Are you drying bushels of hydrangeas today?  You aren’t?  Well…you can.  I am going to tell you how.  Even though you could Google it…I will provide you with the info…free of charge.  Yes…yes…I am sweet that way.

So….if you have a hydrangea bush…or a friend with a hydrangea bush, please don’t dress in all black and rob your neighbors in the night, (not very friendly) it’s pretty simple and amazing the way that dried hydrangeas last.  Have you seen them everywhere?  They are so pretty.  Ours turn pink and green.  What a pretty combo.

So…basically…the short of it, is this:

1.  Cut your blooms off of the bush after they are dry and papery. (Not while they are still tender.

2.  Cut in different sized stem lengths and remove leaves.

3.  Bring inside…after debugging them…and put them in jars with water.  Give each flower head enough space to breathe.

4.  Set them out of direct sunlight and just leave them be…until they are dry. If they are still not dry after all of the water is gone, add more water and patiently wait.

I think that baskets of them are lovely.  I also love the look of an old dough bowl with dried hydrangeas.  They will last and you will have a beautiful floral arrangement in your home.  Try it…you might like it.  😉

When mine are done for this year…I will try to remember to let you have a look.  Why?  Because you are Dirt Roaders…and you need to know these things.

Waiting on my hydrangeas,

First of all….the internet has been down again.  Thank heavens for Smarty Pants phones.  😉  (I’m still not sure that I can justify it.  Put it under the recreation heading.) 😉

I have some exciting news for you though!  Our Araucana laid her first egg this week!  You can be sure that I’m crazy about the color!

Didn’t she do good?  Easter eggs in August.

We also had a little kitchen project this week.  I will give you a little sneak peek and then next week…do some blogging about it and give credit to our inspiration. I am in love.

Do you see it?  🙂

I hope that your weekend is second to none.  Celebrate by doing no labor.  You’ve earned it.

Eating green eggs and ham, (not really)

Have you ever read that sign…”My house was clean yesterday…sorry you missed it.”  Maybe you have one.  Well thankfully…yesterday, when I had the itch to revamp the laundry room, I had the good sense to snap a few quick shots with my phone.

Today….my laundry room isn’t dirty…but I’ve been doing laundry…”to beat the band” so everyone’s stacks are on the table.  Plus, I have swimmers coming in and out from the pool.  So…even though these are cell phone shots…you can be there…yesterday.  You are welcome.  😉

See that metal rack?  I had a love/hate relationship with it. I loved the extra storage…but I didn’t actually like to see all of  the stuff.
Enter: duck cloth
I had just enough downstairs in my craft area for a little curtain.  Ahhhh….much better. Plus I love the “farmhousey” that it adds.  All love now.  No hate.  No hate…is good.  I’m glad we had this talk.  😉

Of course, I couldn’t resist adding a little pretty to the functional.  You guys know how I roll by now.  The pressure cooker was my Nanny’s.  She is the one that inspired me to start canning in the first place.  (She had already inspired my mom.) When she gave it to me it felt as though she was passing the baton.  She is precious.  I am honored.

Thanks for hanging out in my laundry room with me, Dirt Roaders.  At this farmhouse laundry room…you can find anything from soggy swimming clothes to chicken poop tracked in…so cleaning it is never optional.

Smiles!