Friday, May 29, 2009

It's Almost Time....

After spending a warm day painting the pool,
two coats....

Notice anyone missing from this picture??
Ha, ha, ha....


And then letting it "cure" for 7 days....


And then let the hose run in it for 3 days straight, during cold, rainy, windy weather, with the solar blanket on to try and catch any heat from the sun....our pool is now ready!
We just need it to warm up so we can use it!

This has to be done about every 3 years. It is a really old cement pool, but the kids enjoy it and it makes for great summertime entertainment!
Note: We are still "tweaking" our yard, so any messes you see won't be there for long!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Garage Sales....

All of the items, except the quilt throw and the two green pillows I purchased today at garage sales. I am quite proud of my purchases and think they will have a perfect place in my HOME!
Bet you can't guess what I spent for these items....


Bluebird picture $1.00

Basket .25 cents


small candle ring wreath $2.00

(store tag still attached)



Bunny alphabet pillow $4.00
Love it!



Little Bunny pillow $2.00
Love it too!


Mirror .50 cents



Stitched print $1.00
Someone's hard work, love this!


Chopper $3.00
For daughter's new apartment.

Pampered Chef spoon rest .50 cents
Maybe for daughter's new apartment.


Extra Large Spoon and Fork
$2.00 each
For a GRAND Total of $16.25!
Not bad for a days hunt!
Also, how do you like my new header?
My daughter helped me with it today!
Thank you Hillary!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Goodbye Spring....

I don't know about where you live, but my beautiful Spring flowers are ready to leave. So, I thought I would get one last picture in and share with you a little bit more of my yard. Here is the last of my lilacs for the year and they smell delicious! This variety (unknown) is very delicate and does not do well if cut for a bouquet. But makes for a beautiful outdoor bouquet!



I found this little statue about 7-8 yrs ago and at the time it reminded me of my youngest daughter. So I had to have her!

I am not certain what kind of bush this is, but it flowers first and then gets it's leaves. This is the last flower on the whole bush and it's still beautiful!


This as you may know is a flowering quince. It has the most brillant red flowers and then it does bare fruit, but I have never done anything with the apples. I don't even know if they are truly eatable!


Here are the last of my Tulips.... they still make a beautiful corner to this part of my garden!


A touch of pink!


This is my Garden Angel. She has seen better days, but she still enjoys watching over my flowers. I bought her at TJ Maxx about 3 yrs ago.
I hope you enjoyed my end of Spring Garden Tour. Please check back for some summer flowers that are popping up in my yard.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The Last BIG Thing....

to do on our HOME is this porch! I love this porch! It is closed off, so to speak, from being able to directly access it from the street which makes it feel private, almost. It holds my porch swing and my wicker furniture. I have a lamp on there that I turn on at night, which makes it feel like another room. It's nice to sit out there and read a book or just "people watch".


My husband had to rebuild all of the little slats surrounding the bottom of the porch. They had sunk into the ground thru the years and had rotted. This porch when we bought our HOME, was being supported by 3 cinder blocks. So of course new footings were poured and now it is sturdy again. My husband also had to rebuild the railings and now will be concentrating on the ceiling, which right now there basically is none. I would love to have this porch screened in, but Mr. Fix-it does not agree at this time. So for now I will still enjoy my porch and work on getting her all painted and refreshed....she deserves it for all the enjoyment she brings to me!

Friday, May 15, 2009

My Great Buys....

both at Goodwill and Kohl's!
I was out and about yesterday and decided to stop into
a Goodwill Store I had never been in before. I was looking for
a Tupperware spaghetti holder, of all things. Do you know how hard
it is to find those things? Anyway, there on the shelf was a Tupperware
spaghetti holder just calling my name, for only a $1.99. I was sooo excited!
So I was just browsing around the area and came across this "like new"
braided rug, perfect for my porch by my swing. Cost $7.99, I thought that was
a pretty good price since brand new probably would have been around $29.99,
I'm guessing!
So I carried my finds up to the register to pay and saw a
group of Red Hat Ladies a few registers over. Just next to them I spotted
something that took me out of the line and before I knew what I was doing
I grabbed a hold of this and it was mine! You can not blame me for this, as
I know alot of you have it or have wanted to have one as well!

And for only $19.99 and it perfect condition it is a perfect addition to my
HOME!

Now for this pretty little wooden tray, I found this at Kohl's one day last week while shopping with one of my daughters. The tag said the original price was $34.99 (I personally would never have paid that much for it), but I got it for a whopping $6.99! I just love it on my porch, I think it is the perfect accent to my wicker furniture! And the best thing about all of my great finds is that my DH likes all of them....especially the prices!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

A Garden Visitor....

~Rose Breasted Grosbeak~
We have never seen this bird in our yard before.
What I have read said they are native to the Northeast....
We live in Michigan.
What a beauty!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Waiting Patiently....

for the squirrels and birds!
She thinks she's hiding!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

A Garden Tour....

Welcome to a small part of my yard!
My husband and I enjoy working on our little corner piece of
property. We have tried over the last 8 1/2 years to bring back
a yard that once was owned by the president of our local
Garden Club
years ago, but had been left to turn into weeds.
Only a small portion was visible when we purchased our Home.
We were fortunate that there were lots of
tulip bulbs and daffodils that popped that first Spring when we
moved in. They sort of gave us an outline for what once was.
So I thought I would begin with a gazing ball
that I added as you enter into our backyard.






In the back corner of our lot, I have put
my newly acquired bird feeder that I purchased at
the Salvation Army for only $4.99. It is made of a
heavy green speckled metal, so far the birds love it
and the squirrels haven't been able to
get to the food.


Here is a bit of creeping phlox....this plant is easily moved
from place to place and divided in my yard.



I have really old, but beautiful lilacs that grow in our yard.
Thru the years, because they have not been pruned properly
they have grown quite woody, which makes it hard to make a
bouquet with them. But, we have been working on that and they
seem to be responding quite well! They smell wonderful!

Here are just a few of the tulips that are popping up in our yard.
Where we are located, we are a little behind in the growing season.
The small purple flowers you see is from the myrtle
that is growing around our yard. And the brownish stuff
you see in the back will be about a 12 foot ornamental grass
by the end of summer. It is quite prickely
to prune back, but adds wonderful privacy
from our "too close" neighbors!

And lastly, for now, a peek at a pot of pansies I purchased
weeks ago at my local market. They have not been bothered at all
by the cooler weather we have been getting....
including frost the last 2 nights! We are just getting to work
on our yard this year, so there is more to see in the future!
Thanks for stopping by and I would love
to hear about your gardens in your yard!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day....

to My Mom!

She has 6 children ages 61 to 45.
She has 19 grandchildren and 22 (soon) great~grandchildren!!

I hope I didn't miss anybody!!



My Mom and her girls (my sister's)

pictured above from left Melinda, MOM, Me and Barbara
and pictured below Rochelle. She missed the photo above!




HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!

Here's to you with LOVE!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

These Three....

~Mallory, Hillary and Amanda~
keep me very busy in each of their own ways! Mallory is still in school, Amanda is "done" for the summer, sort of....she decided to take a few summer classes, and Hillary is done for the summer as of today at 4:00 p.m. I go and move her out of her college dorm today. I'm not sure I am ready for the changes that are about to take place in my home! Brad and I have gotten used to just having Mal around! Something about knowing we are all home, when there was just the 3 of us, kept me more relaxed. Now I have my college girls home again, with their own schedules (usually alot later then mine) turns on my MOM sensor again! I am not relaxed until I know the one that is still out....is home! How come they don't get that?
Someday, they will!!!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Do You Like Cupcakes....

Yeah, these kind are good!


But, I much prefer this kind....

~Claire~

Cute as a cupcake!!


~Skylar, Tristan, and Ella~

Three more cutie patootie cupcakes!!



And here's the missing Grandma from my last post
my sister Barbara and Claire's mommy Angie....
my niece! We finally got to meet Claire this past
weekend while they were up meeting Tristan for the first time.
I had a little trouble getting Grandma and Grand-daughter to
cooperate for a decent picture! But this one works, I think!


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