Coolaroo Shade Project Complete

Last week I blogged about this.

I got a few questions as to what the pole was for.  Well here it is.  A corner pole to hold up the 2 Coolaroo Shades that Andy put up.  Now we have some killer shade on the back deck.

If anyone is interested, we purchased the Ocean Blue Coolaroo Shade here and the Desert Sand Coolaroo Shade here.

Learn

Learn to like what doesn’t cost much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, climbing hills.
Learn to like people, even though some of them may be different...different from you.
Learn to like to work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done.
Learn to like the song of birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house, and fixing things.
Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter day.
Learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.

Deck Project

Step 1: Dig a hole.

Make sure its nice and square.

Have a cute helper on hand to measure your handiwork.

Step 2: Take a break.

Step 3: Make some braces so humongous post doesn't teeter.

Step 4: Fill perfectly square hole up with concrete (5 bags to be exact).

Step 5: Pose in front of hole.Step 6: Wait 5-7 days for concrete to set up. Meanwhile enjoy the "Totem-Pole" eye sore.

Chickens and Strawberries

I made these 2 sweet chicken bean bags using this tutorial.
For the filler I used a combination of polyester fiber fill mixed with lavender buds (courtesy of my father-in-laws lavender farm in Colorado) for the head corner and plain, uncooked white rice for the body.

And how cute is this mini Strawberry pincushion!? I got the tutorial here.

For the filler I used a combination of lavender buds and polyester fiber fill. Super cute!

A chicken and a strawberry were given to each of Carmens pre-school teachers for Easter and they seemed to be a big hit! The best part of all was that they were so easy to make. I see more chickens and strawberries in the future for gifts.