• Porch dreams come true…

    My daughter and her two youngest surprised me this morning with a beautiful delivery…an early Mother’s Day present from her and her family and her “baby brother” and his sweet wife and daughter!  As she kept carrying everything up the stairs to my apartment, I was amazed and ever so grateful!  A beautiful wicker settee, wonderful outdoor pillows, two lovely ferns, tons of gorgeous flowers and hummingbird nectar and an angel hummingbird feeder sculpted by one of my very favorites:  Jim Shore!

    I will look for a small companion table and a side chair to go with this delightful setting, along with two small, cheap tables to hold the ferns.  It is so exciting!

    I swept the porch (including the popcorn that I had fed MamaBird who is sitting on her nest above the porch lamp) and it is looking great!  I have told MamaBird to hurry up and hatch those eggs so she and the little fledglings can be on their way!  I want to curl up on the settee with the sweet pillows and read a good book in peace…

    Note:  If you recall, I wrote about my “porch dreams” here.  My daughter had already purchased everything when I wrote that but, at the time, I was sick with a bad cold and contagious and they couldn’t come over.  She said that she worried that I would have preferred two rockers but, to be honest, this settee is a better idea by far!  I love it all!!! 

     

    I love the angel hummingbird feeder by Jim Shore! All I need now is a hook to hang it from the porch roof. I almost hate to put her outside but I will…and will enjoy hummingbirds all Summer!

     

  • Porch dreams…

    By now, I thought there would be two white rocking chairs and a table on my porch…along with lots of flowers and a couple of healthy green ferns.  Maybe a colorful grapevine wreath on the wall.  All through the endless winter with so much snow, I dreamed of Spring.  Now, it is Spring.  It is May 2nd and it is pouring snow…and 36 degrees!  What is wrong with this picture?  Don’t tell me.  I already know.

    It is supposed to look that this…well, okay, maybe not quite like this.

    Instead, there is an icy floor…

    and two birds who have taken up residence and are making a mess…

    and, obviously, walls that need cleaning.

    I have my first terrible cold in I don’t know when and it is Spring!  

    I had plans to sew and catch up on things but I just don’t feel like it…

    so I think I will simply relax. 

    Supposedly, colds last for one week or seven days…

    at least I hope that’s all. 

    So, in the meantime, I have a good book to finish.

      I will listen to the birdsong coming from the icy porch…

    and hang on until next Tuesday when it is supposed to be 71 degrees!

  • Summer porch days…

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    I was awake early this morning.  With the temp in the low 60’s, I enjoyed my coffee and the sound of songbirds on the porch.  On cooler afternoons, the porch is the scene for enjoying bowls of ice cream and playing a game with the grandchildren.  Right now, it is overcast with a temp in the 80’s and the porch is the place for drying my clothes on a folding rack (my dryer is broken but the repairman is due here tomorrow).

    I love the ferns.  They remind me of walks on the mountainside in Oregon where the ferns grew wild and plentiful.  The fuchsia plant sits on a $5 red garage sale table.  It’s a thirsty plant!  What would a porch garden be without herbs and petunias?  The only problem with the herbs (sage, sweet basil, rosemary and spearmint) is they’re challenged to get enough sun on this covered porch.  We’ll see how they do.  Hopefully, I will get enough to be able to cook with them occasionally.

    My next-door-neighbor was discarding the white rocker and asked me if I would like to have it.  I was delighted.  It needs a fresh coat of paint and a cushion in the soft sage green.  I saw one at Lowe’s the other day – just need to go buy it.  The settee, blue chair and green chair all came from Lowe’s.  The outdoor rug was a good buy at Bed, Bath & Beyond.  I think I paid about $37 for it and it’s one of the larger sizes.  My daughter found the cute Dragonfly table for me at Walmart.  It was one of my Mother’s Day presents this year and I love it!

    If it stays overcast and cools down a little this afternoon, I think I will curl up on the wicker settee and continue reading the third in a wonderful series entitled Alaskan Courage by Dani Pettrey, a great new author.

    How are things on your summer porch?

     


    Sorry the pics take so long to load!

    I’m working with a new camera & photo software

    and it’s not too user friendly!

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  • One fun visit…

    This time last week, I was enjoying my first out-of-town company since moving into the condo.  Penny, my sister-in-law of 39 years, and her sweet husband Mike had arrived about 9:30 p.m. the night before in the midst of a typically severe Midwest thunderstorm.  I greeted them with hugs and a “welcome to Iowa”!

    The photo below of (L to R) Mike, Penny, me and Bill was taken sometime in the mid-1970’s.  When you’ve been together since 1966, there is a storehouse of memories and a strong bond.  I’m sure Bill was looking down from Heaven…reminiscing along with us and laughing at the three of us. 

     

     

    We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and lunch together each day.  In the afternoon, we headed over to my daughter’s house for a fun visit and delicious supper.  The grandchildren love Aunt Penny & Uncle Mike!  It was all so much fun.

    As a superb craftsman and “handyman”, Mike found several things around the condo that needed repair and attention – and fixed them!  I had been living with having to plug/unplug the lamp in the living room each day…trying not to trip over the exposed cord!   (The condo was built in the 80’s and does not have a plug in the floor).  Among other creative fixes, Mike devised a method of hiding a new cord under my large area rug and plugged it in behind the entertainment center.  No more exposed cord and no more tripping over it!  Oh, so much better that I did a little happy dance!  😉

    One day, we headed to Lowe’s where we picked up brown felt feet for all my bookcases, entertainment center, table and chairs (Mike’s super idea).  Since they came in their dual-cab truck, we also picked up a glass-topped round table and  two new chairs for my porch – in keeping with the blue & green theme of the pillows which my daughter selected.  I also found another inexpensive table to elevate my other fern.  Mike arranged all the furniture on the porch and it looks great!  Penny says he’s a “keeper” and I agree!

    They had been searching for a travel trailer and actually purchased one here!  It’s a 24′ one that can sleep 6, complete with television, stove top, microwave, bathroom and table & banquet!  It looks so comfortable – a home away from home in the Smokies or wherever they journey.  My grandchildren loved it – especially since they had to store it at my daughter’s house while they were here.

    After the Monday night storm on the evening they arrived, the weather turned cool and very much like Fall.  The porch was a very pleasant place to be.  They enjoyed sitting out there and Penny especially enjoyed reading there.

    All too soon, our visit was over and they made the long trip back to Memphis – this time pulling a 24′ travel trailer!  Thank you, Mike and Penny, for the fun visit and all the help.  I miss you guys already.  Come back soon!

     

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