A Project Completed

Before I forget any more than I already have, I need to post. Something. Anything. ☺ 
Where have I been? You may have guessed that my health took another turn and so I have been trying to get back out of the hole once again. The health of my iPad also took a turn, after the most recent update. I am experiencing constant crashes and Google does not allow me to stay logged in, which makes visiting and commenting an exercise in frustration. Hope to one day have that sorted out. I visit a lot of forums, yet, so far, no suggestion has worked.
Okay, enough whining. John took me on a little drive last Sunday afternoon, even though it was a gray, overcast day with only brief glimpses of sun. We're not yet at peak, but getting there rapidly. I took nearly 50 pictures and am showing only one. What restraint!

Let's see, what else...oh, my daughter celebrated a birthday last weekend. I took no family photos, but I did manage a photo of the cupcakes!

Pay no attention to the specter in the window. Freaky! John continued to work on his project. I do believe that he was quite ill with cement poisoning for a few days. Scared me. He took it in stride.

He looks pretty tuckered here, but pleased with the outcome. There's more tidying up to be done and planting of grass seed. We certainly hope that this resolves the issue of erosion that we experienced last winter and spring. We'd sure hate to have the garage slip off into the ravine!

I do love these stairs. They are rather whimsical as John just made them up as he went along without working from a plan. I think some mums on every step would look charming. Oh, and if you look over there by the wishing well, you can see that there's another project in progress. 

In a day or two (edited to add: a day or six), I have an already written post that I'll put up. I'll be closing comments because it is one of those posts: politically incorrect and not especially pleasant.

After that, I'll be stepping away again for the remainder of October for the usual reasons. 

Thank you for popping by. I am sorry to leave you in the lurch so often. So much on my mind, so little energy to express it.

Enjoy a marvelous day!

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Autumn Decorating and More

So many have been sharing their autumn decorating and I want to play, too. Mine never quite lives up to theirs; still, I employ the old one bird singing in a forest philosophy. You know the one:
Use whatever talents you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except the very best.
~Henry Van Dyke
Right and amen. To that end, here we go.

Here's a new panel sewed for the kitchen window. The colors tie a lot together around here.

Just a reworking of the same old same old. It's what I do best...shop the house.

Fioré used to hop up here unless I loaded it with stuff. Now I realize that I could change things; I'm in a rut.
Okay, that's just about enough of that. This here place is not a decorating blog you'll be happy to know. ☺
*** Today, Judy at My Front Porch is sharing *a driving tour of New Brunswick, Canada.* (You'll find Judy's photography amazing, btw.) New Brunswick is our sister state...er province...er..country...oh something! She mentions visiting Kings Landing and so I thought I'd pop in my grands' visit to KL at about the same time Judy was visiting.

Here they are walking that dusty road, visiting The Print Shop where they made bookmarks, and playing croquet on the lawn. So bucolic!
Here they are in August at the garden I love so well and not my own.↓

They had been goofing around as brothers do. I wanted to take photos and they just wanted to be silly. Okay. Fine. I carried on. In fact, the photo in my substitute header is one of their being goofy photos, which has become one of my favorites. Finally, Sam (Mickey Mouse shirt) said, "Okay, okay. We know how to take a good photo." And the one above is what I got. He was right and I love it!

Same garden (just three feet from the photo with the boys) taken last weekend with my iPhone. I admired the morning glories and the apples cascading down as I sat sipping my water and reading my book. 
***
Last, I'm tossing in my lobster stew photos made from the delicious lobster that Abby sent home with us.  Oh yummy!
John said, "Please, please, no garlic in my lobster stew." 
I said, "Garlic? Heavens no! Marjorie Standish says that you can't even have salt and pepper."

Marjorie Standish is considered by many the quintessential expert on Maine cooking. The ingredients in this stew are pure, quality butter, fresh, fresh lobster with the tomalley (the green stuff you see there), and light cream. That's it. Almost that's it. The brew stew must be allowed to sit (in the fridge of course) for 6 to 8 hours before re-warming and serving. John was in heaven for two days. 
***

Closing with another photo of John's project. I see that he's drinking his water!
Thank you for stopping by. Not sure when I'll be posting again, before too long I hope. This playing things by ear is always interesting...
Have a wonderful first day of autumn!
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Odds and Ends

Nothing makes a house cozier than cats.  ~Gladys Taber

If this is true, and I suspect that it is, ours ceased to be quite as cozy last Thursday morning when we said goodbye to Fioré.

Fioré  2002–2015 We miss her. If you are a cat person, you understand.
*** You may be wondering how I am. John and I went out for a bite to eat Saturday afternoon and I told him that I was just beginning to feel human again, after nearly two weeks! Recovery continues as long as I drink my water; I know instantly when I need some. I hate drinking water. It takes me an hour to drink one measly cup. Sad!
*** Yesterday came blowing in on a Canadian high. Bright and glorious with lower temperatures and low humidity. It was a perfect afternoon for soccer. Both the grands are on the same team again this year so we are happy soccer grandparents. 

The one on the left in the yellow shirt is ours. (Prior to taking a closer look, I thought the one on the right also belonged to us. Nope. That kid tricked me.)

There's our blondie right in the middle above. You can see how I'd get tricked, right?  ***
In other news, John is working on a new project.

I'll be sure to share more when it starts pulling together. This is really a continuation of a former project.
*** Vexed: to be sloshed about as in a bucket of water.
Yes, so I continue to feel this way...sloshed as if I were in a giant bucket of water. Seems appropriate somehow given my recent circumstances. The vexation comes from the times in which we live. Read the most lovely piece titled Ore written by Brin, whom I have recently found again. I found it to be balm to my spirit.
Now I took a sidestep from where I had planned to be today so hope to get back to those things one day this week, if I keep drinking my water! Off to get some now...

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The Potting Bench

Hmmm...well now, perhaps I am feeling full of vinegar. Have just read Sharon's comment on the last post and she may have a jab  point. ☺
Re-reading my last few posts, I see that my vinegar meter really may be at an all-time high. Probably, that'll require a release of the pressure valve. Beware! My kids used to send each other cryptic messages back in the day: Red Alert was one; Thar she blows was another. So look for it any day now and let the chips fall where they may. =D
Oh go ahead, tell me what you really think...
Not today, my friend, maybe Wednesday, Friday or one day next week. 
~*~*~

Today is all about the potting bench. John  created a delight for me and incorporated two things I wanted to use. The first was my old garden gate and the other was the scalloped bit there as a shelf that had formerly been used in my kitchen to bridge the gap between cupboards on either side of the sink.

Yes, I left it the pale buttery yellow it was

You know what those are...the name escapes me. Here's an example in a vintage-style kitchen.

*This post* tells why I feel as I do about the garden gate. John's "supplies" behind the garage. 

He says that his reputation as a builder has come to an end. That's because he was using inferior material otherwise known as what we had. I tell him:  Anyone can build a potting bench with quality wood; not everyone can take a bent, sagging piece of wood and make it into something special. 
So that's the background story. This is not a tutorial. We don't do those. 

Take an old garden gate Make it into something it ain't Add a bit of this and that  Splash on a little paint  Go ahead — decorate!

Just like that! Nothing to it! 
I promise not to turn this potting bench into my Boleros...maybe. It's just that we don't have a lot to chat about these days unless...
Thanks for popping in!

Mosaic Monday Offerings

~collage made with Fotor~ Another paint night to crow about...that's my daughter in the lower right corner with five of her friends. She talked them into going to a Paint Nite event.  From the smiles, I think that they had fun.
***
We're having a fun discussion about orange and red around here. 

That's a common ditch lily on the left that I call orange and a Bolero bud on the right. The Bolero may be just another shade of orange, especially if one compares it to red as below.

Boleros beside pansies beside wasp house, plates,  zucchini, and below the U.S. flag. Okay, it may be another shade of red. Whatever! 
***

Another peek at John's project. I'm starting to get excited now that it's on the homestretch. Hope that it may be finished by the 4th of July.
It's a patriotic week in North America with Canada celebrating Canada Day on Wednesday and the United States celebrating the 4th of July on Saturday. Enjoy the celebrations! 
Over and out for the week. Today, I am linking to *Judith's Mosaic Monday* and I hope to visit a number of participants before day's end.
A blessed week to you!

Leading an Exciting Life

Oh it is a lovely morning here in Maine. We had frost warnings overnight, but no frost came near us. 

I am not living an exciting life, my friend. The most exciting thing that happens to me is being dragged around the house several times a day by a geriatric grandpuggy

who is very selective. The front lawn was not suitable (thank you, Lord). Perhaps it was that neon green.

The rhubarb patch would have served well, but I came to my senses just in time to yank the chain and move on. Besides, I need some rhubarb because I'm baking with it today and it will require no extra seasoning. The house is chilly and the oven will be just enough to warm things up to bearable.

I like the strangest things...the shovel at the ready for those shovel-ready jobs.

The phlox garden is doing well. I remember chatting with Linda about phlox some weeks ago. She lives in Texas and her pots of phlox were blooming long ago. I wondered how long it would take for mine to show up...must look into that. Do you ever check back on such minutiae? 

How do you get a project accomplished that you know is above your abilities? I start right in knowing full well that John will not be able to take it for long. Works like a charm and I always get more than I was even imagining.

The hill had been eroding and we needed to stop it. My idea was to build stairs. John's idea was to build a "patio."

Rain came in the night and chiseled a groove on the left side there. He'll be working on getting that smoothed out eventually before it gets too hard. We have more work to come and perhaps I'll show our progress again some fine day. You may remember seeing this area looking this way:

That's a wrap! Have a wonderful day...

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Your Wish is My Command

You asked to see the shoes so stay tuned, I'm sharing. 
First I thought I'd share what many of you see at your own house these fine May days. To think I ever despaired of spring!

~azaleas blooming~ ~bees buzzing~

~lilacs blooming~

~projects going~

 ~Skechers walking~

And, as promised, the 

shoes — Skechers. Marvelously lightweight and yet supportive. So comfortable I didn't know what comfortable was before. Aren't they adorable? (She asked with tongue firmly in cheek. ☺)

I know that I said I'd be back in three days and it has only been two. I just remembered that we'll be receiving our new-to-us living room furniture this weekend and there is much to do before that.

Have a blessed weekend, my friend!

And Sparks Flew

That Eastern Spruce is what I call our Snuffleupagus tree. It's very special to me because, other than the lilacs, it's the only tree on my property. Bet that surprises some since my corner looks very tree-filled. 

Snuffleupagus needs a good pruning every few years. John wants it pruned more than I do, but I see his points: moisture control on the deck and air flow and the health of the tree itself. Here he is checking out which branches are too close to the deck or too close to the ground. Plenty of them are just too dead.

Sadly, it did involve some ladder work. I held the ladder and I carried most of the branches out to the truck.

 ~Tuckered or Lost in Thought~

In the afternoon, I was happily visiting you when I became aware of  grinding noises and a certain smoky smell and sparks! Lots and lots of pretty sparks. I decided to practice for the 4th of July using my camera's fireworks setting. 
This was another case of John's being bugged by something that I had never noticed. Apparently, the bolts were hanging way below the deck and he didn't want the boys to get hurt. Awww...in that case. Thanks, Hon, for not burning the deck down. 
Speaking of boys, they'll arrive soon and I will have them all day and for the remainder of the week. Fun! If I don't show up by Saturday, send out the troops. (I hope to be posting, but we'll have to see how it goes.) 
Thanks for popping by and a good Tuesday to you...