Monday, April 28, 2008

Frugal Is......

as Frugal Does...

and far too often, I cannot be accused of being the Poster Child for Frugality...

but I do try to balance my Desire for Pretty and Organized with my other two Desires: Greenness and Cheap (well, not really cheap necessarily because Cheap doesn't always equal Frugal...but in this case, Cheap was definitely the goal)...

so when I decided a week or so ago that I could not stand the Dirty Unloved Pack-Ratty Garage one hour longer*, I also decided that no way was I draggin' out to the Wal-Mart (that isn't my Real Name for Wal-Mart...just a Polite One) or Lowe's to buy paint when I have A Lot of It stored in the cabinets...

but I also didn't want to do a colour-block thing...like I originally contemplated doing to stretch the paint...

instead I grabbed my Pig Popcorn Can...that I dearly love...and sacrificed it in the name of Cheenness...(that is Cheap + Greenness...astound ya'll don't I?)...

to make a Big Ol' Batch of Ostentatiously Olive (hey...that's what I'm callin' it) paint...enough to paint the garage and then some...The recipe for Ostentatiously Olive is a big can of Nameless Yellow leftover from the previous owners (Good Lord at the paint those people left), an almost full canister of Tea Leaf and a full can of Herb Tea...
and a whole lotta mixin'....I almost dragged out the paddle attachment for DH's drill...but I had the unusual good sense to see that had D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R splattered written alllllll over it...I also realized that my Pledge to Reduce my tendency to cuss when D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R strikes ...and I'm home alone to clean it up by myself instead of feigning pain and needin' to Go Rest while DH gets Clean Up Detail (all though truly he generally just wants me to move outta the way)...would be greatly jeopardized if I attempted to paddle-drill stir that huge thing of paint...I'm hopin' we're going to finish this project up this week and then I'll post ya'll a nice photo or two...I can already say it looks so good out there...I painted the old cabinets too (Autumn Ridge...a nice warm orange) and we put up more shelving...and hauled stuff to Habitat...

and I'm going to surprise the Mr by painting his pegboard a soft Cafe Creme and then doin' that little outline-the-tools with a sharpie thing...or maybe I'll just Paint It , Count My Blessings and Call It Good...

******************************
*part of that stems, ya'll see, from DH's Annoying Habit of Always Opening the Garage Door...and Leaving It Open...so ev'rybody and their granmas drivin' by can see the crappy lookin' garage...with its piles of stuff...the man opens that garage door whenever he can come up with the filmiest of you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me excuses reasons to open that dang door and leave it up....alllllll day long on the weekends if he can possibly get away with it...so now we just don't have to worry about that any more, do we? and see...I'm not just lyin' so I can have my way...

9 comments:

Janet said...

Re: comment on Manuela's blog ( feathered nest). I love mulberries. When I was a child in the 50s ( yeah, I am OLD) my neighbors had a Mulberry tree and I would eat as many as I could. I have only seen one since I have lived in Massachusetts (for 23 years) and the owners were shocked that I would consider eating a berry!! Another case of "what is wrong with people today?"

Janet

Cathy said...

That quite a task you've taken on. Look forward to the pics.

Darla said...

You've been pretty busy sprucing up the old homestead. Good for you! I think it was a Very Wise decision to hand stir that paint.

Darla

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

I sent you a reply about the trees but it came back to me. Anyway, I don't spray anything but I do net otherwise I'd just be feeding the birds and squirrels.

Good luck with the garage! We're going to do ours this summer but first we have to have a garge sale (which I hate doing).

Manuela

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

I love the colors alls mixed together! Can't wait to see the finished result. It might inspire me to paint my garage!!
Penny

Jen Kershner said...

I actually love that green color you came up with. I have tons of leftover paint, colors that have been changed, quarts that were bought for testing and never used. I figure I'll try to sell them at the garage sale but if not maybe I'll do a mix and use it somewhere else!

As for the yeast roll recipe, I use skim milk which is what I keep in the house so it clearly doesn't matter! Good luck!

Julie said...

Like you, I just love using things up and NOT having to throw away.

Great job, mixing the paint. Good thing they left those colors and not, say, hot pink ....
Oh, and when I get mad enough to cuss -- I just say, "Cuss", if I'm really on a tear, I'll go around saying, "cuss, cuss .... cuss, cuss, cuss, cuss, cuss!"
The children just laugh at me and lock me back in my cage!!! LOL!

I'll let you go so you can get busy! Can't wait to see the picture!
Blessings,
Julie

Sheila said...

I love love love your blog! I strolled thru the post and you are very talented. I think we have several things in common. Our names, our ages, and love to decorate. I will be back to visit again soon.
Hugs
Sheila

Susie Q said...

Uh oh. I think blogger just ate my comment!!!

I said that garages are the bane of my existence and one place my husband and I really disagree. Okay, we disagree about many things but then...: )

The task is daunting and I like it neat...or, at least neater. He says it makes no difference, no one cares what it looks like. I say that nosy women (like ME!!!) who can not get into the rest of the house, always peer into the garage.
I will never get one of those sleek, totally gorgeous garages I have seen on TV but it does look better right now. DH actually cleaned it up and got rid of several things that SO needed to be trashed.

I love the idea of painting the garage. We only have one *finished wall*, the one that completely connects with the house. The others are suds and drywall. I would SO love it all finished and the floors painted and...oh do dream on Sue!

As always, your blog is a delight!



Hugs,
Sue

it's all about the journey...