Tuesday, June 30, 2015

RULES OF CHANGE...









This was last week... 





Picture taken from Pinterest


As I was watching a re-run
 of Fixer Upper
 for about the 100th time 
(I guess you could say I am obsessed.
 I think these two
 might have been my kids
 in a different life 
so I like to show them off).

 I noticed that Joanna
 had styled an over mantle
 with two windows. 
 Of course, 
her's were actually mirrors
 that looked like windows
 and were very elegant looking. 
 But, it reminded me
 of two windows 
that we occasionally hang
 on the front porch.





We started out
 hanging them at the end of the porch
 at the beginning of summer
 a few years ago. 
 Before we knew it,
 summer was gone 
and the winds picked up 
and we had to take them down.
  Then we forgot
 to put them back up 
until the next summer was nearly over,
 then the winds returned,
 so you know how that goes.

 Now
they have been sitting
 in the garage gathering dust..
until I had
 a light-bulb moment!






When I threw my idea
 out to the Captain,
 he was totally against it. 
 He still hasn't quite
 gotten the idea
of the "old" 
not looking like brand new, 
as in the eye of
 a furniture refinisher, 
in the 1980's and 90's, 
when everything was oak
 and finished in a
 pristine manner.

 But,
 we have a chalk board worthy attitude
 in this Cottage...




I didn't 'heart' Jake's signature in upper left corner until after I had taken the photo.  Once a little boy, always a little boy!


...and you know the rest of the story.






So now, this is today...
















I finished
 the new pillows 
and am pleased how the colors match
 (which was not planned BTW)
 the patriotic sign
 that I have had for years
 and which has also come off
 of its usual place on the porch
 at this time of year.






I am really liking this new arrangement.
  I think
 there will be many possibilities
 for decorating 
to my little heart's content.

  As for the Captain
 when I ask him
 if he has changed his mind 
about the windows,
 he just turns away 
and grumbles!!!

 I just make sure 
that he turns
 toward that blackboard!






It has been so hot here
 and I'm trying really hard
 to stick to my motto
 of not wishing away time 
and to enjoy everything 
in the here and now.

 So far it's working...






"Ah, Summer
What Power You Have
To Make Us Suffer And Like It."

Russell Baker


Have a wonderful week...


...Judy...






Sharing today at:

















Tuesday, June 23, 2015

AVERTING DISASTER...









This past week started out
 as most weeks do...
with simple ideas to accomplish, 
the usual daily lists of projects
 to start and,
 hopefully, complete...






...a trip to JoAnn's
 for some fabric to make
 sofa pillows...






...an expected visit 
from the kids 
to celebrate
 Father's Day.






Life was good
 and going along
 as planned
 until...




"Don't you dare ever do that to me again"



...we noticed that Lucy,
 one of the two cats we had inherited
 when their drug dealing, wife beating,
 child abusing owner abandoned them,
 was scratching and 
most likely had fleas.

 We thought a good idea 
would be to put a flea collar on her.
  We took her by surprise
 as she was eating
 and slipped the collar over her head.

 Well, you probably get the picture! 
 She was hissing and jerking around,
 trying to shake it off. 
 I swear she jumped six feet up in the air
 and took off running down the sidewalk,
 under the front gate,
 down the middle of the street 
and out of sight.





We spent a few hours
 looking for her in the neighbor's yards and bushes
 but to no avail. 
 We were just sick
 and telling ourselves she would never come back
and we should have foreseen
 how she would react
 and thinking of how innocent and trusting she is
 and how badly she had to have been treated in the past.






We thought she was surely gone
 forever
 but she did come back a few hours later,
 we removed the collar,
 and she was fine.






Two days later,
 she didn't show up in the morning 
for breakfast like she always does,
 nor for dinner or breakfast
 the day after that.

 We looked all over
 and couldn't find her any place.
  That evening we heard mewing
 coming from our neighbor's garage
 and found she had been locked in there
 the whole time.






She has pretty much
 used up two of her nine lives
 so, hopefully, 
she'll have better luck from here on.






Sunday afternoon
 we heard planes flying low
 over our general area
 and knew that was a signal that a fire was close by.







As it turns out,
 one was burning
 just about 1/2 mile
 from our house
 and from town...
as the crow flies...





...fortunately
 we have well trained
 and well staffed firefighters
 in our area and
it was dealt with quickly.





Usually
 the fires are further out from town
 as we are surrounded by
 outlying areas of forests
 but as you can see above,
 as evidence by the pink fire retardant
 on the ground and road,
 every place is vulnerable now
 due to it being so dry.

 FYI: If you can imagine,
 to the first, single, tall tree
 behind the telephone pole, 
at middle right of the picture...
we live about two blocks
 behind there!




We have certainly had 
enough excitement,
 if you want to call it that,
 for awhile 
so now I am just going 
to concentrate on getting those pillows made...





...and helping the Captain
 put together his new
 Father's Day toy.





Hope all the wonderful dads' and husbands' out there had a great Father's Day...

And HAPPY SUMMER.


...Judy...


Sharing this week with:
































Tuesday, June 16, 2015

SUMMER...ARE WE THERE YET?






Photo edited in PicMonkey. Thank you, Celestina, for the idea but couldn't get it right, so did my own thing. 


"Summertime and the livin' is easy"...

Excerpt from Summertime by George Gershwin



It's not quite summer yet.
 We still have
 a few days left 
of spring...






...and while the sun is
 shining brightly overhead,
 there is a soft breeze 
moving the wind chimes...





...and even though
 the cotton may not be high in our area,
 the hydrangeas are reaching tall
 and putting on their
 coats of many colors.









The butterfly bush is
 almost in full bloom
 and is already enticing
 these beautiful creatures
 with its jewel tones.







...and the busy, buzzing bees
 just can't resist 
the sweet smell of lavender.





The mystery flowers, 
which we have finally come to know 
as vintage summer phlox,
 are bursting upon the scene
 and will forever be known
 as the 'mystery flowers'
as no one knows 
where they came from.






In case you haven't heard,
 our dear and talented
blogging friend, Diana,
  is a published author. 
 She has written a book called 
"The Mystery of Lucy and the Dark Woods."

I am about half way through
 and find it hard to put down.

It is a fascinating story 
with twists and turns,
 set in an era of simpler times.

  I won't tell you anymore,
 but I know it will be an
 enjoyable summer read,
 and if you have
 followed Diana's blog at all,
 you will know that it is a story
 told with humor, joy and compassion.

  It is available through Diana's Etsy shop on her blog.





The summer is starting off
 with another piece of the puzzle 
fitting into place
 in the sitting room re-do.

  Our new area rug has arrived.

To refresh your memory
 here is how the room looks 
with the rug we
 "borrowed from the library"...





...even though
 it adds a little spot of color
 to the space...





...I prefer this one
 as I like the different textures
 and I think it 
warms up the room more.






With a bouquet 
of alstromeria in place,
 I'm thinking I like
 how their colors liven up things
so might pick up some pillows
 in those shades.

 What do you think?





Summer
 has come
 a bit early
 this year...


It's a beautiful thing to celebrate.


...Judy...






Sharing today with