Mia, The one in the first two photos with the little yellow bell-shaped flowers looks so familiar, but I cannot figure out why. I bet it will come to me today while I am out working in the garden, and then I'll come back inside and tell you what I think it is. Ditto for the ferny thing with yellow flowers. It doesn't grow here at our house, but something about it seems familiar and I am pretty sure it is a weed. (Don't pull it out yet, though, because someone might know what it is and it could be a desirable weed.) The one that's growing in the pea gravel near the greenhouse is a weed. I don't know the name of it, but it is very prolific. After we rototilled our big garden the first year, that stuff came up like mad for months (no, make that years). I had to pull them out for ages and ages. It probably was 10 years before I felt like they were "gone". Now, every year maybe 2 or 4 or 6 sprout and I promptly yank them. My best guess on the little heart-shaped leaves is that they are some form of wild morning glory. I have several different kinds here, including bindweed, and I yank out every one of them that I see. Some have leaves like the ones in your photo, others have leaves in a different shape, but none of them is allowed in or near my garden. They make a billion seeds each and if you let one grow and go to seed, you'll have a billion new ones next year. The first year I had a wild morning glory sprout in my garden that did not resemble bindweed, I thought "Oh, how pretty" and let it grow, flower (the flowers were a lot smaller than normal morning glories but much smaller). That was a mistake. It had to have been 5 or 6 years ago, and I still yank out its seedlings in the garden. In fact, I was pulling some of them yesterday after I found them sprouting and growing under taller desirable plants. The heart-shaped leaf looks familiar. I think it might be velvetleaf or one of its family members. At first I thought it was velvetleaf, but the more I looked at the leaf shape, the more I talked myself out of thinking that. The leaves don't look quite right for the velvetleaf weeds I find here, but it also is possible there are other velvetleaf plants with foliage more like that in your photo. With the hackberries, those little things on the foliage are galls. There are different galls that are found on hackberries, but to me they all look pretty similar. We had a hackberry-infested chainlink fence line in Fort Worth and it was a mess to "fix" because the previous oweners and the adjacent neighbors had let the trees grow in the fence to the point that parts of the fence were enclosed within tree trunks---the trunks had grown right over/around the hackberries. Every one of those trees had galls. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Hackberry Gall info

Oh, my favorite topic and I love the projects pictured here -- nice work all of you! Legacybuilder, for me it's either I have something and want to re-purpose it, or I want something and can't afford it so I fake it. Sistersunnie, I would hardly recognize that 'throne' -- you did a great transformation. Alison, all of your projects are just yummy and you have such wonderful taste. I remember when you did that door. I love what you did with that computer desk - totally unrecognizable. Justgotabeme, I clicked on each of your pics and I marvel at your creativity. I never would have looked at a door and seen a corner cabinet - very clever. Franksmom, great lamp find. That little table came out so nice, the finish looks perfect. Amity, from microwave cart to vanity, who'd a thunk it? Good going, and it looks great. I hope you'll post more pics when it's finished. Inspiredisabel, nice job on the little dresser. Free is my favorite price too. lol Les, that sounds great. I was just thinking about you last night. You've helped so many of us and I was wishing to see pictures of your house and the things you've done. Could we talk you into starting a thread on that with pix? Zipdee, what to say? I love all of your projects. I have saved so many pictures of your work you wouldn't believe it. You are so clever. That turquoise dresser/pillows and the polka dots are SO cute. Did you sew the duvets at the foot of the beds? Did you paint the lampshades, or find the right fabric to cover them? Just wow. Nicole, wow on that lamp, it looks great. Your slip cover fits like a glove and is so pretty. Good sewing. I tend not to take before pictures (I'll try to be better in the future). This little bookshelf was a thrift store find many years ago. It was painted white and green and in my kid's room. I needed something for this spot and found this in the lawnmower shed. Sanded, primed, painted black, and bought the black baskets for it. The lion head handles were salvaged from the guest bath in my old house. They were rusted, so I wire brushed, primed and painted them. Sorry this pic isn't great: This was an old thrift store find, pretty dinged up and scratched, and the base was rusty. I fixed it up: The lampshade I made from a wire frame and a pile of fabric: I made this part of the beaded ringe myself (there are 3 of these on the lamp): When I found these two pieces in the deep dark basement of an antique store among things they had not fixed up yet, they were covered in the ugliest fabric imaginable and were FILTHY. They must have come out of someone's barn. I stripped them down and reupholstered them in this (which you see worn out in these pics): The sofa cushiones were covered w a flannel sheet and old crocheted afghan because the dogs had chewed off the piping. Here they are redone. I found the mohair velvet cheap on eBay (it normally goes in the hundreds per yard). This time I had them professionally redone because both pieces had serious structural breaks/problems that needed things like 7' clamps I didn't have. I got this piece through the Little Nickel years ago. It was covered in something that fought with the tones in the wood. I redid it in this: Last year it also needed structural help so went in for a pro reupholstery job because it clashed with my "new" sofa, and I picked this: There is more around here, but that's enough for now.

Yes, they are brass. The thrift shop throws away much nicer things than they have in the store. Saturday night, just before they closed, someone dropped off a big donation of several boxes of stuff and the workers set it all by the dumpster, because the dumpster was full. Most donations go to the dumpster. They have a distribution center that sends a truck every day, and their back room is crammed, packed full. Anyway, I brought home a truck load of stuff. A lot was bird houses and wooden novelties and lots of interesting jars and bottles. I kept a few bottles, one bird house that had the Texas flag on it, and gave the rest to a friend of mine who sells that kind of stuff anyway and is going to open a shop. I also got a nice braided rug and a cut glass (not pressed) bowl...it isn't a real old one, but it is very nice, despite 3 chips on the rim from being tossed in the dumpster. They aren't really obvious tho. I got a lot of other stuff...can't remember it all now. There were 2 sinks in there too, but they were rusted very badly around the drains. Oh, another thing I got was a little teapot made to be a trinket box. It was made by Baum Bros. and was in a box from Harrod's in London. The medical cabinet came from my favorite junk store. They had it sitting outside under a lean to, so fortunately, not damanged any more than it is. I am going to spring for another beveled glass for the door. It will be expensive, but will look best, in the end. I paid $70 for it.

Love all of it. I remember all of my aunts on mom's side had pumps in their kitchens & then heated big pots of water to wash dishes after the huge meals. 1 aunt lived to 109 yrs old & sliced off salami every day for lunch on her homemade bread & a little side of watermelon pickles & homemade raspberry jam. I used to go out & pick berries for her. Your door with garden message looks so good & inviting. You should repost these pics on Garden Junk forum. They would love looking at them & it's a busy forum. Check it out! Jan