Tuesday, August 28, 2018

HOW SUMMER EVOLVES...











Some of us wake up happy 
and some of us wake up in the doldrums. 
 Some can shake it off 
and some have to let the world know 
just how bad they feel. 
 Few of us
 have to make it a headline, however,
 but then some of us
 are more sensitive 
than others!




A little smile 
to start your morning off right.

 While having coffee 
and reading the morning paper,
 I noticed that Kai 
had fallen asleep on one of the pages. 
 It was too good 
 a photo-op 
to pass up.





I shared this shelf last week
 but have since added 
two little white vases 
I picked up at a thrift store.
  They remind me of some 
of the cute touches that Joanna Gaines
 shows in her collection, 
but for the great price
 of $1 each.





Here is my breakdown
 of the changing seasons
 and how they evolve around here.

Each season can usually be seen 
through the eyes of the sofa.

Summer decorating 
starts right around Memorial Day 
and follows into July 4th...






...then in almost August
 the summer turns into
 beach weather...





...at the end of 
August and throughout September, 
at the very beginning 
when it starts feeling
 like fall to me,
 before the pumpkins 
and the sheaves of wheat 
or the witches and goblins,
---- 
Come the
 sunflowers.













A large pot of faux 
just adds
 another spot of sunshine 
and picks up the colors 
from the little pillow 
across the way.






This is the "cheap" pillow
 that started it all.  
You are my Sunshine,
 a description that fits 
so many wonderful facets 
of my life...





...and here is another 
of the "2 for 1" pillows 
that are turning (no pun intended) out to be 
so handy for me 
when wanting needing 
to use so many pillows.




This sweet little guy
 is not one of the "cheap" ones.
  It comes from Pier One
 but I did get it on sale. 
 It works nicely with
 the blue side chairs
 and is a little spot of fanciness
 added to the scene.

I guess 
there is ALWAYS room
 for one more!






The Sun is Shining
Oh, Happy Days

Look what my sweet Captain 
just brought for me -
 just because!


More summer sunflower days to come.



...Judy...






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Tuesday, August 21, 2018

TRANSITIONING TIME...









The time has come for transitioning.  Transitioning into fall from summer.

 In our minds 
we may not want to hasten this time along, 
but Mother Nature
 sometimes has other plans.

 The leaves are falling 
and covering our Secret Garden
 with a layer of gold.

 There are three species of trees
 overhanging the garden.  
One is a holly,
 another is a walnut
 and the last is one that
 I don't know the name of. 
 This is the one
 that is dropping the leaves. 
 They are small in size 
so it looks just like 
a uniform carpet layer over all. 
 They get mashed down 
into the pea gravel 
when walked on 
so they are not the 
pretty, soft, large type 
that can be kicked when walking through,
 bringing back those wonderful memories 
of youth,
 but they do lend 
a colorful glimpse of 
the coming autumn.






At the beginning of summer, 
I thought we would have
a pretty good year 
with the hydrangeas, 
but now they are
 drying on the bush...






...and it seems a little early
 for them to be at this stage to me.
  It seems I was picking them 
later last year
 and letting them dry 
in the vase.





This bush in
 the Secret Garden
 was in great shape in June
 and now...





...the blooms have faded
 and the one remaining 
is laying on the little bird house 
as if it is too big of a job 
to hold up its head.







The Limelight hydrangea 
that was so pretty 
when we planted it last summer 
and then, again, 
so gorgeously dried 
in the house...







...is now a very spindly
 and lightweight looking plant.

 Maybe the heat this summer
 has something to do with 
what is changing in the garden.

 It has been an exceptionally hot summer 
and more time is being spent indoors, 
possibly taking the time away 
from what is needing 
to be addressed outside.

 The Captain 
has been saying 
throughout the drought we have been in 
that we needed to get rid of 
all our lawn
 and replace it with something
 using less water.
  While I was inside, 
staying somewhat cool, 
he tackled a project 
that he had been wanting to do.
  
I have to say,
 sometimes I get upset at him
 when he takes a job 
onto himself 
without consulting me,
 but this time 
I am so proud of what
 he came up with.





Remember this cute little bistro set
 we had on the screened porch 
to replace the table we moved 
into the kitchen?

 When we replaced it
 with the one we are using now, 
it was just sitting in a corner
 of the garage.

  He laid a layer of black weed barrier 
over the lawn, 
surrounded it with cobblestones
 from a street in San Francisco 
that we were lucky to find 
and piled bark over the top. 
 He then took the bistro set 
and arranged it in front of the lilac bush.

  It wasn't done at that stage,
 but I thought it looked so cute 
and I ordered 
a small market umbrella 
to add to the scene...






...I think he had 
a great idea
 and it is a good start
 to what will happen next.

 What that is,
 we are not yet sure of,
 but doing a little at a time
 seems to be easier 
to deal with.






Getting back to my time spent inside. 
 We picked this large bread board up 
at a garage sale awhile back.
  I figured I could use it for something.

  The transitioning 
that is going on
 has put me in the mood 
for some autumn decorating.
  
I have been looking at a stencil site 
that I like
 (Thestencilsmith.com) 
and chose a stencil appropriate 
for the season. 
 I painted the board 
with orange acrylic paint
 and stenciled the design in black.
  The stencil looked a little small 
on the board
 after it was done, 
so I added a border 
to take up space. 

 I am very happy
 with the way it turned out 
so I turned the bread board over
 and did another stencil 
on the other side...





...now I have a sign 
for each of the upcoming seasons 
and I think they will fit in nicely
 when the seasonal decorating begins 
and, also, 
will be easier 
when it comes to finding room 
to store one item 
instead of two.





We had two bands 
that came off of 
an old wine barrel that had fallen apart.

  Now one has transitioned into
 framework for the pretty star 
I got at Home Goods awhile back.

I think it adds 
some satisfactory whimsy
 to the shelf.
  





One last image of
 Trader Joe's alstromeria 
on the dining room table.

 These are always 
my go to flowers
 as they are so long lasting
 in this summer heat
 and pretty too.





Well, the hot days are continuing 
and so are the transitions.

 The neighbors
 are putting a new roof on 
their garage 
so even our hummingbird watch 
is being put on hold.

 More time 
being spent inside
 will continue...





... at least 
until night falls.



...Judy...





A shout out 
to my good friend 
Kim at Exquisitely Unremarkable (here).

  She is up for an award 
for her wonderful DIY projects.
 She is so clever 
and such a good crafter. 
 Please stop by
 and vote for her.


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