Monday, May 31, 2010

Inspiration Point

Inspiration can strike in the strangest of ways, at the strangest of times!! For instance, on my walk this morning. It started out routine enough. But on my second to last lap, this junkyard haven caught my attention. And by the time I was on my last lap, I had a plan formulated in my curled head! This was the scene that inspired my latest project. Do you see it??
THE inspiration?? Look a little closer. . .

That antiquated slipper slide!?!
I've passed it a million times on my walks around our property over the last 12 years. I've looked at it half a million times, thinking it was such a cute old thing. But this morning, it caught me off guard!! The story starts a little like this. I brought home a couple (OK, 3) of honeysuckle plants two years ago from a clearance sale (you know, if it's on sale, we should buy 2, at least!). I planted them and they insist on growing (which was the original plan). However, I have been perplexed as to what to use to trellis them. I have thought and thought. I have drawn Jeremy picture after picture, trying to design EXACTLY what I need. He wanted plastic trellis leftover from our deck--I wanted cedar posts from the pasture. Finally, last weekend we compromised on pine 2 X 4's that he had leftover from some project. I scratched out a couple designs on some cardboard box in his shop, and we came to a conclusion. We were all but ready to put something together, when a customer showed up and then the moon came up.
Why did that happen?? Because today I was hit with a blessed idea from above.
I ran the idea across J, who was finishing with his race car repair. His reply was "fantastic" (maybe a little sarcastic--but I didn't listen well enough to discern that--I was excited!)
Grant and I got the tractor and J helped us pick the old slipper slide up--it was staked down to survive a tornado!
I told you!! That thing was clamped to a post and staked into the ground 2 1/2 feet!

We hauled it to the shop, where Grant got his first lesson in torch cutting and welding. (so tonight he told me he plans on being a welder when he grows up--but that's another story!)
Quick check on how these two were doing with dessert (not too well, the child refuses to read, so the marble brownies actually turned out all one color, since all the ingredients went in at the same time--you can lead a horse to water, right??)

Then back to the project, Grant had hauled the slide out to my south garden, right next to the driveway.
Look at that ancient wood step and the old green paint!!
I'm still so excited about this that I'm beside myself--take a deep smell of that yummy little blossom!! A little jute twine to hold everything up. . .And. . .
I think it worked out perfectly!!
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
He's pretty amazing like that!!
And to think, He was interested in some silly little thing like a trellis??
Hope you can find some time today to count ALL your blessings. .big and little!!
It does a heart good!!

9 comments:

  1. I'll bet your honeysuckle feels loved to be given such a cool trellis. Nice to see new life given to the slide. Hope the brownies tasted good even if they didn't look like they were suppose to. :-)

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  2. What a great idea. Of course, this has special meaning to me because I love re-purposing things. You get an A+ for creativity. My dogs like to walk under my neighbors huge honeysuckle that pours over the fence. I love it when the wind blows that sweet smell over to the house.

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  3. You're my kind of gal! I'll bet the honeysuckle will perform extra specially to thank you!

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  4. Very good idea. Will you be able to keep the kids from using the slide?

    Kristi

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  5. How fun to use the old slide for a trellis! Looks good. :) And I think honeysuckle smells delicious. My one grandma used to have honyesuckle growin up a trellis on the west end of her porch. She had red roses climbing up the east end. When we were in town the other day, I saw that the roses, though they weren't climbing, were blooming! (She lived right across the street from your husband's grandparents.)

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  6. My grand-ma always had a honey-suckle vine in the back yard. However, it was taken over by a 'trumpet' vine. Never, never plant a trumpet vine unless you want it to take over everything!!!
    Isn't it funny how we may walk by something every day for years.........then suddenly (like you said) inspiration stikes and we see an old piece of equipment in a brand new light!! That is a neat looking slide/trellis!!
    Love your ideas and what you have done with your yard.
    Mike

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  7. Love it!! Will be fun to watch as the honeysuckle grows fuller! Love the wood steps and chippy paint! Great idea!

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  8. From junk to treasure... just like us when God gets ahold of us and He becomes inspired. I will have to stop by to take a peek.

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