The Watering Hole/ Our Stock Tank Pool

Good Morning! How are you on this summer morning?
It is with all vulnerability that I share this post. 
Many of you will think that I've lost my mind.
Rebekah has dubbed this the "Watering Hole."

Before I get to the meat of this post, I'll tell you that I flunked beginning swimming 4 years in a row. 
The life guards at my aunt's country club finally decided that I could dog paddle to save myself but I just could not swim. Essentially, they gave up on me! I don't know why but I could never turn my head to take a breath. I always ended up with a mouth full of water. 
Coordinated is not my middle name. 

I like floating not swimming.
The past few Texas summers have tested this Yankee's patience. 
They are endlessly long and hot. I love my husband and didn't want to leave him but I was afraid I was going to have to head for cooling climates during the summer.
This year I was convinced that there had to be a way for me to cool off beside sitting sequestered in the air con.
 We researched pools and spas. A spa wasn't really what I was after because I was trying to cool down not sit in hot water. 
Hello? Hot Flashes! 
We have always held off on a pool because I really don't think our yard is able to handle one.
 There is literally, not one level spot in our back yard.
I had to stick a paver under the birdbath.

Bill had to go to supreme lengths to even level the kid's swing set.
There is also a huge power line running to the attractive green box that sits in the corner of my yard.

I almost picked up a Intex pool at Walmart one day but 
Bill really didn't think he would like the look of that big blue thing in our back yard.
I seriously didn't think that it would work for only $89.00.

I did what I always do since the dawn of Pinterest.
You can see my Keep Cool board here.
Red Neck Pools and Hot Tubs also garnered some interesting results.
Check it out on Pinterest.

I kept coming back to a stock tank because they are very inexpensive.
I threw out the stock tank idea to Bill. He didn't say much but he humored me and we headed to Tractor Supply. 
They had some pretty good options. 
They had galvanized but also they also had Rubbermaid.
We found a six by two round galvanized tank for $249.00.
We tied it to my pick up.

I told Bill to park around the corner until night fall and then we could unload it during the cover of darkness.
Instead he pulled right up in front of our suburban house and we rolled it around the back.
I don't think any of the neighbors could see us, (at least I hope they couldn't.)

Our yard guy leveled a portion of the yard and put in these timbers. 

We spread a layer of decomposed granite on top of the newly leveled ground. 
The people at the pool store didn't act like we were crazy when we told them what we were doing. They helped us pick out a pump and told us to come back and they would test our water. It turns out that our water is so highly chlorinated that we didn't need to add chlorine. Hmmm. That's not good. Is it?

I can't believe we did this.
Really CANNOT believe.
It has become our new standard for the nutty around here.
Bill likes to ask,
"Is it as crazy as a stock tank in the back yard?"
Hmmm. 
No.

North Texans can thank me. 
As soon as we filled up the pool it started raining and it rained off and on all week. 
We are still 9 inches below normal but last week certainly helped. 

Here is that corner of the yard before:

Here it is now:

This just makes me happy. 

I did some fun styling in-between rain drops. Shopping for pool stuff is like a whole new world. Granted, the pool won't hold more than a noodle or two and Bill thinks the noodles are tacky. I told him that I was just so thrilled to have water in the backyard that I was embracing the tacky pool stuff.
Our next project will be a floating deck for the chairs. I'd like to attempt this one myself but we will see...

Yesterday I floated and puttered in the yard. It was fabulous being able to work in the yard and not feel like I was going to self combust. I took a break or two and cooled off and admired my handiwork.
I'll come back with more views from my pool and a cost break down. 
I believe we are all in this for under $700.00.
Keep cool, 
Katie  

Linking with,
A Stroll Thru Life
Coastal Charm
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia   
A Return to Loveliness   
Savvy Southern Style   
French Country Cottage   
Funky Junk Interiors

Fixing the Kitchen Table

I told you back in April that I moved the dining room table to the kitchen and the kitchen table to the dining room. 
I love the dining room - love it. 

The kitchen table, however, had a couple of issues after 60 years of use.
It squeaked, shimmied and wobbled back and forth.

There were gaps in the wood where my father joined the ends with a breadboard edge. 

I hated how crumbs got caught in the grooves. Tables should not need to be vacuumed!

It was also a tad too long for the room.

Bill and I had a conversation about it. We were trying to decide the best course of action.
The table measured 6'6 with a 3' width. Bill thought that was odd. To be proportioned correctly the table should measure 6' by 3'. Dad probably made it to fit our old dining room.

After looking at hundreds of trestle tables on the internet, we discussed some options. 
We could;

make a new top, (Bill wanted to know what we would do with the old top. I thought we could use it as a headboard. He just asked, "What?")

cut off the breadboard ends,

cut off the breadboard ends, cut table to size and re-attach the end pieces using the same mortise and tongue technique my dad used thus keeping it as original as possible. (Bill would have to do this one as tongue and groove joinery is a little beyond my abilities.)

We thought the best option was the third and most complicated.

Bill wouldn't talk about it again for months. 

Instead we were living with the issues.

I went round and round about it in my head until the shimmying was driving me batty. 

I tried to theorize as to what my dad or grandpa would do.

I finally came to the conclusion that my dad would re-work the table and fix the issues.
Since I knew Bill was hesitant to cut on my family keepsake, I did what any good DIYer would do. 

I took a deep breath, said a prayer and grabbed the Skilsaw. (I hope my family members are not passing out at this point.) Deep breaths.
(I didn't get a picture because it is hard to take a picture when you are holding a saw.) 
My plan involved cutting off the breadboard ends plus an inch.

That way the edge of the saw moved along what was the existing edge of the table so I would get a good and even cut.  

Once I was happy with that, I could commence with the second phase of the project. The salvage inch of tongue needed to come out of the mortise end.  

It worked perfectly on the first side.

The second end not so much. But this is where I was thrilled that I followed my instinct and did what I thought my dad would do. 

The table had broken at one point and had been glued back together so I wasn't defacing an original piece.

My hooligan brothers had already defaced it!! ;) I'll ask around but I'm sure no one remembers when it broke. 

It does look like we won't be reattaching the mortise ends though but I don't have to live with crumbs stuck in the table anymore. Yipee! 

I was a little afraid to tell Bill what I had done so I came up with a story that my dad came to me in a dream and told me to do what I wanted with the table.

It belonged to me now. I'd carried on his legacy as a DIYer and that he wasn't holding me to the burden of having an item that couldn't be used as he intended. While my dad didn't come to me in a dream, I do feel that he was with me. All he and Bill have taught me about woodworking helped this project go almost flawlessly. The table is smaller and more properly proportioned. It is reinforced, secure and doesn't sway anymore.

I was so afraid that the old wood would split as I was drilling in new screws. I drilled pilot holes and each screw went in perfectly - perfectly. My husband taught me to use a drill bit smaller than the screw to make a hole, a pilot hole. This allows the screw to go in securely but not split the wood.

I touched up the the stain at each end where the cuts were made and on the feet.

I love the new ends.(Sorry, Dad.)

This table is not an antique. It was built with antique plans out of reclaimed lumber reportedly from an old barn.

My dad made this table early in his woodworking days. Once I turned it upside down, I saw it wasn't perfect and that probably bugged him. Keeping it beautiful and making it functional seems a fitting tribute to his workmanship. It's also a way to have this table in use for years to come.  

I believe our pieces have to work for us. 

We have much more room to get around the table.

Bill admitted he'd been procrastinating on this project because he didn't want to be the one making cuts on a family keepsake. We're happy with how it turned out.

Katie

Linking with,
Funky Junk Interiors   
Miss Mustard Seed 

Craft Closet Makeover

 I will keep something straightened up if I take the time to decorate it.  

My craft closet/office was a complete and utter wreak. 

It's off of the living room and it's been stash central ever since Bill gave the space to me.

You think this is bad? You should have seen it at Christmas.

There have been times when it was so bad, the vacuum cleaner wouldn't even fit inside. 

The piano was a great place to put stuff until sorting.

I decided to paint two feature walls in Robin's Egg Blue or Tiffany Blue.

 This is 1/2 Drizzle by Sherwin Williams mixed with plain white from Glidden.

I was so glad I cut it because it's pretty dark as it is.

It didn't take long to paint but it took forever to sort stuff and bring it back in. 

My brother and my dad made the little Modge Podge Chest for me for Christmas. 

I was 13 so it is very groovy. All my old sewing patterns were stored in it. Now it holds stationary. 

They filled it full of sewing notions. It is one the top gifts I've ever received. 

Bill and Bekah both made wood pictures with pop top hangers as children.  

Bill turned this space into his office when the house was full of teenagers.

The chalk board is simply plywood painted with chalkboard paint. 

Two decades of photo albums got new binders.

In 2006 we got digital cameras. There's been no more scrapbooking for me since then.

The snake is a long standing joke between Bill and I. 

We had one on our Honeymoon and occasionally he rears his head again. 

The crib spring memo board found a home in here. 
I saw this idea for the first time over at Funky Junk Interiors.

The blue with the light green chair is funky and fun.

I'll keep you posted on how well I do on keeping this clean.

Katie   

Linking with,

 Savvy Southern Style    
Cottage Style Party  
Home and Garden Thursday  
From My Front Porch to Yours  
French Country Cottage    
Funky Junk Interiors    
Metamorphosis Monday   
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia 
Coastal Charm 
The Scoop   
A Stroll Thru Life