More flowers

I have an area that used to have 12 large trees. When they died a few years ago I decided that I would throw down some wild flower seeeds and see what happened. It has been about 5 years now and I have never replanted. After all the flowers are done blooming I mow them off until next spring.

This is one of the ferns that I purchased at our local nursery. It has really grown even though our weather is still very cool. My daughter does not want me to hang the ferns in the middle of the of porch because it blocks her view when she is sitting on the porch swing...but it is where they look the best.

We have been working on our rental properties the last few weeks. You would not believe the amount of trash we have hauled from around the outside of our apartments. Yesterday we finally finished one of the apartments that we have been working on since last year. All new kitchen cabnets, new paint, new carpeting and the list goes on. I am so thankful to be done with it...and now on to the next one...we have been painting there and major cleaning too. My dh is putting on a new tub surround to finish off the bathroom. The carpet layers are suppose to be there is week too. Today I need to buy two more gallons of paint but I just hate to spend my gas money going to the next town when my daughter will be there is evening and could pick it up for me...saving me 60 miles worth of gas...but if I don't go I can't paint until tomorrow.....I am hoping to have this apartment completely done next week...that might be wishful thinking but that is what I am shooting for. Enjoy our day.

Addition to the porch

Last year for Mother' day my children purchased a cedar porch swing. We did enjoy it last summer but for some reason some of the slats fell out on the back side so I returned it for Mother's Day this year and they gave me a new one so I am going to try to put this together. Now I ususally do not even think about putting anything together but dh is so busy I thought I would try to help him out so we will see how that goes. It looks like there are a lot of parts and tons of screws and bolts...so here we go.


I have the porch swing almost ready to go but for some reason I have some extra parts left ove. LOL I don't think there were suppose to be anything left so I must have missed a step and I do think maybe the arms do not have all the hardware they are suppose to have...so I had better wait for dh to check out my work before I go any further....oh bother.


I have the porch swing in place and ready for some serious decorating but I have to run to Pier 1 and see what I can find. I would like to put up some lighting, something that looks like spring not Christmas so I will have to be careful to choice something light and airy.


This is the finished project...like the colors but I am not comfortable when I sit on the cushion. It is so fluffy that you just slip right off soooo back to Pier 1 to return the cushions and the pillows and then I might look at Lowes to see if they have anything that might match the color of my house. I am just starting to decorate my porch so if you have any suggestions for the summer let me know!
Thanks for commenting on Britt's garden...Brittney if you have a blog let me know and I will link you to mine.
I am very excited about mu new garden building and I am looking forward to planting shrubs and flowers. Today I was thinking that the work for me begins once the building is up and everything is cleaned up but for now I guess I will just dream of what it might look like once it is actually on my property.

Busy here.....

Well, much has been going on here..how about you? I have been enjoying the weather when it is not raining. I don't know if I told you that back in the winter when we had a very large snowfall the roof of our building collapsed. So now that the insurance has settled we have picked out two new buildings to replace it. Now the insurance money did not cover the cost of both buildings but my parents have generously decided to pay for my small garden building. I am so excited because my dh is an auctioneer and his building always seems to collect all his "treasures" and much to my dismay I am the one who continues to try to keep some order in all the mess. Now, if I have my own building I will not have to worry about the mess anymore.
The builder has been here and has staked out the building site and in about 4=6 weeks we will have two new buildings. The buildings are call Cleary Builders and they have some nice looking buildings if you want to check them out.
Yesterday we went to my sisters house in Indiana and had a great time. She is a dog breeder this is a link to her site if you want to see some of her puppies. Anyways, her daughter Brittney...one of the most creative people I have ever met, has decided to try her hand at gardening and I think she is off to a great start. I took a few snaps to share. What do you think?


My sister bought a new piece of antique furniture. This piece is called an Indiana dough boy. I have never heard of it but it is a wonderful piece of furniture...I must admit I was a little jealous. But I am happy she found it for such a wonderful price.


Until next time.

Signs of Spring

Today is my sister's b-day so I wanted to wish her a great day and blessings for hte entire year.
I am spending most of the day gardening so I thought I would share a few signs of spring with you. These are flowers from my gardens so enjoy and I will be visiting soon.

Too busy...and tired

If I had a place for this bench I would snatch it up...I love the way it is so whimsical...and the color...how cool is that?


When I was purchasing my antique cups I snapped a few more pics that I had not posted as of yet so today I thought I would share a few more since I have been so busy that I have not had time to snap any pics lately.
We are in the final stages of planning a new building on our property, probably the only time we will ever build anything major here so I am nervous about our choices and the placement of the building. There are just so many details that have to be made so it can be ordered. If we place our order soon we will be getting our building in about 4-6 weeks. The builders will come and then in about 4 days it will be all done. That makes me so nervous.
I will give you more details when we have finally decided something and maybe even a peak at the building that is standing (or falling down) on our property now.
So for now just a few more pics from Wood's Antiques.

A Happy Mother's Day

For this Mother's Day my neice thought of a wonderful idea for a present for my mother, her grandmother. Long ago my mother and her siblings gave my grandmother a cup and saucer rack. Each child was to purchase a cup and sauce and give it to her for placement on the rack. Each cup was hug in order of the child's birth order. Many years ago my grandmother went to live with Jesus and my mother received the cup and saucer rack with all the wonderful memories intact. However...last year when my mother came home from Florida the rack had fallen off the wall and the cups and saucers were broken into a million pieces. She only had two cups and two saucers that did not break but none of which was a matched set.
Back to my neice..Brittney. Brittney came up with the idea that if all my mothers daughters, Daughter-in-laws, grand children and one great grand child would buy a cup and saucer then there would be 12...plus the two unbroken ones left from Grandma's collection, this would fill up the rack. So we all went out in seach of the perfect cups and sauces.
These were the ones we came up with from me and my daughters. Kinda a funny thing did happen. My youngest daughter had wanted to pick out the cup and saucer for my mother her self but I had already purchaced them at the antique shop. When my mother unwrapped this cup and saucer I had somehow broked the saucer into about 5 pieces. I had to laugh...she really had wanted to choose the cup that represented her and now she will get the opportunity to do so. We will be going back to the antique shop so she can look them over and decide for herself. She will be happy, Mom will have another set for her rack and I can stop filling guilty that I had choosen it for her. I guess that makes for a Happy Mother's Day for all of us.





While I was picking out my Mother's Cups and saucers at the anitque shop I found this wonderful old jewlery box. It has carvings on the sides and top and a picture of a red rose on the top. My daughter made a trip back to the antique shop to purchase it for me for Mother's Day just because I thought it was wonderful. I wish you could see the picture without the glare.



I found this wonderful cooler at Walmart and knew it would look good outside our bck door...first as a decoration then as a real useful item to have. My oldest daughter was with me when I found it and knew how much I like it so she found a way to purchase it when I wasn't around and the three girls gave it to me for Mother's day. They are so sweet and thoughtful! I love it girls.
I enjoy my girls so much and I am blessed that they have been in our home for their schooling so that I have had the delight of schooling them all the way through. I am blessed.

Disappointing encounter

I wanted to share this picture of the two ferns that I bought from a local nursery today. The ferns are so beautiful but their beauty has been tempered by an incident that happened there today.
We have been using Car-Mar Gardens for years. They landscaped by parents property and have been friends with them for as long as I can remeber. We live about 4 miles from them and we purchase not only all our flowers but all our mulch too. We have enjoyed going there and browsing and talking with them, getting advise and the such.
Today after I purchased the two ferns and wrote my check the clerk asked me for my driver's license. Imagine my surprise. I walked to my car to get my license but as I did I became...disappointed....frustrated...and many other feelings that I can not even express. I handed her my license and she used a new machine to run it through (similar to what Walmart uses. Now, don't misunderstand...we own rental properties...I know about people writing bad checks....no this isn't about money. This is about losing something...that feeling that your neighbors know you and trust you and are happy to see you when you enter the store. Where you feel that you can make a difference when you buy from someone local.
I am disturbed that today I know that we have lost yet another bit of what it means to live in a small community. That the love of money has won again.
I will not enjoy my ferns as much this year...they have lost a little bit of their appeal. What a shame...what a lose...what a disappointment.

A quick project...big difference

When I went to pick up the mail the other day I took a close look at our mailbox and wondered why I had not done something about all that rust???? I guess you just get use to seeing something and don't really look at it so I bought a can a spray paint in about 20 seconds I had the job complete. Now that was fast and I think it looks fantastic.
Hope you have a great Mother's Day. I will share what I purchased for my Mother on Monday.

A package full of treasures

My dear sweet friend Amanda from sent me a special package full of wonderful treasure, as you can see. I especailly liked the idea of sending the visitors information...it was a great idea. Amanda, it was so nice of you to share your talents with me. I love your little hearts and door hanger! Thank you so much for all the love you sent in your package.


I thought I was being so helpful....I really did....My dh's tomato plants needed to be transplanted because they had outgrown their containers so I bought potting soil and went to town planting all of them ever so carefully. WELL...he had them planted by different varieties and now...well..they all look alike to me. He was not a happy camper. Truly, I did think I was helping but the best plans don't always work out, do they?

Our home town antique business...such fun

This is the store front of the antique store in our town. There are always interesting items on the sidewalk as you pass by...just so you can browse and get a sense of what you might miss if you don't stop in. Once you enter there are so many wonderful treasures that it is difficult to see everything in just one visit. This is the store that I purchased my bed from last month and some special items for Mother's day that I can't mention just yet.
The owners are friendly and easy to talk to as you browse through their items. They are helpful and always interested in holding a conversation if you so feel inclined. This is a "must visit" place if you cometo our small town. You will receive a home-town welcome for sure.




Anyone collect thimbles? I thought this container represented all the tender, loving stiches that women have made for their families throughout the years. They are so colorful and sweet...It almost make me want to start a collection of my own.


When I spyed this rocking chair I could see it in our farm kitchen...Grandma sitting there enjoying the grandchildren while I made a hot cup of coffee with steaming hot rolls and fresh strawberry jelly. The chair just begs you to take a seat and enjoy.



There is a box full of vintage clothes. They are pressed and so wonderful...you just have to hold them in your hand to understand the history behind such wonderful details in the sewing. If you get a chance you just must stop by and see for yourself.

Off line ...missing you

Wow, what a busy week we have had...our computer came down with over 400 viruses...needless to say it has been in the shop so I have been unable to post or visit any of my blog friends. Now the it has been fixed I wanted to show you some of the happenings at our home. We have continued to work on our fence, trying to get it done so we can move on to a new project.
I also received a wonderful package from Amanda on Saturday and I will post pics of it tomorrow. Thank you so much Amanda.
My dh as been working on one of our rental properties so he has spent most of his time after work there...so we have been on our own to work on projects that we can finish. I have a few to share with you...again maybe tomorrow. I did get our frog pond cleaned out and a few hostas planted....I hope you had a good week last week and I will be visiting soon. I did want to show a picture now that the buds have turned to blossoms...I love flowering trees.




This week we have been working on the fence that I took down. We needed 8 fence sections so we drug them from the shed and began giving them a nice coat of cottage cream paint. This is the same color as our house so it kinda blends in even though it is closer to the driveway than the house. They were difficult to paint...it was treated wood and it soaked up the paint. It took two gallons to give these 8 sections two coats of paint. But I did have the help of our three girls so we listened to music and make it more of a painting party than work. I am hoping my dh has time to hang them in the next few days.







On my last post I pictured a small pinkish bloom. This is the tree in it's full glory. I am not sure what kind of tree it is but we have four of them and they are so beautiful. When the blooms begin to fade it seems like it is snowing.

I will see you soon.