Weekend projects
Tuesday, May 29, 2012 When Jim and I bought our current house nearly five years ago, the oddball place boasted many, um, unique features. One was what the folks we bought it from called an "antique lemonade stand."
A couple weeks ago as I sat in the backyard, with that eyesore lemonade stand in full view, I considered how we might go about tearing it down and putting something cool in its place. Then I came up with a brilliant idea: I would turn that lemonade stand into a food stand for Bubby and Baby Mac to play with when they visit. They got a kick out of the mock restaurant and ice cream stand at the children's museum recently, so I imagined they'd be delighted with a similar plaything at Gramma's.
With that in mind, I purchased some vintage signs, bought a few gallons of paint, hosed down the antique stand, and made its transformation my project for the long Memorial Day weekend.
With help from Brianna, that old antique lemonade stand went from this:
To this:
All spiffed up and ready for me to stock with an OPEN/CLOSED sign, a bell to ding for service, and plastic delights. The food stand will be ready for business by the time Bubby and Baby Mac arrive near the end of June. Plus, I have plenty of paint left over to transform our old outdoor dining set into the perfect spot for food stand customers to enjoy their treats.
I was right in thinking Bubby will love it. When I texted photos of the stand to Megan to share with Bubby, this was her response:
"B said to me (after seeing the pictures), 'I want you to sit down at one of the chairs and after you can come up to the food stand and tell me what you want. And then you can come up to the ice cream place and pick your flavor! I think you want strawberry." :) Nice work, sounds like a busy day!"
She was right, too. It was a busy day, a busy weekend, actually. Not just because of the food stand, though, and not just for me.
Jim had a weekend project of his own—finding the leak in our backyard waterfall. The mysterious leak continually caused the water level to fall and our water bill to rise as we had to fill the feature daily to keep it functioning last summer. Jim's job was a much bigger job than mine, so Brianna and I lent a helping hand with that one, too.
Between the three of us, our backyard waterfall went from this:
To this:
No more leaks!
Two big projects knocked out in one long weekend.
Jim and I agree: We are so glad the long weekend is over so we can finally relax!
Today's fill-in-the-blank:
I'm glad the long weekend is over because ________.
Reader Comments (11)
I'm glad the long weekend is over because I'm feeling guilty about getting nothing accomplished .... especially so after seeing how hard you worked.
:)
Wow, you and Jim are always improving your unique back yard; it looks great and will provide some fun, happy hours for your visitors, I'm sure.
I'm glad the week-end is over just because Memorial Day is such a sad anniversary for me. Have a good week and get some rest.
Wow! Two great projects! I love love love the waterfall, Lisa.
What a fruitful weekend you had. I finished off the Hunger Games series of books and did some editing. Nothing outside at all. Shame on me. It was hot.
What great projects! I would love to have a waterfall and I know Amara would love your food stand. The boys are going to have a blast!
I am thankful this weekend is over as I worked my buns off in the backyard, too! And oh the garden looks so pretty. It was worth it but I have new aches and pains today!
WOW, what a great job on the food stand....your grandsons are so lucky. And a great job on the waterfall and pond....our pond area had two leaks in it and we just gave up on it and plugged it up. You and Jim are so patient and awesome!
We also have a project house and haven't gotten around to much yet. I'm glad the weekend is over because my son and his family are finally moved into his new house. Yes, we helped, sooooo tired!
Waterfall is beautiful, but the food stand for the grandsons is the very best - what fun they will have. Even a nice place to set buffet food for the adults. Good conversation piece to be enjoyed by all. Great repurposing.
What a busy people. It looks absolutely stunning Lisa, you & Jim should be so proud of what you both achieved.
I'm so pleased that the weekend is over as Monday I had a complete melt down. Neither Norman or Lucy could do anything that would please me. Everything just became so hard that all I wanted to do was find a place where I could be by myself, unfortunately not easy in a small house. Even the fabulous view across the harbour did nothing to make me feel at peace. Hate those days, fortunately I usually get over them very quickly.
You guys did good! I'm glad the weekend is over because this coming weekend I get to keep Shylee for a few days while her mommy and daddy take a getaway to celebrate their anniversary.
Hi Lisa!
What a wonderful backyard you have! That old lemonade stand looks so fantastic made over as a [pretend store for your grandboys! They will have so much fun playing there ...and also in the waterfall. I have been trying to catch up since my daughter's wedding ...thankfully we had a wonderful day for that. I'm sorry I didn't link up to your Memorial Day link up ..hopefully I'll be able to join in next time.
Hugs,
Pat
PS: I received the Char Crust products and can;t wait to use them!
Wow - You turned Memorial Day into Memorable weekend. How lovely the transformations look! I wish you many happy hours! :D And I look forward to seeing pictures of Bubby and Baby Mac busy at the stand!