Getting a Handle on Things!

 I am getting a handle on things...just in time! My spring-when I would normally be doing a lot of these things-was filled up this year with all of the graduations and sporting festivities. And so, things that I would normally have been doing in a bit cooler temperatures with helpers who would have been more available in less busy years, got put off until now. In case you didn't know, I live in Central Florida where we have normal summer weather patterns of thunderstorms almost every afternoon. This year, that was a bit slow in coming so, although we have had the HEAT, the showers have been fewer and further between. Until now. It looks like we are back on schedule so I am happy my grand children decided to do a "Nana yard day" before that happened.

As I have said, I am used to doing almost everything myself-I have always done that and enjoyed that. But, as sad as it makes me to say it, there are just some things that I can no longer do just because I don't have the strength I once had. And, honestly, with two strong grandsons who play football and lacrosse, the heavy lifting shouldn't be on my agenda any more.

And so, there appeared two days when everyone was free and they came to help me tackle some of the big things. They put in 3 new fence posts where the privacy fence was leaning a bit and helped me clear SO MUCH of the field behind my fence that always wants to invade. It is a bit of a jungle back there-especially after a long winter where no one has done any cleaning. The hardest part is getting through all of the vines that seems to connect trees that are 100' apart. We always come out of there looking like we have fought a battle-and we have!

My grand daughter joined on Tuesday and with the 4 of us at it almost the entire day, we got SO MUCH done! It always makes me feel good because the less growing behind the fence, the less that will come creeping into my yard where I will have to tackle it.

And now, they're back today to attach the fence to the now set posts and then to help me lift and level one of my concrete fountains and my concrete bench. It is amazing how they can lift those things with hardly any effort at all! Oh to be young again-lol

So now that I am feeling so ahead of the game, I thought I would show you the last of the 4th of July decor. All that is left is the guest bath and maybe a glimpse at my bathroom with just a slight nod to the day.

I love these "free" designed flags that the kids and I did a few years back. We each just let our design flow. 

Seriously, just a nod!

That is it for this year's 4th of July decor and, I haven't found anything new to make so I guess it is time to start looking forward a bit. I like to do some Halloween and Christmas crafts during the summer so I'm ahead of the game when they arrive so that is probably what I will be doing next-we'll see. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Staying Busy

So apparently all it took was the "threat" of having to raise my Cox WiFi bill to get me motivated...at least more than I have been of late with the heat we've been having. I am doing everything in my power to find chores that don't include WiFi use. As I posted previously, I really never even thought about there being a limit to my usage-now I know.

The heat is such that I really don't want to do any of my larger projects because I'm one of those who, once having started a project, I want to see it through to the end no matter how long it may take. And, these days, an hour or two in the sun is about all I can tolerate without taking a break. And so, I have been going around the yard doing lots of little things that have been needing doing but not quite enough to motivate me before. I have re-nailed every fence slat that I found loose, re-nailed the entire fence around the A/C unit that got taken down for the new unit to be put in and never put back totally correctly, tied back the sky vine once again, touched up a lot of the pool furniture, spot cleaned all of the bedroom carpets, scrubbed the chaise cushions, scrubbed the pool slide, pulled every little weed I could find, edged all of the garden borders, re-potted some plants and planted others in the ground, re-attached some loose lattice on the privacy fence, etc. They are all things that I am pretty sure no one else but me would even take note of but, they are things I have been looking at for awhile and knowing they needed doing so...yay me!

My grandson messaged me the other day to say that he and his brother (and maybe his sister) wanted to come for a work day and then daughter #2 called and asked if she could come for a visit and would love to help with anything needed and then my brother called and asked if he and my sister-in-law could come for a visit and that they'd be happy to help with anything I needed. Wow! I had better stop what I'm doing before there isn't anything left for them to do. Lol Just kidding-the things I will keep for their lists are the things that require more than one set of hands, require a bit more muscle than I have these days or, require a trip to the roof which has been off of my list ever since my vision and depth perception started to go. It does make me mad that these are all things I used to do but, I must take joy in all of the things I can still do. I'm a bit of a "where there's a will" kind of gal plus a bit of a jerry-rigger so I can still do most of the things I want...however they get done-the end justifies the means! Lol  

All of that being said, I am happy to be inside for a bit and thought we would head to the family room. I don't think there are a lot of changes in there but, I do love the room at night. I have actually been walking around the house of late trying to come up with a few ideas for things I can switch. I think this happens to me every year at about this time because I'm not as busy since the kids don't have their school things that I'm attending. I've got an idea or two so, maybe if I can fit in a trip to Lowes, I'll have that to share. 

In any case, this year's family room.

I don't remember if I shared the re-do of the book stack cover with you. I never really liked the one I originally did so, after looking at it one time too many, I took off the old one and decoupaged a holiday napkin in its place. I like the new one so much better.

Last year:

This year:

I love the script on the white stripes but now that I look at it this closely, I'm realizing that they aren't as white as the spine of the book-maybe a little distressing is in order? Oh goody, something else I can do with out WiFi-Lol!

This is still one of my favorite inexpensive HL pillow covers that I painted. It was so easy - I just ironed on stars cut from freezer paper and painted over them and pulled them off - and I think it looks so much more complicated!

So that is the family room this year. I don't have a picture once it is dark outside but I can share this one where you can at least see some of the candles-there are actually 11 candles in this room that all pop on about 6 PM. I also have several real candles that I light and I just love sitting in this room in the evenings.

I'm off to stay busy. Hope you stay safe and stay tuned.

 

 

 

Lazy Summer Day

There is no denying that summer is here. It is hot and still and, unless you are involved in some sort of water fun, it is just not comfortable out there. This is about the time of year that if I am working outside, I am probably walking into my pool-fully dressed-every half hour or so. I just try to make sure I only do this when I'm not expecting to bump into the lawn guy or pool guy or whoever. Lol

In any case, I spent my morning running errands and I am ready to just sit down, put my feet up and have some lunch but I thought I would take you to the sunroom first. Once again, just a nod to the holiday except in the TV unit which is once again full of holiday photos.

I did this arrangement in a different box this year...not really by design. I usually put it in an old wood box that I bought many years ago at the huge country craft show that used to be held at the State Fairgrounds in Tampa. I loved that show and used to come home with a car-full of treasures every time I went. I actually don't even know if the show exists any more but I sure did love it for many years. Sometimes I went with friends, sometimes my daughter from St. Pete would meet me there and other times my husband came along. I used to get a kick out of him-every time-shaking his head and laughing and asking "what is wrong with this picture? We sit in line to pay to park our car then stand in line to pay to get into the building just for you to spend tons of more money". He actually loved it as much as I did and usually encouraged me to buy more than even I was going to. Lol

In any case, I have used that box for years but, for whatever reason, I could not find it anywhere...and, believe me I looked. I'm betting that I am using it somewhere else and just not seeing it but, just as I was about to relent and put the arrangement into a tin container, I spied this old dresser drawer that I found at an antique store so many years ago. I used to use it as a riser but it has been on a shelf in the garage for a long time. I grabbed it, cleaned it up a bit and, truth be told, I like it more than the white one. Serendipity!

And, I still love the simple Uncle Sam I made with my youngest grand children awhile ago. The FB memory just came in of Presley as she was painting hers and she gave it just the cutest little face.

 

And, of course, the TV unit full of years and years of wonderful 4th of July parties in many different cities. And, also the painting of the soldier that Presley made for me after spending a weekend here and helping me decorate. She was so proud of that painting when she gave it to me and I think she feels the same way every year when she sees it still out on display.

So, that's the sunroom-simple but easy to use the table and chairs when we want to as opposed to almost every other surface in this house that is FULL of STUFF. Lol Lunch is calling but I will be back. Stay safe and stay tuned.

 

"Why, WiFi?"

Anyone reading this knows that I am a DINOSAUR! I am terrible at technology! And, we all know the reasons. Technology was introduced WELL into my many years of life. I may not be the smartest person in the world but, I think I'm far from the dumbest.

My girls don't like to hear me say that I am not good with technology-mostly when I am asking for some sort of help. They use the fact that I know how to navigate a blog as proof that I am not as "dumb" as they think I am trying to act. But, the real truth is that once I am shown something and have a chance to get my hands on it, I can do what I have learned. That being said, that doesn't mean that I know enough to understand the workings behind things. In fact, I don't really even know the terminology or what those terms mean. If I haven't dealt with it, I probably don't have a clue.

So that leads me to this post. It is all an excuse for why I did what I did...but we'll get to that in a minute!

Let's go back to Saturday morning when I received a text from Cox telling me that I had already used up 75% of my data for my time period. Well, first of all I NEVER thought about data usage on WiFi. It just never entered my mind. And, I had no idea when my time period ran. And so, I do what I always do when something like this happens...I call my brother and sister-in-law because they either know the answer or they know how to find it. My sister-in-law called me back very quickly and filled me in on what she knew and what she had found out. It seems that there is a limited amount of data on my plan and I guess Cox was trying to get me to sign on for unlimited because they failed to tell me that my time period had ended the day before I got the text-so, no way I would go over this time. Maybe they were just trying to be nice-but, after my more than 50 years of constant trouble with Cox, I'm really just being too nice when I go there. Lol

In any case, I now know that I do have a limit...and so, I set out to try to do better for my next time period. Except that I also learned that there is data use in my house almost every minute of the day. If it's not the TV streaming, it's my computer, Facebook, even my music on my wireless speaker that I have with me when I am in the yard working or sitting outside just enjoying. 

And so, I set out on Sunday to do something with NO data usage. That also meant no perusing Pinterest for ideas. I found another image I had already printed but didn't really have anything to put it on and it was just to hot to drag out the miter saw, find some old wood, cut it up and make a pallet. About then, I spied an old piece of fiberboard that was left over after I pulled something off of the front of it for another project-I have no clue what it once was but, the size was right even if it wasn't my first choice.

And so I set out for a WiFi free day. I pretty much did the usual. Paint the background, rip the edges of the image, ModPodge the image to the board and "distress with antique wax.

And then that brought me to the inevitable question...where will it go? And so, I walked around for a bit and just kind of gave up and leaned it by the soaps in the kitchen...and called it a day-although there really was still a lot of the day to try to fill-minus technology-and it was just too hot and yucky to be outside so, a good book seemed to be the answer for a bit more of the afternoon.

And then I woke up this morning and headed to the kitchen for my coffee and had a bit of a serendipity moment. I realized that the print looked good where it was. There was enough distressing on the jug and wooden tray to mimic the image and...

...if you really stretch your imagination, the flowers and pots on the image kind of mimic the ones in the window, right? Do you see it? Look really hard!

In any case, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I'm off to do a bit of edging before it gets brutal out there again. Daughter #3 said to make a list because the kids want one more "work day" at Nana's before Har heads off to the Academy, so I need to get on that right away too before the offer goes away. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.

 

Fingers Crossed

 It is Saturday morning and my fingers are crossed that today is the day that we get some rain-of course, not until daughter #3 and her family arrive safely back in town. Lol Our weather predictions have gone from 90 percent chance right now to totally 0 percent in an instant and we have not had a drop of rain in quite some time. And, have I mentioned that it is HOT out there?!

In any case, I'm looking for things to do in the house although, it would probably rain if I decided to wash my car. Ha-ha May have to give that a try later. Until then, let's head into the dining room.

I distinctly remember making this star with my oldest grand daughters. It was a long process on one of their "holiday" weekends at Nana & Papa's. We had to cut the star out of sheets of styrofoam. We then glittered them up and embellished them with tea stained coffee filters, more glittered card stock stars, small paper flags, a small banner we printed up and pearls as feet on each of the points of the star. This was a "knock-off" of a Bethany Lowe decoration I had seen somewhere and it was another case of me not checking the measurements because these turned out, once again, to be ornaments for a table top tree. But, once again, that is not what we would have wanted so this was a win for us!

I'm not sure why, but I really like this display. It is simple but I just think it all goes together well...and, it is really pretty at night when the candle clicks on.

And that, my friends, is the dining room for this year. As you may have guessed, I did go back to fool with the "sparkler boxes" again. I didn't make any big changes...just kind of nestled them in a little better...and I am good...at least for this year. Who knows, maybe when I'm starting from scratch next year I might have a really brilliant idea on how to use them...we shall see. Stay safe and stay tuned.

 

"Aha" Moment-Maybe?

When last I left, I told you I was still trying to come up with some new ideas for 4th of July. I took a few minutes and went back over some of my Pinterest pins. I pinned this a few days ago before I had completed my decorating because I almost always use cloches in my living room decor and I was hoping to add some new life to the one on the coffee table. 

If you look closely, you can see some vintage sparkler boxes...and, I liked that but, for whatever reason, vintage sparkler boxes are something I don't have in my stash. So then I thought I could just use current sparkler boxes but, the few places I have been since I thought of this did not have individual boxes of sparklers. They were included in very large assortments of all kinds of fireworks and even I am not buying a bunch of useless ( to me ) things for the sake of a vignette. In reality, probably no one who sees that vignette between now and the 4th of July would even notice them. Now I know I could probably find them somewhere as the holiday gets closer, but I also didn't feel like going on a shopping hunt so, I started to think of what might be my next step.

And, as usual, I end up on Google. I searched 'free images of vintage sparkler labels' and somehow, some way I end up here.

I printed out the labels and thought I might be lucky enough to have them fit on large paint stir sticks with just a few simple cuts but, the sticks are just a bit too narrow so I am using some wood pieces I found at $ Tree and going to bring out my trusty friend, my miter saw. I haven't used it in awhile so we'll see how it goes. 

Several hours ( and a loonnngggg ) phone call with daughter #1 ) later...

Luckily I remembered how to use the miter saw-there really are a LOT of knobs to turn and doodads to adjust...and in no time, I had the pieces cut. I'm glad I ended up using this wood because it is honestly just about the thickness of a box of sparklers and once the label is on, it looks pretty authentic.

The labels that had dark edges got a coat of paint before I decoupaged but the ones with the neutral looking edges just got put on the raw wood. The "green" box probably could have used a coat of green paint but there was NO way my OCD self was going to add more green to anything I was using as a 4th of July decoration! Lol

I used a simple coat of ModPodge under the image and didn't go over the top because I didn't want to give the finish any kind of a sheen. I really wanted them to look like old, somewhat faded packaging...and they do.

They didn't go into the cloche exactly as I wanted so I might play with them more tomorrow but, for now, here is where four of them landed.

And the other three...

For a project I was so excited to try, you would think that I would have had more definitive ideas of where I would use them but, since everything is already decorated, I didn't want to start taking things apart. I'm sure I will mull on this for awhile and inspiration will strike-or not. Lol

While I was on Pinterest, I also saw where someone had hung a basket of greens and flags from their rod on their kitchen cabinet. Since I have one and I only have one towel hanging there right now when there are usually two, I was a bit bothered by the empty space. And, since I already had everything else needed, I threw this together real quickly. I think it will work better when my grand dog goes home as this is kind of the area where she gets her treats and she keeps bumping into it. In any case, it took care of the empty space. Lol

I'm off to clean up after all of this fun but I'll be back. I can't promise I'll have any better inspiration but I do have more decor to share. Stay safe and stay tuned.