Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Patriotic Bunting



Fabric triangles of red, white and blue.



Chained together to make a festive, patriotic bunting.



 Can hardly believe July 4th is coming in less than a week.  


I'm afraid this summer's going to fly by.





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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Our "Outdoor Room"

I've shared with you all my deck in past posts.  We just love relaxing out there.  As mentioned in last year's posts, Twilight . . . , our deck's not large or fancy, but we enjoy very, very much.  

Today I'm linking up with Kim at Savvy Southern Style for her



There are hundreds of bloggers linking up to show off their gorgeous decks, porches, patios, etc.  Some great outdoor decorating inspiration can be found at this link party.  


Welcome to our "Outdoor Room"



Walking up the steps of the deck from the yard, you first approach the "dining area".


We purchased this dining set at Lowe's last year at the end of the season at an absolutely fabulous price!  Not only was it way reduced, but because it was the last set and the floor model, we got an additional 25% knocked off.  SuWeet!!!




Tucked into a corner next to the dining area is the "lounge area".  I've taken many an quick nap on this chaise.  I will say, though, it may be time to make a new cushion for the lounge.  It's loosing a bit of it's soft comfy puffiness!


Always lots of pots and planters on the deck.  All the annuals I planted in pots are really starting to take off and show lots of nice blooms.  


This grouping of lovelies, above, is right by the door to go inside.


And above is what greets you on the left of the door as you walk inside.


I also like to keep pots of herbs on the deck for times when I'm just a little too lazy to walk out to the gardens. 


Across from the dining area, we have a little "conversation nook".  This furniture is soooo comfy.  Another great buy from Sears. 





Been contemplating painting this bakers rack to match the other furniture pieces on the deck.  I can't decide if I want to try to have it coordinate with the other pieces, or have it be more contrasting like the chaise lounge and side table.  Or maybe another color all together!  Perhaps I'll get some feedback from you all ;o)


Here's a closeup of some of the little chotchskies on this shelf.  I'm sure a lot of you recognize a few of the pieces above.


That little glass butterfly tile is one of two that came out of an outdoor candle thingy I had.  The metal  part totally rusted out, but I had to save the glass tiles.  Until I find some other way to use them, this one's resting comfortably among a few little potted plants.



Below, the chair to the left is one of the best seats of the "room" in my opinion.  


When you sit in this seat, you can peek out over our little fish pond.  We have five fish in all down there.  They're all small Koi.  Three of them are babies that we noticed at the end of the season last year.  I was hoping they would have come up closer to the surface for a photo shoot, but not today I guess.


The view below is from the deck looking out at the vege/cutting garden.  As you can see, I have a dining set out in the grass by the pond garden.  The summer sun beats on our deck in the mornings and really heats things up.  This is usually the coolest spot to sit . . . out in the grass . . . with the constant breeze blowing around the side of the house.  


Also sitting down there offers a different perspective on the gardens and yard.  You're right down there among it all.


Sitting out by the pond, you can appreciate the gardens a whole lot more. 


The section of white picket fence out there will hopefully be covered with morning glories very soon.



A blurred view of the perennial garden.


A better view of the pond garden.  Mmmm, guess I should do a better job of hiding the electrical cord that runs to the umbrella lights.  Funny the things that really stick out at you when you're taking pics.


The deck view from down at the pond.


Lastly, I'm sharing this little area located behind the garage just down the steps off the deck.  To the left of the planter there is a little potting bench that Hubby built for me.  I didn't share it in the picture this time 'cause it's a mess! 

I hope you enjoyed this tour of our little, humble outdoor space.  We've had big plans to do lots of new and exciting things out there, but as many as you can related, other things always jump in line on the to-do list.

Be sure to click on over to Kim's and enjoy all the great spaces that other Blogger's are sharing. 



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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Laundry Woes

How true is it that we really don't miss a modern convenience until we are without?  

Having to do this . . . 


. . . hang every bit of my laundry . . . 


. . . out to dry.


Was a direct result of this . . . 


. . . my only 2-1/2 year old Samsung dryer . . .


. . . down for the count.  


The culprit?  
See that box up there?  That's the heater for the dryer. 
It was done. 
Kaput
Dead

How about that? 
 Two and half years old, the most expensive dryer I've ever owned, and it's heater is done.

The repair guy said they have more problems with Samsung dryers then any.  I was, frankly, shocked.  Whenever we spend, say, more than a hundred bucks for something, Hubby is very, very good about doing his research on that product.  

He researched for months on the best washer and dryer ~ that we could afford ~ so much that I was begging him to make a decision. He found nothing but good reviews on the Samsung.  Maybe the units are too new to have bad reviews popping up just yet.  Don't know.  But we thought we were making a good decision.  

All I can say is I'm glad we spent the $150 for the extended warranty!

Having to hang the clothes out for a week really wasn't all that bad.  It does require a bit more time for the whole laundry process when you're line-drying though.  

And, there are some things that line-dry fabulously.

Bed linens, for instance.


There's nothing like making, then climbing into a bed whose linens were line-dried.  There's that fresh, clean-air fragrance on the sheets and crispness of being wiped around out on the line.

T-shirts, gym shorts, Hubby's button-down dress shirts ~ they all do very nicely dried on the clothesline.

Not so nice on the clothesline are towels, jeans, socks.  The all become stiff and cardboard-like.  Oh, and then, of course, there's my unmentionables.  No way do they go outside on the line.  I find a private place inside for those items to dry. ;o

Growing up, my Mother used her clothesline A LOT!  Oh, we did have a dryer, but she preferred to line-dry.  She would even hang clothes on lines crisscrossing in the basement if the weather didn't allow outside line-drying. 

Having to use the clothesline all last week got me thinking of how many "pretty" clotheslines I've seen over the years.  You know, out on country drives . . . colorful clothing or bed sheets or quilts hanging on all types of clotheslines.  Or how about photographs of clotheslines in European countries?  Some of those people go to literally crazy heights to line-dry their clothes! 
 I decided to Google image clotheslines, and thought I'd share some of the cool pics I found.  

Do you ever line-dry outside?  
I guess, for me, I've realized it's not so bad when I don't have to! 















And just to make you smile . . .  :o)


How cute is that?!



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