Our First Family Camping Trip- Turkey Run State Park in Indiana

I have many wonderful memories of time spent canoeing, hiking, swimming and looking for Indian Beads along the rocky shores of Sugar Creek while spending time at Turkey Run State Park in Indiana as a young girl. 

So, when Jason and I were looking for a Honeymoon destination that was close to home and not too expensive, well, I couldn't think of a better place!  When we took our first camping trip with the boys, Turkey Run.  Our ten year Anniversary Trip, a whole week camping at Turkey Run.  If you've got a weekend and want to camp, I highly recommend this beautiful park. 

2001- First trip with boys (they were 6 and 7 at the time).

 Even at this age it was obvious which one didn't mind physical labor.  He "begged" to carry the bag, we had to take it away from him after a while, he didn't willingly give it up, crazy kid!

 Canoeing, so much fun.  They also have inner-tubes.  So many great memories of canoeing here as a kid.  This was the boys first time! 

Some of the best scenery in the area.  Gorgeous!

One of the highlights of this trip:  the crazy raccoons that stole all our hot-dogs in the middle of the night.  I kept hearing the cooler closing, like something was trying to get in it so I got up with the flashlight to check and after some scurrying found a raccoon, in the middle of the road snacking on my package of hot-dogs.  Yep, rooky mistake.  Cooler got locked in the bed of the truck after that.

Next trip wasn't until 2004, its our 10th Anniversary Trip.  The boys went to camp for a week in Ohio and rather than come all the way home we took the week and camped.  What a great week it was!  Walking in the woods is so relaxing.  Beautiful place to come, hike a trail and refresh!

  On our canoe trip I took lots of pictures of Covered Bridges.  I then came home, cropped and had them blown up, they are framed and hanging in my living room.

As a young girl I remember walking this trail and we had no choice but to walk on this little ledge, the entire space between the rock walls was full of water. 

I have lived in this area all my life and never realized we had lizards such as this.  Salamanders, yes, lizards, well, surprise!  Now I see them all the time.  Cute little guy.

If you've got a day trip to plan or a weekend to fill, Turkey Run is a beautiful place to get away from it all and enjoy the great outdoors. 

 

Food Prep Nearly Done

15 more days, I am starting to get excited for our upcoming trip.  I still have a few more supplies to purchase since the boys are going with us this time.  The tent needs sealed and sprayed for bugs and I've got to make sure the boys have everything they'll need to be comfortable.  (Well, as comfy as you can be carrying all your belongings on your back for a week).

I went through the freezer to see how I was doing with the food supply and wow, I only need a couple sides to mix with meat and I'll be ready to go.   Here's the dehydrator I use.  Meals take roughly 12-18 hours to dehydrate (the juicer they are the longer they take).

Here's a few of the staples I've found to deydrate/rehydrate really well:

This is just a rice mixture with veggies and shredded turkey.  When I put it in the dehydrator I portion it out so I can keep track of how many servings I have.

 When its done deyhdrating I put it into ziplock bags in 2-serving portions, getting as much of the air out as possible.  It really is amazing how little it weights after its dehydrated.  Believe me, when you're carrying your food supply for a week you want something that's lightweight!

When I go to put all my little baggies into the Bear Vault I'll crumble them up and get any extra air  out and try to make them as small as possible.

 This is either shredded beef or pork,  I've dehydrated both.  I will dehydrate a can of Pork N Beans to mix with the meat.  Really good stuff.

This is another of the sides that tastes great and packs a punch.  I mix a can of beans with a can of mexicorn.  Dehydrate it and mix it with meat when its rehydrated.

When you're putting it in the dehyrator you want to try and do a single layer as well as leave plenty of open space to help it dehdyrate evenly.  Some people actually blend up their food and then dehydrate it.  I haven't had any problems with it dehydrating/rehydrating so I don't do that.  I have enough picky eaters without their food being mush when its rehydrated.

We take a small camp stove but prefer cooking over the fire.  My picky eater(s) needs it to simmer forever before he can eat it.  We get our fire going, pull some coals to the side and set our pot directly into the coals.  The food is much better done that way.  We'll be carrying lots of fuel just in case we end up not having fires.

Our First Project of the Season- 2015

Framing, framing and yep, more framing.  The water dispersal system is ordered and on its way.  Almost done, believe it or not.  

Hubby's done a fabulous job!  

Here we are, final stages of the project and hubby just now got some scaffolding.  That could of come in handy when he was dangling off the edge of the house months ago.  Crazy guy!

Can't wait for the metal to come and see it start going up.  Next project, the outdoor kitchen.  

Here's the links for previous posts, look how far we've come:

First post- removing former concrete patio

This Weekend's Progress- ripping apart the rest of the deck

Update- drilling post holes, who knew that'd take an entire weekend, wow!

Slowly Progressing- Header board is in and a couple new posts. Yep, that's what we call progress around here, however slim it may be!

 Part 5- Joists are in!  Yeah! 

Weekly Update- Almost ready for decking.
Decking is on
Weekly Update- posts and railings
Update- framing for water dispersal system

Why Replace When You Can Paint?

Have you ever painted a piece of furniture or cabinetry?  It can be a daunting task but the results are well worth it, especially if you hate the piece and are considering getting rid of it anyhow, which is what was happening with both of these bathroom vanities I'm sharing with you today.

Both homeowner's hated their cabinetry and wanted them gone.  I told them to save money we could paint them and completely change the look, they trusted me and the results are fantastic!

Here's the first cabinet before, really its a beautiful cabinet but the homeowner wanted a change or wanted it gone:

 A really easy fix for this one.  I cleaned it up with TSP, lightly sanded and started painting.  Two coats of paint and some light distressing.  Sealed with a polyurethane and Voila', a gorgeous new cabinet.  She loves it!  Notice we also changed out the hardware.  An inexpensive way to completely change the look.

This is my most recent project.  A huge vanity with two doors on either end with drawers in the middle.  It's nearly 20 years old and in desperate need of a make-over, something to bring it back to life.  The homeowner despises the cabinet and wants to replace it.  We are doing so much work in this bathroom (and spending a lot of money) this is one of those places where we can save some moolah.  I talked her into painting it.  I used chalk paint this time so I didn't sand, just wiped it down.  (This piece is so old its pretty rough already, even with regular paint I probably would have been good without sanding).   I always take the doors off, its just easier that way and I work around the drawers.

Here it is with the first coat of paint.  I am completely in love with this color and considering using it on my front door.

I don't paint the interior of the cabinet, just this little edge at the doors.

Two coats of paint and its looking great!  I'm thinking we will give this a light sanding and come back over with a glaze.  I also would like to add a pop of color or paper for the drawer sides.  Add some knobs and she'll have a fabulous "new" cabinet without the expense.  Love it!

You could also add paper to the drawer fronts and door insets (decoupage with napkins, wrapping paper, etc.) or even wallpaper/stencil them.  What about some trimwork, that's a fairly simple addition that packs a punch.  

So, next time you're looking to throw a piece away, why not recycle it instead.  You might find you've given it a new life and added a bit of your own personality and charm at the same time.

Bathroom Project Update

 I have been working over the last month on a friends bathroom.  Things are going to really start coming together by the end of this week.  Still a ton to do!

One of the things we are planning is to paint out the cabinetry and "change it up" a bit.  It'll save us a ton of money to make some minimal changes and that money can be used elsewhere.  She's trusting me, so hopefully I can wow her when I get it done and make her love her cabinets again.

The shower is ready for glass, which should be here by the end of the week, except for caulking which shouldn't take too long to do.  I've also gotten most of the tub surround completed as well.  The front facade I am going to finish after the floor since it'll need to be cut to fit once the floor is down.

 The old countertop is being replaced so I left the final few pieces off until the new countertop is installed, just in case.

I spent multiple days last week grouting.  I had to use two different grouts due to the glass tiles.  Worth the hassle.  My friend didn't want white grout so we went with grey.  There are multiple colors to choose from so I went with the one that had the same color available in sanded, unsanded and caulk.  Only one left to choose from (in stock) so that's what I went with.

The white ceramic tiles get the sanded grout.  It came in a pre-mixed tub which made it very easy.  I did small sections at a time.  I've made the mistake in the past of doing too large of an area and getting the grout off is extremely difficult (my husband is still cursing me for that one!)  

 Same color grout but un-sanded for the glass mosaic tiles.  Also, because there's natural stone they got a couple coats of sealer first.

This project is about an hour from my house.  When I spend the day over there I try to make it worth the drive and get enough done to make it worth my while.  Half-days are a waste of gas, so in my efforts to use time wisely I also stripped the carpeting.  Yep, they've been walking on sub-floor for nearly a week.  After the glass and countertops come we can tackle the floor.

Ripping out carpet is a pretty easy task.  Here's a peek:  

I started with that awful stair, I really hate these things.  Do you really need a stair to get into the bathtub?  I think it's more of a hazard than a help myself.

Using a utility knife I simply cut the carpeting into small, manageable strips rolling them up as I went.  Padding is the same.  Time-consuming and a little rough on the knees, but easy peasy.

 Around your doorways just figure out where the door sits in the casing and cut the carpet in the center of that space.  I used the level as a guide.  We are leaving the carpeting in the closet area so we'll use a piece of metal tile to carpet edge trim here and at the entry door between the bathroom and bedroom.

 Carpet and pad are gone now its time to get rid of the tack strips.  I just go around the room with a screwdriver and hammer and pry them up in manageable pieces (I put them inside the rolled carpet when possible).  You can also see staples in the sub floor, those need to be removed as well.  They make a floor scraper that works great for this but I left mine at home, so, screwdriver it is.  Maybe took a little more time but still a quick process.

 Before I get started on the floor I'll need to take off the trim and work on the door casings as well (they'll need shortened a little to accommodate the durock and tile).

My friend and her husband are still using and living in the space as I work on it.  What a mess for them.  I'm sure they look at it most of the time and think it's never going to get done.  Hopefully by the weekend they'll see it all coming together, even though there's still a ton of work to do.

Glass shower surround and countertops are coming in a couple days.  What a difference they will make. 

Our First Project of the Season- Update

In my last update, posts and railings, this is where I left you.  We are still not completely done with the railings (we were short one piece of powder-coated rebar, waiting for it so we can finish up) and we've moved on to the water-dispersal system.  Well, framing it up anyhow.  

Here are the links to previous posts if you're interested:

First Post- Cutting out the concrete 

This Weekend's Progress- ripping apart the rest of the deck

Update- drilling post holes, who knew that'd take an entire weekend, wow!

Slowly Progressing- Header board is in and a couple new posts. Yep, that's what we call progress around here, however slim it may be!

 Part 5- Joists are in!  Yeah! 

Weekly Update- Almost ready for decking.
Decking is on
Weekly Update- posts and railings

Framing is almost done and soon it'll be time for the metal (serves as ceiling and water dispersal system) and gutters to go on.  It has been a long, slow process but it's going to be fabulous when its done.

 Last time this little piece going back into the house wasn't done yet.

 Those weird pieces jutting out that you're probably wondering, "what the heck are they for?"  Well, there is going to be an overhang.  Not exactly sure how it's going to work yet, I just pass the tools and hold pieces when necessary, definately not the brains of this operation.  I'll keep you posted.

Bead N Button 2015 Toho Challenge

A select group of designers were given the same set of beads and left to create.  Here are the results of that challenge.

Some really beautiful work is on display and will be on display at TOHO in Japan for the next year.

Others who visited their booth were given the same set of beads and their work will be displayed over the coming months here:
http://teamtoho.net/challenges-and-contests/2015-toho-challenge/

Wow, all these items created from the same set of beads.  How creative and unique each piece is!  

Throughout the coming year, others who visited their booth were given the same set of beads and will be showcasing their work at the following site.  http://teamtoho.net/challenges-and-contests/2015-toho-challenge/

I don't work with seed beads but am fascinated by the intricacy of the designs and how creative people are.  Great stuff!