Tonight, hubby and I watched the DVD Amazing Gracetogether. As I am culturally deprived, I only recently became aware of this movie. It, at once, sounded like something I had to see. I also knew it would be a movie hubby would also enjoy seeing. It was a wonderful movie depicting a part of world history I was never taught in school or at least not in a way that made it stick. The only complaint hubby and I had was the serious lack of accents in the film. We also wished that we had seen the DVD before our recent trip to London, specifically to Westminster Abbey where William Wilberforce is buried next to his friend William Pitt (played by Benedict Cumberbatch).
Until watching this movie, I had never heard of William Wilberforce, but after watching this story of his twenty-plus year battle to end the British slave trade, I can’t help but admire his dedication to both God and his cause. This movie ranks very high in my opinion and might well place near the top of a list of my all-time favorite movies were I to write one, where the number one spot would be held by another historical favorite, 1776.
Note: I was so moved after watching this movie that I wanted to review it for you here. This post was written and scheduled to post within the hour of finishing the movie. If you get the chance to watch Amazing Grace or 1776, I highly recommend both as a pleasant way to pass an evening. On the off chance that you happen to watch them in the presence of children, some history might accidentally be imparted in the process.
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience.
Please see this site's Policy & Disclosure Page for more info.
Please note that some or all of the links above are
affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you,
I might earn a commission if you decide to make a
purchase after clicking through the link.
Earlier this year we got together with three couples and one single gal while one of the couples was in town for what I like to think of as cousin date night. We are all over fifty, so get those dirty thoughts out of your mind. After eating dinner together in a restaurant, one couple called it a night and the other five of us got together in the common room at a nearby state park inn, where the out-of-towners were staying. Yes, we got the grand tour first and it was a very nice place.
Anyway, back to the common room where we were all seated around a table ready to play games with the fireplace going in the background. The out-of-town cousins travel with games and introduced us to one of their favorites, a game from the 1980s by the makers of UNO, called RAGE. It took a while to get the hang of the game, but they were very patient teachers and we all caught on quick enough. Remember, none of us is twenty anymore! Continue reading
A few weeks ago, my sister and I installed vinyl window film on her bathroom windows to give privacy without blocking all the light. I was a bit intimidated at first, but after reading the directions thoroughly, we decided to give it a go. We had the Gila Window Film Complete Installation Kit and a roll of film similar to, but not exactly like this one: Gila Privacy Control Mosaic Circles Decorative Residential Window Film No Glue No Adhesive Static Cling DIY (36in x 78in). See the affiliate links to these products below.
There are loads of different patterns available and further information about the product available at the manufacturer’s website (https://www.gilafilms.com/).
Basically, we had to clean the windows thoroughly and use the cloth provided to dry them. We cut the film an inch larger than the window on all sides and then sprayed the special sauce in the spray bottle on the window and film and smoothed it all down with the squeegee tool provided. We used a knife blade to cut the excess film right up against the window frame. It was nerve-racking the first time but once we had done it we were fine. Because it is not glued to the window it can be easily removed or repositioned. Continue reading
I don’t often review the books I read. I read a lot and that would get old fast. When I do, it is because I want to have a record of it out there to help others find a great read. This is no different. Right now, I don’t vlog, though the idea is in the back of my mind that it could happen someday.
This is an excellent book. I’m not sure I will ever feel comfortable putting myself in front of the camera, but I read it thinking it would give me ideas on how to improve my blog. So many good ideas!
I loved the voice of Amy throughout the book. It was like watching her in video form in my head as I read her book. I highly recommend reading this book if you are considering starting a vlog or YouTube channel. At the very least, go to YouTube and subscribe to the Amy Landino channel.
If you plan to pick up a copy of this book, I would love it if you used the affiliate link below.
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience.
Please see this site’s Policy & Disclosure Page for more info.
I’m back with another installment in my Trash to Treasure series. This project was a bit larger than the last project. The table shown below was pickup from the side of the road where someone had thrown it out with the trash. To be fair, the table looked almost new then except for the botched paint job on the table top. The rest of the table has never been painted and has been exposed to all the weather Indiana has to offer on our covered, but open, porch for several years.
I took these photos before heading to the local PPG store for some expert advice.
I had a pretty good idea that painting would be in the future for this table and my mother-in-law taught us that if a project was worth painting you needed to buy good quality paint. We learned that lesson the hard way when we tried to go cheap on the paint to get our old house ready to sell. We ended up doing more work in the form of extra coats of paint and buying more paint to get it done all because we tried to save a few dollars on paint in the first place. So yes, Porter Paint is more expensive, but if I am putting in the time and effort I want it to look good.
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience.
Please see this site's Policy & Disclosure Page for more info.
So, after some discussion with Harry, the man working the counter, it was decided that I needed exterior paint and primer and that if he tinted the primer part way to the color I was painting over it, I had better chances of covering that lovely design. So I bought a quart of primer and a quart of gloss paint in the color he called Special High Dive (special, because he had to fudge it because he didn’t have the right base in the quart size and grabbed the wrong one to begin with). It turned out great and I really love that it is “special”. I also bought a Wooster Brush 4187-2 Ultra/Pro Firm Shortcut Angle Sash Paintbrush, 2-Inchbecause I love the short stubby flexible handle it offers.
So, you might be asking yourself how I decided what color to paint this lovely table. Well, I read the book,The Turquoise Table: Finding Community and Connection in Your Own Front Yard by Kristin Schell, and decided that I needed a turquoise table for our house. Since I am not much for sitting in the sun or on picnic tables, I wanted to have a table of a different sort and it would be on my front porch which is shady except in the late afternoon. I knew I had just the table to do the job too. If you haven’t read this book yet, I highly recommend it. I enjoyed reading the hard copy so much I got the audio version to listen to it also.
So, without further ado, here are the photos of the table during the various stages of the project.
The primer coat comes first. It soaked up a lot of the primer. I turned the table upside down and put it on a small plastic table to keep from having to stand on my head while I painted. Then after it dried for an hour or so, I flipped it over to prime the top and edges.
Once that had an hour or so to dry, I turned it back over and began painting it with the gloss paint. Look at the difference in the colors!
The darker color shown is the gloss paint that was supposed to be High Dive, but oddly enough it turned out darker on the stick at least.
Here is the table after a coat each of primer and paint on the entire table.
I decided I wasn’t so good at this painting thing and that the top looked very blotchy, so I found some YouTube videos to help me figure out how to do it better for the second coat.
Even though it is blotchy, it still looks pretty good, and oh so much better than it did earlier in the day when I was about to start this transformation.
Here is the final product in place on the porch. It is a little hard to spot from the sidewalk especially when that part of the porch is in the shade.
I am thrilled with how nicely it turned out and I think the porch looks very nice now. Once the tree comes into its leaves, you won’t be able to see this much of the house.
Please watch the video below to see how all of this started.
So, if you watch this video, you will get a better sense of what the turquoise table is all about. If you ever walk by and my car is in the driveway, even if I’m not out at the turquoise table, ring the bell and we’ll go out to the turquoise table, weather permitting, and sit a spell and share our lives and catch up with each other. You can call ahead if you want and tell me to put the kettle on if you like.
I want to be a front yard person. I want to get to know my neighbors. I want to invite friends to my house. If you have a turquoise table, you can register it here.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you happen to purchase anything I linked here, I might make a small commission at no additional cost to you – which helps me keep doing more fun stuff to share with you here! Thanks for reading and your support.
