Hints of Fall

Burning Bush

Money Plant (Lunaria)
Holly Bush
Pink Lily-of-the-Valley Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Autumn Joy Sedum
Chinese Lanterns

Show and Tell

I've been able to get to a couple household sales lately. Household and estate sales are my favorite and I usually end up buying stuff from the basement or garage. My neighbor and I went to a sale Wednesday and I spotted a great painted corner cabinet right away. I've always wanted one and this one was almost reasonable. I thought about it for awhile and asked how much the price went down on day 2. I could live with that price which was 30% off so I put in my name to get it on day 2 if it wasn't sold on day 1. I kicked myself all night for not just paying full price. I got a call the next morning and it was mine if I wanted it.
I wasn't even sure what I would do with it but I said yes! Someone had called the night of day 1 and wanted it and when I was picking it up a lady said she had come back to buy it. I think it works well in my living room.
It is not as cream as the picture shows but I will paint it cream. It is homemade and had a top piece I didn't like so I removed it. I love my Family sign on top of it!
I'll figure out what to put in it this weekend. I'm not sure that I like the wood inside but I'll just put scrapbook paper on the back rather than paint it for now. I think I got a great piece for $110., don't you?
For more Show and Tell posts go on over to Kelli's House.

Surprise find!

Did you ever get excited about finding something that you weren't looking for? As I was running my errands yesterday I passed a Household Sale 50% off sign. It was on a 4 lane but I decided to turn around and check it out. Just about all that was left was tables full of all kinds of glassware which I'm not really into. Of course I had to look as long as I was there.

I've had this pitcher for a long time and I guess I have it because it was my Mom's and I remember it always being in the china closet. It appears to be some kind of lusterware. Look what I found! Three glasses that match my pitcher! They were only 50 cents each! Now I guess I should start looking for more.

It's Bloomin' Tuesday!

Welcome to another Bloomin' Tuesday!

If you would like to join us and show off what's bloomin' where you are planted, just put your name and blog address on Mr Linky at the end of this post. Please, post a link to this post on your blog also.

This Stargazer Lily was just awesome this year. It was about 5 feet tall and had 6 huge blooms. I never realized how different they smell from other lilies. All I could come up with was eggnog with cinnamon or rice pudding. They just smell like "home". These next flowers are also lilies. We have always called them rain lilies because they will not bloom until it rains. I dug the bulbs up about 30 years ago in my Grandma and Grandpa's yard in Florida. I drag the wash tub into the basement for the winter every year. My Grandma even tried watering them with well water to get them to bloom but it didn't work.
I found out last year when I posted them that the real name is Zephryanthes (flower of the south wind) Grandiflora and there are different colors. They are also called fairie lilies.
Since they don't grow around here I'll probably never get a chance to get other colors. As long as it stays warm they will bloom after a good rain.

Enjoy the garden tour from all over the country, and sometimes out of the country, by just clicking on the names below.

Fun with Gramma

Last week, in the afternoon, Gramma took me to the playground. I really like this playground because there are lots of things I can do. I love to ride this yellow motorcycle!I'm getting pretty good at swinging from these bars.This is a funny slide! It feels like bumps on my bottom. There are 4 different slides here and I love them all!
Gramma pushed me on the swing and then I tried out every one on my tummy.
After the playground we went to the vegetable stand. They had bunnies there and I loved to watch them. (Gramma didn't get a picture because she had to hold me up for me to see them.) They also had some ostrich there. They were fun to watch but I hid behind Gramma when they got too close!
I really had a fun day! I hope Gramma will take me to the playground and to see those bunnies again.

Sunday Afternoon

Smile!

Sweetie has honored me with an award that really means alot to me. It is the Smile Award and this is what Sweetie said " She shares a love of flowers. My Mother always told me that if you saw flowers blooming at a person's house, you could tell the person that lives there cares." I had never thought about this statement before but it is such a "sweet" thing to say.I do appreciate this award but like all awards I cannot pick 5 people to pass it to. The list of characteristics for this award are:

1. Must display a cheerful attitude. (not necessarily at all times--we are all human).

2. Must love one another.

3. Must make mistakes.

4. Must learn from others.

5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.

6. Must love life.

7. Must love kids.

These are all reasons why I read blogs. Add a love of gardening, home and family and I'll read you forever! I pass this on to all of my blogging friends that hang in there with me when I don't comment often or don't post for a couple days. Let's all strive to make each other Smile!

Thank you , Sweetie!

Show and Tell

Today for Show and Tell I'm showing my tiny pitchers. I don't know anything about them.
I was helping a friend clean out a relatives house and he said I could have whatever I wanted. As soon as I saw them I knew I had to have them.
Two of the ones on the bottom are marked USA but the others have no mark.
I have only found one (the larger blue) any where else and that was at an antique store while on a trip. to Virginia.If you know anything about them please let me know. They will always be favorites of mine whether I know about them or not. I just love the colors and shapes of them.

To see more Show and Tell posts go over to Kelli's House.

Great find!

My neighbor and I finally got a chance to go to a household sale this week. I love to go but they have been having them at the end of the week and I'm too busy then. This was listed as an old farm house and it certainly was. They had one beautiful bedroom suite and a darling old painted kitchen table with chairs. I can't use any more large furniture, although I would of been tempted to buy the kitchen table but it was sold.I have been looking for a round occasional table. I spotted this one on my first trip through.
I went back to take another look and discovered the top was tipped after I cleared it off. The feet were coming apart from the leg and just needed to be glued.
It was marked 25 dollars and I had just decided to take it when the man that ran the sale said I could have it for 20! All I did was glue the feet and polish it with some lemon oil. One side of the top is very warn but I'll just cover that with "stuff" until I decide if I want to refinish the top. I love the detail, don't you?

Lucky!

Not only did I guess the name of a cat over at for the love of vintage for an unknown prize, but I won a Romantic Homes magazine from vintage girl at heart! I had not seen this magazine before and a lot of it was too frilly for my taste. I did enjoy looking at the beautiful pictures and reading the articles.I do like the colors and chippy paint in this display. The vintage turquoise accessories in this kitchen are wonderful and I wouldn't mind a chandelier in the right spot.
Of course, I loved this kitchen with the bright colored dish display. Even if something is not your specific style, with an open mind you can get ideas anywhere.I found this cute domed dish at an antique mart and knew I had to have it! Works great on my mantle with a small bird in it.

It's Bloomin' Tuesday!

Welcome!
I guess this is one way to keep the bunnies from eating the sunflowers! Probably not the best way tho! Looks like it's time to clean the eaves troughs. After all the raves from Perennial Gardener, I had to get a "Limelight" Hydrangea.
I dug out the old hydrangea and put it in a shadier area. It was getting way too big for the space anyway. I love the color of the "Limelight" and I have very high expectations!
I've checked the web and cannot find the name of this night bloomer. The leaves look like a skinny dandelion and the blooms look a lot like the evening primrose. I took these pictures at 10:30 at night.
Click to enlarge and see what's on the blooms. I didn't realize it until I put them in the computer because it was pitch dark out.
This is another night bloomer. I did take this bud picture during the day.
I love this type of Datura. I call it an Angel Trumpet but the blooms grow downward in most types. These blooms will last for part of the next day.
I have them in a pot and I put it in the basement for the winter. All the leaves fall off but if I'm lucky it starts to grow in the spring.
The flowers are 5 to 6 inches long. I'll try to get a seed pod to grow this fall and share the seeds.
I hope you enjoyed Bloomin' Tuesday. If you would like to show what's blooming where you are planted just add your name and blog address to Mr Linky and post a link to this post on your blog. Remember, you must sign up every time you want to participate. Click on the names below and enjoy a garden tour !

Water and Rocks!

Jerzie And I took her babies for a walk this morning but as soon as she spotted a small puddle in a neighbors driveway the babies were forgotten.Luckily she had her boots on.
Splash!
I did it!
That was really fun!
Next we went out back and sat on the pew to throw rocks. I took this video but wasn't even sure I was getting her because I was throwing rocks (when told to!) and I didn't want her to know. As you will see by the video she is getting pretty bossy! lol

The winner...

...of my Huge Milestone post is....


Dawn
Thanks for all your kind comments. Sorry you couldn't all win!

Audubon Garden Tour Clematis

Show and Tell

My daughter and her husband found me this darling set of birds.
It's a great addition to my bird collection.
For more Show and Tell posts, go over to Kelli's House.

HUGE Milestone!

In 1982 the house I was living in was sold so I had to find a new place to live. I was a single mother of 2 with a year old business. I only had a business because a friend introduced me to 2 men that were looking for a stable business for a building they owned. They believed in me and set up a beauty shop for me. That beauty shop was my only income. A girlfriend called to tell me she had seen a house for sale on a tree lined street I had daydreamed about living on. It was in a perfect location between the kids schools, the park where Kim played sports and the Boys Club where the kids spent a lot of their spare time.

I couldn't resist looking at the house and even though it was old and needed some work I fell in love with it. The owners were in a hurry to sell because they had 2 mortgages so the price was right. I saw the potential in this house that others did not see. I didn't look at another house.

I still had a huge hurdle to cross. Getting a mortgage was not easy because I only had one income and a new business. The bank turned me down. Another friend's father offered to buy the house and sell it to me on a land contract. The first night in our new house the dining room ceiling leaked when the kids took a shower! I still loved my house and I learned how to remove tile, put up greenboard and a tub surround!

In 1988 the building my shop was in was sold so I borrowed several thousand dollars to move my shop to my unfinished basement. I had a fire in my furnace in 1997 that caused damage to the beauty shop bathroom and smoke damage to the rest of the house. When my Mom passed away I sold my half of her house to my brother and redid my kitchen. I also turned a side porch into a bathroom and added my deck. Now I really love my house! I can live very comfortably on the first floor as long as I am able. I have refinanced a couple times to lower interest and consolidate the house and shop payments. I have learned to do a lot of work myself and have also learned to call a professional when necessary. I have added flower gardens all over that are a place for quiet work and extreme joy.

I've told my house story to say this,

I JUST SENT MY LAST PAYMENT TO THE BANK!!

Instead of burning my mortgage, I'm having a give away! You certainly deserve one if you read thru all of this post.

These are the prizes. A Home Sweet Home sign, A Happy Home Recipe plaque from the '70's and a cute screen door. All you have to do is leave a comment. Jerzie is spending the weekend with me and I will have her draw a name on Sunday the 17th so you must sign up by 7am sunday.

It's Bloomin' Tuesday!

As you can see the black eyed susans are going crazy in my garden! There isn't a lot blooming in this garden so I let them bloom away and then I pull some out.
What I really wanted to show you are my Rose of Sharon. I have 3 different ones.
This double pink is behind the birdhouse in my topper. It is quite large but I keep it trimmed so it doesn't get any bigger.
This white one is at the end of my lily bed and right before the shade garden area.
I do like the white one
but this one is my favorite.
You can see it in the first picture at the bottom of my kitchen garden. I love the deep red centerI worked in this area of my garden on Sunday and I ended up with this bucket full of babies.
Now comes the fun! I hate throwing away good plants so if you would be interested in some of these babies I would love to send you some. I don't know if they will make it or not but I figure you have nothing to lose. Just send me (my address is in my profile) an e-mail with your name and address and I will send you some babies. Obviously some in the bucket are too big to send but there are lots of little ones. Just let me know when you get them and we'll check on their progress (Let's hope there is some!). I only have babies for the white with the red center.
If you would like to join us and post what's bloomin' where you are planted just put your name and blog address on Mr Linky. Please post a link to this post so your visitors can join the fun. To take a garden tour from your computer chair, click on the names on the list below. Thanks for stopping by!

Jerzie Day

Jerzie is not feeling well today so I decided to share some pictures from my brother's anniversary party at his son's house. My nieces and nephews kids were swimming so Jerzie went in for a few minutes.

Jerzie and her cousin, Johnny and sidewalk chalk.
Jerzie slowly checking out my nieces new baby boy (a week and a half).
Closer.
Total fascination!
Now I must attend to my Grandma duties of rocking and cuddling!

Go visit Suzanne and see her wonderful "hang-ups"! She's having her monthly drawing for a free one and also a Dwipe giveaway. What's a Dwipe? Go see for yourself and enter the giveaways!

Audubon Garden Tour Planters

Audubon Garden Tour Resting Places

Anyone for a tea party?Gardeners Gather Here.Loved this barn.

This garden "shed" was featured in a Better Homes and Gardens Gardener Magazine.
The colored circles are glasses and are the same length as the logs.See the stars in the walls? The floor.
Who wouldn't love a "shed" like this!

Show and Tell

I decided that my garden hose wreath needed a little something so I added a window.
I like it much better now.

To see more Show and Tell posts go over to Kelli's House.

Audubon Garden Tour Signs

Pocahontas PlacePlant Hospital-Nursery Intensive Care
Weeds for Sale

Pick your ownOld Gardeners Never Die They Just Go To Seed
Spring you seed

Summer you weed
It's amazing that such a beautiful thing starts with just a seed.

A Butterfly

It's Bloomin' Tuesday!

I love cone flowers don't you?I especially like this color. I just got these this year at Walmart.
Looks like something got after these yellow ones.See the grass behind the white ones? I just dug it out yesterday because it was huge and I was tired of it there. I moved part of it to the other side of the house and gave the rest to the neighbor. I had to cut it apart with a tree saw.

I moved all the small bunches of colored (except the purple ones) cone flowers to where the grass was. I'm hoping they will all spread and make a colorful statement.Cone flowers are interesting at any stage.
This one is enormous!
I have tons of this color in my middle garden but their stems are green not burgundy.
The bees love cone flowers too!
Thanks for stopping by on Bloomin' Tuesday! If you would like to join the fun just put your name and address on Mr. Linky and a link to this post on your blog. To take a country wide garden tour just click on the names below.

Happy Birthday!

A special guest is here today to say

Happy Birthday Mama!You are the Best!
I love you!
Happy Birthday Tabatha!

Happy Sunday!

Thank you Perennial Garden Lover for this award! Even tho I blog for me, it's nice to know that others enjoy it.

Audubon Garden Tour Ponds