My Screened In Porch

 I spent Saturday last week scrubbing down my screened in porch with Spic n’ Span using our boat brush and rinsing with the hose to remove all the pollen, dirt and grime from winter and spring.

 

I almost finished it in one day and didn’t feel sore, although maybe a little tired.  But so pleased it was done and I could use the porch before the hot and humid summer weather starts.

I had already paid to have the house, deck, driveway and sidewalks (sealed too) professionally powered washed a few weeks before. 

I store the porch furniture cushions in a storage bin over winter and I always cover the furniture with painter’s drop cloths.  

I am thinking of turning the screened in porch into a 4 season room.   Breaking it down, setting it up and all the scrubbing is more work than I want to do as I age.  But I would love to be able to sit out there anytime, any season.  My plan is to have large windows that I can open to make it feel like a screened in porch but be able to close it up to keep out the pollen and dirt.

I made a big change in my routine recently adding weekly strength exercising sessions.  I’ve read that strength exercises are even more beneficial than cardiovascular as one ages.

MaxStrength Fitness was running complementary free sessions so I decided to bite the bullet and try it out at age 74!  They recommend two twenty minute sessions a week.  The exercise room is kept very cool so you don’t even work up a sweat.  They work you on different machines until your muscles are fatigued.  I like it because it it nearby and I can be done and home in an hour.  

Next Friday I’m having my neighborhood lady friends over for lunch out on my screened in porch.  Everyone brings a lunch and I will provide the drinks.  We are all vaccinated and can social distance on the porch easily.  

Thanks for visiting!

A Warm Day Here in Ohio

 Oh my gosh...it’s 61 degrees here today!

I sat out on my screened in porch in the sun feeling the fresh air and loving it.

First time this year!

I had three items on my agenda today and I completed all of them.

1.  Sign my income tax return and deliver it to my tax guy.  DONE!

2.  Try the new microfiber window cleaning cloths I ordered from Amazon.  DONE!

My Great Room and Kitchen windows have the screens out so I can see and take photos of the animals and birds without the screens ruining the shots.  The windows were pretty dirty because I didn’t have them cleaned last year so I first used a squeeze with a pail of hot water and Dawn soap on them.  Then I used the new microfiber cloths as instructed.  Wow!  No streaks at all!  I’m amazed at how well they worked.  I don’t plan to do the rest of the exterior windows because the screens need cleaning too so I’ll hire a professional.  Actually the whole house needs to be professionally power washed this year.  

3.  I had ordered a BISSELL portable carpet cleaner to use on my stairs but it was too much work for me at age 74 to do the scrubbing needed.  I was so pooped after doing the first part of the stairs I couldn’t finish the rest.  So I’ve decided to return it for a refund. DONE!

 If I was  younger I would probably keep it.  I liked how it cleaned up and it really did a wonderful job picking up the dog hair and dirt.  I haven’t decided what to replace it with...either a lightweight BISSELL carpet cleaner upright or another portable one that has a power brush.

  So glad this snow is gone!

  I was glad to get my car out for a drive today.  My hubby was the driver and I was the passenger.  I’ve never been crazy about driving unless it was a route I knew well.  Although I’m so much more comfortable driving with the back up camera and sensors.  When my hubby and I took off on our trips we both just relaxed and were so happy to be on the road.  I purchased my Subaru Outback 2016 in September 2015 and I only have 7,700 plus miles on it.  I’ve had to put three batteries in it.  If it sits the battery completely drains.  Finally this winter my brother in law attached a trickle charger to it and I haven’t had any problems so far.  I think something in the electronics drains the battery.  Other than that issue I haven’t had any other problems with the vehicle.  It’s the third Subaru we (I’ve own) have owned.  

Isn’t that the truth!

I’m enjoying another cup!

Thanks for visiting little old me!

Kimberbell Watermelon Table Topper & Screened In Porch

 

This project sat unfinished for about two years.  I finally decided it is time to finish it.

I sandwiched it with top, batting and back fabrics, squared it up and started sewing on the binding.

Only to realize I forgot to quilt it. 

LOL!

What really makes this topper POP is the theme appropriate fabrics.

Whole watermelons, red and white checks with cute little ants and red backed fabric with the black watermelon seeds add so much personality to the topper.

All the fabrics came from my quilting cousin’s fabric closet.

    

I used my Janome 15000 embroidery/sewing machine to quilt it.  A little straight line quilting and free motion quilting.

I have about seven different table toppers done so far.  

My next one I’m working on is a November (pumpkin) table topper.

We’re still having summer weather here in Ohio.

Even today it is currently 81 degrees out.

A couple more weeks and I will have to think about breaking down my screened in porch.

I purchased a storage box to use to store the porch furniture cushions over the winter rather than storing them in my spare bedrooms.

I move all the porch furniture together in a corner and cover it all with huge painter’s cloths for protection from dirt and pollen over winter.  

I also roll up the outdoor rug and cover it too.  

So far that system has worked out well.  

As much as I like Fall, I dislike all the leaves in my gutters.

You can see the huge tall trees and they produce “millions“ of leaves in the fall and early winter.

We are lucky to have woods behind us although someday soon there are plans to build 28 homes there.

I hope they leave some trees as a barrier.

Some parts are considered “wet lands” and they have building restrictions.

So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

So, are you ready for Fall?

Saturday Morning Coffee on My Screened In Porch

 It’s Saturday morning and I’m having my morning coffee out on my screened in porch.

When we moved from Pennsylvania back to Ohio, I told my Hubby I had to have a porch like we had in Pennsylvania.  

A couple of years ago I invested in good outdoor furniture for the porch.

It is unbelievable how much outdoor furniture can cost if you want it to last.

My dear friend and designer Susan helped me select the furniture and the outdoor rug.

I actually bought more than I needed for the porch so I moved two tables and two chairs inside for my Great Room.

The piece I love the most is the chaise lounge.  

The cushions are very thick and deep and it makes all the pieces very comfortable.  

I had landscaping done around the deck and porch a few years ago along with landscaping lights.

My niece lives with me along with her two rescue dogs, Jewels and Lucky.  

Today is overcast with the sun shining through once in awhile.  

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Busy Day Cleaning & Crocheting

I've worked up eleven Waikiki Wild Flowers motifs and joined them together. 

 I added two more shades of color to the mix one a deep purple and the other a light pink.

I think it is quite pretty.

Flowers are easy to crochet (easy on hands too) and I wish I could do as good a job at joining as I go as Susan did on hers.  

I'm working on it.

I almost had a crochet "meltdown".  

I just happened to look a one of Susan's photos (below) of her blanket and thought to myself it looked like my "bottom" does.  

Quickly the thought ran through my mind "Did I reverse the stitches somehow?" 

One of Susan's photos.

Now look at my "bottom".

My photo of what (I hope) is the "bottom"!

I had to find out if I goofed or not. 

So I went to Susan's Ravelry site to look at all of her photos again.

I think I'm ok. 

 Susan shows photos of both her top and bottom and I'm pretty sure my top is the "top" and my bottom is the "bottom".

Now that I'm done panicking... here's what I did this afternoon.

I scrubbed down the porch furniture with Spic n' Span. 

 I've used different cleaning products over the years to clean this furniture but nothing I've tried before worked as easily as Spic n' Span. 

 I had to just lightly scrub with a brush and rinse off with the hose but it was easy and cleaned up the furniture beautifully.

Tomorrow I'll do the porch railings. 

 The furniture, once dry, will go into the shed over winter now that it's clean.

Because I have senior moments now ~ like not remembering what day of the week it is ~ I write it down on our dry eraser board every evening for the next day. 

 Hubby surprised me by adding "J + S" to my pumpkin. 

 What a sweetie! 

 Love ya Honey!

PS - Honey volunteered to go get take out for supper tonight because I worked hard this afternoon!!!

Yippee!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Our Winter Wonderland

Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of our first snowfall of the season this past Saturday.  So, I dug out these photos of a snowfall from January 2009 to show you.  You can compare these with the photos I posted of an autumn perspective earlier.  

I read that the River Birch tree with the peeling white bark would look lovely against the green of Leyland Cypress evergreens in winter.   Which is why I planted the two types together across our shallow backyard.  And they were right - isn't it beautiful?   Hubby and I had a fun day visiting the Brandywine Museum in Chadds Ford, PA.  Every Christmas season they have a great toy train display and this year they also had an exhibit on Alice in Wonderland art & book illustrations.   What did you do today?

Fall View from Our Screened Porch

We love our screened-in porch and deck.  We had our old wooden deck (put on by the previous owners of our home) replaced with a large screened in porch and side deck.  One of these days I will show the "before" pictures.  This picture was taken last year when our Red Maple was changing colors.  We love to sit out here and enjoy the view.

Some more views from last year this one looking out at our River Birch and Leland Cypresses.  

Here's the deck portion - that's a Serviceberry tree at the corner of the deck.  The birds love it for the tasty berries.

And here is the Serviceberry in its Fall colors.  Hope you enjoyed the tour of our screened porch and deck!