Porch and m&ms

 

Joe and I bought a little house in St. Marys, Georgia in 2000.  We enjoy it when we can and rent it out to vacationers when we can't.  Click here to see what vacation renters see.  

Owning a vacation house is a double edged sword. It's a nice place to get away, but then there's that pesky maintenance. Many of our trips "for fun" end up as hammering, painting and raking.  In this case...the front porch. Had to make it new. It had become treacherous!

With the help of husband and wife team, Joe and Linda, the old decking was ripped off.  Replaced it with Yella Wood. This should last decades!

Old posts had to be knocked out to replace the deck boards, so I decided this was a great time to create new heftier posts and railing.

 I described what I wanted to Joe the carpenter and he made them a reality. Twenty-four mitered saw cuts on this bottom treatment alone. NICE work, Joe!  And Linda, your caulk work is divine.

 While Joe and Linda forged ahead, I headed to the backyard to slap a new coat of paint on some of my "worse for the wear" trash porch furniture. How about a shocking pink adirondack chair?!

Meanwhile, back at the front porch, how's this for progress?! New posts are set!

But it's not all work and no play! This is Linda about to demonstrate what nice thin slices her big ole saw
(whatever kind it is) can make. That's Joe Williams, one of my favorite of all time neighbor, risking his neck for my blog.

 Here's a closer look.
HAH haaa! 
I am focusing on Joe, because this is an ART BLOG after all, and Joe is an artist.
"FINALLY, some art", you say.

This is some of Joe's work. I know! It's beautiful! He paints on old navigational charts.You'll find his framed work at The Cottage Shop on Osborne Street in St. Marys.
So, what about the m&m part, Ronnie? 
Be prepared to be stunned. See that beautiful shrimp? Joe uses the color from m&m shells as paint. Yeah, go ahead, ponder that with your mouth hanging open. What's more, he uses eye shadow too!!!! HAH! Amazing. What originality. Would you have ever thought of that in a million years?  I know, I've stuck my tongue out (just like you have) and said, "Cool, my tongue is blue", but  would I have ever taken the leap to use it to paint a picture? Well, Hell no!
Click the picture for a closer look.  
I wonder how Kool-ade would work? It's so hard to stay on track. I have to paint the porch first.

Next up! The kitchen tear out! See it all here! Next!

As for the porch...
I stained the decking a pale drift wood. Joe and Linda finished the rails and now all that's left to do is a good coat of white paint. The pink adirondack turned out nice.
I hope you all are having a good Summer.
Love, 
Ronnie - aka Joe Tucker's stove operator 

St. Marys and Baddog Creation

I'm heading for St. Marys this week.  It's time to make Spring repairs to the little yellow house.

I made a repair to the front porch two Springs ago. With all the tromping feet along with the damp sticky coastal climate, wood has a tough life here.  I wish I had a photo of the finished repair. I did a GREAT JOB! Used power tools! The repair still looks good, (zoom top pic for the amazing results) but now everything's rotting away around it! It's getting down right dangerous around the edges. 

So, the carpenter will meet me there on Tuesday to replace the whole porch floor along with new heftier posts and railings. I'll take pictures as we go. You'll see the results of the hard work when I return home. 

Other news...
Last week I painted another Good Baddog.  If you're interested, I started with a base coat of light khaki, then threw on some raw umber for texture. I drew on the pattern and started with red. I love red.

Hunk a burnin' Elvis. 

Mona Lisa hair.

Mangy, but getting there.

Almost...

Done! This Good Baddog now lives with a very nice crazy lady in New York. Thank you, Martha!

Have a great week, y'all! See you when I return.

Love, 

Ronnie

Spring It On!

Spring has been shy this year. One day of teasing 70's then 40's the very next day.  Alfred Hitchcock on the left and  Tippi Hedren on the right enjoyed a warm day on the porch on Sunday.

I wonder if they miss old Yoshi barking at them.  He loved those birds and would watch them for hours.
Old Yosh' died about this time two years ago and Joe and I still expect him to greet us when we return home.

He just knew there was a secret passageway through the bottom of that table!

Yosh' is buried not far from these porch steps.  He lived to be 15.  105 in dog years. He was a great dog and it has taken us this long to consider getting another one. Joe has been scouting out for red, smooth haired, boy dachshund pups, so it won't be long until Tippi and Al have a furry companion again.

I have a jump on the Spring spruce up this year. I had Mom's house painted last week. She lives right next door. Window trim, doors, shutters, eves and gutters all freshly painted. Mom is as thrilled with it as an 83 year old woman can be!

I walked around our yard with the camera on Sunday. The plants are starting to show signs of Spring.

It stayed warm long enough last week for my day lilies to risk popping up.

The trees are still bare, but show signs of waking up.  See this tiny fleur-de-lis shaped sprout?

These two rows of Bradford Pear are always the first act of the Spring flower show. My dad planted these behind my parent's house about 12 years ago. 

More tender spouts. Fuzzy leaves of  Lamb's Ear.  I took these pictures as the sun was getting low. Shadows were long and I liked how the light brushed the edges of the tiny plants. 

The sun hid for just a moment behind a long skinny cloud. Still a bit more light.

When I turned around to head back inside, I found the moon rising over the house.

It was so bright last night, making eerie moon shadows on the lawn.

Strange seeing it looking so big in a clear blue sky.

A bloom on my Star Magnolia! A tiny tree under our bedroom window. I hardly notice it except in early early Spring when it does this.

In a few weeks these trees will be covered with fresh chartreuse leaves. 

Maybe we'll have a new dachshund pup.

Or maybe I'll have a yard sale!  

These lobster traps have been laying next to the back porch for 10 years.

Somebody out there really needs some lobster traps!

How about these wood covered bottles?  Would you buy these at a yard sale?

I know I would, because I did!  

Now it's time for them to go.
OUT with the old!!!  In with the new!

I hope it's warming up where you are.

Love to you all, 

Ronnie

A dachshund springing into action.

Saturday Outing to The Plum Tree !

Come on! Get your hat and coat. It's a field trip!
This time we're heading to one of my favorite haunts,  
The Plum Tree!
Parking around back is GREAT, especially in McDonough!


Flashback:  Here's a shot of their front porch taken last Fall during the McDonough Scarecrow Contest.  The Plum Tree won first prize for their Green Acres display. Eva Gabor looks so at home on the front porch.

The Plum Tree is just a block from the McDonough square and about 10 minutes from my house.
Spring is almost here.

Okay, enough of that.
Stepping inside the door I am hit by this beauty!! Birdcage stuff is the BOMB these days.
Anything BIRD is good!

"HI!  What's new?! The shop looks great!"

But enough chit chat.  This table is calling my name. Pretty hot little rocker too. Hmmmmm.
I'll think about it. Lots more to see...

OOOOO! Check out these dough bowls. Beautiful colors.

So much to see. I hope this lady doesn't notice THAT TABLE!
I'll drape myself across it when she walks by.

 I'm always a sucker for retro treasures to help deck out the St. Marys cottage.

 Let's head down the hallway. There's more!

Lovely bird prints on canvas. These would make nice gifts for the girls.
Let's keep moving.
Joe's watching basketball at home and I still have to get to Michael's for the 40% off artist paints, pens and pencils.
It's a BUSY DAY! HAHAHA ha!

At the end of the hall, a sweet little bedroom full of great goodies and lots of locally handmade things like pillows, quilted items and aprons.  Don't forget to click the pics for a closer look.

HI! That's me taking a picture and waving at myself just as this man came walking in the room and looked at me like I was crazy. Check out that Buster Brown haircut I got last week. I whacked off my ponytail which required an emergency appointment at the beauty shop.  I wouldn't recommend doing this even in your most desperate hour! It's a really bad idea.

Here are the aprons I was talking about. Beautifully made by a local gal. Perfection.

See anything you'd like? Love that sweet tiny trophy displayed inside a lantern.
Victorian prints are always good.

We better make our way back toward the door. OHHH, here are some things Sandy Mastroni might like.
Nice little 50's, tin, plaid picnic basket.

Did I mention that Cindy will ship!!! 
Yes, if you see anything here you like (except furniture) she will SHIP IT TO YOU.
For info on that go here: http://plumtreeantiques.blogspot.com/

One last look at those sweet retro umbrellas.  Cindy and her crew are masters of display.
If it were raining I just might.......OH, I almost forgot!

That beautiful Oak Dropleaf Gate Leg Table!
$169.  Hmmm. Let's ponder this.  What do you think?
My old table nearly tipped over with the grandsons on Thanksgiving.  I sold a painting this week for almost exactly this amount...........
SO, YES!  It's perfect! I'll take it! I'll be back on Tuesday to pick it up!

Have a great week y'all.  Glad you could come along. If you live nearby or even if not (remember The Plum Tree will ship) here's the essential info:
The Plum Tree
58 Griffin Street
McDonough, GA 30253
(770) 954-1928
Open Tues-Sat 11AM to 6 PM
http://plumtreeantiques.blogspot.com/


LOve and all good things,
Ronnie
aka Joe's stove operator