In the good ol' summer time......

 Summer 2014 is a underway. 
Fun things to see and do, and memories to be made.
We went to a balloon fest.
Adorable frog balloon.  

I would have the hardest time choosing a hot air balloon, it I were to purchase one.  So many choices!

Watched some of the restoration work that is being done to the tabernacle in Manti.

 Quite the scaffolding set up; four stories of scaffolding. 
When we lived in Manti, we used to attend church in this building.  It's quite a beautiful church house; both inside and out.

 Just for a few minutes, we watched as this workman ground out some of the old mortar.   Such a labor intensive job! 
Puts a smile on my face, whenever there is restoration work going on with an old building.  It's nice to see old buildings saved and maintained.

Ah-ha. 
Did you forget about the sweet potatoes?
Well, some made the move ok, and others did not. 
I let some of the jars go dry, and I forgot to water them.
You can see this one has plenty of slips on it.

We ended up planting the sweet potatoes in a pot on the patio.  Potato and all, and I didn't bother to divide the slips.  The entire potato went in the dirt, and so far they seem to be thriving.
We just might end up with a few sweet potatoes this Fall.
If nothing else, they  look nice and they will fill in the pot quite well.

 We've been going to yard sales, most weekends.
 Some our finds include :
* A large framed print of the basket and berries.

*Cute tin painted in barn red with stars on it.

 * Perfectly patriotic " U.S.A" shelf sitter.

 * Books.
A Gladys Taber book, I actually ordered this book online, as I couldn't find any of Gladys' books in our on-line list at the library. I need to go in and ask if they can get any of her books.
Thanks going out to my blog friends that suggested Gladys Taber books!

 *This sweet children's book.

 *From 1973. 
Sweet inscription from a Pauline, sends wishes that the book will be enjoyed not only by the recipient, but by their Japanese friends as well.  Love that.

 *Hand-sewn "Harvest" pillows.
I'll put them away until Fall.  Couldn't pass them by though... such sweet stitching, and of course the colors are rich and caramel-y.  Fall is my very favorite season anyway.

* A wonderful picnic basket. It's quite large, and I fully intend on packing a few picnics in this basket and enjoying summer picnicking with my sweetheart.
Yes, it's the good ol' summer time.
 Days filled with activities, and making memories.
I have noticed so many more folks out to the yard sales on Saturday mornings.  It seems like more and more people like to go yard sale-ing.
 I wonder if yard sale-ing is just gaining popularity where I live.
I also wonder what other people are looking at to buy at yard sales.
I'm always on the look out for old dishes, old books, old linens.........etc.


Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that Spencer was with me yesterday when I took Rowdy to get his shots.
On the way home, we saw a 4x4 in the road, and Spencer had me pull over.  He watched for traffic, and then he pulled the board out of the road.  He didn't want anyone to run it over and wreck.
I'm grateful that he is such a thoughtful person!!

June: Of marigolds, tomatoes, and snow!

 

We don't have a formal garden space this year.

With this being a new house, and not getting moved in until the first part of May, it just isn't going to happen this year.
We did, however plant some pots full of flowers and an old galvanized wash bucket with two tomato plants.

 A few small tomatoes are growing already.  The one above is "Indigo Rose", an heirloom variety.

 The other tomato {above} is another heirloom variety: "Mr. Stripey". 
Wouldn't it be wonderful if both plants thrive, and we are picking juicy tomatoes all summer long?!
I would like to have enough tomatoes to at least have fresh tomatoes bruschetta for the 4th of July.

 We awoke to a dusting of snow on the mountain tops this morning.
It was forecast that higher elevations would be getting snow. It started raining last night, and all of a sudden, the temperatures dropped.

 I figured that we were too far South, and we wouldn't get the colder weather and snow showers that the North part of the state would get.
However, we did get the rains, and  we did get a touch of snow.

Today will be much cooler, with clouds lingering across the mountain tops.
All the rain we received made the meadows and mountains so green.
 Such a beautiful sight.
It's been an amazing weather year.
 My heart goes out to all those that have had weather related tragedies this summer.
My prayers are with them.
June has been a crazy weather month.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that Spencer was able to get the power washer running. It hadn't been used for a couple of years, and he worked on it, figured out what was wrong with it, fixed it for me and then power-washed the entire driveway, patio, sidewalks, gutters, and part of the street.  Everything looks so nice, and it was so thoughtful for him to do that for me.
~I'm grateful for the rain that we've been blessed with. It has been a very hot and dry year so far, and the rains were certainly an answer to many prayers.
~I'm grateful for my amazing family, and all that they do for me each and every day. They are my greatest blessing!

The trouble with treasures.

In late March, we set out one early Saturday morning to do some yard sale-ing.
Love this time of year, when it's nice weather and there are yard sales galore.
I couldn't help myself ...... I had to take this picture.
Two guys just snagged themselves a treasure.
They just didn't think about how they were going to get their treasure home.

They seem quite perplexed that this yard swing will not fit
in the back of their mini van.
Yes, that's the trouble with treasures.

For all you yard sale going folks out there,  best of luck with your treasure hunt this weekend!

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that I'm getting some sleep. Even if it's an hour here or there. 
~I'm so grateful that we are going to have a cool down this weekend.  I'm anxious to get more stuff put away and totes emptied out of the garage.  Yay! 
~I'm grateful for allergy tablets.  ..... evidently, there is something in the meadow that is making my nose itch and my eyes water.  Oh, joy.  Need to start taking a spoonful of honey.

~ W e l c o m e ~

 Welcome to our new home.
Just a few pictures to share with you.
Candles flicker and fill the air with scents of cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla.

 The dining area.
Homemade honey-yellow checked curtains.
Feels homey, and cozy and a bit old fashioned.
Green Jadeite that once upon a time belonged to my grandmother fills the first two shelves on my second hand china hutch.  The hutch was a gift from a friend, and I painted it white and aged it with a little glaze.
My own white fine china, that was a gift from my parents when I got married, fills the lower shelf and below.   It is still just as classic and beautiful as the day I got it....almost 28 years ago.

 Simple valances on the windows above the kitchen sink.
I didn't want to block any of our mountain views. 
Sitting around the sink are some plants that I need to get re-potted, and to the right, in the glass front cabinets, you can see my collection of "Honey Butter" Bee dishes.
Love those!

 A look at part of the living room.
I finished the curtains, and I love the way that they turned out.
I used wheat colored checked fabric, with red floral fabric trimming out the bottom.

 Looking through the French doors, into the library.

 Hanging in the window, is my leaded glass window. What a great find that was!
I sewed café style curtains for the window, in order to let the light through the leaded glass window.

 A glimpse into the laundry room. I used a floral print, with a red and white checked fabric for trim.
I've been doing quite a bit of sewing, right along with getting things unpacked and put away.
I'll share more pictures one of these days.


Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for mountain breezes. It makes everything so nice and cool, each morning and evening.
~I'm so grateful for summer, and dinners on the patio with my family
~I'm so grateful for a wonderful, loving husband that takes time each day to pray with me.  It makes all the difference in our days! Prayer really changes things!!

This, and that....

This beautiful blossom greeted me, first thing on Saturday morning.
Happily, there were already some great plants in our borders.
I've been adding new plants, as well.

 I've added quite a few Hostas, and a bleeding heart.

You can see this large green plant above.
I have no idea what it is.
It reminds me of Virginia Creeper, but I don't think that's what it is.

 It seems to grow 6 inches a day, and I've already pulled a bunch out.
I think, unless I can figure out what it is, I'm going to pull it all out.
It's quite invasive, and I could use the space to plant a few other things.

 This is the new light fixture for the porch.
Aged copper, and I love the design!

 That is the old fixture.
Yuck!!
A family of birds had made this their resting perch, and has a nest built near by.
The previous owners let them build a nest and didn't mind the birds on the porch.
Not me.
I am happy to have them move along to another nesting spot, and I'm glad that they took their messes with them.
We put an owl decoy with a bobble head on the porch, and that seems to have done the trick.

 This is the fabric that I am using in our kitchen.
Warm honey yellows, and herbal greens.
I finished the curtains last week, and this week I will be working on a table runner, and place mats.

 This is the fabric that I'm using for the curtains in the living room.
Another sewing project for this week.

That is the mountain above our house, and the sunset lighting it up.
Beautiful.
I think I shall never tire of the sunrises, and sunsets in our home between the mountains and the meadows.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for the Summertime. I love waking up to blue skies and sunshine!!
~I'm grateful that I was able to get a couple of tomato plants planted.  It's not much, but due to the late start, I think it shall have to suffice.  Our micro garden will be two tomato plants, and some basil and rosemary this year.  Hoping next year to have a pumpkin patch again, and some garden space planted.