Everything From Trees to Watermelon

I'm feeling very chatty these days. My Vitamin D levels must have finally kicked in.

Have spent a couple of days at the Ponderosa doing the little things that John tends to overlook. For example, he's very good at detailing a car and not so very good at detailing a stove. This morning, before the sun gets around too far, I have some window washing on the west side to accomplish. I really think that I'm going to need to hog tie John to get him out of there. He keeps seeing one more thing and one more thing and, at this rate, there'll always be something more that can be done and it will never end. (The most recent was closing in the porch and putting in all new windows. Ackkkk...enough already!)

~~~

You know that you're really not paying attention when people from neighboring countries have to provide you with local news. Pamela asked me if I had felt the earth shake and I replied that three or more trees had been taken down and so, yes, I had. LOL! You know how I love it when a tree goes down over here in the jungle. Anyway, wouldn't you love to see my new view? This has happened quite quickly and one of these photos was just featured the day before yesterday, but I show it again as comparison.

~Before~

~After~

~~~

Here are some first and lasts in the garden. I always like to document them. These photos were taken on the last day of spring.

~the first Bolero Lily~

~The Last Phlox~

(I almost missed it!)

~The first Crimson Knock-out Rose~

~The First Pink Knock-out Roses...yes, the chewers have arrived~

~The Last Peony~

~The Morning Glory just beginning to climb~

~Hoping that one day it'll look spectacular!~

Okay, I've pestered you long enough. Off for breakfast, which will include the first watermelon...now that is another good thing about summer. 

Oh here's a question for you... One grand loves watermelon; the other hates it. Both of my children hate it. Who hates watermelon? Do you love it or hate it?

Some Levity Please

Please excuse me if you already know what I'm chatting about today. I really did crawl out from under a rock last evening around 6:30 when I learned that M*arth* Stew*rt has two grandchildren. Perhaps I could be forgiven for not knowing about the second, his being an Irish twin and all, but the first? Did you know this?

And have you ever heard about Alice Bee and her wonderfully funny dad Dave Engledow? Just found them last night, too. In case you need a laugh as much as I do, check out the links. You can always learn more by Googling.

*smoothie king*

*father's day breakfast*

Apparently, Mommy is finishing up a military tour in Korea and Daddy and Alice Bee are on their own. Hahahahahaha... John and I spent a wonderful time going through the photos and laughing our fool heads off. We're quirky that way. Perhaps you are, too.

(Please do not pin these photos. Go directly to the source for any pinning or linking. Thanks!)

hApPy suMMeR to YoU!

Tying Up At Least One Loose End

Thank you so much for another fun Note Card Party! Do you find yourself wandering around in your archives and getting a bit lost there? I do. It's rather like a search through Grandmother's Attic, which I used to love to do...achoo...pardon me. 

~~~

Speaking of Grandmother's Attic, this is my final post on kitchens for a while. I'm rather sick of them, especially mine. Sometimes, mine even turns my stomach. Ha! Anywho, I'm not always fair with my readers. As my mother once said, "How you make this little dump look so good cracks me up." True. She said that or something very close. 

I do it this way — I show you this, which is bad enough ↓

rather than that...↑

Let's try that again. This...↓

And not that...↑

One last time... ↓

And not that↑

This post is dedicated to Ceekay who stamped her foot so cutely during her tantrum on the 14th that I had to indulge her a little. 

Have a super day! It's a corker here and I'm mowing the lawn. What a way to spend the final day of spring.

Note Card Party~June

Won't you come into the garden? I would like my roses to see you.

~Richard Brinsley Sheridan 

~June 2010 as a header photo~

~June 14, 2013~

~June 7, 2013~

~June 14, 2013~

Make that lilies, roses, columbine, and peonies [to see you]. Three note cards came from this month alone. This means that I haven't been posting enough. I could tell you why, but it would be an exercise in exhaustion for us all. ☺

Our next party will be July 17. It's time to mark my calendar! Please mark yours because, obviously, I can not be counted upon.

Happy Father's Day

Source

~Four Generations~

Tell your children about it,

Let your children tell their children,

And their children another generation.

 ~Joel 1:3

A blessed and happy day to you!

Doable? Perhaps Not...

So I told you I was going to work on the kitchen.  I tried. I lied. And this is the extent of "the freshening" downstairs.

This little game I've played...copycat...and one where I have failed miserably (no bread, jam, butter on the counter and certainly no white paint on the walls) has taught me more about myself. I can't show you the entire scene because the stuff from the counters and windowsills would show. If I cleared a lot of items, cute ones, too, I could have more the pared down, clean look of yesterday's kitchen. And I really, really like my stuff. And I really, really like color. Disclaimer: No, heaven's no! I am not redoing my kitchen. My sister is redoing hers. I'm helping her with ideas. 

(I'm really still in the sewing room folding material. I dig in and find a fabric that I had forgotten, which makes me think that I should make something instead. It's a case of the good angel on one shoulder and the red dude on the other. Oh my. The battles I have had. You can't imagine or can you?)

~Flag Day in the U.S.~

~Peonies and Irises~

That's right. That's all I've done on the ground floor besides keeping up with the dishes and the bathroom. The end. It's pathetic. Say, have you ever read Michele's tips for preserving cut flowers? You can find them *here.*

I turned the small pot of flowers on my deck into two pots because the geranium went beserk and really needed its own pot. Then I thought I'd put a chair on the little side deck so I could stare at the thermometer and by the heat of my gaze make it rise by a degree or two — at least to the 70s.

Then I visited Lorrie at Fabric Paper Thread, which was my undoing because I abandoned all work for taking pictures. Sigh. You can see what she did that inspired me so. I'm still working on it.

A happy weekend to you!

A Darling Kitchen

~Source~

Have you created a Houzz folder of your own? I did about a year ago and now it is filled with sweet images like this one. They provide a comment box, which can be kept private, for answering this question: What do you like about this room? 

My answer was this: The sink reminds me of my grandmother's. The room is bright and cheerful. There's bread, butter, and jam on the counter — always a good sign. It's clean. (I think it has something to do with sun at the windows, too.)

Clean is always good. I'm giving up on the upstairs for a while so I can concentrate on the first floor again. So many things need cleaning, including the garage, the car, the basement, the attic. Okay, this is as depressing as the rain. (It feels as if it's been raining forever. ETA: Sunshine this morning, though, before more rain returns this afternoon.)

So what do I need? A cheery tablecloth, preferably gingham, a lot of white (can't happen), flowers on the windowsill, a kettle on the stove, and a snack on the counter. Okay. It's doable! I'm off.

Kitchen Ideas

Thank you so much for the ideas! I've gathered them in this handy-dandy mosaic with sources listed just for fun.

~Right click, open link in new window, and regular click again for largest size~

Presenting your ideas in no particular order...

1. a large island either a built-in or a farmhouse table with lots of outlets (My sister wants her sink and dishwasher built into her island.) Source

2. a pantry in the kitchen or handy to it  Source

3. a cabinet specifically for cookie sheets and racks Source

4. more lower drawers and fewer upper cabinets (My sister is about five feet tall. This is an important one for her.) Source

5. warm floors Source

6. light painted cabinets Source

7. double oven and built-in microwave Source

8. instant hot water Source

9. pull out storage Source

10. lots of windows and a big sink Source

11. a chaise and a cool drink to watch the workers Source

12. not too matchy-matchy

A lot of points were hit in *this photo from Houzz:* note difference in counter surfaces, what a view, farmhouse sink, and painted off-white cabinetry.

13. Oops...forgot an important one that many mentioned: a gas stove!

Source

I'll try to pop in a photo as work progresses over the summer. Sis is actually not going to have a window in her kitchen (accckkkk!) She will have two patio doors opening to a screened in porch. An added feature of her kitchen is a brick fireplace on one end already there, and she has her porch swing, too. It's not my project, but that doesn't mean that I'm not nosy interested.

Anything you'd like to add?

Projects

Seems as if everyone in the family is involved in a big project these days except for me. The "kids" are doing landscaping. It started last December with the cutting down of the giant cedars that had grown as tall as the house and were overwhelming the architecture. (I had a blast decorating for Christmas and am certainly going to miss the cedars for their contributions to the greenery cause.) The roof was also replaced in December.

Now the dilemma seems to be the rock wall. Decisions, decisions.

Quite a pared back landscaping for the front yard without those towering cedars. I don't know what all the plants are. I know that there's Mountain Laurel way in the corner, a hibiscus tree, a rose, and a rescued lilac that is looking pretty shocked. There're also some hollyhocks and lupine.

I'm sure that it will be fun for everyone to watch their new garden grow. A few weeks ago, I was telling the grands how I used to live next door (that house there beyond the drive) and the oldest said, "That's not a nice house like our house." And the youngest chimed in, "Our house is awesome!" And I'd have to agree. It's a great old house in town.

~~~

Another project? Window replacements at the Ponderosa. (John)

The other family project? Raising chickens. (My niece)

~~~

The other? A complete home remodel starting with the kitchen. (My sister) We've been checking out Houzz projects and looking at Pinterest. There's a glut of information out there so I'd like to narrow this down a bit to tips from people I know and trust. =D What is the one thing you like best about your kitchen and what is one thing you really don't like about your kitchen? Thanks for your help.

Columbine, a Bird House, and a Photo Challenge

As I understand it, this month's Photo Challenge Composition Variations is about changing/tweaking what I might ordinarily do from one photo to the next. 

The photos were taken on a very bright, sunny day this week, though I was standing in the shade of the house. Once I narrowed my subjects down, I decided to work with the birdhouse and some Columbine. I wasn't sure which one would predominate. 

~No~

The other lesson this week that made a lot of sense to me was "move your feet." All too often I stand in one place and expect to achieve a different photo. Hmmm...there's a larger life lesson there.

~No~

From the photo above, I decided to allow the Columbine to star.

~Maybe~

On macro setting, the Columbine takes center stage while the birdhouse fades to the background. (I never knew that Columbine can look like a group of swans in a dance.) Some of the colors have been enhanced, particularly the green in the flower itself, using photo editing programs: PhotoScape and Photoshop. 

I'll never achieve *what Donna achieves,* but I've had my fun!

Please visit what others are doing at A Personal Photo Challenge and consider joining in. After all, to be stretched is what a challenge is all about!


P.S. 
ISO 400
Aperture 2.8
Exposure 1/2000 sec
Focal Length 6mm
White Balance 0
Photoscape and Photoshop

The Garden is In and C-Span 2

Such wonderful days we're enjoying. The air is crisp and clear with zip humidity. (Right. We were recently sweltering and now we're back to normal.) The days are long and golden and the foliage is amazing and green. I spent all day outside yesterday planting and cleaning and putzing about.

I planted four tomato plants, two broccoli plants, rosemary, chives, marigolds, two seashells, a broken bit of a birdbath, and three plates.

I really like the colors in these marigolds.

This? Supposedly it will keep flies away. I first saw it on Pinterest so it is now pinned to my garden folder. The source is *here.* Maybe I need a penny.(I did plop a shiny penny in later.)

~~~

I watched the most riveting television last night on C-Span 2. It was the testimony of six Americans before the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday on the targeting of Conservative groups by "the agency that will remain unnamed." Right. I'm as scared as the next person. Wonder how many folks are watching C-Span 2 these days...

~~~

The next time you see me, I'll be participating in Donna's Photo Challenge. See my sidebar and click on the icon for more details. I've had fun with this month's "lesson."

A good day to you!  

A Little Excitement

Yes, it was a little exciting yesterday afternoon when the first of the tornado warnings started across our screen. 

Tornadoes in Maine??? Yes, very rare, but they have happened. We were told that if a tornado developed it would probably be an E-1 or lower and that we would have, at most, a ten-minute warning. Thing is, tornadoes can't get going so well as they have no place, unless over water, to really develop.

Anyway, I felt such a sense of solidarity with all of you who have been experiencing this sort of weather for several weeks now. It was stressful. Why we actually discussed a plan of action, which is pretty remarkable for the two of us! It all came to naught for which we are very grateful. 

Oh, one other minor thing...see that 74° at 5:01? That's in Portland where Channel 8 lives. It was at least ten degrees warmer inland. It usually is in the summer. We've been sweltering and are looking forward to the cooler temps arriving even as I type. The high yesterday was another 96F; today is more reasonable at 78F.

My son dropped by with some leftover plants my daughter-in-law is contributing to my garden. I hope to get those in the ground today. I still need to visit the nursery and pick up some herbs and some marigolds. My raised bed is going to mostly be an herb garden this year.

Would you believe that I still haven't finished cleaning upstairs? I've been at it for weeks and weeks. It has been further complicated by receiving a huge bag of hand-me-ups from my sister. Great items. Just wish I were her size. =D  

This is my favorite.

I can't decide if I want to wear it or cut it up and make something else from it. Currently, I'm wearing it. 


Like the tornado, this post just fizzled out... 

Have a great week!

A Bowl of Sunshine~Mosaic Monday

There, through the long, long summer hours,

The golden light should lie,

And thick young herbs and groups of flowers

Stand in their beauty by...

~from June by William Cullen Bryant

Not the best photography on such a wildly sunny day. I just liked the way the sunshine fills that one rose as if the rose were a bowl catching it.

Linking to Mary's Little Red House...