Days On The Lake

Here is my new summer schedule;  if it's nice and warm I work outside, if it's raining I work inside.  Today is an inside day.  It's only 59 degrees and pouring.  At 7:00 this morning, though, it was warm and dry and I started a morning walk routine with a neighbor friend.  We walked for an hour at a pretty good pace and a lot of hills. We're going to try to do this every morning.  It felt good and to do it that early doesn't make it seem like it's interrupting my day at all.

I was able to work outside yesterday afternoon.  I've been trimming these darn cotton easters (that's what I'm told by a neighbor that they are) and they are a pain to take care of and keep looking nice and neat.  I'm giving them a real good haircut to clean up all the weeds and dead limbs.  These bushes line our driveway in the front of the house and they can grow wild real fast if you just let them go.

 I'm half tempted to have them all torn out and just plant more grass.  I'm sure, though, once I get them all neatened up again I'll be satisfied with them.  In the fall they get red berries on them and actually can be very pretty. I wanted to get more work done on these today, but that's not going to happen.

I wasn't able to get much of anything done over the weekend because my three little mini storms, named Logan, Landen, and Leanna were here.  We actually had Leanna since Thursday night.  We brought her home with us after going to Landen's pre-school graduation.

He had a cute little ceremony, complete with lunch for parents and grandparents.  Landen was so excited to have us there and all his little friends were glad to meet Landen's "Bobby".  That's what Landen calls his grandpa and since he considers "his Bobby" to be his best friend he talks about him all the time.  By the end of graduation all the little graduates were calling him "Bobby" too.  So cute!!  Bobby also got a kick out of it.

So Leanna came home with us since it was going to be DIL's Air Force Reserve weekend.  Little Miss Leanna just keeps getting cuter and cuter and is just the best baby.  Hubby and I kept commenting all weekend about how much her looks are reminding us so much of her daddy as a baby!  Just so amazing how that works!

On Saturday, Austin came up with the two boys and then he left for a bachelor party of a good friend.  The boys swam in the lake and went out in the kayak with "their Bobby" for the first time this season.  They loved it.  They feel like such big boys in the water now since they've been taking swim lessons at the Y.

It was great to see the kids, but as usual after they are here for a few days, I was exhausted by the time they left on Sunday afternoon.

Dad's boat was delivered to our dock on Sunday afternoon.  Since last night was such a warm and beautiful  evening Mom and Dad came over and we took a little "wine sunset cruise".

Pulling away from the dock

View of the back of our house

headed down the lake

Sun setting on the way back

Sun behind the trees

Now I'm relaxed and refreshed and ready for the next day.

Spring to Summer in One Week

Well, I can't believe a week has gone by since I last wrote.  I hate when that happens!  In that week we've gone straight from a few days of Spring right into the hot and humid days of a Northeast summer!  I'm not complaining!  I'm just sayin'!  This is the weather I love.  It's been about 75 degrees first thing in the morning, which makes it so nice to sit out on the deck early in the morning drinking my first cup of coffee.

This is where I sit. My color scheme on my deck, obviously, is red, yellow and black 

This is my view

 I can also tell summer is here because my "rockin pneumonia and boogy woogy flu" has now made way for allergies, complete with sneezing, itchy eyes, stuffy nose and headache.  Oh well - just taking different pills!

Last Memorial weekend was just beautiful!  Hubby (unwillingly) helped me work outside for the weekend to get the yard and gardens in order.  And when I say help, that's what I mean.  He'll do what I ask, but with a little growl! He would never think of what needs done on his own.   Why does he think this is unnecessary work?  Being the organized person I am, I knew with our schedule that we had to get as much done last weekend as we could.  Every weekend up until the 4th of July is booked.  Then the weekend of the 4th we're having a party.  Planning ahead and scheduling is the only way to do all this.  I would prefer to not be quite so busy myself, but that's just the way our life is right now.

I still have quite a bit to do, but I feel much better with this good start.  More flowers will be added, weeds will continually be pulled, and a few more old leaves and sticks need to be picked up.
My little garden in front of and under my deck is coming along.

This garden is mostly white, pink, and some purple.  The green bench back against the wall is going to be painted white.  The purple cat nip is now blooming, along with the chives and some lavender.  My pink roses  and the other pink flowers haven't bloomed yet.  I'm no master gardener and there is a lot of trial and error, but I keep at it every year.  We have such a huge deer population so I need to plant deer resistant perennials. Then just when you think you've only planted what the deer don't like, they come along and eat it!  I have to keep all (or most) annuals up on the top deck or hanging high enough so deer can't get to it.
These "angel wing begonias" I just found at the farm market.  I've never seen them before.

The impatient I just got today.

Then I found this cute little wall hanging at JoAnn's at 50% off today.

My perennial garden beside my shed always looks a little wild.  But I kind of like it like that.  Deer can really flock to this place in the middle of the night, so it's very difficult to grow.

Not too much is blooming here yet.  The purple ajuga ground cover has bloomed and is now about ready to be cut down.  The purple irises are just now blooming.

 I have butterfly bushes that are coming up but won't bloom for a while.  Out growing season comes late and doesn't last long.  The chiminea we had for years on our deck, but after so many years it started to disintegrate, so Hubby stuck it in the garden.  I kind of like it there.  I'll stick some flowers in it later.

My seating area by the lake still needs cleaned up, but I at least got the furniture cleaned off from winter grime.  Fresh coats of pink and blue paint have been applied where needed.  Pink and blue is my color scheme for this area.

I had this old bird cage that was getting very rusty, so I decided to just paint it pink, too.

I love this sitting area in the evening with a glass of wine and when the kids are here we'll roast marchmallows and make smores.  They'll be here Saturday night, so that's exactly what's on the schedule as long as it doesn't rain!

Linking to Cindy's Show and Tell Friday 
and Alison's Fridays Unfolded

Landscaping, Gardening and Outside Decorating

The weather continues to be beautiful in Western Pennsylvania.  Except for a few pop up snow flurries and very cool at night, the sun has been shining on us much earlier this season than in years past.  I'm taking full advantage of this and working outside as much as I can.  It's not only great exercise but I love the results.  I love to look out the window and see flowers on the deck or drive up to the house and have everything look neat and manicured.  I know, a little OCD, I admit.  But it makes me feel good. 
If you read my post from about a week or so ago, you know that I kind of goofed up on how much mulch to order.  Well, my neighbor offered to take his pick up truck and go to the stone and mulch yard and picked me up another scoop or so of the red mulch.  Free delivery this time.  I have the best neighbors.  Both neighbors on either side of me are retired and they work outside all day long.  The truth is, they are more OCD than me.  So I think they are willing to help me out with things because they don't want  the house next to their perfectly manicured yards to look like crap.  Whatever the reason makes no difference to me.  I appreciate their work and their help.
So here's the finished result of the mulch debacle.

And notice the beautiful rhododendrun in full bloom.

Everything's blooming and the grass is so green.

I shoveled and raked 'til I had blisters, a sore shoulder and my back hurt so bad I could hardly stand up, but it was worth it.

Now that the front of the house is done, I'm working my way down back.  Starting with the back deck.  I started it a few weeks ago with my red grill, cushions and painting the chairs.
(See April 9 post).  Now I've added a red fountain that I saw at K-Mart.

It looks like a cracked Tuscan like barrel.

Added the red geraniums on the wall and above the door. These are fake.  From Jo-Ann's.  Sometimes the fake stuff just works better.  It always looks good and requires no watering and trimming and they don't die.

Got the hummingbird feeder from Wal-Mart.  Planted yellow dalias and red dianthus in the window boxes.  They show up prettier in person and they should fill in.  These are real.  From Lowe's

Filled these porch boxes with yellow dalias and red gerber daisies.  Mom found me this darling rooster pillow at Lowe's.  The perfect colors and maintains my rooster theme.

I had this garden stool and thought it went pretty well with my red, gold and green color scheme.  But if you can notice, the flowers were an orange and not really red.  This bothered me so much, even though everyone told me it was close enough.  I just couldn't get past it.  So I got out my red paint and a little paintbrush and painted each orange flower red.

Isn't that better?  Believe me, in person it's much more noticeable.  Really, it is.  I'm happy with it now.

Then finally, here's the latest addition I just worked on today after a Big Lots trip.  The plaque on the wall, the plant stand and the watering can all from Big Lots.  I had the pots and filled them with red gerber daisies (real) and the rooster had been in my kitchen.

Now I'll be moving on to my sitting area and little garden under the deck and the garden beside the shed.

More to come -----