Mushroom Harvest

Imagine my shock to find a few spots in the mushroom bed to have given fruit. The Captain did not water the bed while I was away for 2 weeks back in May. I thought for sure it was a bust. Once I returned, between Lil man & I, we would give it a good soak once a week, refusing to give up so easily. Our determination paid off... a little bit.

This last weekend, we discovered 3 clusters like the above. Lil Man has kept a watchful eye on this bed, in hopes of eating his first home grown mushroom. He & I will be adding a fresh layer of straw & more wood chips for transferring some of the spawn, our fresh clusters have given. Hopefully, we will have more abundance next Spring. I do believe we will place more rocks in the beds being all the clusters showed up around the edges, leaving the open mass bare.

The garden has been rather abundant in Paste tomatoes which has had me canning when I have a whole day to spend in the kitchen. Of course Lil Man can not stand the smell of the fresh pure paste tomatoes cooking down on the stove but that all changes once I add the herbs & tons of garlic. He loves my canned sauce.

School starts this week so I go back to an empty daytime house. On one hand I will miss them, on the other? Well I look forward to the quiet days.

It's almost Honey harvest time so I best get a move on locating that extractor and another hive for expanding our our Bee yard. Panda's friends are requesting their presence when I do the whole process. Kinda makes me laugh how they are so intrigued with all we do. Not so much the garden, but the rest? They Beg to be involved. Who am I to turn down some extra helping hands.

Sweet Dreams,

~~Tammie

Upholstrey samples,a Saree & deco DIY's

A few years ago, I found a rare treasure while thrift shopping. A beautiful Maroon and Grey silk Sari. I could not believe my eyes! Right here in small town USA, I found a Luxurious Silk Sari! It only set me back $2. Just so I could enjoy it, despite my yearning to wear it, I hung it as a floor length draping valance in our bedroom.

This is not exact, but similar to what I have:

 

During a Pinterest hunt for inspiration, I found the perfect use of my Saree in the Camper interior decor.

In the back end of the camper, I am installing a FULL size permanent bed. As in this picture, I am building a wooden wall/doorway "transition" to give the back sleeping area it's own space. This is not exact to my plans. Think of it as a rough glimpse into the plan.

My Silk Sari will be transformed into the curtains as well as a few sheers for it's privacy. I've come to the conclusion, this Camper project will give me every excuse to indulge in Bohemian style. After all, I am the one doing all the work so I'll decorate my way.

Just last week during a thrift trip, I found a batch of embroidered Upholstery sample fabrics on the "by the pound" table. I grabbed up enough to make a quickie Full size Patchwork quilt. I paid $3 for all these rectangles plus a full size square which is being transformed into a throw pillow. Both for keeping in the Camper.

 I have yet to fill & finish the quilt being I am hunting a thick wool or fleece blanket for use as it's batting.

During that trip I found a great Indian style embroidery queen size Duvet cover as well as matching Bed skirt. In the quilt above, I used the white "under mattress" material for the quilt back and had trimmed the embroidered hanging pieces for future use in another Camper Quilt.

Speaking of all these transforming of pieces to go with my theme,

 Check out these DIY'S!!

Another great piece I found during my many pinterest sanity hunts. The perfect Moroccan touch Rug makeover Tutorial! You must check these out. Charm Home shares how she transformed a simple white rug {use your own color choices} into an expensive look alike for under $50.

 http://charmhome.blogspot.com/2011/05/chases-nursery-diy-painted-ikea-rug.html

There are a few out there on this subject but I like the simple stencil of this one.

Although I equally adore this design {both give a free stencil download for printing}, I think Patience would need to be on my side for it's creation. Tutorial courtesy of A little Bit of Everything Blog:

http://www.alittlebiteofeverything.com/2011/04/ikea-rug-makeover-stencil/

 Another piece I am for sure incorporating into my Camper plans is to have a counter top waste bin cut out like this:

Keeps everything contained & out of the way, yet leaving plenty of the small counter top usable.

I can not leave it at that. I am also trying my hand at a few under cabinet bins similar to this from an Etsy Seller. Uses will be from potatoes & onions to fruits and fabric towels.

So as you can see, my dear Panda is correct. I am a woman obsessed... with my Vintage Camper project. I don't mind. Not a bit. This has brought a new slate of joy for working on in the dreary winter months. The decor that is. My Captain has promised I will have the walls & exterior supplies for finishing before the cold makes an appearance.

Now off to transform that 5 gallon bucket of tomatoes, fresh from the garden, into jars of rich winter enjoyment sauce.

Sweet Sunny Dreams,

~Tammie

Pears and Vintage camper roof yuck

Everyday, I have done some kind of work on the Camper. It's going slowly more due to supplies needed not so easily found locally.  In particular, I have a window I removed the shrunken old rubber seal and have yet to find another that fits. Keep in mind, all this work is done 100% by myself. So while I search out the rubber window seals, I have turned my attention to the roof. WOW, I am NOT enjoying this stage. That old rubber tar gook they put on there is a royal pain to get off. The middle roof is galvanized steel which is why you see some surface rust. That is where the roof sealant had worn away. Not to mention, it's obviously a previous owners horrible handy work (or a pathetic pro job}. I am removing all 4 vents, replacing the middle one with a vent fan, and sealing the rest up. There simply is no need to have 4 vents on a 13ft long camper. 1 was for the closet Loo, 1 is the fan vent, 1 is from once upon a time there was a heater and the other? I'm not sure what that was.

 I have managed to break down the oxidation from it's shell, hence a lighter grey color I have yet to sand the "dust" off. plus many other little things such as replacing the Butyl putty which sealed the window frames to the aluminum body as well as a few glass inserts and rain drip guards. I have also managed to de rust the door frame & paint with primer. That was a 2 day job.

In between all the work over the last few days, I have taken time out to harvest some of our Pears.

We have a worker friend of The Captain's coming out this weekend to have his hand at picking some for his family. The tree is dripping with pears this year.
I am just finishing up what i refer to as the Camper quilt. I found a decent amount of Upholstery fabric sample squares at the Thrift store which were perfect for the making of a patchwork Bohemian quilt. Something to keep in the camper not just as a backup blanket but also for incorporating into it's decor.
I promise to share as soon as I have finished the last bits up.
I begin working at a local U Pick farm in their farm market on & off site locations this Saturday. I'm really looking forward to get out of the house and be in an environment I enjoy. Besides, I have 3 kids to buy school supplies & clothing for on top of all this Vintage Camper work. A paycheck will speed things up a bit.
This summer has been rather bland within my blogging mostly due to the lack of road trips & creativity as well as time devoted to my project. I truly must find a way to get a little escape before the warmth starts to fade.
Until next time,
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie