Busy as a Bee

Hey y'all,
Well, it seems like this summer is off to a great start. If you like HEAT, that is!  I love spring and usually May is a wonderful month with days around 80 and nights in the 60's - we skipped right to the 90's! Now, I am cold natured, meaning that I am always cold. I take a sweater with me everywhere in the summer because if I'm in air conditioning- I am COLD. So, I am not complaining about the heat, but really just making an observation. I have baked in the heat to get a few outside projects done - 

 Putting out annuals 

Lobelia- I've tried this before and it really doesn't like our heat but it was so pretty I had to give it another try!

Geraniums for the front and Impatiens for our shady back yard

Some beautiful red verbena

AHHHH! Red Geraniums, my favorite!

 

 

 

 

I'll get some pics with them in the ground after I mulch.

Next, I painted a white PVC plastic fence section to look like weathered wood for my in-laws new house. They are going to use it as a headboard in their master bedroom.

I didn't have very high expectations for this project when my mother-in-law brought this to me with her clever idea, but it actually turned out just fine. I'll take some pictures when they get to move in.

Lastly, I pressure washed the back porch deck. It WAS GROSS! We are getting ready to have it screened in so we can actually sit out there without being carried off by the mosquitoes. It is my favorite part of our house with all the trees around and an outdoor fireplace and we want to be able to enjoy it. We've been talking about it for years but we are actually going to do it! Thankfully it won't start for a few weeks because we have a visitor on our mantle.  Do you see it? Next to the candle?

It's a bird nest with a momma sitting on 5 eggs! Of course she didn't choose the birdhouse!

She actually started the nest inside our GRILL and I found it when I was turning on the gas tank. At that time it only had one egg so I moved it up onto the mantle (I couldn't get it inside the birdhouse.LOL) . It is a house wren and they have built there before. She returned to it and laid 4 more eggs!!! She stayed on it the whole time I was cleaning the porch, which was very loud! She only leaves when I get really close -she flew out when I put my camera up to take a picture of her. Don't worry...she came RIGHT BACK. I will give you baby updates when they hatch. I LOVE animals!

With all of these projects going on I have been doing my crocheting in the evenings and I am almost finished with my bunting. Pics to come soon.

Other updates:
-The artroom is basically finished but I have spent very little time in there so far. It is wonderful to know that it is all organized and I can find all of my things now.
-I will be leaving for the beach this Saturday for a week at the beach and I will post lots of pictures while I'm there.

I will leave you with a picture of the sunset as I drove home the other night.

Blessings to you and yours xxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxxooo

Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

New Hooky Bunting

I am having a fling with COLOR. I am in love with anything bright and happy! My husband said I was trying to make our house too "girly". I think that's ok since I live with two men (my 20 year old son and my hubby). I will say that I am finding  a new love with all things that are colorful. I think it started when I discovered Lucy and her beautiful blog.  She even has a group of followers on Ravelry which is a sharing sight for knitting and crochet. She is quite a color celebrity!She also happens to live in England and I am obsessed with all things British so just reading her VERY English wording is a joy to me. They say "whilst" instead of "while".  Isn't that adorable? Another thing I have discovered on many of the English blogs is BUNTING. We call them banners, pennants,  or flags but I think bunting is a much cuter word. I found one pattern for bunting at Pink Milk and am looking for a simple flower pattern to go on each flag. I'm still playing around with it but I thought I would show what I have so far.

I am using my new yarn purchase and will be adding some warm tones to the flowers. You will see some yummy colors!

colors are a little washed out here

A truer representation of the colors

I am also in the process of cleaning off my back porch. I'll give you a peek of the material I am going to use to recover the cushions. This is a BIG project and deserves a post of its own but I will give a little peekaboo. COLOR!

I usually like solid backgrounds in furniture. I love this but it is definitely an OUTDOOR fabric. Come back and see the finished cushions and the CLEAN back porch.

I love that you take the time to stop by and see what's going on here, and I love recording things so I can look back and see the past.   

Galatians 5:22,23,25  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law...Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

Pulling Up Pansies

It is time to pull up my pansies for the summer. I planted them in October and they have been a bright spot of color in my yard for most of this winter. They curled up and hid on the coldest days but their perky little heads popped right up when the sun came out. It really grieves me to pull up blooming flowers but they are really ratty looking and I need to get the geraniums in the ground.

With our crazy hot weather here these babies would get fried! Sooo.... I started pulling.

Since I was pulling, I kept going with all the weeds!

All of the brown leaves are from our magnolia tree. It is so beautiful but it drops leaves all year long. I actually pulled weeds last week and they're back with a vengeance. The number one job this weekend is to get down a heavy layer of mulch! Here is why the magnolia tree is worth it.... behold....

 I really wish you could smell it! It is so sweet and a little lemony. MMMMM.... It's a nice place to work.

Right beside the Magnolia is the LAVENDER.

After all the pulling the weeds are gone.... for now.

 In April we had record breaking temps here and all most everyday was 80 deg. or above (that's 26.6 in Celsius) so the weeds are "growing like weeds". Tomorrow I'm heading to the garden center to get some HEAT and SUN loving plants to take their place.

In the wooded lot next to our house there is another heat lovin' weed that is actually welcome.
Blackberries. Way ahead of schedule this year.

Maybe a cobbler in a couple of weeks? My grandmother made a killer blackberry cobbler so I think I will try it. FYI - I HATE cooking. I really do. I see these awesome recipes on Pinterest and think " I should make that" but the fact is I don't WANT to.  I want to eat it, I'll clean up the dishes, but I want somebody else to cook it for me. If I am ever REALLY wealthy I will hire a CHEF. My poor son's future wife (if he ever finds her) will have no problem competing with my cooking. He was raised on take-out.

Y'all come back tomorrow and see my new yarn purchases. I am starting a new hooky project. I am in love! Thanks so much for visiting.

Ravishing Rhodos and Blithe Bumblebees

OK.  A little too much alliteration in the title, but when you see the pictures you will GET IT. Rhododendrons are one of my favorite things in the yard because they remind me of The Great Smoky Mountains . They only bloom in the spring but
 OH, WHAT A SHOW! 

The bees LOVE THEM!!  When I think of "drowsy" bees I think of BUMBLEBEES.
 BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ... slow and steady wins the race (or in this case, pollinates the flowers). They seem so... lazy? yet they are on a life or death mission that is planted deep in their soul. Gather up all the SWEET STUFF they can before the sun goes down. Sounds good? Yep.

 I am also showing  a teensy weensy peek at my back porch, but right now it is COVERED in bird seed, pollen and Tulip Poplar blooms. After they quit falling I have to pressure wash it all and switch from regular bird feeders to the hummingbird feeder.  I haven't seen any yet, but they have been looking for their SWEET STUFF as early as March in the past. I'll be watching for them!

I think as a Christian I am called to more than JUST this (more on that in another post), but I think the Lord gave us all the beauty in this world to ENJOY. His glory is everywhere and sometimes I feel like a bumblebee trying to gather all the SWEET STUFF I can before my sun goes down.  With the creation story in Genesis 1, the adornment of the Tabernacle by Moses in Exodus 25-30, the building of Solomon's Temple for the Lord in 1st Kings 6 it is clear that God loves beauty. Gather some SWEET STUFF of God EVERYDAY!

A Little piece of Heaven on Earth

 When I go to my "Happy Place" I am always at the Little River in Townsend, Tennessee, "The Peaceful Side Of the Smokies", as their welcome sign reads. I have visited this river every summer since I was born and it makes me... whole, calm, peaceful, closer to God, HAPPY! The cabin we are staying in belonged to my Great Aunt Maurine and her presence is felt everywhere here. Especially in the garden. Today I have been raking leaves and trying to find some of the wildflowers that she transplanted to this hillside. It bears noting that she didn't move here until her late 70's so you when you see the pictures you will be impressed with her physical abilities.

This is the street side and is nice and flat.The back of the house has a large screened in porch that overlooks the river.

THE backporch

Plenty of rocking chairs for rockin' the day away.

This shows how steep the backyard gets.

The far end of the porch has a swing and a daybed.

The view from the swing.

The beach area for swimming and sunning.

The beach in relation to the cabin.

Some Maidenhair ferns that Aunt Maurine planted.

 Where is your "Happy Place"?  It is my prayer that everyone has somewhere they can go to get away from it all. We all need a little piece of heaven here on earth! Thanks for visiting today!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo