Happy Times

Last day of school here today! I get just as excited as the kids. This year went really fast. I know we say that every year but this year it really, really did! My son completed his junior year and my daughter graduated Intermediate (5th grade)!

We had a great day and celebrated later on at a Japanese Hibachi restaurant. What fun it was!

I can't believe she is going into 6th grade!

I've been busy at home getting some unfinished projects finally finished. Busy taking care of Mom and her various needs and appointments but it all works out. Sometimes it's hard but it all works out.  Mom is celebrating her 86th birthday on Sunday and although she really doesn't feel well a good deal of the time her spirits remain high with all the people around her.

Here's some of what I've been working on:

I finished my newest milk can ...but once I thought it was finished I realize I still have to clear glaze it. Basically done though.

I've made a few more button garlands too.

Working on the garden and all outdoor stuff. Certainly enough to keep us all busy! The chickens are loving running around the yard!

Enjoy your weekend!

I love June!

I love the month of June for so many reasons and this one has been so special. We've been busy with some family events and a few more coming up and its been so nice.

My son went to the Junior Prom with his girlfriend and what a great time he had. The prom was held as a dinner cruise around Manhattan!

They had such a beautiful night and the weather cooperated nicely. The boat stopped in front of the Statue of Liberty and my son got great photos of he and his gal in front of Manhattan all lit up at night!

Caitlin had her 5th grade field day event and a school party and next week it's 5th grade graduation! Here she is in her braids!

Here at home, my strawberry patch got huge and is producing some great strawberries though I do find my squirrels are also helping themselves!

The chickens are growing fast. They now love being in the coop and have adjusted well to Carol & Frankie. Here's Veronica.

And they LOVE to watch my son mow the lawn!

Have a great day!

Happy Memorial Day!

Good Morning! Sad that it's raining on our Memorial Day but hoping it will clear a little later. We have some plans and they will go on come rain or shine but it's always better when the sun shines!

Decorating around the house a little for the Summer has been fun. Taking photos with my phone when the sun s out is not so good for the glare but I think you can see well enough. Caitlin  said it always feels like Summer is close when I take Betsy Ross and Ben Franklin out!

We've been working in our yard a lot. Trying to get stuff done before my husband heads to South Carolina again. He and my son have the beds looking nice. And my Lilacs are so full!

My girls are getting bigger! Here they are looking for bugs in the log pile. It's their favorite activity. My husband is designing how he is adding the nesting boxes and run onto the coop. I'm busy thinking how I'm going to decorate the little extension. I have some catalog orders for some new rooster stuff I'm waiting to receive and I want to make a few things.

Here's Caitlin at Adventureland, a little amusement park not far from our house. She went with her friends and as you can tell by the expression on her face was having a GREAT time!

Have a great day!

Welcome to Monday!

Happy almost Memorial Day! I love the display in this picture! the color red in the garden is so Summer to me! My flowers are starting to bloom but a little slower this year. We've had a lot of rain and it's been cold. This is the first week where we will be in the higher 70's so I'm expecting my peony plants to burst open with color! My clematis sure did!

The peony plants are ready!!!

Azalea and lilacs too!

I went to a sale this weekend and came home a few treasures:

A pretty divided dish for candy or other stuff

1950's (looks like Fire King) luncheon/dessert set of 6 cups and dishes

A brand new still in its original packaging electric wok!



A whopping $8 for everything!



Yesterday was a lazy day. My husband has been so busy and the weather wasn't great so I finally gave in to my desire to craft Halloween! I know I'm crazy but I thought if I JUST DO IT than maybe I will be free to concentrate on Spring and Summer!

Ornaments for the Halloween tree, a new pumpkin pal, and two new crows!

I was so happy!


Lastly, in South Carolina we picked up this fairy garden set in Home Depot as Caitlin is doing a fairy garden.
She's been loving scrolling the internet and Pinterest to see everyone's ideas. Check out Home Depot for these sets. they have all different styles.

oh, one more thing! Did I show you my wind chimes from Cracker Barrel?

now I'm done! Second cup of coffee and off to the bus stop with my Caitlin!

Beautiful Day!

What a beautiful day it is! We've had so much rain this week, it's so nice to see a beautiful morning. Everyone is so eager to work outside and we are too. The neighbors are all cleaning up and getting their  flower beds ready! We got our mulch down and we should be ready for planting very shortly. We had a little set back with some work outside due to not only the weather but my son's stomach illness which has been hitting him hard lately. We had an afternoon stay at Huntington Hospital so he could receive meds intravenously that helped but he still isn't 100%. He has a new project outside to build an inground fire pit so I hope he'll feed good this week to work on it. And then there's these ladies:

The chickens are growing fast! They aren't outside full time yet as they are still young but they have great appetites and should be growing in all the rest of their feathers to keep them hearty and warm. They are full of life and happy as can be. The photo above shows them getting some exercise. I do put them out in a separate cage inside my big coop so they get acquainted with Carol & Frankie and the bunnies and so far so good!

I'm still so in love with my vacation to South Carolina, that I made the dish that our friends Dan & Sandy made for us when we visited them. The Shrimp Boil! It came out so good!

Kielbasa, shrimp, red potatoes, onions, and corn on the cob cooked in a big pot with seasonings and it was a big hit. Everyone loved it. A taste of my great vacation.

On Cinco de Mayo I made Caitlin her favorite:

She loves my chicken enchilladas! They are so yummy but very filling. When you eat one or two of those for dinner you don't look for any snacks afterwards!

I'm back into a crafty mood though I don't know where to start. I have a couple of projects done part way...I have an unfinished re-done milk can and a couple of other things I'm working on but that's it. I miss being in my craft room and getting that hot glue gun going. Believe it or not, I have Halloween on my brain...I know you think that's crazy! But I do! I think I need to wander through a few craft stores for supplies and make some patriotic decorations or people or something! Halloween in May???Maybe I'll make some patriotic people. I also want to work on a new sign for my chicken coop this way when my husband is done working on the extension he can just put it up!


That's about it for me! Enjoy your day!

Vacation!

It had been almost ten years since our family was on a vacation for more than three days. Over the ten years we built a house and my husband also became self employed. Those two things don't leave much time for vacations! So we were so happy to have the opportunity to go on a trip for a week to Hilton Head Island, SC and Savannah, GA!

We had a great time at a beautiful resort and we really cherished the family time we had together.

We took a trolley through Savannah which showed all the sections of this beautiful city and we were able to get off at the stops and walk around.

There were markets on River Street and we actually went back by ferry to visit them.

Caitlin loved the pools at the Westin and Hampton Lake and we spent time riding in the golf carts, mini golfing and eating lots of great food!

 We ate at some cool restaurants! One was called the Crazy Crab and Caitlin had a huge pot of crab legs. Her favorite!

It was a great trip but I think my favorite night was when we visited a friend who lives there and he and his wife made us a traditional South Carolina shrimp boil! YUMMY!!!

Our friend and Dan and his wife Sandy have a great home with a dock in their yard. Dan took us out on his boat. No gators though--it was salt water!

My son is like his Dad and really loved when they went kayaking. What a great trip.  My husband has traveled down to South Carolina several times now for business and he was right. It's beautiful!

Home now and ready to take on our front walkway project and distribute the 8 yards of mulch we bought for the property. Plus we have another chicken coop to build with a run. Flowers and veggie garden to plant.....Time to get back to our lives!