This Past Week
It has been such an interesting and productive week (of 10/18/26), that it made me want to share it with you! At least– I thought it was interesting and productive! So- a week in the life of Liberty– here we go. With pictures– I’m sure you want pictures.
On Sunday in addition to playing the organ at church, I went out to eat with a friend to a delicious authentic Mexican restaurant while my kids and one of their friends watched my friend’s two kids. Then my friend went to an event alone while I went back to my house to help watch the kids– who are young boys and very energetic and very hungry! I had prepared a playroom area in our attic in case it was too cold outside– but it ended up being a super nice day. So we went for a walk where some baby highland cows mooed at us. See– it’s interesting already, isn’t it?!
On Monday I picked up two free rugs that I saw in one of my local Buy Nothing groups the night before, and put them in my attic. On my way home I picked up our Ryobi backpack blower that I had taken to a Small Engine repair shop hoping they could fix it. Sadly they couldn’t, and I don’t care for the battery operated one that has replaced it because it is less powerful and also hurts my wrists– besides tending to suction my shirt into it. The backpack one that I bought for $90 at a yardsale ten years ago never did that. Sigh.
Then I took the truck to a neighbor’s property and filled it with wood chips to mulch my flower beds. It was my second load, but my first this week. In the past I’ve teased my husband that I use the truck more than he does….
Well, I don’t know where I got all my energy today, but I decided that since it was only supposed to get colder, that if I was going to pressure wash the back of the house that was turning green because the sun doesn’t hit it much, then it had to be today. So I got the pressure washer out. Thankfully there was already a hose on the back of the house. I started with the old cement steps that we don’t use, and then moved around the back of the house. I decided to use yarn to haul the pressure washer wand up to the second story window so I could reach the second story siding the best I could. It worked pretty well! I worked out of four different windows, so you can imagine how many trips I took up and down those steps. I knew I would wish I had videoed it, so I called my homeschooling daughter (11 grade now!) to come video me and she did. I spent 2 or 3 hours and got all but one section done because there was still an AC in that window.
On my way to teach my evening Piano Class at the local community center, I stopped to pick up 3 big bags of free apples from a nice young at heart elderly gentleman who called to tell me I could have them. Previously I had stopped to ask if I could pick his apples to keep them from going to waste, but he was picking them. That first time he had let me have about a dozen in exchange for half an apple pie.
On my way home from Piano Class I saw a wicker couch not far from my house on the side of the road. It had a coffee table, end table, and cushions in garbage bags. I drove home to get the truck which was still filled with wood chips, as at my age I think loading and unloading it the same day would be a little much for my back. I also needed a strong teen son to help load the wicker couch– or so I thought. It was actually lighter than I thought. But having help did probably keep me from hurting the couch or my back. Besides the wicker furniture I also scored a full piece of plastic lattice– worth $42 at Home Depot. And I was able to fit the furniture and lattice on top of the wood chips and get the short distance home (half a mile? a mile?) with the lattice only falling out once, much to the embarrassment of my helper. Well, he was embarrassed that I was getting the free furniture in the first place. He absolutely hates free things by the side of the road, but that is because he doesn’t pay the bills.
Once home I opened the garbage bags to find that the cushions had been packed with dryer sheets. Someone had taken very good care of this set. And I had a plan.
I sorted the apples into which ones needed used first. Oh, and I probably did some dishes. Both my kids are so busy with school and instrument practicing and teaching now that I’m the one with the most free time– so I’ve been doing all the dishes– loading and unloading the dishwasher, and handwashing. There were other things that happened but I’ve forgotten them now so let’s move on to Tuesday.
On Tuesday I vacuumed and cleaned up because we had a young mother come over with 2 little ones. I entertained and fed the toddler and later put the baby to sleep in my old pack n play. Yes! She was sleepy and this is the second time I’ve succeeded in putting her to sleep. That was fun. We went on the same walk in our neighborhood for it was another lovely fall day– cool at night but lovely during the day. Tuesday is my piano teaching day, so from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. I taught piano lessons, with one half hour break.
Wednesday morning I set to work on the wicker couch. The wire that supported the cushions was rusting so I took off the fabric and began pulling staples. There were 3 different sizes and types of staples or U-nails. It took about an hour. I was glad not to injure myself. My back hurt from kneeling and bending over— a tell-tale sign of growing ever older…. Then I got my leftover Black Walnut TWP from our rancher house. I used a big deck stain brush to put it on the couch, the end table, and the coffee table. Oh, but I secured the pieces under the coffee table that were coming undone, first. My staining method was to start each piece upside down, then turn it over and finish the sides and top. It was pretty efficient. The weather was just right. It didn’t take long to dry.
I decided to paint the cement steps I had pressure washed, because I figured they wouldn’t deteriorate as fast if I painted them. They had been pretty black, and are very rough-textured steps. They had been painted at some point long in the past. Someone had given me floor/porch paint. Reading the directions informed me that I needed to prime the steps first, so I did. The easiest method I found was to pour the paint right on the steps and then spread it out with the paint brush.
Wednesday evening I took the kids to their evening church activities– oh actually, my daughter took me. She’s learning to drive. She’s doing very well.
Thursday morning I cut some vinyl coated wire fencing to put on the wicker couch. I had some U-nails but was afraid of splitting the now-old wood. Oh– I googled the name on the couch– it’s about 35 or 40 years old! So a friend had an idea for me to screw wood strips on instead– and I found some scrap pieces of wood and hand-sawed them the right length.
Here is what this section of my porch looked like before I found the wicker couch:
Oh, it was so fun to get that couch assembled and then “style” it on the porch. Soo pretty!! Because of the porch corner by the stairs, and the sun shining into my face, I tried moving the couch to the opposite side. It fit very well like that, but when it rains the cushions would get wet, so I moved it back. Oh well.
Then I painted the cement steps. I thought I had gray paint, but it was white… hmmm.. I looked again and saw that I had another can of a different color. Upon stirring the 5 year old paint that was in like new condition, I discovered that it looked dark teal. Hmmm. Well I wonder what would happen if I mixed it into the white. So I poured out some white, and added some teal, and mixed with my brush. I liked the results— the resulting color was very close to the blue accents on our house. But I also liked the swirling and seeing two colors– so at the last minute I decided to be artistic…. and this is how it turned out! I think it’s perfect– and those who don’t can paint it a solid color the next time it needs painting….
Since the couch looked so nice, I asked my husband if I should spray paint the rusty portch swing…. (that of course I had gotten free a year or two ago….). He said yes, so…..
Well first Thursday evening I picked up some free yellowish Christmas balls. They were a nice fall color.
Then somebody who is not online helped me make 3 apple pies– one to give to the man who gave me the apples, one for me, and one for “ehgmm.” Well, they only wanted half, so I got one and a half for me.
Friday morning my husband ran errands with me. That rarely happens. I dropped off the apple pie, we got gas, we picked up some food at Aldi, I dropped off an Amazon return at the UPS store, and then we ended at Home Depot where he returned something and I bought 3 cans of spray paint, and we looked at stair materials.
I got to work on spray painting the swing frame. It was a little windy. I used all 3 cans plus a little that was left in the other can I already had.
I’m not sure which day I spread the wood chips in my flower bed. Since I didn’t take a picture, I don’t have a time stamp to check…. But I spread most of them. The rest I put in a pile to use later. When I was pressure washing, I pulled out a 2 foot high straight maple tree that had sprouted. I decided I would like to plant it nearish our firepit because when we sit at the tables there is no shade and the sun hits our eyes quite strongly– so my husband dug me a hole and I planted it. If it survives the winter but we don’t like the placement we can always move it.
Saturday– the last day of this eventful week. This is my Fifth year with King of Christmas. They love sending me trees and ornaments, and I love displaying them! So on Saturday I set to work decorating my fireplace mantle area. Oh– but first I had to accompany daughter to her orchestra rehearsal. Then I went shopping for a bedroom ceiling light at some secondhand stores, but I didn’t find one. After rehearsal we got some coffee and went to an antique mall to get some doorknobs. We ended up staying and looking at a bunch of neat things, including a $250 piano stool nearly identical to one I had my husband get off the side of the road when I was out of town… We got home, then the rest of the family left on a shopping outing, and I installed 2 doorknobs, and a third later (thanks to my foresight to have my husband remove the stuck screw before he left).
While they were gone I decorated my little pine cone tree with the cute little yellowish balls for fall.
And then I set to work on my Christmas mantle wreath garland tree set and snowflake ornaments. I’ve never decorated my mantle with a garland and trees like this! I hit a snag when trying to plug in the lamp, the fireplace, the two trees, and the garland all into the same outlet (in an old house). So now I have to wait for the resident electrician to find time to discover and hopefully fix the problem.
What did I eat this week? Well, besides apple pie, I took leftover Chinese takeout rice and added a can of black beans, can of chicken, can of corn, frozen bell peppers, and taco seasoning and mixed it all up. It’s delicious especially with salsa, shredded cheddar cheese, and sour cream on top.
I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing about my week. Certainly not all my weeks are this productive and fun– it’s not every week that you find a nearly perfectly good wicker couch by the side of the road– that makes you want to make your entire porch look really nice. I will admit that the prospect of company coming in a couple weeks motivates me to get projects done and make things look extra nice. I really should have company more often….
