Chair Seat Covers

Several years ago I bought some seat covers for my dinning room chairs. They were very simple and were perfect for my wood backed chairs. Three years ago we bought a condo in Florida that we rent to vacationers. When we were furnishing the condo we found a dinning room set that was the perfect size and look. The bad part was that chairs had white seat cushions. They held up for about a year, and after so many people had sat on them with wet bathing suits, or dropped food on them, they needed an update.

This is one of the chairs in the condo.  Beachy looking. The cushion looks clean in this picture.

The couch in the condo is denim, so I thought why not make my own covers for the chairs out of denim. I used the covers on my dinning room chairs as a pattern and I was on my way.

I laid the cover on a piece of packing paper and added about a 1/2 inch extra for a hem. I cut it out and turned a 1/4 inch under and ironed it in place, then turned another 1/4 inch under all the way around and machine stitched the hem. I put button holes on the front two corners to thread the ties through for the front chair legs. I made two ties for each chair about 18 inches long. The ties were long enough to tie into a square knot. I attached (sewn) a piece of Velcro on each back flap to fasten it closed in the back. Last I made a decorative pin to keep the back closed tight.

Here is one of the covers cut, hemmed, with button holes and Velcro attached

Now you lay the cover on the chair and push the back flap under the back of the chair so it hangs over the back of the cushion.

Pull the back flap as far as you can down the back of the cushion

Pull the Velcro flaps around the back legs and attach over the back flap. Pull them as far as you can without wrinkling the top and sides of the cover.

Velcro flaps pulled tight

Go to the front and thread a tie in one of the button holes, back around the front leg and back out the other button hole. Tie them in a square knot in the front of the cover. Repeat on the other front leg.

Tie threaded through the button holes on the front leg corner

Tied in a square knot

Cannot use this type of safety pin.  Need craft pins without the loop at the end.

I bought some craft safety pins at Michaels. These are pins without the loop at the back end.
I bought some fish beads and pearl beads to string on the pin.

How cute is that fish bead?

 I then used the pin to keep the back Velcro flaps closed and reinforced. It also looks cute and beachy.

The finished product!

Ok, stop looking at the Gulf  and pool in the background and look at my cute chair!

Driving in Texas

We have been in Texas for four weeks and here is what I have learned so far about driving in Texas.

First, everyone is either a very aggressive driver or just a terrible driver. Sometimes is it hard to distinguish between the two. While we were out over the weekend my husband and I saw the absolute worst driver ever. We drove up to an intersection where an SUV was sitting at a red light waiting to turn left. As we were pulling up, the left turn signal turned green, so we drove past the driver in the second turn lane as she just sat at the green light. We kept looking back, and she was still sitting there until we could see the light was changing, and then she turned. We were stopped at a red light farther down the road, in the left turn lane, as the same woman flew right past us, going straight, right through the red light. Our only conclusion was that she thought red meant go, and green meant stop. SCARY!

The first lesson I learned driving in Texas was Do Not Cross The Double White Lines. This was not a lesson I learned on my own. It was taught to me last year by a very nice Allen Sheriff. I crossed the the lines and was pulled over. Having no idea why I was pulled over, this very nice Sheriff explained to me that there was a sign posted that said very clearly not to cross the double white lines. My response was that I did not see the sign, and because I didn`t know about this rule, I didn`t even know to look for the sign. I was just a sweet new Grandma from Virginia driving in a strange state visiting my newborn grandson. Sappy but true. Just a warning, no ticket. Lesson learned!

Lets`s talk about the service roads. The highways have service roads that run along side of them. You exit the highway, onto the service road and then to the intersection. If the traffic is backed up on the highway, everyone exits onto the service road. Now the service road is a mini highway. The service roads are one way and have businesses along them, so if you are looking for a store or business on  the service road you have two options. If the store is located on the same side as you are driving, you exit before the business, and if it is on the opposite side of the highway, you go past to the next exit onto the u turn lane and go back down the service road to the business.  Clear as mud, right?

US75, in the area we are living, has an HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane. It is suppose to be a special lane for those people that car pool, yet you would be surprised by all the single occupancy drivers that use that lane.  These lanes have an entrance at point A and an exit at point B and there is no getting off in between. Or is there? The lane is sectioned off from the rest of the highway by these skinny rubber built in posts that bend.

Obviously this is not a deterrent for drivers who decide that they want to get off and on the HOV lane without using the entrance or exit. When I talk to my daughter in the morning as she is driving to work she is always telling me about accidents from cars jumping the HOV lane. The worst is the motorcycle driver who is killed because a car jumps out in front of them when they are going 75 mph. My husband saw his first HOV jumper this week.Woo Hoo!

Speaking of jumpers, the last and scariest part of driving in Texas is the fear of falling people. The overpasses in this state look like the old Hot Wheel car tracks and are stacked 5 high in some places. So, I am talking to my daughter one morning while she was driving to work, and she said that several highways were closed. She said. "Must be a jumper!" "What?", I said. She continued to tell me that people drive to the highest level, get out of their cars and jump. Can you even imagine what that would be like? Not only for the poor jumper, but what about the cars below.

 If they land on your car do you then get to use the HOV lane?  Too soon? Sorry, couldn`t resist.

Spandex, Really?

I am an intelligent woman and I still cannot figure out why every piece of women`s clothing has to have spandex in it.  Buying jeans is one of life's worst experience, and the addition of spandex has made it 10 time worse. Add onto that the options of; at the waist, above the waste, just below the waist, skinny, curvy, relaxed, boot cut............. and you need a appointment with a therapist after your jean shopping experience. 

Pants tag

There is nothing better than that feeling you get when you pull on a pair of jeans and they fit, not too tight, not too baggy, they fit your butt and the waist isn`t bagging out, Nirvana! Not the case with jeans laced with spandex. You have all seen it, the women wearing the jeans so tight that you are in fear for your life that her button is going to pop and kill whomever is standing in front of her. Is it the spandex, or just her bad judgement on what actually fits her?  Maybe she just gave up and surrendered to the spandex.

Do we really want to see this?

I am middle aged, mother of 3 grown children and a first time Grandma, don`t I deserve to be comfortable in a great pair of pants? I am average height, and average weight, which is not tall and thin. Women like me spend the money in clothing stores. Even the specialty women`s stores do not make clothes for the average women. I have curves (in all the wrong places) and I am short waisted, two strikes against me in the pant fitting challenge. Add spandex into the equation and I am doomed. The last thing I want is to have to use a shoehorn to get my legs into a pair of rubber pants. Even dress pants and dresses are full of the evil spandex material.

My favorite jeans are from The Loft and they are awesome! They are Curvy Skinny jeans, sounds like an oxymoron, but they fit like a dream. Notice I left the size off of the picture, lol.

LOVE THESE PANTS!!!!!!!!

Now lets move into the activewear department, shall we?  I have been wearing the same pants to exercise in for years. Why, you may ask? Because I am not going to wear spandex or yoga pants to the gym, or out walking in the neighborhood. I use to be able to buy a pair of capri length workout pants made out of the material they made track suits out of. No More!
They are comfortable and don`t show every bump and bulge.

I went to buy an new pair a few days ago and now all they have available are spandex and yoga pants. I would guess that only about 10% of the population actually looks good in yoga pants. I don`t even like yoga, why would I  wear the pants. The poor lady to the right most likely had no other options than to buy those pants, at least I hope she had no other options.

I workout everyday, and would have to wear Spanxs under my yoga pants, and a shirt that went to my knees to even look presentable in public. I would need to workout and lose 20lbs to be able to wear the workout pants.  Am I the only one that sees a problem here? Stop the madness! Bring back my workout pants, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mom

Mom, Do You Remember?

Painting, ceramics, and decorating cakes,

Just to name a few,

Of the crafts your hands created,

All the things you loved to do.

Mom, do you remember?

You have lost so many memories,

Dad and Grandma have passed on,

We all can see your sadness,

As you are reminded that their gone.

Mom, do you remember?

Where did you get that book and pen?

They did not come from your drawers.

You have them in your walker bag,

Do you know that they`re not yours?

Mom, do you remember?

What clothes are you wearing today?

They are not your size, they`re stained.

Do you see that they`re not even yours?

So hard to be explained.

Mom, do you remember?

I cannot imagine how you feel,

What goes on in your head?

How everyone's a stranger,

Never remembering what was said.

Mom, do you remember?

I am far away, and I miss you so,

No communication from day to day,

To tell you what you mean to me,

There is so much I need to say.

Mom, do you remember?

I hope to see you very soon,

Will you know me if I do?

It`s important that you always know,

How much that I love you!

Mom, PLEASE remember!

Quick Fix to a Closet Dresser, Not!

Nothing is as easy as it seems. My son had this California Closet dresser in his closet for extra storage. When we made our last move the dresser was no longer needed for my son, so it ended up in the closet in the guest bedroom.  I had been looking for a small TV stand for the guest room,  and I was not able to find just what I was looking for.  Then we put the house up for sale, and as I was cleaning the house I came across the California Closet dresser. Time for a DIY project.

This is the original color of the dresser, but ours has two knobs on each drawer.

First, do not believe anything you read about how easy it is to cover laminate or prefab finishes.  I tried to sand it, put Zinsser primer on it, and still the primer would bubble and separate on the dresser. OMG, it was a nightmare. A few times I almost gave up and walked away from the whole project. 

I would put on a coat of primer really thick and let it dry. After it separated, I would go back and dab primer on the bare spots and let it dry hoping it did not separate again. I had all the drawers and the shelf lined up on a plastic tarp in the basement, and would go down stairs every few hours and dab and re-coat.  I then started with the cabinet paint, which also had primer in it. By the time I was done I had so many coats on the dresser, as opposed to coats in the dresser (ha, ha), that the shelf would not fit back on. I had to hammer it in place with a rubber mallet, and it scraped the paint off all the way down to the brackets. Time to add more coats of paint. Yikes!

Looks great as a TV stand in our guest room.

The last thing I did was replace the knobs. That was by for the easiest part of this project.  It turned out presentable and I can only imagine what it is going to look like after the movers get a hold of it. For now it most certainly is serving its purpose for staging and It only cost about $30.

How cute are these knobs?

For all the work I had to do on this dresser I will definitely use it in Texas if it survives the move. I think I will bring the can of paint with me just in case.

Temporary Housing

It has been a little over a week since we moved into our temporary housing in Texas. While we are waiting for our house to sell in Virginia, and my Hubby is working in Texas, we will be living in a 676 sq ft apartment ( about 1/10th the size of our house). See floor plan below:

The apartment is in a great location, about 5 miles from my Grandson, so I give it the most points for that. Yes, we are also happy to be near my Daughter and Son in-law. We are on the ground floor, and right across the drive from the office, workout facility, and pool, more positive points. The ground floor makes taking the dog out easy. We have a very large bathroom, a decent size closet, and a washer and dryer in the unit, more positive points. We were able to get a garage for my car to protect it from the brutal hail storms, and we are getting another garage for my husband`s car when it is shipped next month. Major positive points!

Now for the challenge of apartment living.

 First: The Queen Size Bed:
 We have had a King bed  for over 31 years. Ok, some of those years we had a king waterbed, but it was technically a king bed. We like our sleeping space and so does our dog. Edy is sleeping in a crate in the apartment and not too happy about it. When we moved into the apartment the bed was shaped like a taco and we had to hold onto the sides to keep from rolling to the middle. If that wasn`t bad enough, the box springs were made out of a cardboard that would make this horrific noise when you sat on the bed, or moved while sleeping. I had to sleep on the couch for the first 4 nights, so Hubby could get some sleep for his new job. Yes, I am a wonderful, caring, thoughtful, considerate and loving wife. A phone call to the housing company with constructive feedback (complaining) and we had a new mattress and box springs in a few days. The bed is not bigger, but much more comfortable and we are now sleeping (together). At least until the dog upstairs wakes us up at 5:30 every morning.

Second: The Crazy Upstairs Dog:
The weekend after I moved in, a young girl moved into the apartment right above us. As she was moving in, with her parents help, she would leave the dog in the apartment alone while they were going back and forth from her parents to the apartment. The entire time she was gone the dog would bark, howl, and would jump and push the crate against the floor (our ceiling). It sounded like a jack hammer. This dog is not a cute dog. The dog looks like the hyena in the Lion King that had the voice of Whoopi Goldberg. I have no idea what the dog`s name is, so I call it Whoopi. Whoopi`s owner's first day of work was last Monday, and Whoopi barked, howled and bumped for 8 hours straight. I turned on the bathroom and microwave fans to try to drowned out the sound. After a while I had to just leave to keep my sanity. Each day she got better, with one exception, every morning at about 5:30 Whoopi runs back and forth upstairs and it sounds like she is jumping off furniture, or maybe they are playing ball. This goes on for about 45 minutes. I don't have to get up at 5:30 am (EVER), so I am hating on Whoopi and her owner.

Third :Headlights:
The parking spaces are right outside our living room and bedroom windows. Whenever anyone comes home or leaves the apartment at night, their headlights shine right into the apartment. This is something I guess we will get use to in time, like hearing traffic noise from the street.

Fourth: Pooch Poop Bags. We have a little dog and she makes little poops. This she does exactly twice every day, right after she eats. In Virginia and Indiana she would go out to the yard, do her business, and we would let it be. Now, we have to put her on the leash, walk her to some grass, ( not far), let her do her business, bag it up, take it to the apartment and deposit in a trash bag we have on the patio. I want my yard back.

Last: Trash Compacter:
Is it strange to miss your trash pickup? I had no idea how much it meant to me until it was gone. We had a trash can in the house for regular trash, and a pull out drawer trash can for recyclables. They would fill up, you closed the bag, carried it to the dumpster in the garage, once a week wheeled it to the curb, and a wonderful truck came and picked it up.

Oh, how I miss this truck

 Currently, we have a trash can in the kitchen that takes a 13 gal bag. Between the kitchen trash, bathroom trash and the outside patio pooch poop bags, I have to take the trash out every few days. We are not near the trash compactor, so I get to walk across the complex carrying our trash several times a week to feed the compactor. Not Fun!

Well, I need to get to bed, 5:30 comes around way too soon and Whoopi will be bouncing off the walls and on my head. I sure wish someone would buy our house, I need  Permanent Housing!

Dad Is That You?

On this Father`s Day I cannot help but think of my father, Paul Swinehart. He was a wonderful father and I am just finding out he was even a better husband. He was married to our Mom, Laberta, for over 60 years, and now that my siblings are taking great care of my Mom (she just turned 89) I think we all have a greater appreciation of my Dad. Not that my Mom is difficult, but let`s just say she is a little needy. I am sure Dad had his little personality flaws, but after he passed 4 years ago he has automatically been identified as the Greatest Father, Husband and Human Being Ever! And that is just how it should be.

Because I am living in temporary housing due to a move, I do not have any pictures or files with me, so here is the only picture I could find of the Greatest Father, Husband and Human Being Ever!

This picture had to be from the 60s.  He looks so young.

May 8th was the 4th anniversary of our Dad`s passing. It was a very strange day for me because I had not even thought about the anniversary date up until that morning. I woke up on May 8th and thought of my Dad the minute my eyes opened, still not realizing it was the anniversary. I was thinking about him and wondering if he checks on us, and if when I think of him it is at the exact same time his spirit is with me.

Now granted, I did watch Long Island Medium the night before, and that could have been the reason I woke up thinking of him that morning. Then I realized it was the anniversary of his passing and now I am wondering if he did come that morning to check on me. Crazy?

Now it gets stranger. I text my sisters the above paragraph, and I got a text back from my sister Margie saying she thinks Dad leaves her pennies. So, whenever she finds or sees a penny it is Dads way of checking on her. As I was reading her text I hear my computer printer running. It was a sunny day, no power outage and my computer just reboots. I sent my husband a text saying "not funny" because I thought he was printing remotely and it scared the living daylight out of me. He did not understand the text because it was not him, besides he could not print remotely, duh! My Dad loved the computer. He was born before his time, because he would have loved the computer age we live in now. Could it have been Dad letting me know he was checking on me?

Jump a head a few weeks. I am in my house in Virginia, folding laundry in my bedroom, watching a Hallmark movie. Yes, I have that kind of time. In the movie there was an elderly man that was sick and dying. He was frightened and crying. He reminded me of my Dad in age and overall look, and it got me thinking about my Dad`s passing. I was wondering if he knew what was going on in the hospital, and if he was frightened just before he passed.  I was sobbing and walked in the closet to hang up some laundry when I looked down and there was a penny.  I never have change in the house, I am an ATM card girl, and under my clothes on the closet floor was sitting this shinny penny. OMG, Dad is that you?

Had to be 2010 Penny

Now jump to yesterday. My siblings are moving my Mom out of her assisted living apartment into a nursing home. It is a very stressful time for everyone, but she is where she needs to be, and we are all at peace with that. Not sure Mom will ever be at peace where she is, because she can never remember where she is. I digress. Yesterday I get a text from my sister Debbie, she texts, "Hey I went to Mom`s apartment to clear out the last of it. It was empty and I got a little melancholy. Nothing in there and I look down on the floor in the bedroom where Mom`s bed was.... and there was a penny... just saying!!

I hope that is Dad`s way of telling us that he is watching us and approves of our care of Mom

Happy Father`s Day Pop. I love you and miss you every day.  Keep leaving the pennies!