I am Done Painting

Can you believe the three pieces I painted used less than one quart of paint?


I am happy to be done. I have worked nonstop for the past 3 days and I am ready for something different.

Here is the table:

Here are both pieces.


Behind me are the doors and the glider. So my triangle of color is done. I am very happy--and very tired...too tired to post more. I have done all the painting, digging, and cleaning that I am going to do this week.

Have a great evening,

It's not that much Fun Working on Old Bathroom Doors in Hot Muggy Weather

I's 4;30 p.m. and I have already taken two showers and I am ready for a third.

I am off work for four days this week. It's hot and humid, but I have to get my projects done while I am off. I seriously hate hot humid weather! Nonetheless, I cut down all the spent daisies and other dead stuff and moved some artemesia early this morning.

Then I started in on some other projects.

I am sure you remember the bright potting bench--who could forget it? hee hee

Well, now that I have it on the deck, I need to add a few more pieces in the same color to coordinate everything. Otherwise the potting bench just looks out of place.

So I have been trying to think of items that I could paint. After about a day of thinking, I remembered a set of louvered doors that we removed when we had the bathroom redone three years ago. I saved the doors because I thought that someday I would use them on the deck.

Today is someday.

I hauled out the saw horses that DH had just put away in the basement (he was napping so I had to do it all myself). Then I crawled under the house and found the shutters. I just wiped the dust off with a dry cloth and began painting. As soon as I started painting, I remembered that I need a picture so I could show all of you! So I ran inside and got the camera.

Here they are as I began painting.

Here they are freshly painted and in their new home:

I am loving it! It does need a hanging basket of flowers, but, as I told you before, I did not plant any hanging baskets this year. So what to do?

I remembered a whirly-gig that my father-in-law had made for us many years ago. I could not remember what the current color was because I repainted it so many times. Just about any bright color would work--anything but yellow. I went down to the basement to retrieve it.

Guess what color it was?

Yellow! No real problem. I used the last of my spray can of red paint and repainted it. I replaced the door knobs with wooden knobs that I painted the same red.
I can't tell you how excited I was when DH hung it up. I think it works perfectly!

You can't see the red knobs from a distance, but as you get to the glider you may see them.

If I move the doors to a different location, they may be visible, so I am glad that I paid attention to that little detail. Did you notice the new rug? This is the rug I had originally wanted to buy. I second guessed my decision and went for the blah neutral rug. I just did not like that rug with my vivid colors. I was very lucky that there was one rug left when I went back and it was this one. I think it's so much better!

I wanted to show you where this seating area is in relation to the whole deck. I can't get a full picture of the deck because it turns where the seating area is. This is one side as you come up the steps.

I know some of you are very perceptive and you may notice that I changed the umbrella on the table. I had a bright blue one that I thought worked better with the vivid new yellow color.

I still have one more item to paint. I want the new bright yellow to be in three different places and I want those places to form a triangle. So if you are sitting on the glider,which is way down at the end of the above pic, I will be adding a wooden table painted yellow to the area after you make the turn to the right.
See the area right against the white siding? I plan to put a yellow table there tomorrow and then I will be done with all the painting. It's been a ton of work, but also a lot of fun.

My only regret is that when I was moving all the planters, I pulled one about a foot forward and then dropped it.....

right on top of Mr. Froggy.

I felt so bad.

Extolling the Virtues of Sedumn Autumn Joy

I worked outside Sunday for 7 straight hours. In addition to the potting bench project I showed you, I painted the shutters for the house while DH did the annual washing of the siding. Painting the shutters was my easy job for the day.

The task that took the most time and energy was replanting a garden in the front yard that I have been working on since last July.
This area had that awful creeping coral sedum in it. I started removing it over a year ago. It took repeated applications of weed killer and digging to get rid of that plant. At first I tried to save the creeping phlox, but the only way I could get the coral carpet out was to kill everything.All of the dead debris is gone and it's finally ready to redo.

I wanted to fill it in with Sedum Autumn Joy to match the area on the opposite side of the driveway that I replanted a few weeks ago. So I went to the rockwall garden and started digging up Sedum AJ. I think I moved about twenty plants to the front yard.

Now both sides of the driveway have the same planting. Nothing but shrubs and Sedum AJ which is so easy to care for. It rarely needs watering. (Acutally there are tulips in both areas for the spring. I think the SAJ will work nicely to cover the dying tulip foliage--I tell you it's just a wonderful plant!)The only thing that I have to do is cut it all down in the spring--which is a huge task for me because I have so much of it.

I love this plant in all stages of its growth--from the light green fleshy foliage, to the flowers which turn from light pink to dark burgundy in the fall.
I have more spots of it all along the front border.
There is also a bunch of it in the bench apple tree border directly across from this area, which you can see a bit of in the third picture from the top of this post.

I also have a TON of it in the roadside gardens. Here is a picture from early September last year.

In just a few weeks it will be pink from this area to about 200 feet down -- all across the front of my house. I think it's going to look nice. I hope so after all that work!

Put on Your Foster Grants and Come & Look at My Latest Project

I am warning you, don't forget those sunglasses!

Remember that Bright yellow paint I showed you a few days ago? My plan was to buy a chartreuse color. I think this is a bit more yellow than I had wanted. I hesitated awhile before dipping the paint brush in and beginning to paint................

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my potting bench!

Shocking, isn't it?
I painted it Friday night and did not get to finish it until today.

I had originally bought aqua paint for the birdhouse. See the items on the ground? That is the aqua color. Once I saw how bright the bench was, I decided the aqua just was not strong enough for the bird house. I needed bright primary colors.

So I went to the basement today and looked through my craft paints. I pulled out a few colors I thought would work, took a deep breath and started painting.

I loved the new bright bird house colors. See all that stuff in the back? I scoured the basement for stuff I could paint to go with the bench. I plan to use this bench to make flower arrangements more than pot up plants.

So I painted some baskets and some containers to hold scissors, ribbon, etc.

Here it is all finished and back up on the deck with my painted accessories. I am planning to make a sunflower arrangement in that big heart shaped wreath on the floor.

Neutral Does Not Really Go with Everything

The bare necessities -- unadorned furniture and a neutral rug to define the seating area.


After a massive rearrangement of plants and a few quilts, the area is almost hidden from view as you walk up the back deck steps.
Each step reveals a bit more of the area.
There are two opened sides where you can enter. This is one of them. Oh, I do wish the rug had red and yellowed strips instead of dull browns. I still think it's O.K. and works to define the area. It's just not what I would use if I had other options.
If you remember I did not plant any annuals this year. Normally I would have five hanging baskets around the top of this seating area. I find all that white too, well, ah, white--I think I am going to find something to hang there later today. It will be fun to find some sort of art to hang...now my idea of art my be slightly different than yours....LOL.
The bright yellow callas are nearing the end of their bloom. I have already cut down a few of the first bloomers.
There's DH acting like he is talking to me. I was sitting there chatting with him until I jumped up with my camera to get a picture of him using the space. He's probably making some comment about how I can't do anything without that camera! It's a blogger's disease--cameraitis.
But as the sun was beginning to set, I put the camera away and took my spot on the glider where we enjoyed our Friday night in our own little corner of the world.

Before I did the deck, I painted something with this--Whoa! There's nothing dull about this color!
I still have some finishing work to do on it and then I will show you what I painted.

Today is also our annual wash-the-outside-of-the-house day. DH does the washing. He will remove all the shutters first and I will wash and then paint them--NO, I will not be painting them that color above!

I just heard some thunder. I hope it's not raining outside as all my deck items are still out there. Somebody at work told me no rain was in the forecast......I must run out to the deck now and check.....ARRRGGGGGGGG.......it IS raining. ... just wonderful....now everything is drenched...I should have checked that weather forecast myself....DRATS....at least I did bring in the magazines last night.

6:40 a.m. update: It's still raining and finally light enough for me to get a picture.

sad, sad, sad.............I see the pillows have moved on the glider...an animal or wind...not sure which.

Kitchen Gadgets I Couldn't Live Without

At least I must have thought that when I bought all of these.


Such a cute pan to make Christmas cakes -- little snowmen and mittens...adorable.

I was thrilled to find this one many years ago. I really did make homemade ravioli back then and I thought this would be great to make uniform little pillows of culinary delights. The operative word in that sentence was did. I haven't made them once since I bought this.
Ditto for a checkerboard cake, canape breads, or decorated pastries. I buy all sorts of cake decorating tips and never decorate cakes. While at a family gathering last month, the conversation got around to useless gadgets that we all own. It was interesting to me to find that 3 of my 4 sisters-in-law also own a checkerboard cake pan. Not one has ever made a cake in it! I suggested that we all get together and have a checkerboard cake baking party. Who knows maybe we will.

This post was inspired when I was trying to find a place to store my most recent purchase of a cast iron corn muffin pan.

My mission for September is to use at least one of these items.

A couple of days ago I was in Wally's World and I remembered that I had been looking at some deck rugs in May. I thought I would wait and see if they were marked down later. I walked back to the garden center and sure enough there they were marked down to less than half price!
I bought a neutral color. This afternoon I put it out on the deck.

I think it has possibilities. I plan to bring out cushions, quilted chair backs, etc. tomorrow. Check back tomorrow night or Sat. morning to see what I do with it.
Take Care,



6:14pm update: What the heck is this????


As soon as I hit publish, this came up. Is blogger now starting to throw up advertising every time we post? Has anyone else seen this?

The Mosquitoes are Out in Full Force Again

What's up with that? It's bad enough we have them early in the season and now they are back just as strong. Geez........I gave up a lot of blood in the few moments it took to take these pictures.

A couple of days ago I bought a big bright blue planter. I thought it would be fun to use as a focal point someplace. This afternoon I tried to find a place to put it. I think this area may be the spot, but it needs to sit a bit higher. I will play around more with it this weekend.

I like this gold, red and orange combination of plantings.
Do you see how that bright blue planter leads the eye way to the end of the path? I am thinking if the planter was a foot higher, the blue would show better and that would be great.

My miniaure phlox is starting to bloom. It's the purple one in the front with the white face. I forgot its name...."Little" something.......

That's about it for new blooms.

Miscellaneous Musings

Today I thought I would just show a few of the stray photos I took during the past two days.

On each side of the deck entrance I have these planters that have tall liatris (blazing star). After the storms this weekend, a few of them toppled over. Don't you just hate when that happens?

I will probably cut them for a bouquet.

On Sunday morning it was so humid that my camera lens immediately filled with condensation when I walked out the door. Hence the hazy hosta picture below.


Here's a crocosmia 'Chopsticks' that fully opened.

This is just the view of my new arbor from the driveway.

The white callas I bought from Walmart this spring are now blooming. They would be great in a bouquet. I hope the bulbs spread for next year. They are planted in a container that I can store for the winter. Callas cannot take the cold winters of N. Michigan.

When I pulled out this very loosely woven jacket to wear today, I was shocked to see that the elbow was all ripped out. Sorry for the blurry picture. I must have moved when I snapped it.

I have no idea how that happened. It's a good thing I get up early. I had plenty of time to cut the sleeves off and rehem them. Instead of long sleeves, I now have short sleeves, which is better for summer anyway.