REALLY - TAKING A BREAK- GONE BUT NOT FOR GOOD

Well, now that the front porch is done

I am working on the porch off the 

DINING ROOM.

Is it proper to cage an angel?

Sometimes I feel caged!

Caught in the midst of all that needs to be done.

Caught in the web of life.

So, I am taking a break.

A real break this time.

I have been swamped this summer.

There is a lot going on here
"behind the scenes".

No one is sick.

No one is in trouble.

No one is missing.

But there are things 

that need to be taken care of..

Things I need to do... 

 places I need to go

to do them.

I will be checking emails but not blogging

so feel free to email me if you like.

I promise to come back again when 

life settles down a bit.

Meanwhile, enjoy the 

SEASON OF SUMMER.

I am going to try to carve out a little time

to sit here and enjoy this.....

And this....

and even this family of pelicans 

down by the bay....

Wishing you joy in the everyday moments of life

until I return~

Oooops-gotta go!

I have people waiting for me!!!

Looks like one of them is 

waiting for a TOOTH, too!
(the other one is waiting for food)

Blessings

 I will also have a prayer post going
up for a special blogger as soon as she
gives me the word....because....
I promised her I would~
and a promise is a promise.

A PORCH FOR SWINGERS

Now, isn't THAT just an enticing title?

Rain or shine I knew I had to get

that porch done to show you.

I may, or may not have, said a few 

NAUGHTY WORDS

to myself working out there in 

THE HUMIDITY.

My hair and I do NOT like humidity!

I did not buy a single thing for the porch-

well, except for the fern and the roses.

So, just to make you happy---

Here we go!

Walking up our front steps I have a huge

FERN & BIRDCAGE to the right.

Step up to the door and wipe your feet, kids!

The front door looks like this.

Leaded glass.

The ceiling above is a barrel ceiling

with beadboard.

I have had this old hat for at least 10 years.

It is kind of SAD looking, isn't it?

I popped it up after tearing its old bow off.

I need a new bow!

and maybe some new flowers cuz

these are looking pretty crappy

This is taken through the screen.

To the left of the door and close to the steps 

are some flowers and a wire topiary form

and a GARDEN sign.

Tired are you?

Well, you have two choices of seating here.

This old Eastlake wicker chair 

is on a spring rocker.

It is very comfortable.

It was maroon and pretty sad looking

so I painted it white.

The fabric on the seat cushion is from a dress I wore in the early 90's.

I had a jacket that matched that I sent to a friend.

I still love the fabric!!!!

My friend is thinner than I am so the jacket

might fit her.

Don't ya hate it when your friends are 

thinner than you are?

Makes me want to FEED them!

Two cherub supports hold a glass shelf 

for holding a coffee cup or

glass of iced tea

and grocery store roses.

There is a chair for little rockers, too.

Not a girl?

Another cushion makes it boy ready!

My son found this rocker and stripped it down several years ago.

I just can't quite bear to paint it.

And here it is~

THE SWINGER

washed and dressed.

The bottom cushion is stuffed

with goose down.

The rug is a multi-colored tweed with

rose and green and blue in it.

 A few flowers on each side of the swing.

Sometimes MyHero and I sit here and swing.

and sip coffee and watch the grandkids

ride their bikes down the drive.

Yep!

We don't swing very fast anymore.

MyHero has sure slowed down from 

THE SWINGER 

he used to be.......

and that's all I'm gonna say about that!

Tomorrow The Porch- Today I Was Tagged~

It rained yesterday so I didn't 

get the porch all done but here is a

SNEAK PEEK!

So, when I got TAGGED it was the

solution for my post today.

I don't usually do these things-

The tag things-

The linky things-

The party things-

I am just not very good at it.

BUT

When Lauren @ Simply LKJ asked me

I couldn't say No!

After all she is the one that made the

reference to Kristin's blog about Kawsaki's Disease

so I owe her BIG TIME!.

We are pretty sure that saved our little CJK's life.

So...Here are 20 questions I was asked to answer.

1.  Are you named after someone?  

Yes- But none of you KNOW my real first name.  I go by my middle name.  Always have.  My first name was a variation of my Dad's name and does not appear anywhere in any name book.  He was 53 when I was born and wanted me named after him.  His first name was French and that is the one I got, too.  Sorry-can't tell you cuz then I'd have to kill you.  lol  Yes!  I was a fat baby-thanks for asking!

2.  When was the last time you cried?  

Writing my Father's Day post-made me miss my father.

3.  Do you have kids?  

Oh- And you know it!  I have bored you to death with pictures of them!  Four kids!

Mr. T came first and then 7 years later I had 2 girls and one boy within a space of 4 years.  Can you say TRAVELING ZOO?  

4.  If you were another person would you be a friend to yourself?  

LOL- THAT is funny!  My Hero says I am my own best audience so I guess that would be a YES!

5.  Do you have a guilty pleasure?  

I do!  It's called Starbucks at the Drive-thru.  Whoever said coffee to go should cost that much...and taste so good....and make you want more?  I think they are on to something there!

6.  Do you like hand-writing?  

I love to write lists and notes.  I always have a TO DO LIST going that I cross things off of when they are done.... AND if I do something that is NOT on the list I add it to the list and then cross it off.  I might be a little OCD-just sayin'.....

7.  What is your favorite cereal?  

Hmmm...NOT a big cereal fan.  One time when I was a kid I ate just about a whole box of Lucky Charms and got so sick I thought I was going to die....that kind of ended my "love of cereal".  lol  I guess they were NOT SO LUCKY for me!

8.  What is the first thing you notice about people?  The "set" of their face/eyes.  Do they look happy, sad, worn down by life, energetic, engaged, etc?  I think eyes are the windows to the soul and you can read a lot of who a person is in their eyes.  

9.  What color are your eyes?  

GREEN-  People always ask me if I am wearing green contacts.  Nope!  I was hoping to get one green-eyed grandchild but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.   

I can keep a good eye on MyHero with these peepers.....lol....he bears watching~

10.  Scary movie or happy endings?  

I like a scary movie as long as it is NOT bloody- I like thrillers but not slasher movies.  I loved the old Alfred Hitchcock movies.

11.  Favorite TV shows?  

The OLD HGTV and I do like Dr. Phil.  I know...I know...I just like his good ole' boy approach to life and that he doesn't feel a person has to relive a torturous past in order to move forward from the moment they are in. 48 Hours and 60 Minutes-I know-B-O-R-I-N-G.  Also loved the old Cold Case series.

12.  Summer or Winter?  

FALL!!!!  followed by SUMMER!

13.  Hugs or kisses?  

Depends on who is involved...lol...and that's all I'm gonna say about that!

14.  Do you have a special talent?  

I think my "talent" is the ability to make people feel at ease because I truly care about them.  I am interested in people for who they are and I think that comes through.  

15.  Where were you born?  

The mountains of PA.  We could see 7 counties from our house and were right next to a beautiful miniature Catholic church (that we did not attend).
This was taken many years ago.  That road was paved when I was in my 20's.  That would have been new mown hay and I can almost smell it even after all these years.  Those power poles were moved to the roadside in the 70's.

16.  What are your hobbies?  

LOL- Hobbies?  I think my hobbies always turn into "jobs".  I do love to read (and love the old classics)-usually in my car drinking a Starbucks.  I also love to sew and garden.

17.  Do you have pets?  Not anymore.  We had dogs and cats when the kids were growing up.  I lost my little Mistycat 4 years ago and have not had the heart to get another.  Plus, we have kids/MyHero with allergies so it was a nightmare to try to keep the allergies at bay.

18.  Favorite movie?  

Oh- I am NOT a big movie person..but I loved Out of Africa and The Way We Were & The Great Gatsby (the one from 20 years ago).  I do love all the old Columbo movies and have the whole collection of them-including one that never aired.    Ha!  Just realized the common denominator between the three movies is this!  Oh- Yeah--- 

19.  What color is your car?  Pearlized white

20.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  You're kidding right?  I grew up and now I am in my second childhood!  I just hope I don't regress any further...if you know what I mean.....lol

Well, wasn't that the most boring read ever?  If you stuck it out-thanks...and I think I am done with these for another 4 years.  lol  

IF you want to do this-please grab the questions from here and have fun.  Let me know if you decide to do it and I will put a link to your blog.

Thanks, Lauren....I think!!!  It was kind of fun~

See you tomorrow with more of this.....

Have a great day!!!!

The Front Porch Project

I worked outside all day long yesterday.

I took everything off the front porch.

I scrubbed the porch itself

and the rug that was on there.

See the rug hanging on the fence?

Standing on the porch by the door

 and looking down 

into the front yard I see this.

I LOVE those lavender chairs!

The front view looks like this.

There is lobelia in the bicycle basket.

That was really hard to find this year.

Those are not weeds all over the ground

Those are those whirly things from the tree.

Love the tree-hate the whirlers!

I sit out here sometimes when it is too hot to sit

out by the water-the yard gets really hot back there.

I have pillows to sew for those chairs.

Here is what the front porch looks like 

STRIPPED NAKED

(watch some pervert google stripped naked 

and then pop in here)

Those might (or might not) be

naked cherubs on the swing~

 MyHero was chopping and cutting things

when I asked him to help me throw the rug 

over the fence to dry.

As you can see he THINKS there is a cave

hidden behind those bushes.

Pffffttt....he can't escape me!

Hello????

Ummm...I can SEE you!

Pop in tomorrow and I hope 

to have the porch done!

Maybe---probably---most likely---

HAPPY, SAPPY, NAPPY AND LOVEY THE BABY- Father's Day Weekend

It was quite a weekend!

I went to Fleet Farm on Saturday with my son and

HAPPY

A few hours later 

SAPPY 

came in from the playhouse looking like this...

We tired poor little 

NAPPY 

right out!

And- Oh- Yeah!!!

Love the baby, 

Love the baby.

Love the baby!

3 months & 3 days old.

I think she looks like the 

Gerber baby-

but then I am a little biased!

Have a great Monday.

I have a couple of projects I am working 

on to show you this week.

Happy Father's Day & Pick Your Father's Day Table Results & More

Happy Father's Day!

I have been a busy girl

(or old woman as MyHero calls me to the grandkids)

That's okay- I pay him back 

by posting pictures of him

when he least expects it-HA!

Yesterday, I moved 3 rooms of furniture around-

Hello---what was I thinking?

I had family coming; 

arriving at about four o'clock.

Just as I finished putting the last pillow in place

they drove in.

HA!  Once again I played against the clock 

and  I WON!

So today we have kids/grandkids here for the day.

If I am a little remiss in visiting this weekend

bear with me.  

I will be back on schedule this week.

I must say that I was surprised at the results

of the 

Pick Your Favorite Father's Day Table.

The votes were all over the board

with no real strong hands-down winner.

 Mad For Navy Plaid 

edged ahead by just a couple of votes.

source

Beachy Bobbers 

came in 2nd but only by two votes.

source

Tie A Yellow Ribbon was a close 2nd also.

source

And right on the heels of the above?

Not Teed Off Yet  &  No Boos For Blues 

           source                                      source                     

This was SO much fun for me!

Thank you all for taking time to humor me and 

play along.

I love that we are all so different 

in our tastes and yet 

so alike in so many ways.

You are THE BEST!!!

Happy Father's Day to 

MyHero, my two sons,

my two sons-in-laws

and all the other dads out there.

One more quick little note!

My father was 53 when I was born.

I was his first child-long awaited.

He was a wonderful, caring, well-educated farmer

that loved the art of farming 

and tending to his animals

He loved me and my brother and our mother.

He was the funniest man I have ever known.

He died when I was 21 and not a day goes by

that I don't think of him.

I love you, Dad and miss you!

You were one of a kind...

You would have been so proud of your grandchildren.

I bet Heaven has a corner filled with laughter

because of you!

Have a wonderful Sunday, peeps!

(I woulda said chicks but I know

Ron from the Uptown Acorn reads my blog, too!;>)

Welcome To The Fairy Garden---All Are Welcome

I grew up believing in fairies and

"little people".

There was something joyful about

knowing I had little friends flitting around.

However,

I never had a 

FAIRY  GARDEN 

when I was a child.

BUT- 

I have one now! 

The three grandgirls put it together.

If you remember from an earlier post the

GARDEN GREMLINS

had moved in over the winter.

They were NOT very good stewards of 

FAIRY LAND.

See?

My three sweet helpers

worked their magic in no time flat.

Lulu (the oldest) made a clean sweep of

our rusty trusty old wheelbarrow.

She did an awesome job!

Then they  got busy!

Many hands makes light work!

There are some special things in the fairy garden.

There is a little cross for their sister, Anna Bella,

their guardian angel in Heaven;

a bee skep that was one of my Mom's salt and pepper shakers;

and a water feature-using glass pebbles.

And the vinca vines hanging over the edge?

Well,when those grow down a bit the 

"fallen fairies" can use the vines to climb back up.

I can't wait for the plants to fill in and 

make it lush and lovely.

Oh- Yes- All is sweet and peaceful and restful in 

FAIRY LAND!

Wait!  Wait!

WHAT is THAT I see?

IT'S A  MICKEY MOUSE

ORANGE ROAD CONSTRUCTION CONE!

What?

Who has been waiting at the table to 

HELP in the FAIRY GARDEN?

Uh-Oh!

ROCKS AND A TRACTOR!!!

OH MY!

I think there is trouble brewing!!!!

Hope YOUR day is trouble free!

Happy Saturday!