So Much for Lent

It's just about the third Sunday in Lent.  What I hate about Lent is all the people that treat it as the time for taking a second stab at the diet they abandoned three weeks after New Year's.  The thing you give up, or, alternatively, try to do more of, is supposed to be something that is a SACRIFICE.  Something that pains you so that when you're tempted you pause for some reflection and inner growth instead.

I gave up thrift store shopping.  And, boy, has it been hard.  I wear thrift store clothes, I furnish my home with thrift store decor, I use old sheets as muslins for sewing, and I find lots of raw materials to re-do, reupholster, and re-paint.  To stay away from the thrift stores is a Sacrifice, indeed.

We're a whole month from Easter and already I've failed.  I went to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore today.  And I came home with this:

But let me rationalize explain. 

First, The bagged stuff is actually on it's way TO Goodwill.  (See - I can purge every now and then!)

Second, spring is coming fast and it's time to plan the garden.  I've always wanted raised beds but new wood is Ex-Pen-Sive.  So I wanted to find some scraps.  And I did!!  I found enough pieces of NEW wood, already cut in equal measures for THREE raised beds. 

The drawers are for a future project that will help me eliminate clutter.  And the picket pieces are for a quickie craft project. 

The particle board is for a spring cleaning project that I'm already halfway done with. 

And the last piece only took me 10 minutes to put into place.  Watch:

Here's my current pull-out cutting board. 

Nasty.  The wood has been pulling off in chunks which, of course, has nearly gotten in my food many times.  I flipped it over to use the underside.

But you can see that, in the divet used for pulling it out, food scraps collect and are impossible to get out.  I especially like when pie crusts get caked in there.  Yick!  I've been hoping to find a suitable replacement and I finally did, today!

It was a little wider than the original so I just laid the old one on top centering it over the pullout divet,  and drew some cutting lines.  Two quick passes over the cutting table was all it took.

Back in the kitchen I cleaned both sides with a mix of baking soda and vinegar.  If you remember 4th grade science, vinegar makes baking soda get all bubbly.  It's about the best, albeit stinkiest, all-natural cleaner for surfaces like wood that are porous. 

And there you have it.  My brand "new", Lousy Catholic cutting board.  So....

Antique Lamp

About a year ago my uncle passed away and my Gram, who took care of his affairs and owned the cottage he lived in, let all of her grandkids go through his house and take what we wanted. Usually such a scenario turns ugly fast. It's amazing the way some families can fight over who gets used junk. But we were all pretty congenial and friendly and everyone of us seemed to leave with things we could use and things that will remind us of The Cottage.

One of the things I snagged was a beautiful antique lamp with milk glass lampshades. Stupid me didn't think it was necessary to tape the glass lampshades down or take them off and wrap them. My sister who carried it out wasn't watching what she was doing. Both of us were carrying way more in one load than we should have.

Disaster struck. One of the glass lampshades fell off. Neither of us could stop it. Sure enough, it shattered. My little sister felt horrible. I could see the horror on her face and she could probably see the disappointment on mine. This is what I"ve stared at in my storage area for over a year:

So I've been on the prowl for a replacement shade for over a year now. I finally found one that fits on a spur of the moment trip to an antique store. It's not an exact match. The original shade has a ruffley looking top. The one I found is more of a squared off look. But at least both have the bubbled look on the sides. 

But it's good enough for me. I'll still look for a closer match but in the meantime, this lamp can finally be a showpiece.  The left shade dulls the light a bit more than the right one but I still think it looks very antiquey and old-fashioned.  So, fret no more little sister!