A VERY PRODUCTIVE WEEKEND!!

I checked the 10-day weather forecast and decided it was safe to go ahead and plant all of my annuals this weekend. No night freeze here in Michigan. . . yeah!!!

I purchased potting soil, flowers, a few new clay pots I needed, scrubbed out all the old pots with a water/bleach solution and planted away. I also fertilized all the pine trees with Miracle-grow evergreen tree stakes, all the trees with tree stakes and fertilized the perennials. AND I'M DONE!! Too tired to take pictures though. Will show you soon!! I'm off to La-La land now. . . ZZZZzzzzzzzzz.

Blessings. . . until next time,

My Walk Around the Yard: part two


Our front courtyard area. The wisteria is about to explode. I'll show you when it does.

Ornamental miniature Cherry Tree. . . just about finished blossoming. It's now leafing out.

Magnolia Tree

Phlox bursting forth with color. . .

Lilac tree ready to blossom too!

and the Lilac bush.

Lamb's Ear

Azaleas in full color. . .

And finally, my little bench waiting for its basket of annuals to be placed on top. A wee bit early for annuals here. I normally plant after Mother's Day, when chance of frost/freeze is over. So, about a week and 1/2 until I plant those annuals. I can't wait to start digging in that dirt :)

Blessings. . . until next time,

SPRING IN MICHIGAN

SPRING

Oh yes, it's been a looonnnggg time coming, but it's here. SPRING in Michigan and I'm loving it!! I took a walk around my yard this afternoon and snapped a few photos.

Spring, it comes every year. I like to think of it as God's promise that our bad times (winter) will surely end!

Flowers blooming;

Trees budding;

and we repeat :)

See all of my hostas and lily of the valleys coming to life, reaching for the sun?

I'll share more pictures. . . next time.

Blessings. . . until next time,

TEXAS HERE SHE COMES!!!

Thank you so much to those of you who left comments and e-mailed me regarding our daughter finishing her education in Austin, TX. All is pointing in that direction for our daughter. She's flying to Austin on Thursday to take care of of a few details and will return on Sunday. As of this date. . . the plans are to drive her car from Michigan to Texas with my husband/dad. . . on the 24th of May!!!

WOW!! It's an incredibly great opportunity for her. She'll be able to spend time with hubby/dad while he's installing a new system in Austin and finish her education. I will miss her terribly. So will our youngest daughter. I think I'll have to fly down every 4 - 6 weeks. . . just to check in on her and get my hugs.

We (daughter and I), are entering a new season of our lives; one chapter closes, another one opens with new and exciting opportunities for each.

. . .but why, may I ask. . . "does my heart hurt so???"

Blessings. . .until next time,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUBS!!

My hubs turned 52 on Thursday! I made his favorite cake for him and suffered through dinner at PF Changs. I don't like Chinese food and it doesn't like me. It's a testament of how much I love this man. He was in heaven! I, not so much. The good thing was that I'm still sick and couldn't taste anything, so I didn't each much.

I love this picture of my husband. We were singing, or I should say attempting to sing, Happy Birthday To You. . . Happy Birthday To You. . . . He was actually laughing at us, I think!

I hope this year brings you some time to relax dear. You deserve it. I hope to see more of the following picture of you enjoying your hard work. I took this at our cottage during our last visit. My husband relaxing and doing nothing. I don't see this too much!

Blessings. . . until next time,

CRAIGSLIST FIND FOR THE COTTAGE!!

LOOK WHAT I FOUND FOR OUR MICHIGAN UP-NORTH COTTAGE:

We have a cathedral wall at our cottage that I've been wanting to place an electric fireplace. Not just any electric fireplace, however. A really, really nice, electric fireplace. Not the kind you can buy at Home Depot, or Garden Centers. The realistic looking kind that you purchase from a heating/cooling company. The Dimplex electric fireplace. It has adjustable flame, adjustable lighting and a heater blower that is also adjustable. They are very pricey and I was looking for a used one to fit the bill. I'm cheap, urr, I mean Frugal! I couldn't find one that wasn't cherry wood, or white, or a corner until. I have been looking for a few years now. . . then I found this one.

My husband was not in agreement, however. He wanted to put in a gas fireplace. Like we have in the basement of our cottage. I just wanted an electric one, with a remote and no lingering smell. He never thought that electric looked very realistic. . . until I showed him this one. I found this one on Craigslist.com. The couple had this unit in their finished basement (which with three kids under the age of 4 years old ~ they didn't get down there much to use it). They were moving and selling this unit. Luckily, hubs was home and reluctantly agreed to go look at this with me. As soon as they turned it on for us to see, my hubs agreed with me. It was beautiful! These units are pricey. $1,200 new just for the firebox and then another $500 to $600 for the fireplace surround. They were only asking $400 TOTAL!!! FOR BOTH.

The mirror on top of this unit was a separate find of mine. Can you believe it? I found this from another ad on Craigslist.com at the exact same time as finding the fireplace. It was only $50!! They even offered to deliver it to me. Can't get better than that, can you? The fireplace and the mirror look like they have always been together. For $450 I did not break the budget and have now achieved the exact look I've been wanting for our little up north get away.

. . . And sorry hubs, but this is one remote that I control :)

Blessings. . . until next time,

Garage Sale Season has Started!! WhoooHooooo

My Favorite Season of the Year :)

I know you in the south have been enjoying garage sale season for a while already. But, here in the north. . . they just started. I have no pictures to share with you all. I'm in bed with a rotten chest cold/sinus thingy. . . but before I got sick I hit a few on Thursday. I found a Mr. Coffee Ice Tea Maker with an extra pitcher and lid for $5, makes GREAT iced tea. We don't drink Sweet Tea here in the north. Just plain brewed iced tea. . .yummy! I also found a great little table that needs some TLC for $15!. . . and I found some really nice costume jewelery (yeah, like I need more of that my youngest said). The weather here is absolutely beautiful. Low 70's. That's perfect in my book. Before taking to bed, I helped hubby put out all the outside yard things yesterday. We re-installed our rock pool, I uncovered and changed the lights in our fountain in the front yard, put out the pots, yard ornaments and the gazebo tent. It is so nice to be done now doing these chores at both homes. More mulch added to both homes, yard & patio things in place.

Now. . . we can just sit back with a tall iced tea and enjoy the beautiful weather. :)

Have a wonderful week. When I'm up and feeling better I have some baking and cooking to do and a birthday cake to make for hubby. He's turning 52 on Thursday. Where does time go?

Oh yes, did I mention everyone will be back to school and work from Easter Break tomorrow? Yes, that's my real Whoooo-Hoooo!!! Then, I'll be back to myself shortly because I will actually be able to rest!

Blessings. . . until next time,

SPRING & EASTER DECORATING

It's kind of funny for me to even be posting this now!

So many of you gals, especially those southern gals, did your Spring/Easter decor posting sooo long ago. But here in the north Spring is just now starting to sprout. My husband and I put 138 bags of mulch (2 cu. yards in each bag) all around our home yesterday and today. This afternoon, when we finished, we turned on the weather channel. Yikes, here we found out we are expecting 6 - 10" of snow Sunday/Monday! Can you believe that? But, we've learn to roll. What can we do? Nothing, absolutely nothing about it :) At least it won't stick around long and when it melts we'll see our fresh layer of mulch!

So, here's my Easter/Spring decor (not my Christmas - which would probably be more appropriate for us!)

My little Beatrice Potter Rabbit on our dining room table with some straw and pastel plastic eggs scattered around. A Marshall's find from a few years back.

Two little moss bunnies with eggs in their baskets. . . and a few more rabbits. They seem to multiply, don't they?

And finally, our sofa table vignette. Our signs; Spring & Easter Blessings; then we have chicks feeding, bunnies hugging (hmmm, I wonder if this is how my collection multiplies?), Easter plates and my favorite, spring time bird's nests. However, the glass Easter Egg candy dish seems to be my family's favorite.

Now, if you don't mind passing me the snow shovel!

Blessings. . . until next time,

WELL, IT'S KIND OF LIKE BEING THERE, ISN'T IT?!

Fleetwood Mac We Love You, But I'm Too Cheap To Pay Your Ticket Prices!


Call me old, call me cheap, I don't care. I love Fleetwood Mac, so does hubby. Listening to their music brings back soooo many good memories of the late 70's (ok, some good, some memories. . . maybe not sooo good!) Fleetwood Mac was here in the metro Detroit area last month. We checked out the ticket prices, thought about attending, then thought some more. Hubby was all for it. . . he didn't care how much the tickets were. I did. It just seems with the present economy the money could be used elsewhere. Like giving additional food to our local food bank. We collect it each week at church and the need is growing. I mean, look, we live in Michigan. Must I explain more?

So, we didn't go. We compromised. We played a live concert on our big screen in my hubby's basement mancave. I mean, it was kind of, sort of, like being there right? We probably saw better, that's for sure.

. . . and I let hubby blast his Boise surround sound system as loud as he wanted (without complaint). Oh, by the way, did I mention my husband has severe hearing loss from all the concerts he attended in his youth? Yeah, he'd get seats so close that he would sit right in front of the amplifiers and blast out his ear drums. I wish he'd get hearing aids, but he's just not there yet. I guess he thinks 52 is too young, but I'd sure like to be able to stop repeating myself to him, once, twice, three times. Or of course, we have the "I didn't hear you say that!" stuff going on too. Or perhaps if he gave up and got the hearing aids. . . there his excuse would go too :)

Blessings. . . until next time,

A TOUR OF OUR LITTLE COTTAGE!!

Boy, oh Boy, I finally figured out how to get these photos out of my hub's camera. Next time, I'll use mine. Gee Whiz!!

I'm not going to be giving you picture by picture descriptions. . . just general introductions. I mean, who reads those anyways? This is all you need to know. . . hubs and I built this little place "ourselves" 9 years ago. My husband is very handy and I'm very blessed! It's small, quaint and all we need. I pieced together pictures from several visits. . . so in some photos there is snow. . . some there is green grass :)

It's very hard to photograph a "small" place with small bedrooms. I did the best I could. Sorry.

Our cottage is a ranch with a walk-out basement. It has three "little" bedrooms and two bathrooms. One upstairs and one downstairs. You enter the driveway on the "side" of the cottage.

I purchased most "everything" from garage sales, estate sales or thrift stores. Any stenciling, painted furniture, etc. you see. . . was done by yours truly. I made the drapery treatments, crocheted and knitted all the throws and have collected all the antiques above the kitchen cabinets. Our cottage is decorated country/north woods/state of Michigan themed with a thrifty flair. Enjoy!!

Patio underneath the deck (hubs and I built that off the ground deck too!) What were we thinking????

Down to the water. This is our youngest with me. I must be fixing her hair or something! Also, our Yorkshire Terrier made it in the picture. His name is Sr. Winston Churchill and we love him!

Come on in:

Great Room/Kitchen area:

This is our youngest. Isn't she adorable? OK, so I'm her mother ~ I can say that!!!

This is where we bunk our guests:

We call this our Trundle Bedroom. The bed has a trundle that pops up to make a King size bed:

"Our" cottage bedroom:

Upstairs bathroom:

Back down the hall and now we are once again in the Great Room/Kitchen:

Now, we'll head into the basement:

Basement:

Basement Bathroom:

. . . and we end with the storage area. Gross, but we all need one. Here we have our storage and our laundry duty area :)

What a terrible, messy shot to leave you all with :). . . but I so love having a laundry area at the cottage. Hauling laundry back and forth from home is not very fun. . . I know. . . I've done it before!!

Blessings. . . until next time,