Monday's Tale of a Metamorphosis...

When I was showing some photos of the evolution of the front porch ...I did a distance shot, (below) to show you the VERY overgrown shrubbery and landscaping of the front yard. I am guessing these are all original plants from the 60's and they have done the monster expansion over the years and are now way too close...too crowded...and really there is just... TOO MUCH.


right side of the sidewalk going straight in.(there were tulips in that bed this Spring, but you could NOT even see them.



Left side of the same sidewalk. We got to feeling sorry for the mailman trying to make his way through this jungle path every day...

I have been churning plans around in my head for the right space, for a while, but  (like everyone else) we have NOT had much rain.... and when you start trying to dig up 50 year old bushes, and YOU are also in your 50's....you REALLY want to have that soil softened by some H2O to help out your poor knees...(okay...Da Man did the digging!...I pulled)

We had a storm blast through this past Friday, and I was ready to get the "removal" stage DONE!





The time was RIGHT! The tools came out. The JOB was begun...


From the porch...Look at that crowded bed...POOR strangled hostas...


Cut...Trim...STUFF in yard waste can. (thank goodness we have 2 of these). In Charlotte, you could just pile your brush at the street in neat piles...as much as you had!  Here in Cedar Rapids...only what fits in a bin will be picked up...so you have to plan the  removal part of a project so that what is dug up will NOT be more than what fits in the bins.


First one ~ OUT of THERE!! These are the purple colored spirea. They are NUMEROUS - around the ENTIRE house...somebody liked these TOO much for my taste. The remaining ones on the left side of the front will be cut WAY back this Fall.


We had a spectator who wanted to come out and watch...STAY  Gideon!!!


All three spirea out. ( Our house sits on a hill.) Now when you are down at the street level, you can actually SEE the front porch...Amazing!! That leaves the two evergreens in the back that are overlapping...


ONE of the spirea on this left side is going... and the other two will be severely cut back. (or maybe removed) This is going to be an ongoing project, I am sure... The poor hostas are crowded out. Those schrubs actually detract from the beauty of the Pee Gee when it is blooming.



GONE! Still have some thinning out and transplanting to do with the hostas that are hanging out too far on the sidewalk...Then this bed will get the new red mulch.



In the mean time...here is the transformed right side. (photographed from the porch)



I'm not sure what the purple hanging basket plants are but I hope I can keep them blooming...



The birdbath from the back yard came to the front.


There are two of these statues. I call them my Dorothy/Toto figures...I got them years ago with Mother's day $$ given to me by the four kids. LOVE them.



And I call this little dude my slinky doggie. Love him too. He's getting a little weathered! But this photo is REALLY to show you TWO TOMATO plants right there to the right....SEE THEM??? RAH! (I'll get my 'maters yet... Ganky!!) :-)

So that is what happened this weekend on Thunderbird Road... *once more,


Before


After

YAY...I can see the front porch. I am happy. And you all know me..... I am not finished...things will be moved around and maybe a couple of little tiny sparkleys or a few pretty annuals, possibly a bird feeder, or a pot added...

A HUGE thank you to DA MAN for doing the heavy work on this bed in this heat. It was not easy - but with the recent rainfall, I knew it was now or possibly wait another month for more rain...and it would be TOO hot to transplant...



HUGS to my Hard Working Guy.

So...the Exterior transforming has begun...a little bit here...a little bit there...


Do you know why I liked this piece of art placed on the front porch??...Because there is a piece of paper and a pencil in the picture...a list!...Things to do....plans, always dreaming, and thinking of pretty flowers and whimsical touches.



Like a Sentinel rooster in a window box... AND....

I shall record it here, in my e-journal blog...you know.

Thanks so much for popping in today!

It's another MERRY MONDAY...so don't forget to flash your smiles to everyone you pass...Make their day. If you NEED a smile...get outside and dig some dirt, or smell some roses or a tomato plant, or touch some veggies... that should bring a little smile.



It's the FOURTH OF JULY week...



Thanks to all of those serving here at home and abroad. I salute you.
And to JUSTIN....
We LOVE you...God BLESS you. OOO-RAH to the 1/2....Almost HALF-WAY!!!  RAH!!!!!

What You See....

This is a photo of the right side of my dresser.

What the visiting viewer might see is....

a wedding photo

a ceramic jewelry box

a bright pop of blue in a cup holding some bits and bobs

a lamp

AND your EYES would be correct. For you are seeing *visually.*

What the girl who lives here sees....is

a memory of the most special day of her life. the moment she and the one she had fallen in love with ~ committed ~ to walk the rest of their days ~ together ~ an unconditional pledge of love made - a young woman and man...in the making. vows...
30 years of sticking to it.

a beautiful ceramic rose covered dish, crafted by her mama's hands years ago - made especially for this girl's grandmama, ~ her mom's mama. "Frances". My middle name, yes...named after that special Farmer's wife grandmama. And now I have it, because when the grandmama passed on, the mama knew that this one would want it....a generation of women...continuing

a vintage teacup sporting my favorite color, but it is what the cup holds... the vintage rainbow bracelet worn by my mama, and the pearl bracelet worn by my dad's mama...that I see MORE... delicate touches of femininity that graced the wrists of women of strength who mentored me - godly beauty inside with simple touches of beauty outside.

a milkglass lamp - that sat on this same dresser many many moons ago..again, belonging to my mom's mom. She turned this lamp on in the evening to light her room as she prepared to go to bed...or maybe early in the wee hours of still darkness ~  rising before the sun rose...as a farmer's wife - to start the pot of coffee on the burner and read her bible on the kitchen table.

Yes, my EYES are also correct...with one difference...They see from the *heart*...



Even while you see reflections from the mirror and the glass...I see reflections
from my heart...memories that left "impressions" in my spirit...of women who loved the Lord, stayed true to the men they committed their lives to and served willingly, crafted things of beauty with their hands and creative flairs...and bits of sparkle and jewels worn to enhance their fairer gender. "Pops" of lovelies and color...and always - in my memory - a smile...chosen over tears...always.

What you see...is not always ALL that there is to see. :-)

a Thursday reflection seen and felt from my heart...entered into a blog journal post.

Hugs to all my dear and WONDERFUL blog-sisters spread all over these AWESOME United States.

God bless those heroes who continue to defend our days of freedom and safety both here in the homeland and abroad - far from home...


We LOVE you Justin. With GRATEFUL hearts, we MISS you...God BLESS YOU. This Marine Mama is sending a HUGE Bear Hug flying across the waves to you...

What ARE those creatures?

Good Morning... Gideon here...shhh! I'm whispering because Mom doesn't know I'm keyboarding, and I'm trying to hurry. I just needed to get on here and VENT...


But first...I thought I would post a photo of myself freshly groomed! If I have to go through all of that stress and trauma, (and wear that dumb bandanna til I get back home), then I think something beneficial should come from it... Maybe someone will see me, and I'll become a poster canine.

Now on to trifling events...

As of last Friday, some foreigners have invaded next door.


They pretty much look like THIS...I can't operate mom's camera, so I pulled this picture from the web...

Every time Kobe, Woobs, and I want to go out....sigh...THERE they are on the other side of the fence, and they start up with some kind of simulated bark...not sure what that noise is...I heard mom say "yapping". But then WE start barking, and mom gets all flustered and says something about deafening cacophony (whatever THAT means..)
but she looks something sort of like THIS...



Evidently, some family members are visiting the neighbors and brought their furkids with them...Mom always tries to find the bright side of something, and says that at least they don't LIVE there...

I think that is a good thing too, because it sure made her cranky when Kobe went to the fence and was shouting back at the funny looking foreigners and trampled her newly bloomed lillies!!!!



This Dude...



got sent to...



heh heh...he's putting on the pitiful look to try and get out sooner!! **Mom's a sucker cause it ALWAYS works...

Anyway...I'm hoping they decide to go back home soon, and I think Mom hopes they go back home in the next hour....!!!

I'll leave you with a parting shot of what my final conclusion is...I do believe I've figured out who they are...


I say Peace to you Strangers...Happy Travels back to your home land - wherever it is. Can't wait til Mom looks Normal again...

STRESS is some kind of bad sickness...I'm thinkin'!!

Well, I gotta go do what I do BEST



Happy Tuesday, and oh yes...Mom always ends with a word about our favorite Marine. We miss him a lot.


WE LOVE YOU Justin...US dogs miss you, wherever you are!! Come Home to visit soon! God BLESS you!!

signing off with this pretty cool pic I found!!!... woof!! here comes mom...BYE!

"The Correct Way"....on a MERRY MONDAY

When I was growing up...my mama taught me many things. And I do remember her sharing with me about decorating the house. Where furniture should be placed and how drapes should hang, how to set a table...what to do, and what NOT to do..



She informed me about hanging a picture on the wall, how the center of the picture should be at eye level. That was the Proper way it was placed for the best viewing. I remember thinking ~ WELL... there are short people, and there are tall people, so how did you KNOW what to do??? lol...

It was another one of those "THEY say..." rules of decorating.



When it comes to decorating YOUR nest, I say ALL rules are out the window...unless YOU made the rules. ;-) A home is an expression of you and your family. It is an extension of your personality...what is important to you...what makes you smile...what makes you remember...little threads and bits and bobs of what makes you and your family SPECIAL... and like no other.

What pleases YOU is what makes a HAPPY home. Your style doesn't have to be the  "IN style". Because WHO decides WHAT is YOUR style?? ;-)



Of course!!

If you were to pop into my nest...you would find your neck getting a workout because it would be going UPPPPPP...and DOWNNNNNN looking at what hangs on the once blank canvas of the walls.



There is a little bit of rebellious spirit in me that says ~ Art does not HAVE to hang at eye level! My mama taught me so well, and so many good things...but when it comes to the NEST....well, I want to be FREE to be ME!!! I don't think mama would take it personally...




In the short  hallway entering the master...Sweet EMMA  hangs WAY up there, above Kurt's hooks where he loves to hang his clothes - across from his closet... (That man loves his hooks!)



((Is your man like that???))


Okay...neck looking down, down, down to the floor! Sweet vintage baby print from the farmhouse my dad grew up in...Just sits perfectly on the treadle of this little table.


WAY back up to the ceiling!...this little print fits perfectly over the top of the curtains on this window in the guest room. .. a little pop of color hovering over all the white!


Now back down to the floor...(feel like a roller coaster ride yet??) loved this original beautiful canvas painted by SOMEbody... it had a little tear in it and was turned in to Salvation Army last year...I just Scotched-TAPED that tiny tear on the back and chose to let it adorn  my Entry hall - What a SHAME that so many hours went into this piece and then it was let go...(so much talent I wish I could do that!) *I was so happy to rescue it!


Going back UP again...Another favorite  hangs in the small space where the garage entry door is to the house. The calf and boy in the  barn stall just "go" with the brass horsehead coat rack. (left here by the previous homeowner)


And back down again, (our eyes are riding an elevator!)...these Pears go below chair-rail height, but rest in that spot on the long hall wall quite comfortably...


And what the heck...how about a rarely used corner spare chair as an easel?   I like it, and that is what matters.

So... Go for it!!! You are all unique gals...DO what you like, and LIKE what you do, when it comes to your lovely nests... You are one of a kind and therefore like NO ONE ELSE!! That's because GOD made you that way...SO...



NO color or style or pattern is OUT...if it is what YOU love!!



So tell me...In your nest....Are you adventurous and do you break the rules sometimes... or do you play it safe and stick closer to the "traditional"???


Would you hang art and mirrors outside??? (like this girl?????)... or not! :-)

Sending showers of hearts to all my wonderful and unique bloggy sisters...all SPECIAL!! {{{hugs}}}

It's MERRY MONDAY!!

Don't forget to smile that special smile!!!




We LOVE you Justin! God BLESS you, our cherished Marine!!!