Check Off Our Flower Boxes Done!

This is the first time I bought zinnias for our shed's flower boxes. 

 I loved their bright colors - yellow, orange and shades of pink and rose!

This morning I emptied the old dirt and put new potting soil in the boxes.

These are Superbells Blackberry Punch. 

 I've used the Superbells in past years as a proven winner in my boxes - love this color!

I always add the variegated vines to each end of the boxes.

All done!

So Pretty!

Our backyard needs lots of work. We've asked for some estimates to do some crushed gravel areas and finally burying the remaining down spouts.

We can't do anything with our planting beds around our porch until the downspouts are buried.

The Superbells are in the middle with the Zinnias on each side and then the vines on each end.

I forgot to show you our little lilac bush when it was in bloom this Spring!

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How Do Your Roses Grow?

Whew...121 granny rose squares finished, joined and ends sewn in.

Not a "real" rose garden but just as much work as one!

The only "Rose Garden" I've ever had!!

Now to decide on a border and edging...Edie has so many lovely borders to choose from.

No. 86 caught my eye - the design not this color. It looks like little, tiny flowers going all around the border that would compliment my granny rose theme...I'm trying a sample but so far I haven't figured out how to do the flower.   

 I'll keep working on it...I have a bee in my bonnet and want to do this border!

I think the border would be just right in shades of green.

After starting my morning off with you, blogging and a great cup of Keurig coffee I'm off to buy real flowers for our shed's flower boxes this morning.

Have a most wonderful day my dear blogging friends!

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Happy Memorial Day!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

Come stroll around our yard with me.

Hubby moved our chairs from storage in the shed to our screened in porch this morning. 

 Everything is nice and clean...that is until the yellow pollen builds up again.

The blue chairs are our official "bird watching" chairs.

We set timers on our water sprinklers to water the freshly laid sod next to the driveway and sidewalk. 

 The grass seed our landscaper put down after the sidewalks were done just never took.

The sod is looking good here and in front.

{{see my shadow!}}

We like the crisp, smart line of the sod next to the sidewalk.

Although we love the deep purple salvia it is overpowering this area so we may transplant a few of the plants to another area.  

The bees love this stuff!

This is a ground cover geranium. 

 It is really pretty and comes up every year.

That's a spira next to the salvia.

We like the look of the large river rock in our front beds but it is heck to walk on.   

If we had known that we would have had a smaller size stone put in.

Thanks for walking with me on this beautiful Memorial Day. 

 It's already hot and muggy here!

We may not be sitting out on the porch today.

Please take a moment to pray for our brave service men and women past, present and future this Memorial Day!

Relaxing Day On Our Porch

Hubby and I sat out on our screened in porch this morning after breakfast bird watching.

Our Serviceberry tree next to our deck is loaded with berries. 

And the birds are having a feast dining on the fruit.

We loaded two birding apps - Peterson and Sibley Birds - on our iPhones recently. 

 So this morning we started our bird list adding our first six birds.

I'm taking a break to make egg salad sandwiches for lunch. 

 We plan to grill hot dogs for supper.

Our Kousa Dogwood which is a native dogwood is in full flowered bloom.

This tree will one day reach about 25 feet tall. 

 We may add one or two more for privacy on our side yard.

Here's a close up of the beautiful Dogwood flowers.

We've signed up for another Pleasure Way van rally - this one is in New Jersey (close to home) in June.

The campground is close to Atlantic City which is only an hour drive from us.  

{{All Patriotic photos from Pinterest.}}

Love the black lab with our Stars and Stripes!

I loved playing Sousa marches in band in high school (and later as an adult in a community band) on my clarinet.

Cute cupcake flag ...so simple to do!

Bless our U.S.A. veterans and military service folks on this Memorial Day Weekend!

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A Look at My Rose Garden

Twenty six white Granny Roses done...14 left. 

 Yes, I will be happy to be finished with the roses.

This is one "rose garden" I won't kill.   

One corner semi-attached.

I looked through Edie Eckman's "Around the Corner Crochet Borders" book last night to see if any of her lovely borders jumped out at me for this throw. 

Some look promising but...

 I haven't decided on an edging yet.

Boy, it's hot here in SE PA this MEMORIAL DAY weekend - in the high 80s F.

If I crochet it will be in the A/C comfort of the house.

An "Apple" a day will keep me happy! 

 Love my iPhone!

God Bless America and all service men and women past and present!

Thank you for protecting our beautiful country.

Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

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Make that 38! Yep, that's 38 YEARS of LOVE!

May 25, 1974

Thirty eight years ago I married the love of my life!

{{posted wedding photo here}}

Just to prove we were YOUNG and SLIM once upon a time...

and had lots more HAIR then too!

These self photos were taken on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1974.

Hubby is sooooo cute!

He has the nicest smile.

Photos were taken in our first apartment in Mt. Propect, Illinois.  It was a "garden" apartment which means it was a basement apartment.  The landlady and her family lived right above us.  Not the greatest apartment...we moved the next year to a nicer apartment in Palatine, Illinois.  

Wow...was I ever that thin!!!!  

First married Christmas together.

When we were back in Ohio last week my brother was looking at another older photo of me stating he didn't remember me with long hair.  

I only had long hair for over a decade.  

LOL!

Hubby is taking me out for our anniversary dinner tonight.   

My heart bursts with LOVE for this man!   

Our Cottage Stripes Powder Bath Room

Several years before I retired I was in a local stencil shop and fell in love with their striped and flowered stenciled wall display.

All excited I bought their flowered stencil, paints and supplies and started the first step of my project painting "stripes" onto our first floor powder bathroom walls.

I marked lightly in pencil the placement and width of my stripes all around the room. 

 I used blue painter's tape to keep my stripes straight and neat... filling in the stripes with Benjamin Moore's "Oriental Silk" flat paint.

This fancy gold mirror came with the house when we moved in back in 2000.

I doubt I would ever buy a mirror in this style but I use what I have.

A pretty basket. 

 My solution for holding the necessary toilet paper rolls.

The white foot chest is from Pottery Barn as is the white glass door cabinet in the first photo.

The chest nicely holds the rest of my bathroom supplies.

{{And is always covered with magazines for us to read while busy doing you know what...

but I prettied up the photo shoot just for you!}}

I love the little fabric covered night light shade (also purchased from Pottery Barn).

While I'm still in love with the look in this little room I hope I never have to paint a tiny powder room again.

 I was sore for days after this project. 

 Oh..yeah...you noticed I never got around to stenciling it. 

 I decided I liked it just with the simple stripes.

{{I'm sure my stencil paint is dried out by now.}}

That's all folks!

Please join me for:

Cindy's Show & Tell Friday 

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