So I Decided to Put the Sofa in the Washer...

I finally got around to doing something I pinned about using alcohol to clean the micro-whatever they are making furniture out of these days fabric  The man cave furniture has had a tortured life with hoards of teenagers eating and sleeping on it.  Cleaning was way overdue.

The alcohol works great! Before:

and after:

But this furniture needed a lot of work.    Ten minutes into the process, I went back to read the post.  At the very end, it says you can just unzip the covers and toss them into the washer and dryer.  Okay!  I was expecting the usual foam-covered pieces like these in the seats:

However, the back cushions innards looked like this:

Once I have an idea in my head, I am not gonna stop.  I soon had four piles of fluffy fill on the floor, and all the covers in the washer. The fill is freakin' awesome.  It sticks together, doesn't leave any mess on the floor, and goes back into the cushions looking better than before.  I cleaned the base of the furniture with the alcohol, and two hours later:

The man cave furniture was all back together and looking better than ever.

Miss Angelica and the Bibs

This is Keegan's step-granddaughter.  I finished up bibs with the left-over fabric from the blankets just before she arrived for the 4th.  These are the baby bibs for the soon to arrive Arabella.  I used the free pattern from http://www.poopockets.com/free/bibs/bibs.htm.

These are Angelica's bunnies in matching bibs.  I just reduced the free bib pattern by 50% to make bunny bibs.  The neck is just a bit tight for the Baby Binky Bunnies.  Next time, I would reduce the pattern just a little less.

We had a perfect day for celebrating Independence Day, 90 degrees and next to the pool.

Keegan and Angelica

My son, Kiefer and Keegan's partner, Pep

My lovely husband, Brian. 

Angelica with her dad and mom, David and Keita.

Oh, yeah.  That baby is coming soon.

Angelica's Uncle Carre

 Hope all my American readers had a spectacular, fireworks-filled Independence Day!

Prairie Home Companion at Tanglewood

I finally got there!  I love Prairie Home Companion on the radio and have wanted to get to see the show at Tanglewood forever.  I mentioned that I was going to the ladies of the book club and got looks as though I had just admitted to loving porn.  Turns out that some people see this show as the high school play of the performing arts world.  Fortunately, I've never seen a high school play I didn't like either!

LOVED both the show and Tanglewood.  Tanglewood is my new favorite place for music.  First, there are the magnificent grounds and views.

Second, you can bring a picnic complete with wine and spread a blanket just about anywhere.  Not in the mood for toting food?  You can buy all kinds of goodies there and even rent lawn chairs. Third, the sound is crystal clear.

Garrison Keilor and all the performers were really wonderful. After doing the regular show, they started singing everything from Rolling Stones to Andy Williams classics.  What I thought would be a small encore ended up going on forever.  All the singers had truly amazing voices. Heather Masse of The Wailin' Jennys and the DiGiallonardo Sisters--must get anything they have recorded.  Joy Kills Sorrow with Emma Beaton were freakin' awesome!

The one downside is that the theater seats are not angled.  This was my view.

Brian changed seats with me giving me this view.

 

Fortunately, I was there to listen for the most part.   

I shall leave you with some of the words of wisdom Garrison Keilor put in the souvenir pamphlet.

"There isn't a lot you can do, but you ought to do that much. And if you do, you'll find there is more you can do, and you should do that, too. 

It's good to dream, but the urge to perform is not in itself an indication of talent."

Geez, he must have heard me singing at some point in time to have come up with that last one.

A Glass Birdbath Worthy of Gracing the Grounds of Hogwarts

I think I outdid Sandra the Sewing Muse with that alliterative-laced post title.  Now about the birdbath...Since my daughter was going to Marshall's for a little shopping, I gave her $20 just in case there were some interesting and inexpensive glass pieces to feed my glass garden ornament obsession. 

Were I not being chewed up by mosquitoes, I would have gotten a better shot of the bottom piece.  It looks like green glass roots coming up out of the ground.  Keegan says it looks like something that would grow at Hogwarts. 

Love it, love it, love it!  Thank you, Keegan, my new personal shopper.

Partying at:
 

More Garden Inspiration -- Glass Garden Totems

I saw one of these in my friend's Cape Cod garden over the weekend which inspired a trip to the Salvation Army store.  I accidentally lucked out by arriving on a "most-things-are-half-price-today" sale!

Nature assisted by filling this one last night. 

The upside-down base vases of both totems are sitting atop pieces of a straight curtain rod--so much cheaper than buying something. and the white looks good! 

The top piece of this one is a $6 paperweight from Marshall's.  The rest of the pieces of both totems are S. A. purchases that were from fifty cents to a dollar.  To bring in more blue, I filled the center piece, a cruet with a nice snug top, with water and blue food coloring.

 

Can't wait for the next half-price day!

Partying at:  

 

An Inspired Birdbath

Danni at Silo Hill Farm had a post about the Bloomin' Marvelous series going at Inspiration Cafe that really did inspire me to do something related to the garden!  Here is my newest birdbath. This one, for my hummingbirds, really does look like a giant flower to me.
 

Both pieces were from Marshall's.  The base piece is about two feet high, a giant stemmed goblet!  You can see the base better in the next photo.  I splurged on that, ten whole dollars.  The top, though, was only $4. Fourteen dollars to give the little beauties their own private bath doesn't seem too much.  They've been flitting around the hanging water at the large bird feeders which made me think they might like a small place for water near where they feed.  My hummingbirds LOVE the Hosta flowers. 

These join the other two glass birdbaths I blogged about here and here.  I need to branch out and use another material next time.

Thanks for the inspiration, Danni.

Partying at:

Book Club at the Cape and an Update on the Swimsuit Sarong

Every book club should have a getaway meeting--especially if one of the members has moved to a lovely beach town on Cape Cod.

I had to show you the osprey nest on top of what they tell me is a insect control box. I do love an over-sized home.

We spent about ten minutes discussing books and hours and hours on the beach, eating seafood, and trying out all the different wines everyone brought along. 

Some of the ladies of the club at a nursery that had a fairy garden with these sweet stone pieces.

See the little fairy door built into the stone?

We squeezed in several nurseries including the Cape Code Lavender nursery and also managed a short but expensive trip to the Scargo Pottery store.

And as for the swimsuit sarong update--I don't know whether it is that I'm too lazy to tie a knot or my present obsession with putting snaps on everything.  I decided to update last year's sarong with some pearl snaps.  I put two sets of snaps on the top to make it a wrap-around.

Love how the fabric drapes on the side showing a swirl of the black backing fabric.

The fact that I think this way makes me look thinner may have something to do with the snap decision.