Home Sweet Home - Fixing Up

  It's nearly 100 degrees and humid to boot! Jeff Beaty is out in it - scraping down the porch and painting more of the railings. The long porch was added on after Bill passed away about 14 years ago. Jeff also goes around and patches things up - peeling hall and kitchen ceilings, nailing together and old wooden bench out by the front door left by the former owner nearly 40 years ago, and restoring the huge picnc table - which seats 10 people when I have a picnic here.

  I was able to "forward" a lot of paint supplies on to Jeff, too. I won't be doing any more major projects "on my own" that require all those brushes, trays, rollers and paint. The amount of stuff that I have acquired "over the years" fills garage cupboards - top to bottom. Gradually, I am getting through it - giving it away - sharing and using, too.

  The Kharma, LLC yard guys were here last week to clear out the "jungle" - overgrown plants and bushes all around the back yard. The guys will be back to lay down pine straw mulch out front. Another job is to get up on the roof and get rid of the magnolia leaves that fill roof valley underneath the magnolia tree. Whoever planted that tree had no idea how huge it would be in 50 years! Speaking of trees, the gigantic oaks and locust trees are due for "opening" by Madison Tree Company. There is a lot of tree work to be done - crabapple trees need pruning, a huge ash tree needs to be removed and in back of the cottage there are plenty of dead limbs on the evergreens that "should go". The trees around here have been fed, pruned, nurtured and saved - a major investment - worth doing!

  I planted the moonflower plant that Gary brought into my art studio last week. I'm hoping it survives. I bought some fresh Miracle-Gro moisture-control soil and put it in a pot just for that plant. The moonflower has special meaning - it's a "family" flower that reaches back to my childhood memories and my early love for growing things.

  Out on the lower patio I'm trying my luck at growing some lavender plants again. Last year the big pot of lavender was frozen out. The summer herbs have grown and bolted. I don't use many of them - I just enjoy growing them "just in case". I may make the Walnut Pesto recipe given to me by the We're All Nuts guy at Madeira Farmer's Market - I have the walnuts, now to make the pesto!

 

I'm Here, Still Here

Contemplating "all that's going on". Here it is another Tuesday - a regular Tuesday? No, not exactly. Things are not the same as usual. Life seems more complicated. Is it from my watching too much TV or reading the blurbs that pop up on-line? Probably.

In spite of such bothering, I move forward with life - day by day - hour by hour - minute by minute. Today I am finally down here in The Cottage at the computer again - writing - observing. WGUC's classic music station booms out something modern. I look out the small window at the pine branches that nod quietly in the rays of noon sun. For awhile the window was covered with a curtain, but it's better without. Having another opportunity to connect with the real world - that of nature - is today's gift.

I saw two large yellow butterflies bouncing around the purple clustered butterfly bush. When I see small white butterflies I acknowledge Mrs. Garrison - my son's grandmother. She loved butterflies and collected many items that had a butterfly "theme".

This Tuesday the neighbor's tree stumps are being ground down into shavings. Some neighbors leave the stumps standing. Birds and squirrels hop atop the stumps to get a better view. Some stumps eventually wither and die away. In the back yard - the remaining stump of a beautiful blue spruce still holds a bit of ground that interrupts the neat strips of mowed grass.

Out by the mailbox the remaining lilies are putting out their last blossoms. We survived this year's battle with Mama Deer and her twins. I used Deer Scram, Deer Vik, This One Works and held back on the cayenne pepper and Irish Spring soap. Many beautiful iris bloomed earlier this summer, too. Now the iris leaves are turning yellow and the rhizomes are calling to be "divided". I may or may not get to this project.

For encouragement and help I visit my Facebook friends over on "Homemaker's Encouragment" where we list our "daily doings" and share our progress. By keeping in touch, I know that I've accomplished something and have given encouragement, too.

Today - I ease back from housework - because I have The Cleaning Authority team doing the jobs I could do, but choose to give myself the gift of time - time to be here to write another page for this Widder Lady blog. Onward!