The Dailies

No I didn't mean the "day lilies" I meant the Dailies.

The 'dailies' make or break us women..the daily, the routine, mundane, ordinary of our lives.

The dailies fill all our lives but how we choose to handle them can make or defeat...we have to find beauty in the ordinary, challenge in the mundane and pride in the routine. [jh]

The Porch Party is Here-at Gramma's House

I love so many different vines..this one is a Cypress Vine. The greenery is as delicate as  can be and the tiny red flowers are trumpet shaped and invite hummingbirds . Check by in another two weeks and the pump/mailbox should be totally swarthed in greenery.

Ready for Company

Remember I love bargains-the two rocking chairs I happened upon at a local shop [$50. ] for both, not each.  The black wicker [4 pcs total] another DOLLAR STORE bargain.  The just perfect Red Platter was a 'thank you' from a special friend here.  All the Milk Glass, the glasses, compote  pitcher on the table are all part of my collecting in southeast Texas over many years.  Do take note of the little primitive table between the rockers and the hand embroidered pillow cases just part of my vintage collection.  Perhaps the most outstanding treasure is the PRIMITIVE BENCH..at least 100 years old, from the farmhouse in Texas.

To contrast with the blue hydrangea you cannot miss the FIESTA..my collection is boh old and new Fiesta-I am not a snob about this.  If I love it, I love it - old, new or flawed.  An EBAY auction netted me the wonderful little silver coffee spoons. I love an excuse to use them.

Just Waiting For You To Stop By

                                                                         Ready for Staging

Have a Seat-Let's Talk!

Come Join Me-Let's Visit

This is NOT a porch 'wannabee'..[quoting TH ]

There really is room to sit and rock with a drink or a book When the settee & chairs are filled  the benches  will accommodate additional visitors.

Great Spot for Visiting Over A Glass of Cold Lemonade-Be Sure to Turn On That Ceiling Fan

 

 

Did I tell you about that table yet?  It was the very last find from my favorite antique shop in Texas before we moved.  It must weigh at least 250 lbs..no kidding! It came from one of those wonderful old drug stores ..in East Texas.. There are two chairs that came with it. This ice cream parlor table and chairs is usually on our small but perfect  screened in porch.

 

 

Great Spot for  A Glass of Cold Lemonade

You Guessed It..I Am A Collector

 

 

 

 

Looks Like We Are Ready for Company

A Vintage Linen  Flea Market find

Black Wall Basket beside the front door

Holds Cuttings of Whatever is in Bloom

Ready For A Cold Lemonade?

 

 

 I'm showing off my very old  quilt-perhaps I should  spread it out for you to see.

The  wonderful Primitive Bench I salvaged from our years on the farm in Southeast Texas. 

The benches  have  a place of honor year round on our Harrison House front porch.

Coffee or Tea?

 

 

I hope you can see the little table-primitive-the top made from salvaged 12" wide pine boards.

I do love my [all colors] yellow Fiesta and the oh so fancy little coffee spoons I found on

www.ebay.com

 

My Fiestaware collection consists of both old and new-love both.

The almost table cloth is just a little piece of old linen -a flea market find.

Did you notice the repeat of Milk Glass pieces [ Pitcher & Compote] filled with fresh

Butterfly Flowers & Hydrangeas? The Pitcher & lemonade glasses are part of a set..

Yarden Notes -Early Spring and Beyond

[March notes]The Sunny South it is! A little reading, a little weeding, a little pruning , raking up the piles for Ted to retrieve and guess what...haven't scratched the surface Soooooooo much yard work to do but its really worth it when evrything is green and blooming-Right now it's the BRIDAL WREATH in bloom that takes my breath away-OMY
[early June notes] Coffee on the front porch mulling over what's on my agenda today..had a conference regarding what needs to be moved to where and what needs to be pruned from ground up or from inside outward.  mmm think I need to get busy. I transplanted a little cypress vine that had invited itself into a huge pot- moved it to a perfect planter that hangs on the porch railing under the no pane window.  Perrrrrrrrrfect ..in a couple of weeks.  Cucumbers needed gathering and ended up making just the right amount for Ted's first batch of sweet pickles-couldn't resist pulling huge masses of WEEDS -too many weeds too few onions..some of the onions  accidentally went into the compost pile.. so rewarding...making room for more weeds,right?  I knew those clippers were there for a reason..meant to gather more lavender in bloom...the Lavender always reminds me of my Blogger friend in Texas, Revee who's daughters gather the lavender every year and tie into wonderful little posies then hang on the door of their neighbors -PRICELESS.
Did I mention FOUR O'CLOCKS are now in bloom? AND I just spotted this morning..some purple hyacinth bean vine popping up. Did I also mention: I LOVE VINES,especially blooming vines!

A Treasure is a Treasure

[Buffalo 9808c]  Twenty dollars in my pocket and I find a small $1.00 treasure and I walk out thrilled with my find and change to spare.  It just doesn't take much to make me happy!

Those Special Days

When you don't have parents and grandparents anymore-what do you do on Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter and Christmas?

I am sure It can be so inconvenient for young and somewhat young families to have to give up a day  to visit 'the folks.'

As an adult I never had the option of visiting my parents on those special days or any other days. I can literally count the  times I saw my parents after I married.  They didn't live long lives -Daddy died 10 years after I married and Mama four years later.  With so many miles between us we still wouldn't have been able to visit much if they had lived longer.

Parents and Grandparents don't really want the children and grands to visit on those special days. We  want them to visit because they want to spend time with us..not on  holidays because that's what they are supposed to do...

Our children are all approaching the mid century mark..50 years old.  I recall at that point [when we moved to the farm in Newton] it seemed we had so much time and we could do just about anything we wanted to at that point..Things change so fast.

What do you do on those designated days when there's no one to spend it with.. Ans.> you sit and swing or rock or read, piddle in the yard and as the hours tick away late afternoon you think of an excuse to drive around maybe out in the countryside..just somewhere then back home you are glad the day is over..it's not the end of the world, it's just a day!

 

And you tell yourself and anyone who might ask that it really is no big deal...just a day.

I Win

I win the prize-if there is one offered. The prize is for finding THE bargain of the entire month. Today as we left Maxwell Air Force base in Montgomery we paused to stick our heads in a too small, too full, too smelly little shop.

 

 

That's where I found my [1985]  LONGABERGER BASKET for 25 CENTS!

Yes, it's small but remember, I told you  a 'find'  is no less a treasure because it's  small.

I Am Thankful

I just saw something on  http://rhondisrosecoloredglasses.blogspot.com/  about Thankful Thursdays~someone had a good idea.
We could have Thrifty Tuesday, Frivillous Fridays, Weeding Wednesdays, Silly Saturdays,Super Sundays..on and on but Today is Thursday..so why not be Thankful?

I am thankful for:

1. Freedom, more and more each day
2. Plenty.. we have such "plenty" ..the same as 'bountiful living'
3. Creation...the beauty that surrounds us
4. My Faith;..my God
5. My Family..those born into our family and those married into it
6. Flowers- wild flowers, fresh flowers, dried flowers, weed flowers
7. My front porch,deck and porch fans in the summertime
8. Neighbors.. a neighbor friend to water everything when we are away
9. For Children who's lives honor the God we serve
10. For Life itself-but especially for SALVATION

My Little "Yarden" Journal~ Chiggers & Pine Straw

The sound of doves around the neighborhood, hey there's a little squirrel..no it's two there's another running along the top of the fence..birds chirping away, red birds all over.  The Rabbit Family usually shows up late afternoon or early evening & lately have not been readily scared away by our presence out in the garden area. You can have the cats- I would rather have the birds and an ocassional Rabbit!

Green tomatoes..it wont be long until they'll become 'fried green tomatoes." There's a few tiny, tiny peaches on that new tree..and look over there to the side of the yard at the wonderful gourd vines  reaching for the sky it seems! 

The four O'clocks are slow to show up but look at them now ~ nearly two feet tall and the cypress vine while it's not yet vining the ever so tiny little sprigs are beginning to cover the ground all around each arbor where they are planted..it takes a while to get the incredible beauty and cover but it's "a show worth waiting for."  There's a small picture of one arbor covered with cypress vines from last year on this page to the right of my posts.  They definitely are a double treat- one for us and also for the hummingbirds..they are attracted to the teeny, tiny red trumpet shaped blooms.

I am still looking for  bachelor buttons peeping through the soil..have cut all available roses & hope I did it right this time so they will all bloom and the long stemmed will actually have long stems..slow learner with the roses but I think we have it now.

The hydrangeas  look promising so far-Whoppee!

After bragging about not attracting 'chiggers' out doors...didn't think about their being in the pine straw we used in the flower beds.  I had fun yesterday getting down on my knees pulling weeds in the beds . Guess what? Chiggers.

Bargain Hunting

 I confess an addiction to finding "steals" at  flea markets.   I can sometimes just slow down as we pass a place and tell you if its worth my time to stop and shop.

On days when no one is in a hurry  I will risk stopping by what I already deem to be a lost cause.  Really junky places are where we often find great buys..if you know the merchandise.

[ Picture: Pop found a good book store in DeFuniak Springs-this amazing little sit down spot was wedged in between two shop buildings-great way to use space!]

 I  try to settle on a treasure that will fit in one hand...small treasures.  A  McCoy treasure is still a treasure no matter what  size bag it fits in.  I often play a little 'guess the price' game with myself-guessing the price before I turn the tag over..am amazed how often I am right on target.  It doesn't take much to entertain me! :^)

I learned a long time ago  to be willing to 'walk away" if  I can't get the right price.  Unless an item is dirt cheap or a for real 'steal', I don't have a problem asking for a better price. It never hurts to ask.  Then you have this conversation with yourself that goes like this : "Self, How badly do you want this? How much are you willing to pay, max? Will there ever be another one down the road?

Before shopping I take a few minutes to remind myself of things I have been looking for..maybe a long time. It's fresh on my mind as I shop.   I have this  down to a science...the things I like are so familiar   I can  get in and out quickly. Why  linger when there's another great place down the road.  You'll need time to browse there.

If your husband detests this kind of shopping it really helps if you  spot things that interest him...not a problem here.  My husband has tagged along with me so long that he's as interested in the treasure hunt as I am..he even looks for books-he's an avid reader.

Pretties and Good Dishes

Are for using.  Yes we usually say they are for special occasions. What or Who could be more special than your family and friends?  Who is more special than a husband?
I so enjoy using pretty dishes, even silver for an ordinary meal ..just because.

Fine Dining - That's What This Is

What a way to wind up the day..hubby grills the best burgers & invites a neighbor. I chop potatoes and onions into a pan with some seasoning for 20 minutes. 

We throw a tablecloth on a table on the deck, use colorful real dishes and turn on the overhead fan. Fresh flowers- hydrangeas in bloom-nearby.

Background music:

ALL THE BIRDS IN THE TREES -

is this FINE DINING OR WHAT??

I Think This is Really Me

I totally love, adore and admire the incredible talent and creativity I see in so many of the bog sites I visit.  The professionalism and mastery of this technology continue to challenge and excite me.  I am always saying; "How did she do that?" and "I have to learn to do that with my photos!"  I listen to the background music, examine the photo collages and the too, too perfect little romantic scenes and also the naturally occuring scenes in homes and gardens and my senses are overwhelmed with the beauty.

Yes, I often browse  and admire with the goal of making my blogs as wonderful as these.

Then as I move about my own page I am remnded that "This is me!"  This is my creativity, my flowers, my decor.

 Please enoy.. I hope you will in some ways be challenged and excited by my wonderful  surroundings and even by some of the whimsical, random or insightful posts that you stop to read now and then..Ya'll Come Again and enjoy our SOUTHERN LIVING thing!