Weekend in Review: Respite

Friday evening Ornery mowed the lawn including thousands of fallen needles beneath the pine tree in the back yard, casualties of the brutal heat.  During the night the temperature had dropped into the upper 60's and Saturday morning we sat on the porch drinking coffee under blankets.  All the morning lacked was Christmas carols playing to go with the strong pine scent and the cool temperature.  It was a nice day, with relatively cooler temperatures that made being out and about fairly pleasant...or so I am told, since I pretty much huddled under a blanket on the couch most of the day.

Elizabeth and Ornery went grocery shopping for me in the morning, then Elizabeth and Michael went to the zoo and Pier One, where he bought part of her birthday gift; a delightful multi-colored throw and coordinating lime green pillow.

While Elizabeth was gone, Ornery replaced the seals in the master bathroom toilet and put in a new "kit", then cut a new bottom piece for the old rocking chair to replace the very thin piece that had been there for the last 60+ years.  Her plan is to purchase some upholstery leather to cover both the rocking chair cushion and another side chair with the hope that any cat she might own in the future would not take an immediate liking to sharpening its claws on the furniture (like the last one did).

Here are before pictures of both chairs.

This chair was a garage sale find several years ago.  We have often discussed replacing the dated fabric, but have never done it.  An upholsterer bid $220. plus fabric to recover it.  She paid $15.00 for it--we don't think it is worth the price they want... 

This rocker has been in the family for longer than I have.  It has been black, gray, burgundy, gold, and now brown.  This is the fourth cushion cover as well, but the plan is to rework the cushion so it is attached to the bottom and add more padding before covering it with leather.

Sunday morning we dallied over coffee on the patio, then Elizabeth and I cooked, then we all dallied some more over breakfast.  Elizabeth painted the rocking chair and cleaned up the kitchen.

The newly painted chair with throw and pillow on it.  The gold cushion has to go, but I'd sure like to convince her to cover the seat in some turquoise colored leather...

Ornery went back to bed and I went back outside to do a little watering in the beautiful morning coolness. I am so hopeful that the temperatures in the mornings will stay this nice, although the forecast does not really support my hope at this point.  Soon the days will be much shorter and the cooler temps will be here to stay for a while.  I am ready!

The rest of the day we read and relaxed.  Ornery is gearing up for another trip this week so I am glad he took a day to refresh himself.  The house hunt will resume once he returns next week.