Summer Days

In this July heat, my roses need a lot of water. They are blooming abundantly!

I make sure to go outside every day and cut off the ones that have finished. In no time at all I have new buds.
Here are some photos of the rear of my house this Summer. We didn't get to mulch but we did plant some nice perennials. Below is one of two rear porches I have.

Here is the other:

More garden in the sun...

Everything is green and pretty. My mind is still on Autumn though! Look at this great idea from Pinterest:

 

Get one of those foam pumpkins and use that. Reminds me of the fairy gardens everyone is doing for the Summer. You can do this for the Fall!

 

Country Sampler magazine came out with an Autumn Decorating special issue. I got mine yesterday but haven't had a chance to check it out yet. Caitlin has had VBS this week . My church has so many great activities for us Moms too so I've been enjoying myself there as well.

 

Can't believe July is just about over. August is going to be a busy month for us. Have a great day and stay cool!

 

A Few Things I've Been Working On...

Good Sunday morning to you!  It's gonna be a hot one here today! We enjoyed cooler temps last week--in the 70's! Loved it. Now we are in for a spell of 80's. Oh well! Summer heat!  Anyway, here is what I've been working on for the upcoming craft fair.  I have  more but here are a few...Some Sun Bonnet Sue/Amish gals. Some Christmas ones too.

Some with mittens and hats.....I also did some that have a boy and a girl. I did some flower arrangements but I didn't get to photo them yet. I have also done some crafts with birds. Some mini Christmas bird houses. Thanksgiving stuff... I've been having so much fun!

Yesterday I was walking passed my front door in the foyer and I spotted one of the squirrels I feed taking a siesta on my porch rocker :)   

He stayed for a half hour just resting!!!! It was so adorable. I never saw a squirrel just relax on a porch rocker and take in the neighborhood! People watching! What cutie!

Friday I hit a couple of sales with a friend. I found this Autmn girl.  I need to spruce her up a bit but she is so pretty. Her smile has faded...I have to put one back on her pretty face and add some mini leaves to her wreath. Autumn :)

I got a great plate for cookies or just for decoration too. This brand of plate was sold at Kohls. St. Nicholas is the brand I believe. Not bad for $1. It's a good size. It'll hold lots of cookies!

AN oldie but a goodie. This looks like it's from the 1950's or 60's with the gold trim. Perfect for candies or little snacks when I have guests over. I love those special little dishes. $2.

Also for $2 I found this Halloween witch decoration. Originally from Home Goods the label said. $2. I'll be giving this to my Halloween buddy Mary.

What are you up to today? My husband has had a busy, busy week and wants to go somewhere fun. We may start off with brunch and just see where the day takes us!

So excited that Michaels and AC Moore are filling up on Fall stuff!!!!!! I'm an over the top excited!

Have a great day!

Have You Seen These Yet?

Oh my I can get lost in the world of Pinterest. Minutes pass by so quickly while I browse and save.

As my favorite season approaches, I am seeing so many cute ideas. Take a look at some of these:

The little witch hats I can use for my pumpkin people I make! What a great idea. I already use cupcake papers for the outfit...now I can use it for the hat if I need to.

Look at these darling utensils. I just love them!!!

These crows stole my heart. Think of the possibilities!

Spray paint some frames and insert images...easy! Lets do it!

Pinterest just gets the whole creativity thing going! I have made so many good recipes from it too.

I'm working on my craft fair items. I will post photos shortly of some of the items I have made. I have a mix of seasonal and home items. I really rather just give them away. Seriously. I make them for fun and when I think of putting a price on them, I feel like I just want to give them to the people.....I'd be a bad business woman.

 It's been a busy Summer but really nice so far. Caitlin has been enjoying her days doing crafts with me, visiting her friends, going to the movies, and participating in our library's summer reading club. We don't have a pool but many of her friends do so she is always swimming!

My son visits with his girlfriend and works with his Dad. Hardly get to see him!

I picked the first peppers from my garden! My strawberries have finished. Tomatoes are still green but they'll be ready shortly.

That's about it. Just checking in......We have some plans for the weekend so it should be a good one!

Summer Time!

Good morning on this beautiful July day! The flowers are blooming everywhere! It hasn't been too hot here yet it's warm enough to say "Ahhh Summertime!".

We had a great 4th of July full of food, family, friends and later on, fireworks! We didn't set them off but saw some great ones!

Yesterday we took a drive over to Old Westbury Gardens just to relax and walk around. We go there a lot :)    We just love the English style gardens. Below is the playhouse for their daughter . It's from roughly 1912.  I was lucky enough to meet the only surviving child (at the time) of the family many years ago at the mansion. Her name was Peggy. She had donated the estate and its gardens to New York for preservation in 1959 but still freely walked the grounds and the home she grew up in.

If you scroll back to my post about Ronald McDonald Walk in May, you can see the estate. Peggy was very nice. At first as I walked through the different gardens and met her I didn't know who she was. I thought she was just a friendly older lady who loved flowers and plants. She had a big sun hat on and a long dress. After a few minutes, she told me she was Peggy Phipps. She told me how she played for hours in her thatched cottage play house.  Peggy is  no longer with us, she passed away in 2006 at the age of 99,  but the beautiful home she grew up in will be with us forever and the memory of meeting her. I met her one more time after that first meeting. They had a special presentation of costumes that the children would wear when they put on plays for the adults of the family. Amazing costumes created in the early 1900's.

I'm also working on some crafts for a craft fair I'm doing. I've been busy!

About a week ago, we had some thunder and lightning rain storms. After they were over, there was a crazy light illuminating the house! The sky was bright coral!

It was beautiful. As if the heavens had opened!

 

Have a beautiful day!

Beauty

May I introduce you to the family that lives on my porch. Mom, Dad and three children. Three hungry children, I might add. Two VERY busy parents. Living in my decorative gourd from Amish Country.

Mom and Dad working together. Side by side. Feeding their family and protecting their nest. They comfort their children and love them. It's incredible.

The absolute beauty of mother nature. On my porch..... My eyes welled with tears as I was snapping photo after photo. I took a total of 54! I couldn't stop or move away . It was so beautiful. Every morning, every afternoon, every evening. Constant activity. Their daily life as they raise their family. I am riveted to my porch. I check on them constantly. They trust me enough to let me stand and photograph them. They know I love them and help provide food for them as well. I had to share this with you; it has been a gift from God to see them.

Tomorrow is the last day of school. We had a thunderstorm last night and sat on the porch listening to it.  Caitlin was pondering her last days in 4th grade. She's happy yet a little sad. She really loved her teacher. It was a good school year. We love thunderstorms!

In our garden the lavender is thick and healthy! I cut some off to dry. My Dad's favorite scent was lavender.

Beautiful zinnias on the front porch.

Our apple trees are filled with a total of 65 apples (my son counted).....

The strawberry bushes are working over time! I'll show you one day's pickings in a moment but first I l just love my primrose! The yellow is electric!!! So vibrant.

Dahlias on one of the rear porches....

Check this out! One day of strawberry picking! Strawberry heaven!

We planted a raspberry bush.

 And the vegetable garden. I have some things in pots too.  three kinds of peppers, four kinds of tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, basil, parsley, cilantro. Still want more! Maybe this weekend!

 

How does my milk can look? Leftover border from my son's old bedroom! I love it!

 

 

 

 

 

 Have a beautiful sunny day!

Welcome Summer!

I think this is my favorite last two weeks of school. I know some people enjoy the first weeks because everyone is fresh and ready to begin, books are new, pencils sharpened...I love the last two weeks. The anticipation of the end, the days leading up to the half days, and then POOF! It's over. I love the exam days because with each one taken, you are one day closer to FREEDOM! The day when Caitlin comes home and says "my teacher said we won't have any more homework for the rest of the days" or when she is busy with fun activities that they fill the last moments with like flag celebrations, bbqs, movie afternoons, etc.  fun stuff to fill those last remaining 180 New York State required school days. We had a lot of fun this year. I post so much about our Girl Scout activities but it really is all that fun! We do lots of community service projects and have fun doing them and then there are the days of just sheer glee. Such as the other night at Adventureland! Adventureland is a local amusement park that actually closes its doors for one evening to everyone EXCEPT Commack Girl Scouts! You can literally stay on the rides without getting off. Everywhere you turn, you see someone you know. It was terrific.

As you can see from the pictures, Caitlin had a great time! She even got to drive!

Water rides and roller coaters. This trip was a well deserved thank you to our troop and all the other local Girl Scout troops.

So on Saturday, I went to those sales. I did pretty well! I got a couple of things that I plan to repurpose:

I plan to add some color! It's a scene done on a bushel lid. I loved it but it was kinda old so I thought I would add a new bow, a few touches here and there!

Below is this Thanksgiving broom that I bought only for the little pilgrims. I thought they were so cute!

I'll be removing them and ditching the broom I think. It's kind dusty and smelly. :(   The pilgrims are fine!

I bought the fruit picture for $2. I think it looks good with my cherry picture!

Here is the full shot over the stove:

 

 

 

I got this pretty cookie dish too! This was steal for $3!

And I bought this fiber optic angel for fifty cents. I love angels and she was so sweet.

Two of these pillows for $3 each. they'll be taking a spin in the washer and dryer....

 

 

 

A few little odds and ends too. Not a bad day. Meatball hero for lunch...a good day!

My friend Mary also added to my shop collection. Remember these? They are musical and while the music plays, either a door opens and out comes a little person (as is the case for the soda fountain), for the pet shop and sport shop there is a revolving display in the window...The soda fountain plays "At the Hop", The pet shop plays "How much is that doggy in the window?" and the sport shop plays "Take me out to the ball game".

Now she gave me the last one!

It plays "King of the Road" and out pops the attendant! I love these houses. She had purchased them in the mid 1980's from various card & gift stores. My only problem is the shelf I had the other three on only fits three :(  I have to figure this out cause I'm not leaving one out!

On that last thought, I wish you a wonderful day! Summer is here!