Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose

Now I know that my first blogs have been very introductory and a bit fluffy with bunnies and such, but hang in there guys, this blog may have a little more substance to it. I have a found object that I need help with. So keep on reading to see what I have in store for you.

Jessica and I are very supportive of being "green". We recycled our glass, plastic, and aluminum in Las Vegas. Moving to the country has only served to amp this up several notches. Quincy has a very user friendly recycle plant, so we diligently save the plastic, metal cans, glass, aluminum, newspapers, cardboard, and paper for frequent drop offs whenever we are heading to that area of downtown. James has been gathering an assortment of wire, junque metal, and broken equipment to cash in at the metal recycle.We even made a whopping $3.50 by turning in beer, liquor, and wine bottles when we made a trip to Keokuk, Iowa. Funny that there is a cash value on only that type of glass. Guess it pays to drink more wine and beer!

Not much waste escapes our kitchen either. Veggie peelings, wilted produce, egg shells, and coffee grounds make it into our compost heap. We seem to have an endless supply of grass clippings which make a great weed block while they decompose. Did I mention the gold in the barn? Plenty of straw and manure was left in there. All this provides good plant growing material for our gardens.

Recycling comes in many forms. I have always been an antiquer, or junquer, dependant upon you personal view of collecting. The more rusty and rustic, the better I like it. I picked up the bug honestly enough from my antique dealer mother, but her tastes were always much more refined with beautiful china and cut glass. I like to repurpose my treasures rather than have them cluttered about just collecting dust. Years ago I had two butter churns turned into lamps. I also used an old family pitch fork as a kitchen window curtain rod. Yesterday I purchased this well used wheelbarrow. It will be planted with rock garden plants and be the focal point at the entrance gate to my herb garden. Another find was an old Radio Flyer wagon which I have already planted with

mint. Jessica has been on a hunt for vintage fabric and tea towels to sew into dresses for Lizelle. With a little imagination, the cutest things can be conjured up with items others may overlook or discard. Future projects will include glass dish flowers and bottle sculptures. Kathleen W of Webe glass does some really cool things to discarded glass bottles with her kiln. I may have to ask her for some more suggestions.

I recently purchased this unusual object that I just couldn't resist. It is a farm implement, made of heavy metal and leather. Does anyone know what this is? Better yet, can you come up with a clever way to repurpose it? It should be interesting to see where your imaginations take you with this item. Being as "green" as I am, both in earth friendly and "green-horn", I actually knew what it was. I know some of you, like Linda and Joe McG will recognize this, but don't spill the beans just yet and we can have some fun with this!