Blue Monday 5/18

Happy blue Monday! Sally @ Smiling Sally is our ever gracious hostess with the mostest. Be sure to pay her a visit and see who else is bee bopping in blue today.

I'm sharing some old favorites...

My mailbox

Blue, blue and more blue...

Momma's old blue Fireking bowl

A serving bowl from my dinner ware set...

Afternoon sun shining on the Pacific...

Thanks for stopping by and paying a visit. Be sure to let me know you were here! I hope the rest of your day is GREAT!

Cooling off

We're still busy cleaning and trying to get ready for the big party next week. In case you forgot or don't know, we're throwing an "80th" surprise birthday party here at my hone, for my Papa ;0) This past fall/winter we really let the yard "go" and the patio was more of a storage place. We've been spending lots of time on both. Cleaning, landscaping, refreshing and getting it as prepared as we can for next Saturday. Yesterday, after lots of cleaning, weeding and watering we decided to take a little break and cool off. While my hubby and I sat and enjoyed some cool drinks, my youngest fellow enjoyed running in the sprinkler. It was over 90 degrees yesterday! He had a great time as you can tell by his laughing as he got sprayed with the sprinkler. Sorry for the quality. I took this with my iPhone.

P.S. He is standing in front of the area we had leveled and patched in. Can you believe how fast the grass has grown in and how green it's getting? Just for the record. Normally I don't water this often and we conserve, however when you do landscaping and lawnscaping, you have to water so it will "grab" and survive. After the party we will go back to our regular schedule of watering two days a week, 15 mins on each side. I also want to say I know I've been MIA but after the party, things should get back to normal. I miss you all!

Outdoor Wednesday-Still working in the yard,..We're progressing!

This is my very first "Outdoor Wednesday".
Since this started out to be an update on my yard progress, I thought it would fit right in with "Outdoor Wednesday" which is hosted by Susan @ The Southern Daydreamer. Be sure to pay her a visit and see who else is sharing the great outdoors.

Yard work is hard work! Pfew!
As you can see the trees are doing very well and adding the geraniums/flowers at the base really seem to dress the trees up. A few reasons why I chose geraniums...1. They are hardy 2. They bush up and the blooms are colorful and 3. Most importantly...I don't kill them :0)

(click on any picture to enlarge)

From left to right,
trees 1,2,3,4
There's a tree wayyy in the corner
behind the swing set.

Tree #5 located in the northwest
corner of our yard.
I'm still thinking about
what I want to put
in the very corner...

Don't they look so pretty
standing so straight
and tall?

I want in on the action!
Take my picture too!
Right here next to this Gardenia...

Remember how we had the yard leveled out? Well we had them use our existing
grass. They had to cut it out and pick it up. After they leveled out the ground, they
patched in the grass. This was done last week. Can you see how much
new growth we're getting now? It's really coming along! Yahoo!

Woof! Woof!
Let's run, play
and
fetch our toys!

Cookie-I got my ball!!!
Daisy- I got my squeaky barbell!

Now it's time to move into the patio...

Happy Birthday to me!

Wahoo, it's my birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday dear
mmmeeeeeeee,
Happy Birthday to me!No big plans

except to enjoy my special day :0)
Hope you all
enjoy your day too!!!

Working in our backyard...

Hey everybody! I've been a bit busy so I haven't posted much and I haven't been able to get to blogs like I'd like. We have been working in our backyard and patio area. It's been a long time since we gave it a good cleaning and the only landscaping we had back there was wall to wall grass. Literally. We have block walls that surround our property and with dogs and little kids I never thought it was a good idea to do any kind of landscaping until they got older (both the kids and dogs). Well, about two weeks ago we decided we were going to throw an 80th surprise bday party for my father and have it here. Well, since then we've been working, working, working and we've still got a long way to go. We planted some queen palms, filled in holes and topped with grass. We've got gardeners coming out tomorrow to level out the right half of our yard. According to the previous owners there used to be an above ground pool that stood there and it compacted the ground and made it very uneven. See where the slide is, you can just make out the "dip".
Here are some "before" shots...

Before...
north & west walls

north wall

West wall...

South & west walls
The first palm dear hubby planted...

Here's what we've done so far. You can see we moved the swing set to the south side of the yard. That swing set really keeps my youngest guys busy! I know it's not an "in your face" transformation, but keep in mind we've have TONS more to do. I'm going to be planting some geraniums at the base of each tree for some added color. Being that we are closely monitored when it comes to our water consumption, and can only water our lawns two days out of the week, our grass isn't nearly as nice/green as we used to have it.

Don't they seem to be asking
"What's going on?
What are you doing to our yard?"

We also had to wait for this little family to "fly" before we could begin work on our patio. This weekend we'll be power washing the patio cover & patio. Yay! Yes, that is a retro/vintage patio cover you see. My house was built in the early 50s and this patio cover "fits" with the age of my home. I go back and forth on whether or not I'd like to replace it, but the old aluminum just seems to belong here...Am I weird?

My very first "Flaunt your RED Friday"...

Hey There! Today is my first ever participation in "Flaunt your Red Friday" which is hosted by the Southern Lady herself, Nancy. Being that red is one of my very favorite colors and a color that I use rather generously in my own decorating, I knew that "flaunting my red" would be fun! Be sure to stop by the Southern Lady and see who else is flaunting their reds.

Pencil holder that sits
on my computer armoire
Aren't those little red cherries cute?

I love my
red shuttered doors!
(okay so I forgot to close the cabinet and the bread box, oy!)

Yes, as a matter of fact,
those are spoon pulls :0)
Do you like my oh so "subtle" message? LOL!
How can you not? It's in our beloved red!

Artwork on a red & cream background
& a yummy red"macintosh apple" scented candle...

The other side of my galley style kitchen.
Red scrapbook paper and red "pops"
help to keep this kitchen
a cheery place...

I got this three tier plate holder
a few years back when
it was on clearance.
Originally it was gold
and that just didn't work for me.
I spray painted it black,
added three "red" plates
and
voila!
A look I truly love...

Can there be anything more wonderful then vintage Pyrex?

Of course there can!
RED VINTAGE PYREX...
(made even more special because it belonged to my momma)

Remember those red shuttered doors? Behind them holds this little surprise. My laundry room...all decked out in, what else? Red accents!

My cozy living and dining areas. And of course you knew
it would be accented (heavily) in reds.
This area makes me feel happy and energized.
There is so much natural light that spills through these windows
and being that I'm "sunshine powered",
I truly appreciate this daily "gift".
Here I'm able to combine my love of red, yellow, sage and Waverly fabrics :0)
Yes! That is, in fact,
a genuine, vintage Coca Cola ice chest.
It's great storage space.
(this pic was taken during Autumn, thus the Autumn touches)
Egads! Dust!
blush :p

My dining area.
Red, red and more red.
Need I say more?

Thank you so much for stopping by and spending some time here at my cozy little home. I hope you'll let me know you were here and I hope the rest of your day is GREAT!!!

Kreative Blogger Award

Hey all!
I just got this award from Jane @ Blondie's Journal. She is being oh so kind and giving little ol' me this award. Pay her a visit and you'll see why I like her and her blog so much. She's the greatest! THANKS JANE!!!

Per her instructions I'm supposed to list seven things that I love. Since the love of my family is obvious, I'm not going to put that down :0)


1. Rainy Days
2. Watching dogs play
3. Vintage tablecloths
4. Old houses
5. The way my hubby smells
6. quiet mornings
7. a good ghost story

Now you know a little more about me and I'll bet it's not to suprising :0). Please, feel free to take this award and wear it with pride. If you post the seven things you love, please let me know as I'd love to read about it!