I'm still here!Just been incredibly busy with family and other things. My sister-in-law moved to our area due to the death of her husband, someone I considered a brother and bff. Know him since I;m a teen, went to school with him, and loved him so much. His loss devastated us. Truly. Its been an adjustment. Losing my Mom last year and then him has just been alot. But my sister-in-law is settled now and making her new home a wonderful place. 

We've been super busy and also had a few events, etc happening. I hope you're still with me!

After a great trip, I have some new things for my yard and home. We devote alot of time to our gardens. It takes alot  of energy and we work hard to make it special. The only thing I have left to do is get a delivery of mulch. Hoping this summer isn't a wet one like we had last year.

I love Americana and much of my home is decorated with it all year but this time of year I try to step it up a notch! I'm also going through some of my decor and either using or donating. I also give things away to friends and family who decorate as I do. Its not that I'm scaling back; its just that I haven't used some in years. Making room for more and if you know me, you know...there's always MORE! I'm making some water and bird feeders using interior staircase railing poles (I think they;re called ballisters or something like that) as my pole and tin pans. Then I make wooden signs to decorate with. Just some odd little projects. My husband is building an outdoor cooking area to house our new smoker and grill. He's been anxious to start working with the smoker. He's making an outdoor cooking area with a counter. You know I will decorate that too!

Some other things that have happened since I last posted: a couple of trips to PA including this past weekend we had a family trip to Hershey. My son and his girlfriend, my daughter and her boyfriend, my husband and I , and my sister in law all had a great trip. My daughter's boyfriend is preparing to leave for the Marines in July so we have several dates planned with him including his senior prom. My daughter chose a beautiful gown and we are going for fittings. She also got a car! I'm so proud of her. She has been going through some health issues and had two procedures done at the hospital but we have our fingers crossed. We've been spending a good deal of time at doctor's offices. Seeing her happy and excited for the car and the prom has been extra important to me.  My son was promoted at his job and his girlfriend who graduated college last August also has a nice new job! My husband is very busy and business is good so I really have no complaints at this time. I feel blessed. But can we ever not worry about the world we live in? Every day the news is upsetting. I retreat to my own world to avoid it. Here's my Caitlin at her fitting:

Back to the garden! I expanded my vegetable garden yet again. So far so good. I'm not adding to the chicken flock this year as its nice and peaceful in the coop and everyone is getting along. I'm kind of afraid to upset the group in case they don't accept any new friends! We have a ton of bunnies in our yard and two of them live under one of my porches. They have no fear of us! I'm excited about that even though they are chewing on some of my flowers. Strange that they ignore the garden but prefer the flowers!

I hope you have a great day and I will be back much sooner I promise!