Daisies on the Line

It has been busy around here.  With all that happened last year there is a lot of repair work that needs to be done on various things with one of them being my daughter's place.  Painting, repairs, tearing apart, and the list goes on. So yesterday we took a very short break and went with the neighbors to an estate sale.
Now I have been to lots of them, but this one was way different.  The brother and sister that had lived there bought everything and I do mean everything!  The place was packed full of things to the extent you could definitely saying hoarding, but oh my goodness where could you even begin!
The house itself was absolutely beautiful, but it was being torn down so you could buy fireplace mantels, lightening rods (yes, someone did)....such a shame since the house must have been the place back in the day.  Sorry no pictures of the house, way too many people there, and stuff everywhere.
However, when I saw this I thought it was just too pretty, way too much work done to it, and I crochet so who knows how long it took to make it.

It is huge!  When we got home I washed it and hung it out to dry, but isn't this pretty?  I'm glad I saved it, not sure where it will go yet, but I am going to appreciate it for a while.

New Chapter in Book of Life

Have you ever thought about how fast life goes by? The days, the weeks, and then the year?  Well, that is what happened here with a whole year going by.  Last year was not an easy year for us.  I had seven people in our family pass away, some were close to us, others not so much, but still they were family.
The close ones were actually my grandmother, and then my hubby's uncle and aunt passed too within months of each other after 57 years of marriage.  We spent a lot of last year going down to Florida where they lived to help them out as they did not have any children, and hey, I'm a firm believer that you help family as much as you can or as much as they allow you to.
Eight trips to Florida was quite a lot, and the last one was when a hurricane was going across the state so that turned out to be the change for us as we stayed until it was over, and then the aunt passed away during that time.
We brought uncle home with us.  You know, I love being around elderly people. They have so much to talk about if one will listen, and oh so many stories to share!  So even though last year was a tough year there are many memories to look back on, and a lot of smiles to go with it.
Now here are a few pictures I had taken at that time with the hurricane further north from us, we were way down south, and I must say the sunsets were wow!

This last picture also showed it was a full moon that evening.  These pictures were taken with my cell plus I adjusted the size some here on blogger....yea! It has been so long since I blogged I will need to learn everything again!
I have so many pictures, and I also found a lot of my dad's old slides back from his Air Force days which at some point I will probably share too.  The love of photography runs strong in my family.
Now it is time for me to be back online and visit and share, So.....here we go again!

Wisteria, come and gone

The wisteria we have up the hill in full bloom earlier this spring

Beautiful, but it went away too fast.

Lady Banks Rose Growing

I love spring!  I love seeing all the green and the color again.  I know I have said it before, actually my last post, but I am so happy to see the signs of spring.  The bluebirds are going full blast looking at their home from last year.  The male saying come on in to the female this will be a good home again.  They raised two batches last year.
So, when I first planted my Lady Banks Rose my hubby said to me, oh, it will take years and years before it will go over this arbor.  Little did he know......

It has covered the arbor, and see the yellow in the tree?  That is the rose!  It goes even higher than that too.  I love this little rose, so dainty and so very pretty (with no thorns).  Alas, it is only a spring blooming one so I enjoy it while I can.

Do any of you have this rose?  If so, how big is the one you have?  I have heard they can cover a house!  Till next time....
Wishing all of you a wonderful holiday weekend!

Spring into spring!

I thought that spring would never get here or that February would finally be over.  Mid to late January until spring has always been the when is it going to get here type thing for me.  I want to see color!  Of course, I say the same thing every year.
February for us brought:

Light snow after having temps in the 70's and then buckets of rain; so much of it that it was flooding our yard front, back, chickens were learning to be ducks!
This winter had been crazy around here as the fall started out with in October constant, constant rain.  Every, single, day.  The picture above is nothing compared to the rain we got then.  What did all that rain lead too?  Mildew, everywhere.  Then to top it all off we had a leak behind our master bath.  Oh, what fun we had.  Hubby has been telling everyone how much harder he is working now since he retired!
I will tell you the best investment for us was a dehumidifier.  It was like a giant vacuum which I am ever so thankful for it.  Fall cleaning turned into fall, winter, spring cleaning around here.  My new best friends became, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil, and grapefruit seed extract.  I so dislike chemicals, and yes, we do have a few around here though I am still trying to get rid of them.  Those four items worked the best, ever! on mildew.  Thank goodness for my new washer and dryer as they got a workout.  Well, the dryer not so much as the fifth best friend is good ol' sunshine.
So now we have spring and with it comes the on again off again temperatures, but at least we have color!  My tulips came up along with a variety of daffodils.

The dogwoods are blooming, the red bud trees, forsythia has come and gone, but it is so nice to have spring here again!  Of course now comes that one thing that I think we all say a bad word to and that is my car is green from all this pollen!  Hope all of you are enjoying your start to spring.

Little mouse in the fridge

Oh, it has been so long that I am just so excited!  I have been saving for a long time for a new washer, dryer, and refrigerator.  When my mother-in-law passed away some 9 or 10 years ago we moved into her place which was only suppose to be a temporary situation until we found what we really wanted.  Years later we are still here, but that is ok as with the way this economy has been going it just worked out better for us.  All, well almost all, the fridge was 10 years old, but the washer and dryer were over 25 years old.  Let me tell you something.  If that washer had not started breaking apart so to speak, I would still be using it; don't get me wrong as it still works so it is going into my daughter's old place for now as that new one went kaput.  Many years ago it went on the blitz and I thought then I would be getting a new one, but it kept on truckin! I will use something to the very last, but as for that fridge.....I hated that fridge.
I was very surprised to find out later that it was something like 22 or 23 cubic feet, but I did not care as I dislike that fridge.  Why?  It was a side by side.  Why on earth my mother-in-law who loved to cook and share food bought it I will never know.  I believe a friend talked her into it as it came with an ice water dispenser.  No matter, did I tell you how much I disliked it?  Any holiday, any party, could I fit food in it? Nooooo.  
So last summer I started looking and almost bought the appliances, but I am the type of person that needs to think on it.  Have I been thinking for years, yes, but no matter this was money going out the door which is one of those things I really need to think about.  The last fridge I bought was over 20 years ago and it is still working (knock on wood) in my daughter's old place.
One of the things my hubby and I did in November was appliance shopping, he went twice, and that was enough for him!  Haha!  I knew that I wanted the freezer on the bottom for sure, and I could have gone with a single door, but hubby fell in love with this one.
Ta Dah!

Of course refrigerators have grown in size so one of the hubby to do chores was to raise our cabinets over the fridge.
So what about the little mouse in the fridge?  Well, it's a joke.  By the time we put the food from the side by side into this one it was still empty!  I went around telling people that the little mouse was standing there in the fridge with fork and knife in hand asking where all the food was!
And my washer and dryer?  The washer is different, no agitator, so that is strange for me though I do like it.  The dryer I have only used a few times.  What can I say?  I am still a clothes line kinda gal!

Wish it could have been more

One of the things about living in the south is the lack of snow especially here in Georgia unless you live further up in North Georgia which really for us is only about an hour away.  Now my relatives in North Carolina definitely got the snow, and my cousin in D.C. well, stay warm!
I will probably get out for a walk about later just to see if I can get a good picture somewhere, but for now this is what I am looking at out my front door.

Well, the winter is still young, and maybe I can wish for a little bit more!

I have heard it before

Yes, I have heard it before.  They say when the husband retires he is not sure what to do with himself. 

Well, mine decided that he and the dog were going to take it easy, after all, he worked 30 years with this one job and he decided that he could use a little time off.  This was at the end of October so the holidays kept us quite busy with family coming in plus going to visit family too. 
Now for people that know us they understand we rarely slow down, and certainly not my hubby.  He gets bored if he is not doing something, and fortunately for me he has his barn so he is outside most of the time messing with who knows what so that is ok.  The only thing different for me is now I eat  breakfast, lunch and dinner with him so that schedule has changed. 
During the holidays we went shopping together which was kind of fun, and he would take over the buggy and push, a little weird for me, but hey whatever.  Holidays over, and if I want to go out he has started coming along or asks if I might want to go with him.  Well, ok.  Then it came.   The pushing the buggy part.  We were shopping at Aldi (my favorite store), and I am looking at some things deciding what to buy.  With my decision made, item in hand, I turn back around and buggy and hubby are gone.  Hey!  Back over here!  I need to put these things in the buggy!
Then just the other day we were at another store, and I asked if we needed paper towels as they were 10 for $10.  Um, no, they are 69 cents at Aldis.  Haha!  Now I have a comparison shopper!  Gotta love it!
So yes, there have been a few changes around here, but I must say I do like having him home.  We have been working on a lot of things around here, but that is another post.  One thing I can say which is what I have heard from other wives over the years; if he starts rearranging my canned goods....Houston, we have a problem!

A Happy New Year to All

The new year has begun once again.  Wow!  So many things happened this past year with so many changes the biggest one being my hubby is now retired as of the end of October!  Now that is quite a change for me too.  So, new year's resolutions are now in place again, and blogging is going to be a big challenge for me as it has been forever.  I am determined to do it!

Since this is the first day it will be the first of blogging, maybe not 365 days worth, but enough to keep us entertained.  To all of you from my house to your....Happy New Year!

images via pinterest

Snake in the chicken pen

This summer has been a busy one.  First we had a nice long spring, and then poof! Hot days of summer!  Garden time, working on camper time, and why isn't mama hen wanting to set?  We have this one white hen, faithful as ever on setting, but this year she did not want to set until June which is really late for her since by June she could be on her second batch of chicks.
Early on we had what they call "rat" snake in the chicken pen.  Hubby found it when he was reaching in to get the eggs it had one in its mouth already!  So, he caught that one and took it on down the road a few miles and turned it loose.  Mama hen then decided to hatch some little ones.  She hatched seven, and then there were four.  Hmmm. 
That morning I looked around everywhere, and hubby looked too.  Till I looked up.

There it was, nice and full.  I am not a big fan of snakes, but don't get me wrong.  Rat snakes eat copperheads, rats, mice, etc.., and they are good to have just not in my chicken pen.  We did not realize how big it was till we put it in the trash can we had.

It was over 5feet in length!  This had to be a pretty old snake to be that big.  This time hubby took it down the road, across two rivers, and the interstate till he dropped it off on the other side.  We did not want that one back!
Poor mama hen.  So, I have been wanting some Araucana chickens again for the longest time so I can have some pretty colored eggs!  I found some baby chicks, and went to pick them up.  Now to see if mama would take to them.  We slipped them under her late at night.

They were all happy campers.  We have not seen another snake since then, however, we did lose another big one and two little ones.  Never found the snake though.  So, we built a box with a super fine mesh that we put on the "nursery" side that has its own entrance.

So every night when they all go to bed they get their door closed up and then re-opened bright and early, and I do mean early.  For those of you who have chickens you know how early that can be!  So for now they are all happy and getting really big by wandering all over the property.  Pretty soon they will all go over the the big side, and mama will be glad.  She has always been our best one.  I did notice that one of the bigger chicks was calling to the little ones when it found something so maybe we will have another good mama hen to carry on.
As for the snakes, well, we have a lot of woods around us so they can stay there. The neighbor has had a big one at their place, and I have seen a couple of  real little ones which is ok....for now.  Just stay out of the chicken pen or your home will be miles down the road!

Spring is back

First came the daffodils, then the tulips, and the leaves are finally coming out with that lovely spring green color.  It is so nice to have all of these colors back!  Here are some photos of things that have bloomed around here.

I have to learn about the placements of photos again.  There is so much information on blogger now, and so little time!  I have found a lot of changes with things so I had better get busy and learn.  How are the springtime colors in your neck of the woods?

A Sunny Break

We had a few more items of my hubby's uncle and aunt that needed to be delivered to them so we took a little break down to Florida.  We left behind a cold, rainy, week to a week of warm sunshine.  Not quite in the 80's, but very close.  The retirement park they live in had a chicken dinner with dancing on Sunday, and I would be showing pics of that yet somehow I managed to mess up that video.  Then another morning we had the "big" breakfast.  Oh. My. Goodness.  I needed to leave the place just so I would not gain any weight!  We have never been there in January before so it was quite a change with the park being so full and very active.  Let me tell you the seniors know how to party!

We made it to what used to be a favorite place for us to go and eat lunch right on the beach.  It was not so good this time, but I will give it another chance as I enjoy sitting on the roof top.

Next was the beach, and who can go wrong with the glorious beach?

However, when I put my feet into it

Brrrrrrrr, yep, it is January! So, the solar heated swimming pool was nice.

It went by way too fast, but we did some things around the house there too like a new ceiling fan for the living room so it can be used during the summer months.  That was a gift to them since they really don't need anything, and had their fill of candies over the holidays!  I always plant flowers for them too as aunt loves them just as much as me.  I also brought a geranium and a fuchsia plant back.  Hey, I need a little color around here till the spring!  I am so ready for spring, are you?

A Sunrise

The 9th of January already.  Before you know it the month will be gone.  Here is a beautiful sunrise taken in Connecticut.  Enjoy your day and the weekend!

Along came a.......

My Thanksgiving cactus bloomed beautifully this past Thanksgiving.  Practically for two months!  I had placed both of them during the summer in hanging baskets as my great aunt had done hers that way a long time ago, and my cousin still has them.

So one day I took them to the sink to give them a good dose of water, and when I went back to the sink later this is what I found....

A little frog!  Apparently he had made his home in one of the pots.  Sorry to say I had to place the little frog back outside, but at least it had a long time to bunker in before the year ended and this cold front arrived!    You never know what you will find when you bring plants in, and he blended quite well! 

Good Morning 2015!

Hope you have a beautiful start to this new year!

So time goes on....My Year In Review

So, here it is December 31st.  It seems like yesterday it was 12/31/13, and now look it has come back around again.  A lot has happened through the year here. The first biggie was my daughter moving on in her life, a single life once again.  It's a good thing.  Then she moved to another state; a sad thing for me yet life moves on as many of you know that have grown children.

It was busy around here during 2014.  We moved a metal shed and started a new garden area.

The metal shed used to be back behind our house.  I got tired of walking down, and then all the way up the hill to cut the grass, weed, etc.. so I talked hubby into moving it.  Oh boy, was that ever a chore! It fell apart, we put back together, then painted it. Now it is in the middle, and only holds garden tools, lawn mower, and a weed eater instead of all of those things plus junk storage.  At least it is in the middle now with no more running down the hill then back up again!  The other thing we worked on was building raised beds.  They are not very big, but it really is the sunniest spot on our property.

As the year progressed we watched from our back yard a million dollar house being built.

They are still working on it.  We believe they will have horses along with a swimming pool, beautiful conservatory/sunroom, great garden area too.  Of course this used to be cow pasture with an old homestead on it so this will be a beautiful place.

We are still working on our camper, but we have gotten a lot done to it this year.  More pics to come on it, but here is a refresher photo.

It is painted now, yea!, camo gone!  I am going to put a camper post together for 2015.

We made a few trips up north to Connecticut to help my hubby's uncle and aunt who have decided to move permanently down to Florida.  We enjoyed being up there and doing some exploring too, and along the way we stopped to visit my daughter and her new boyfriend in Va. Bch.  I was one happy mom!

Beautiful Connecticut.

And through the summer the garden grew.  Not the greatest, but it did so so ok.  Like our fence?  Hubby and I took apart a fence panel he came across so we made the garden fence with the wood.  Turned out pretty cool.  We added wire behind it, but some of our chickens have learned to hop over the fence.  That will be fixed in 2015! 

During the fall I painted the inside of my daughter's old place.  No pictures of that yet, perhaps later.  I wanted it to be a happy place for when they came for Thanksgiving.

It was a great Thanksgiving, just not enough mommy and daughter time!

So, that was my year.  Lots of little, but big things happening.  I have a lot of things planned for 2015.  This was not my best blogging year, and I know I said it before that I want to do more, but I guess that it why we make new year resolutions.  Speaking of that I found a great saying on facebook (ummm, yes, I did spend time there....) which I want to share with you.

That is what I want for me and all of you!  Happy New Year!

August already!

I have been so busy around here!  We have had a couple of trips, worked on the camper which is turning out really nice, done a new garden bed, and the list goes on.  So with it being summer time I thought I'd share a few summer posts.  These were taken a couple of years ago, but I am hoping to get back up to Maine and take some more.  Gorgeous area! 

The light house in the distance we got closer to yet the only way over there was by boat or a bucket going over the water! 
I will try to post more soon!  Hope you have enjoyed part of your summer!