Our Project

Well, I mentioned a couple post ago that we were doing something BIG to our house. I decided to show you what it is since I am so stinkin excited about it!!!!!! The back of our house had a set of french doors that lead out to a concrete patio. Probably as old as the house. It was cracked and ugly. So, we decided to put a nice screened in porch in its place. An area where we could come outside and sit in the evenings and listen to the bugs buzz and not get bitten by one or several of them! I also have dreams of sitting out there and having coffee with friends and a place to have meals with those I love. And, lets not forget the furry babies that live in my house. They will also love love love being out there and watching the world go by. The kitty in particular is really going to enjoy being outside.

So, here is what we have done so far.




This is the mess from tearing up all that old concrete from the patio.

Here is the new installed deck. I put that chair up there one day and sat and read a new cook book I had gotten. It was lovely.

This is part of the roof they cut into. I was a tensy bit scared when I knew this step was happening. Something about putting a hole in a roof.....not good. But, it was necessary and the fellow doing the work knows what he is doing. :)

And, here is where we are as of today. The walls are all up. The roof is going to go on tomorrow I am told. We are going to have a very high ceiling in this little space. The electrician will be here on Friday to put the ceiling fan in for us and the other electrical outlets we will need. The step I am dreading is the painting step. Not that there is a lot to paint....it is just really high up there and that is not a fun place to be when painting. Eeks! Maybe the hubby will do that part. I did make him some peach crisp tonight for dessert........

So, that is it so far. I will be back soon with more pictures. Can not wait to sit outside and enjoy our project. Oh and Dawn, this space is for you as well. You can come over and we can "play" with fabric and paper outside! Is it a date??? :)

Summers First Bounty

I am really getting excited about our garden this year. Things are FINALLY able to be picked. That is the thing about gardens....you plant the seeds and little baby plants....then sit back and wait. I am not a patient person by nature. It is something I have to work on A LOT in my life. One would think I could not garden. Too much waiting. But, it has helped me to be patient this summer. Well, vegetables and my Cosmo's have taught me to wait. :) Here is a couple things we were able to pick the other evening.

Look at all those green beans!!!!! You probably can not tell how large that bowl really is....but she's a jumbo! There is probably 3 or 4 pounds of green beans in there. My grandma, who is 97 years old, loves to snap green beans. I have many memories of she and I setting at the kitchen table snapping beans. Then, I can remember the smell of bacon and onion as she was cooking them. OH MY LAND!!! Tomorrow, I am going to take my beans and go to the nursing home where she lives. I am going to walk in with those beans and tell her we have some work to do. I can not wait to see the look on her face when she sees them!! But what will really melt my heart is watching her snap beans again.

Simon Peter

I have the cutest kitty in the whole wide world!! Others may disagree (like my sister) but I am pretty biased with him. :) While working around the house today I saw him in the sunshine and had to take a picture of him looking all handsome. In the top picture you can see how blue his eyes are. The middle picture he was sleeping on my picnic basket under the kitchen table that I had not put back yet in its place. The bottom picture he is enjoying the open window in my bedroom. He is laying on my dresser with the breeze blowing in on his face.....napping sitting straight up! What a silly kitty. Man do I love that cat!!

First Attempt

I bought some fabric awhile back from this gal and have not had the chance to use it. But the other day, I finally got brave and came up with an idea in my head and cut it up!!!! This is the idea I came up with. I still have fabric left so I am going to make another one. As you can see from the top photo, I decided to put it on my little church pew in my kitchen. The middle picture is the back and the bottom picture is a close up of all the fabrics. It is not perfect. A couple rows don't match up together. But, it was my first attempt. It is flawed...just like me. But, I am still happy with it. :)

My Lunch

We had the prettiest day here in Illinois today! I believe the high got to 72 degrees or so. Nice cool breeze blowing all day. Sunshine shining bright. It was just perfect! The house was quiet and my tummy was growling at me and I thought I better feed it! So, this is what I made. Little salad with chunks of cheese, tiny grape tomatoes, fresh cucumber from my garden, pepperoni slices, and tiny tiny croutons that I love. My favorite dressing and a glass of iced tea. Yummmmm!



Also, I got a Gooseberry Patch catalog in the mail today. So, I sat down and shopped in it while enjoying the quiet house and my salad.

See my little Lassie plate? I have had this little plate since I was 8 years old. I remember taking it on a little camping trip with my brownie troop. I am so thankful that my mom and I have kept it all these years. It is holding my fresh cucumber slices on it. All salted and peppered up for my eating. I ate the whole cucumber myself. :) Gotta love fresh veggies from the garden.

Blueberry Pie

I had a couple containers of blueberries that I thought I would use to make a pie. I have never made a blueberry pie before...but I found an easy recipe and thought I would give it a shot. First, I wanted to show you the too cute Pyrex bowl that I "lifted" from my parents camper. Ahem.... Actually, I asked my mom if I could have it and exchange it for a different bowl since it is so darling and would look sooooooo good in my kitchen. She said she did not even remember the bowl and yes I could have it. Lucky me! :)



Here is the pie ready to go into the oven. I sprinkled a little sugar on top for extra sweetness.

Here she is fresh out of the oven. The smell in my house right now is to die for.

I think this looks like a good start to our day today. This afternoon we are going to our closest big city and watching this movie. Hopefully it won't be sold out when we get there. I have been waiting to see this movie since last November. I can hardly stand the wait. :)

Laundry Room Letters

Here are the pictures of my little bitty laundry room with her new WASH letters that I made. I also found the cutest little valance at Target that matches perfectly with my new letters. For under $20 I changed the look of my little space. :)