Recent projects

I scored this antique armoire at an auction a few years ago, but I never really liked the color. From pinterest, I discovered a new primer that doesn’t require sanding down the piece before painting it. I decided to give it a try.

Before – see the color is a little on the orange side.

After – now it is black and has been moved to a different room. It looks ok, but I have since learned how to do it better. Now, I need to find time to do another piece. The trick is to use a smooth roller for both the primer and the final paint application to achieve a smooth finish and alleviate brush lines.

Sweet potato starts. I had lots of dinky sweet potatoes left from last year, so I decided to start my own slips this year. They did great. However, I have just discovered that the goats have been in the garden and I don’t have any plants in the ground right now. I am personally ready to get rid of the goats, except that they are still kind of cute.

Homemade yogurt. Again, found the idea on pinterest. The yogurt is very easy to make, but I haven’t perfected the process of flavoring it. If I add flavoring after it sets, the yogurt gets runny. If I add favoring before it sets, it doesn’t set. Anybody have any ideas?

Before. Now, for one of John’s projects. Each of the bedrooms has a walk-out balcony, but the floor joists just look rough and unfinished.

After – he wrapped the underside with metal to give it a finished look. Doesn’t it look a lot better? 1 down, 2 to go. He also constructed it so that any rain water coming through the deck would shed away from the house. If you look really closely at the hummingbird feeder, there is a little buddy hovering there.