Come and Sit A Spell....

Continuing with my love for the red, white and blue!

 I have mentioned before that I live in a historic district of a historic Oklahoma town. We have trolley cars that come by all the time. 

 But, even before we lived here, I LOVED to decorate for summer. I like to put the red, white and blue up for Memorial Day and take it down by mid July. Having all the trolleys come by, just makes sure I get things up on time and to keep things neat! 

 When we moved here, the house had sat empty for three years. There was not a single piece of landscaping alive. We are slowly trying to bring back some landscaping. 

 We also have plans to paint the house. We have painted three large sections around back trying to narrow down our favorite gray. We are now down to our favorite two. 

 We will not paint until Fall anyway, just because of the Oklahoma summer heat and the amount of painting that has to be done. 

 I really want to brick the front porch floor as well. That is on down the road though. 

 In the meantime we enjoy sitting out on the porch in the evening, talking to neighbors, watching people walk by....

Just like what probably happened 100 years ago when the house was built.

 There is enough room for many to sit with us! 

 Remember that wreath I made with Dollar Store tulips in the spring? It has had no problem withstanding our crazy Oklahoma weather. I kept it on the door and just added a trio of flags. 

 I had a garage sale last weekend, and so many people told me they enjoyed my porch and upstairs balconies all decked out. Several people even asked where I bought all the banners. (Terry's Village..online).  Actually, the porch faces west, so the banners also help shield the evening sun! They are doing double-duty!

 With lots of outside work to do on the house (in due time), I love it when it is decked out to celebrate America!  (Tomorrow we'll do part three of the red, white and blue...around the house.)

Linked to: 

Wow Us Wednesday

Stone Gable TTT

Open House Thursday

Metamorphosis Monday

Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue (part 1)

As the 4th of July quickly approaches, I thought I would share some house pictures.

As I have said over and over, my house loves being dressed up in the red white and blue. 

 Over 20 years ago, a good friend gave me the red, white and blue bunting. It was old when she gave it to me. I used it in our entry room/staircase for years in our Kansas home. It was probably meant as outdoor bunting originally....Long before there were "outdoor" fabrics that could withstand the weather. 

 But the faded spots just adds to its charm (in my opinion). Last year I used it upstairs in our hallway where I draped "Lola" with the stars and stripes. This year I took it out of storage and hand-cleaned it. While I was letting it air dry, it occurred to me it might just work on the mantel. 

 I did not try to put it up perfectly, but rather just draped it to see if it would work. 

            I stepped back to look and enjoyed the non-perfectness of it. And so it stayed! 

 Without even meaning, one end shows stars and one end shows stripes. 

 I gathered up a few red and blue books to add to the arrangement. Every arrangement with books is a good  arrangement (again, in my opinion!).

 I recently acquired two very miniature gold frames. I added one to each side of the arrangement. In each I put an instagram picture. (Have you printed off your instagram pictures? They are so much fun). 

 Besides the huge oval frame I frequently keep on the mantel, I also added to square frames with chippy gold. 

 Red, white, blue and gold. Classic. 

 This is a picture of my Five, that I took 24 years ago in July. I made it into an instagram picture and had it printed as well. My babies were newborn through seven years old in that picture. Ahhh, seems like yesterday!

 I will have to say from start to finish this took me about 15 minutes. Part whimsy. Part classic. Pure fun. 

 Tomorrow I'll take you outside for the second part of our Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue! 

Did you see my red, white and blue hutch?

Linking with:

Metamorphosis Monday

Wow Us Wednesday

Stone Gable TTT

Open House Thursday

Summer Makes my Heart Happy!

As a teacher, (whose school gets out mid-May) I look at the calendar that says the end of June is approaching and I know my days of summer are numbered.  And then I say "UGH". Aloud.

Several times. 

 I know. I know. I know. I know ALL about the fact that we are lucky to get summers off.  I readily admit we are lucky to get summers off. Even teachers who have "year round school" still get nice vaca's. 

 I don't want to get in to a debate on how cushy teachers have it. Those debates get me hot. So I'll refrain. But to get back to original thought, because I have to report to school the first week of August, that means my summer is half over. Ugh. 

 The UGH is because I love the easy days of summer. I love the casualness of summer. Even when I had five children with five different summer ball schedules, and five different camps, and five different places to be in one night, I loved the easy-breezy days of summer. 

 I love the warm days. I love the warm breezes. 

 I love the fresh fruits and vegies. I love eating outside almost every meal. 

 I love using red, white and blue throughout my house. 

 I love swimming. I love feeling the hot sun on my skin when I am outside swimming or working in the yard. 

 I love using candles that smell like the beach. The combination of sea and suntan lotion is wonderful! 

 I love summer baseball games and T-ball games. I love the crack of the bat and the language of baseball: Ducks on the pond, small ball, rally caps, can of corn and on deck...just to name a few. 

 I love getting to pick up my grandbabies for the day and babysit. I love playing the role of Gigi for Leightyn and Behr. 

The worst part of summer is that it seems so fleeting. I have such a long list still to do and accomplish. I have to get cracking! My summer is half over! Do you love summer as much as I do?