WooHoo!

 Wow!! What a weekend I had and to say that a LOT got accomplished would be a total UNDER statement! My brother and sister-in-law came down and wanted to know what was on my "to-do" list. They do this often to help me with the things that would need a bit more strength than I have and more than my two hands. Some of the things on my list required more technical knowledge than I have and they're good at that and others were things that a handyman was supposed to be here to do-more than six weeks ago and I was still waiting-and I hadn't heard another word! 

Everyone who knows me knows that I am very patient with some things. I am not aggressive and don't like confrontations so I will back off most times and just wait. But, there are some things that do tend to get to me and most of those things are things that I have to look at every day or, things that if they aren't addressed now will take much more to address at a later date.

And that is what lead us to our adventure. We had been talking about hiring their handyman-who WOULD show up-but, since they live an hour away, his fee would have to include travel both ways each time he came. And, that was beginning to sound good to me but we both did a bit of research. The thing that was needed first and foremost was to cut off the remaining fence structures after the removal of the lattice.

I was able to get all of the lattice off although it did not come off as easily as I had expected. I loved the lattice there and the fact that the fence was 8' high but, after so many years, the lattice was becoming a constant source of need for repair and, because of the way it was constructed, there were many more steps involved than just pulling it off and nailing on new. After the fence blew down and so much of the lattice and structure was destroyed, I made the decision to take it off and just go with a 6' fence. But, the 2X4 supports were up there to stay! That fence was worth every penny we spent having it built because it was built to stay and there was NO WAY I could get those things down by myself.

After careful consideration, we headed to Lowes. Since I already have 2 DeWalt batteries and a charger, it seemed like a no-brainer to pick up a reciprocating saw (which was on sale for Father's Day) and have at it ourselves. Would I have rather paid someone else to do it? Maybe. It was definitely a chore and the battery only held a charge long enough to cut two 4X4s at a time but, everything from the gate north is done, I now own a saw that I will use for many other things and, we had some laughs along the way.

My brother and sister-in-law are my heroes! They did it all with me mostly just giving encouragement and picking up the pieces as we went. Luckily, we are able to get behind the fence so that made it just a slight bit easier. They also helped me add an extra piece to the new gate to fill in a HUGE gap left by the fence company.

All of the rest of the lattice going south from the gate will eventually need to be removed as well but that will be a HUGE project as most of that lattice is still pretty much intact. I think for now I will just replace a few sections of that broken farther down and address this project down the road. Most would think that having lattice stop so abruptly would bother me-even I am surprised that it doesn't but, for some reason, stopping at the gate seems to be OK with me-at least for now Lol

Even with all of the work that got done-and there was more than just this-we did get to enjoy a nice dinner out and then a movie back at home that evening.

And so, that brings me to today. My plan had been to go out behind my fence and clear a bit more of the growth encroaching on the back of the fence. I got some done yesterday afternoon and was really proud of myself until I woke up today with lots of itchy welts on my hands and arms. It is not the usual poison oak that I seem to get into but, whatever it is, is driving me crazy so I decided that I would leave that for another day. I did get some of the fence fragments in a can and out for pick-up tomorrow as well as four cans of leaves and trimmings and now I am DONE outside for today. And again, that brings me here.

I thought I would finish up the 4th tour because I think I have found my craft inspiration for the next few weeks. My brother and sister-in-law brought me some more of those fancy frames from $Tree so I think I am going to try to get all of the rest of my hangers made for the holidays yet to come.

On to the the guest bath.

And the nod in the primary bath.

So that is it for 4th of July 2025. I'm already over the red, white and blue so I was tempted to make this swap a bit early but, it looks like I might be having some company for a few days over the holiday and we will be celebrating in some way-possibly at my house-so, I guess I will wait until they leave on the 5th. You'll be the first to know. Lol

My grand daughter is driving up my grand dog tomorrow and he will be here with me for awhile. He is easy to take care of but having a dog here 24/7 does change my routine a bit so I'm not totally sure what the next few weeks will bring but I'll be sure to let you know. Stay safe and stay tuned.

It's All About Family!

 It is another scorcher here today but, thankfully, we are expecting some rain relief this afternoon...fingers crossed that happens. While I'm still inside, why don't we head into the family room?

I'm still loving the Statue of Liberty watercolor that I did a few years back. I saw the inspiration on Pinterest but, since I am in no way proficient in watercolor, I kind of cheated. Well, I kind of HAD to cheat because I really had no idea how to achieve this picture by just painting. I found a Statue of Liberty image, sized it and printed it out. Then I cut it out of clear Contact paper and put it down on my water color  paper. Here you can see my inspiration and the size of the statue image that I used.

I then just kind of "dropped" red and blue watercolor paint around and over the "mask". I also hit it up with drops of water. Once it dried, I peeled off the Contact paper and I had this.

The shelves got changed a bit as I added some things from other areas and one of my new blue Luminara candles and the Lady Liberty image that I zhuzhed up and framed.

I really struggled with the mantle this year. I so wanted to keep the greenery garland that was there but I also wanted the glow of the lights and these red, white and blue lights just fought with the green. In the end, I went back to my old tried and true which is two pip berry garlands with the strands of light mixed in. It gets harder and harder to work with those pip berries and tangle of light wires every year and it is truly just hanging on by a thread so next year I will either have to do a major "remake" of those garlands or give up the star lights...we shall see.

I still love my Uncle Sam that I got in my favorite shop in Micanopy (on the right along with his "brother" who is in the living room) and the other one that I made from a spindle from Lowes (along with his "brother" who is also in the living room).

I must admit that I am still not a big fan of the primitive Uncle Sam "doll" that I made last year. If I remember correctly, I wanted something to do that would take awhile and I saw so many primitive Uncle Sams on posts that I thought I would give it a try. I didn't have a pattern so making one-which is definitely NOT my forte-and then making the doll and the clothes did take awhile and kept my busy for sure but, I am just not a fan.

I will say that I post my monthly decor on a craft website and this guy gets so many "likes" and comments that I guess maybe I am in the minority-or, there are just a lot of doll lovers out there. Lol I DO like the box that I made that he is sitting on though.

This wreath that daughter #3 made me many years ago also gets lots of likes and comments. It makes me sad to think that those sweet little hand prints now belong to a junior at the Coast Guard Academy and a junior and senior in high school! Where do the years go?

So that is the family room for this year. I'll have to remember to take a picture when it gets dark and the room is just lit with the lights on the mantle and the candles. It is so pretty and relaxing. I'll need that to remind myself how pretty and peaceful it is when I am struggling with those pip berry garlands again next year. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.

On We Go!

 Why don't we head into the dining room today? There are a few little changes in here...nothing earth shattering but changes needed because other things got moved to make room for new things in other places around the house. I really don't need to keep making new things because I have more than enough but, I get bored with what I have and how I have it arranged and, I just love to craft. It is my favorite thing to keep me busy. That being said, I am searching hard for new "sunflower" ideas but they are few and far between. Maybe I'm the only one who uses them as a theme for my whole house?! Lol

I like the new blue with stars table runner that I picked up at HL but it wasn't really long enough to use on this table so I laid it over the striped one that I had and I really like it here. I like the way it now leads your eye up to the large serving dish that I have in the niche. 

Again, this area is so hard for me to decorate. I added the drum to the lower shelf last year when I made it and I liked that there but, before I did that I had one of those stars in front of the dish. I needed somewhere for the new picture I got in HL and tried it with the one star and it just wasn't symmetrical enough for me. And so, I grabbed a second star that I had been using in the guest bath and brought it out here. Am I 100% in love with this? NO. But, it is what it is until I come up with a better idea. Lol I will say, I like that picture from HL. It reminds me of summer beach homes in New England and is just so pretty and peaceful a scene. 

This "dummy board" wreath that I made looks better here than it did in the living room because it lies flatter against this mirror and you don't see quite as much of the back reflecting.

I needed something to put into the basket on the lower shelf here and I thought I could find a 4th of July "throw" somewhere but none was to be found in the stores where I was so I grabbed the pillows from the sunroom and put them here with that print that got displaced from the living room. Again, not ideal but I'm learning to like it.

That new shelf in the living room has been what has really made me change my game because it needs "something" of some size hanging below it and I have had to borrow from lots of other places to do that unless I buy something new and I can't always find what I need. I have already been looking for something the right size for my sunflower theme and so far, no luck so I am thinking about bringing back the picture I used for St. Patrick's Day. I liked it because it didn't slap you in the face with shamrocks, leprechauns, etc. but "read" the right colors. I'm even thinking I might change the color of a few of the flowers to read a bit more "sunflowery"...we shall see.

Well, that didn't take long. I grabbed some lunch and then this happened-we went from this:

To this:

I didn't make them look more like sunflowers because I still want to use this for St. Patrick's Day but, if I should happen to find one I like better for then, I can easily come back and add some brown centers and we'll be good. I mostly painted over the flowers that read as somewhat pink. I left the one large orange flower again because it reads better for St Pat's. I used a paint color called sunbeam which actually looks much closer to sunflower color in real life than it does in this photo. I may not be finished yet but I am closer than I was this morning-lol-and I know I can at least have something to fill that void on the living room wall when I make the next swap.

So that is it for today. I have a few small things to tackle outside but it is HOT out there so they will not take long! Stay safe and stay tuned.

I remembered to get a picture of the new solar lights and they really do make this side of the back yard look so pretty. Definitely wish I had bought more!

Up Next!

 I spent most of yesterday outside catching all kinds of necessary chores. Most of them are the kinds of things that nobody else will notice but me but I got a lot of trimming and patching done and it makes me feel good.

 I also put out a new set of solar lights that I got for a "steal" at Target and actually thought I would use them out front instead of the ones that I have there. I actually like the style of these a little better but I tried one in the front and decided against that. I have pushed the ones out front more down into the ground so the stake is not as long and I like that there. I could not have done that with the new ones so they are now going up the steps to the pool and around the terraced garden by the pool. And, as it worked out, since these are right up against the scroll border fence of the garden, they actually need the height of the stake.

Now that we have had a bit of rain the flowers are beginning to come back and fill in a bit. I am hoping that it won't be long until this whole garden is covered in color!

I forgot to take a picture of the lights lit up last night but it looks really nice. I'm thinking I could probably even use another box but guessing that they might be sold out by now because they were a really good price-even less than Walmart!

Since much of what I did yesterday involved LOTS of up and down on the ladder, I decided to do things today to keep my feet on the ground-so here I am. Thought we could head into the kitchen before I look for another "grounded" project.

It's hard to tell in this picture but this is after I stained the flags...

...and this is before. I like them better now that they aren't SO white.

So that is the kitchen for this year. I didn't change up a lot in this room...I guess I like it as it is. Lol

I'm heading out to break up some of the old lattice that I took off of the top of the fence so I can get it ready for trash day. Then, I think I will give myself some time this afternoon to rest and gear up for a new week. Stay safe and stay tuned.