September 27, 2018 ~ Life Keeps Moving

Before I knew it, summer passed in a blink!

Flowers have bloomed and faded away,

Warm breezes have come and gone,

 Sunsets that were once late in the evening

are now on our doorstep not long after dinner!

Summer was a mixture of 

unusually hot days

and lots of sunshine,

bird watching, butterfly gazing 

and catching the scent of my sweet

Butterfly Bush through the open windows.

Summer was unhurried mornings 

relaxing on the back deck,

feeling the sun's rays wrap their

beautifully warm arms around me.

It was sightings of tiny newborn fawns,

the long awaited return of my hummingbirds

and nest building in my birdhouses.

It was rainbows on my kitchen walls

as sunshine glistened through my prism,

It was vases of flower bouquets

from roadside stands, fresh berries

and hot fudge sundaes

while driving through the country,

winding down after long, busy days. 

 

Then, slowly but surely, the changes came.

Those little changes like the color of the sky, 

the way the leaves look on the trees

and the lack of katydids singing in the night.

Sultry evenings dwindled, cooler mornings

greeted us as we stepped out the door.

And now, here we are, welcoming 

the season of Autumn, before I'm

really ready to let summer go....

 

 Yet, here I am, digging out my Autumn

displays ~ colorful leaf garlands, 

scarecrows, candles for the mantle

and a wreath for the front door....

And I hope, my dear friends, that this post

finds you all happy and healthy,

moving along productively in life,

much the same as I!

~ ♥ ~

P.S. If you have an iPad, iPhone or smartphone like me, you've no doubt realized how much easier it is to jump on the internet and do what once was only done from our computers at home! I recently found an app that's quite simple to use and allows the upload of information quickly and with ease. These days, that's a really intriguing idea to me, because I hardly ever sit down at the computer much anymore! And I'd rather do a short but sweet post, than to have no post at all, which, sadly, has been the case here.

I've tried repeatedly to use the Blogger app on my device, in an attempt to post quick updates here and there, but for some reason there's always a glitch and it ends up booting me off the post I'm trying to post! :/

So I'd like to invite you to join me over at my new page (don't worry I'll still post here from time to time), where I hope to keep in touch with you all much more regularly. And the nice thing is, it's computer friendly, too. Please stop in and say hello!☺

https://padlet.com/kimmarie69/between_friends

 

June 4, 2018 ~ Rolling Along Into Summer

View of our front porch, which I just adore!

For several weeks now I've had the pleasure of setting up my outdoor furniture, planting flowers and tending to things in the yard. Now I can relax some and enjoy the beauty of it all! 

A few days ago, Dean and I purchased a hammock (which might as well be called an outdoor bed, it's that big and comfortable) that we've had a few chances to enjoy since putting it together. What's great is that it's fairly lightweight and has wheels on the end so it can be lifted and positioned in the yard anywhere we wish - under the shade of a tree or in the sunshine. The first day we set it up was quite warm, so we opted for jumping on it under the shade of our big maple tree out back. 

Wow! It felt so good to just lay in the quiet of the afternoon after a busy day for me, and an even harder day of work for Dean in the great outdoors.

That evening, we ventured outside and sought the comfort of our new hammock once again, only this time under the beauty of our wide open, starlit sky. Amazing! For just a moment, we were lost in the hush of a balmy, breezy, almost summer time night and the cares of the world slipped away. And it felt, well.... wonderful!

While it's not always possible to "drop everything" and enjoy the day on a whim, having something to look forward to helps. A peaceful, dreamy moment of rest on our new hammock sure does remind us to take some moments to reflect on and enjoy life, even if it's in little snippets of time. 

Since this time of year happens to be our busiest in Dean's line of work, we try to remember that even though the days fly by so quickly, it's still important for us to find time for ourselves. And we like the new direction we're heading! ;)

~ ♥ ~

Dog Days Of Summer ~ August 3, 2017

I trust this post finds you well and everything right in your world, my friends! Summer is in full swing, with all its beauty that I enjoy so much ~ lovely flowers, sweet birds, bright sunshine and tropical temperatures of late. However, we continue to have our fair share of rain. As a matter of fact, another thunderstorm is rolling through as I write this post, which I did not expect any rain today really! It's in the forecast for the next couple of days, though, so when I awoke this morning, it was on my mind to get the lawn mowed today. And with this afternoon's storms, it's a good thing I got to it earlier than I usually do. If it were let go any longer, I'd have rakings to tend to, and I always try to avoid that! With our very large yard, that becomes a big chore. Maybe that's why so many people these days just hire a mowing company to come in and take care of their lawn. Do you mow your own lawn or have the professionals do it? Right now I prefer to handle the job myself!

While mowing, I love watching the Swallows swoop down. When they first started doing this, I thought it may have been because they actually were trying to follow me and play while I mowed...... But that was not the case at all! Upon further assessment, I realized it was because the mower stirs up tons of bugs that are hiding in the grass, causing them to take flight for safety. THEY are what the Swallows are after ~ and what a sight it is to see these graceful beauties swooping down to catch a quick snack.

Romeo recently had 2 small cysts removed, and an unanticipated teeth cleaning, but I'm glad
he's in tip top shape now. During his pre-op assessment, the vet determined it would be best to clean his teeth while under anesthesia, since they've never been professionally cleaned in all his 8 years. He's coming on the age where he'd start to have problems with infection from abscesses and teeth falling out from rot. Since I certainly don't want that, I opted for the cleaning now. The poor little boy was seriously high when he came home due to the pain killer they'd given him! We were thankful to see him return to his old self within a few days. He just got a bath and nice groom at the salon, so he's looking very handsome, and reminds us of a little lamb. It's hard not to spoil him when he looks so darn cute and cuddly!

Last week we had our road chip sealed. Have you ever had that done to your road? While the process went smoothly and quickly, its after effects aren't so great. With all this rain, it helps to keep the dust down, but that noise...... ooooh! Nothing can help that but time! We, and all our neighbors, slept so poorly the first night or two from it. Since we don't live in a small neighborhood or on a side street, rather on a semi-primary, kind of part country road that seems pretty popular, we have traffic all night long. Not heavy, but still, it's traffic. And sometimes it even sounded like cars were pulling into the driveway. I guess we have at least another week before the sweeper will come down the road to remove the excess "gravel". Then they'll spray the lines on the road. It'll be nice when that time comes!

Well, I'm so glad I had the chance to visit with you, and share some of what's been going on in my world. As I always say, I truly miss my visits with you and not posting for long periods. Come nicer weather, I do so much more outdoors and I generally don't really sit down til mid evening. (And here we are with darkness falling much sooner than before!) Then I have the problem of needing toothpicks to keep my eyes open!! ~ Lol! But I'll do my best, and until the next post, take care my friends! 

 ~ ♥ ~

Outdoor Screen Rooms ~ February 25, 2016

We have what could be a lovely screen room, if I could just figure out how to make the most of its rather large space.

It's built off the back of our garage, and has both east and south facing sides that are really wonderful in the summer time. It also has a covered, open deck area just outside the entry door into the screen room. 

I really love the deck area because it faces south and receives ample sunshine from morning through mid-afternoon. That's where I place my comfortable lawn chair, and often doze for a bit while the dogs are enjoying a beautifully sunny, summer day in the yard.

Inside the screen room is especially wonderful during a gentle rainfall. Have you ever laid outdoors under cover somewhere and heard that lulling, pitter-patter sound of the rain drops? That's exactly what I'm talking about! 

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Our screen room has the perfect metal roof for making rain drops sound quite beautiful and relaxing. Dean has taken his share of naps during some of those warm, rainy summer days last year. I expect he'll do the same this year, too.

I've been browsing some sites for ideas on just how I might want to consider decorating the interior. I suppose if money were no object, I could do something simply stated and beautiful like this, 

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but it would take a lot to get ours into that kind of shape. I still like this look, though, and figure I can glean different ideas from several types of styles. That's the fun of it to me! (I think I definitely need to invest in some wicker furniture either way!)

So, while I wait out this last stretch of our unusual and unpredictable winter, I think I'm going to continue browsing along, and maybe take a few ideas from these beautiful examples below!

This crisp, cool look of white and a kind of chartreuse is quite inviting.

I'm loving all the colorful plants in here!

Wicker and plants seem to be pretty popular screen room decor.

The rocker and that lounge chair would be perfect for me!

I definitely think I'm going to go with some curtains. How cheery and cozy!

Wow! All these ideas have really started the wheels going in my head. I can't wait to get started making something nice out of our screen room this year!

What projects have you most excited to jump into summer?

~ ♥ ~

Song Of The Cicada

It's that time of summer when the male Cicadas have begun what is technically known as their "love song" from the sunny branches near the tops of trees. This is one of a few interesting facts about the Cicada I'm surprised I don't ever recall having learned until just recently! And while from my childhood the sound of Cicadas was always bittersweet - so soothing to my ears, yet coming near the end of a summer I hated to see go - for the Cicada it's the beginning of only something wonderful; the courtship of a female who finds him attractive. 

Apparently this is not a face that only a mother could love!

The female will respond to her handsome male's call by doing a maneuver called the "wing-flick". When the male sees and hears her wing flicks, he replies again with a song making a lovely, ongoing exchange between the two. Now honestly, how many of you actually knew this as the reason behind that sound from the Cicadas? I feel like a kid who has just learned something new and thinks nobody else has ever known it before me! Ha, ha! But yes, I'm sure there are some of you that have. ☺

Here's a cute kids coloring page I found that shares some other interesting facts about the 

Cicada that you truly may not have known.

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I could sit under a tree and listen to the chorus of Cicadas for hours. There's just something about it that's peaceful to me.

~ ♥ ~

But what about you ~ do you find the sound of Cicadas enjoyable or just plain annoying? (I must admit, I've never heard them loud enough to drown out the sound of a lawn mower, though!)

Fireflies

Just saw some of my first of the season. It isn't officially summer to me until I see some!

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What makes it officially summer for you?

Mmmmm....Berries

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I love summer for all the delicious, healthy, fresh picked berries you can find!

The Carnival Is In Town

Always a fun part of the summer in our village!

The ferris wheel is my favorite ride.....nice and easy, and what a great view from up top!

Hammock At Sunset

Oh, how lovely to watch the glorious sunset from the relaxing sway of this hammock!

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An Afternoon At The Beach

 Where is there a better place to kick back and relax, and take in plenty of fresh air and sunshine but at the beach? My family and I had such a lovely time here!

There was lots of room on the HOT white sand for everyone!

Can you imagine owning this cottage right on the beachfront?

And what better to do than build a sand castle?

The waves coming up onto the shore were so peaceful to hear!

Swedish Summer House

This sounds like a lovely tradition. I suppose it's very similar to those in the U.S. who have summer cottages and beach houses....I think many people would be much less stressed and so much more content if they spent time away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life once in a while!

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By: Rob Hincks, freelance journalist

 

Midsummer in Sweden signals the start of an annual migration as tens of thousands of Swedes abandon towns and cities and head to their summer houses for rest, relaxation and, in some cases, work. 

 

Swedes have long been big on leisure time and small on the rigors of city life. Moving to the summer house is a ritual deeply engrained in the Swedish psyche. Before there was cheap and accessible international travel, many Swedes took advantage of something else cheap and plentiful: land.
All across this spacious nation, people built simple dwellings, often by the water, to retire to in the warm summer months; an idyll that for many still shapes their image of Sweden: red-painted cottages in an endless pastoral landscape broken only by a liberal scattering of beautiful blondes with flowers in their hair.

Traditions die hard in Sweden, and there are plenty of Swedes who still harbor that image. Despite the increasing number of foreign holidays sold in Sweden, 20 percent of the population still own a summer house. Many more have access to one through family or friends.

So what is it about the Swedish summer house that generation after generation still finds difficult to resist? 

The simple life Swedish-style.

Anna and PG Wiklund, a teacher and doctor living in Umeå in the north of Sweden, have their own reasons for coming back, year after year, to their summer house in the Hälsingland region of Sweden.
“It helps you to escape the daily obligations you have back home,” says Anna, whose grandfather bought the lakeside plot of land in 1942 and built the house that she and PG still use today. “And because you spend such a long time here, you feel that you live here. If you travel abroad for two weeks, there are so many things to experience and do; it’s not necessarily that relaxing. Most people have some sort of relationship to their summer house environment, through grandparents or through their childhood, so they can completely relax there.”

Summer Cottage

Often they're small and simple like this one, but, oh, the wonderful memories and fun times they give us!

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A Field Of Wheat

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On a warm summer day, nothing is prettier to me than seeing a golden field of wheat swaying in the gentle breeze.

Simple Vegetable Garden Plans

All garden templates and additional information  

can be found at the Garden Demo Blog

http://thedemogarden.org/garden-templates/

A Summer Plan

We've talked about making a promise to go camping this summer at the local campground, since we really enjoyed it the last time we went! What is it that makes sitting around a campfire, or waking up to hear the rustling of trees and the song of the birds right outside your tent so inviting?

Maybe it's the simplicity of it all. Something everyone could really use a little bit more of these days!

Summer Herb Garden

Basil

 Good herb for salads, although it is also excellent in stew, soups, etc. At its best with fresh tomatoes or in any dish containing cooked tomatoes or tomato sauce.

Parsley

Used as flavoring and garnish. Can be used in salads, cooked vegetables, with all kinds of meat, poultry and fish dishes.

  

English Thyme

 Use sparingly in stuffings, soups, meat and sauces.

Rosemary

 Use sparingly in salads, stews and spaghetti sauce. Very good for seasoning lamb.

Sage

 Good with all meat dishes and in meat, poultry and sausage stuffings Particularly good with pork and cheese but should be used sparingly.

Oregano

Italian herb, a form of wild marjoram. Use sparingly in spaghetti and beef dishes.

Happy Cooking!