Mobile Home Skirting Blues

Sometimes you just can't afford to replace stuff, so I always try to find the next best remedy.  Usually it's paint!  This time it was just what I needed to freshen up the yellowing skirting.

It's been over ten years since I painted the house, so it's no wonder it was starting to look ragged.  Especially the places where there aren't any gutters overhead.  I imagine years of rain splashing mud up on the skirting has discolored it.

So here's what it was looking like.

Yuck, right?  Well I had this great idea to paint it the color of the trim, instead of the house color, just to add a little life.  Well, let me tell you how hard it is to match ten year old paint!  But I only got it wrong once before I decided to take in a sample of the trim color (luckily I still had it).
A couple of nice afternoons and two coats of paint, and wala!

So the winterizing has begun here.  Wrapping up some outdoor projects like treating the roof moss and cleaning the chimney and awning.
The front porch mudroom is cleaned out and the snow shovel is handy (not like last February when I had to wade through the snow to get to the shed, lol).
The firewood is in, stacked and covered.  I'll be wrapping up the hoses in October and winterizing the outdoor faucets.  It could be an early winter for us as our mountains are already getting their first snow!!  That's about one or two months early.

Hope you all are enjoying your end of season wrap.
Till next time!

Finally Fall

Fall is finally here!  I was so relieved to see the rains come right on time, like Mother Nature knew exactly what we needed.

The fire was extinguished and peace is restored!!

As is the norm, I have been spending Sept. and Oct. preparing for winter.  Getting the rest of the firewood in, cleaning the chimney and wood stove, gutters, and now raking leaves.  

I have pruned the trees and brush as well.

We've had some really nice days this late, 60 degrees and sunshine!  Unusual.  This week we're dipping down into the high 30's at night and waffling between the 40's and low 50's during the day.

The mold season didn't last long, thank goodness!  But I found that my air purifier that I purchased when it was so smokey came in real handy during that time.

I made my trek out to the Washington coast in mid Sept. and thoroughly enjoyed my short but very fulfilling stay out there.  The weather was fantastic, perfect clear mornings for shooting and way less people on the beaches.  I really enjoyed experimenting with my infrared filter and the film camera.  Shot over 300 images!

copyright 2018 All Rights Reserved Jeni Gray Photography

copyright 2018 All Rights Reserved Jeni Gray Photography

 When I got back I narrowed those down to about 60 for the website. You can view the rest of them at www.jenigrayphotography.com .

This will be my go to site for this year.  By early next year I'll have a stand alone site where I'll have more control over the printing process.

I changed the name of my facebook page from J Gray Design where I primarily promoted my jewelry creations, to Gray by Design so I could share all of my creative endeavors.  I don't get a lot of business from facebook, so it seems logical to invest less time there.

I did create an Instagram account, however, as I heard it was a great way to promote yourself.  So find me there @jenigrayphoto where I am posting one black and white image a day.

I didn't get as much done on the old house this summer as I wanted to that couldn't wait till next year.

This winter I might paint the kitchen, it's nearly time.   

I'll be working this winter on my newest blog Gray By Design where I'm writing about the creative process.  I'm still creating jewelry too.  So it will be great fun to have lots of projects on those long dark days of winter!

Hopefully by early next year I'll have LightRoom for editing photos on my new computer.  That had to be upgraded first, have I mentioned that I think I've been living in the dark ages?  LOL.  Artists should upgrade their equipment and skills from time to time I guess.

I turned 62 last month so I'm happy to report that I don't feel like it!  Or at least how the masses portray it.  I have very physical work, exercise, walk, eat healthy and sleep great.  I cannot financially "retire" until I'm 70, so I best keep up the great health!  I live simply, affordably and will even have my house paid off in six years!  

Thanks for following along this journey with me!

Till next time.

Recycled, Repurposed!

This summer I scored these 2x6 boards that were being thrown out from a deck project.  Perfect size for any project, especially shelves!  Many were originally 12 feet long, so I had to cut them down.  Several of the rougher ones were used in a raised bed garden I installed in late summer.

These three 6 foot long boards were the ideal size for my kitchen.

If you've been following along with this blog for a while you will recall that I had cabinets that were literally falling off of the ceiling over the stove.  When I finally got the nerve to remove them I also had to remove the overhead fan, always vowing to replace it with one that will work in this situation (still on the list!).

Anyway, I had these shelves installed here temporarily until I could figure out what to do next.

Regular pine boards for shelving.

They were lovely for the time being, but as you can see, the newer boards are much more functional, and I prefer the more rustic look too.

These are wonderfully weathered boards.  Easily cleaned up, and have had no sealers or stains added, making them safe for the kitchen.

Adding these longer boards required a bit of rearranging for the wall storage that was previously on the side walls here, so I moved them.

This was great because I can reach them easier now too, and they are all on one hanger.

I think my cast iron fish hanger fits the scene much better now too.

So there is a finishing project that cost zero dollars and just a little effort to install.
The only thing I would change would be to swap out the white metal shelf brackets for heavier black ones.