Our annual trip out west and a little reset....

Our annual trek west! This year we had to make the trip a week early because of Brian’s work schedule so we decided to go a little bit north and try to catch the Aspens AND see a part of the country we have wanted to see for years…Jackson, Wyoming, The Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone.

The Aspens were just starting to turn so we missed them in all their glory…. but the trip did NOT disappoint! We spent a few days exploring Jackson, Wyoming, toured Yellowstone, biked in the Grand Teton National Park, toured “Mormon Row,” and took the tram to the top of Teton Village Ski Resort.

We saw critters (lots of bison, elk, mule deer, pronghorn, moose…but no bear) …

We saw Old Faithful….

We fished the Snake River IN the Grand Teton National Park…

I wish I was a “travel blogger.” I know I can not do this area justice with words or pictures. I took HUNDREDS of pictures and could post them all…but let me just say…GO!!!! See Jackson Hole, the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone for yourself! It is a trip that won’t disappoint!

As always, I love seeing new places but I am always happy to be home! And of course this trip always marks the start of my absolute favorite time of the year…fall.

Unfortunately we came home to temperatures pushing 90….YUK! Oh well, I cranked up the AC and started decorating the house for fall….

I may share a bit of my fall decor but as I have said before, little changes from year to year. I did do a little makeover in my dining room this year so I did pick up a few little things for the table and buffet.

Simple…a few faux pumpkins, faux flowers and antlers…a buffalo check cashmere scarf makes a perfect table runner.

While I was working on my fall decor I decided to rearrange one of my living room bookcases. Originally this bookcase housed one of my favorite author’s collection.

Brian has inherited his grandfather’s old cameras so I decided to try to display those…

I know I have said time and again I am NOT a knick-knack person…but I swear every single thing in this bookcase is an “heirloom.”

I like it…sometimes just moving things around gives an area of your home new life!

Happy Fall!

Info

Comment

Today I muse...about jury duty!

I love looking at all the fall decor popping up on the blogs and Pinterest this time of year. It really gets me in the mood to start my fall decorating…and then I step outside…and it is still 90+ degrees with high humidity. I. JUST. CAN’T. DO. IT!

This year we are taking our annual fall trip a few weeks early because of Brian’s work schedule. Since I don’t see the sense in going to Colorado before the Aspens turn, we decided to head north and see a part of the country I have never visited…Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Yellowstone. I AM SO EXCITED!!!

We have a day trip booked in Yellowstone, a fishing trip on the Snake River out of the Grand Tetons and two days open for “whatever trips our fancy” days!

It looks like it will be jeans and boot weather there so MAYBE when we get back it will be a tad cooler and I will feel like digging out the fall decor!

In the meantime, I have to “muse” about something that has been on my mind for a few weeks…

A few months ago I received notification that I had been selected for jury duty.

What is interesting is I have been a register voter for 37 years and a licensed driver for 39 and this is the first time I have been called for jury duty. Weird.

Anyway…I got the call that I was to report for jury duty. It was for a three day trial, so if selected I should be prepared to serve three days.

I personally believe jury duty is a RESPONSIBILITY we all have as citizens of the United States. We OWE it to our community to serve when called. I didn’t try to “get out of it” and I didn’t grumble.

I showed up and I took it seriously.

I wasn’t chosen for this particular trial…but I walked away with a very disturbed assessment.

About 60 people show up for voir dire (the preliminary examination of a juror by counsel.)…all white…mostly middle aged and up.

The two defendants were young (maybe early 20s) black men. One was all tatted up…his arms AND neck! One’s britches were sagging and he had gold teeth. Both defense attorney’s spoke of “judging” based appearance…one even pointed out that it was important not to label them “thugs.”

The attorneys spent the morning asking questions of the prospective jurors…anyone ever been a victim of a crime…anyone have a felony record…that kind of thing. A few prospective jurors had prior travel plans or “moral issues” with serving and were dismissed. We broke for lunch and when we can back they read off the names of 12 jurors and 2 alternates.

I looked at these young black men’s jurors. All white…two were MAYBE under the age of 30 but pretty much all were at least 40 years old….old enough that tattoos, gold teeth and sagging britches might over ride the admonishment to “not judge.”

The objective of voir dire is to select an impartial jury from a randomly selected juror pool who will be fair, listen to the facts of the case, and render a just verdict based on the evidence.

We are not guaranteed a jury comprised entirely of our race or gender…and truthfully we are not even guaranteed a “jury of one’s peers” by our Constitution. However, the courts have ruled the jury pool must include a cross section of the population of the community in terms of gender, race, and national origin.

I have debated on whether to comment further on this matter…I will leave this here for you to “muse” with this simple question…does a jury full of white middle aged people REALLY represent a cross section of our population?

Hum…..

Info

Comment

A dresser makeover and a few changes to an "heirloom"

As I mentioned here I am no longer doing the whole “resale/flea market” thing. I am still working on a few projects here and there because it is what I love to do!

This piece is one I bought eons ago and has sat in my garage waiting on inspiration and time.

I bought it and the matching chest of drawers at a barn auction. Yes, it had been sitting in a barn…yes, I could tell it had been infested with mice at one time. No, I was not expecting to find two mouse carcasses while cleaning it. GAG!!!!

The ONLY way I have found to rid old furniture of old furniture smells (mice, cigarettes, moth balls, etc) is to first scrub with ammonia and then vinegar (do not do them at the same time!). Sometimes I will spray the inside of the piece with diluted vinegar and just let it dry. If that doesn’t do it, then I suggest you prime and paint the inside of the drawers. Fortunately, the heavy duty cleaning on this piece worked and I did not have to paint the drawers!

The top and drawer fronts are cherry veneer. The veneer was in pretty good shape and really just needed to be stripped and oiled…I used THIS process to strip the old finish. Tried and true! I know I link to this tutorial a lot, but it works!

After stripping the veneers, I applied three coats of tung oil finish and chalk painted and distressed the cabinet!

The hardware was in pretty good condition…just icky. So I primed them with metal primer and painted them with flat black paint.

AGAIN, another example of how a very few dollars and some elbow grease can turn the ickiest piece into something pretty awesome!

While I had the “farmhouse white” chalk paint mixed up I decided to give some old frames a little makeover.

When I visited my uncle this summer he gave me two old framed portraits of my great-great grandmother and my great-great-great grandmother.

They do tend to be on the “goulish” side…but I NEVER turn down family heirlooms. When he offered me THIS china cabinet….

…I knew it wasn’t “my style” but as I said, heirlooms trump everything. So I made a few changes to make it a little more appealing…I removed the red paper on the back, added glass shelves and cabinet lighting. Then I filled it with the great’s and grand’s china…it is what it is…and heirloom piece filled with heirlooms.

I decided I might be able to make the portraits a little less “goulish” by painting the frames…they were just so “heavy and dark.”