric line (Rouenneries)!

I don't know how long it will take for the quilts to come back from the machine quilters, but you can rest assured that as soon as they do, I'll be crowing about her work and showing you the finished pieces.

Get Your Motor Running...

Sunday was a beautiful day here in southern Florida. A perfect day for a motorcycle ride, in fact.

We rode out late Sunday morning for brunch in Sarasota and then enjoyed a leisurely ride home. We also stopped along the way to check out some toy haulers. All in all, our ride was about sixty miles round-trip.

When we got home, we parked the bikes in the shade so they could cool off, and I snapped this picture to show you what our bikes look like. Both of them are Harleys.

Mine is the bike in the foreground. It's a 2003 100th Anniversary Softtail Deuce. They quit making them this year, so I guess I may eventually end up with a "collector". I love this bike. Riding it's a ball!

Handsome's bike is the beauty in the background. It's a 2004 Heritage Softtail Classic with a custom paint job. He tells me that ladies frequently approach him to tell him they love the colors. He says that he always replies, "Thanks! My wife chose these colors." (Yeah, right, Honey!)

By the time we got back home, the temperature had risen into the high 80's or low 90's, so a dip in the pool was in order. We swam, floated, tossed a couple of retrieves so Kes could cool off, too, and then just hung out until we were both prune-y. That was the extent of our exertion today. Tough, right? Not at all. It was a thorough day of rest. Sometimes, you just need to do nothing.

Hope your Sunday was perfect, too!

An Old Lab With A New Obsession...

Amidst ironing and housekeeping and an appointment with a new doctor yesterday, there was also time for a little play.

Kes comes from a long line of hunting blood which began long before both her grandmothers, Bryn and Raven. Her father, Morgan, spent many days afield with Handsome, and Kes was no slouch in the field either. Good hunting bloodlines in our retrievers have served us well in the field, but now, when it would be nice to just relax in our pool, that drive and desire has turned into a good, old-fashioned obsession.

Recently, Handsome was in the pool store making sure our pool water quality was up to his exacting standards, when Chris (our pool expert) told him about a toy that her dogs adore. So, as soon as Handsome left the pool store, he went over to Petsmart (is it Pet Smart or Pets Mart? - Sorry, again I digress), and he purchased one of those toys. Here's the result...
My soon-to-be twelve year old Labrador retriever stands at the glass door to the lanai and fairly whines to be let out to fetch this new toy. Instead of the sinking Kong toy, she now knows that this one will float. As a result, she launches herself into the pool...repeatedly. She makes us laugh out loud with her persistence. She loves this darn toy to distraction.

I know how she feels. To love something so much that it occupies your every thought. It makes you fly through the air. It makes you reach further. It makes you feel younger. It makes you happy beyond measure. With it, you're the best you can be - and better than you ever dreamed.

For Kes, it's a floating toy enveloped in red canvas. For me, it's the man I've loved over half my life. Six feet seven inches of intelligence, humor, music, love and patience. For me, it's my Handsome husband of nearly twenty five years. I know exactly how Kes feels.