Have a Really Nice Saturday

Wishing you a Peaceful & Happy Weekend...


From Our House To Yours'
James & Loretta

Happy Friday

Hello Friends... far & near, I have missed you much! I know, it is my own fault! Things have gotten so hectic I have to sit and take a breather. Having so much to do, it seems time really gets away from me. I think it has to do with my having to work at a slower pace. 5PM each day comes too quick!

 First let me take this opportunity to offer a belated statement to those of you in Oklahoma. This was such a huge storm and from all the reports it was also tragic with loss of life and homes. Please know you are in our thoughts and prayers. We certainly hope you recover from your injuries, especially the children. We are deeply sorry for all your loss. May God Bless each and every one of you!

Because I am having difficulty getting here to post, I will limit my times to 3 and if possible more... I feel bad not posting as before. I really would like to thank those of you who stop by to visit and leaving such warm and loving comments. I really appreciate your doing so. Thank you so much!

We had a bad storm to blow through Thursday and... I'm back to square one with my yard! We came through unscathed, but all that mess... large tree limbs and debris all over. Oh well...you take what you get, I certainly couldn't stop that from happening, right?

Wishing you a Happy Friday and a Super Weekend! Take care of yourselves. Have a great evening!

Warmest Regards,

Loretta & James

Treasures

Hello... 

Come on in...I am so happy you have joined me today! I've been a little creative and thought I would share it with you. 

James always bring me these yummy cookies that I love with my special blend of coffee. Because they are a bit too sweet I can only eat two at a time, so they last a while.

 

Finishing this small tin, I had an idea to make it into something useful. There were a number of ideas...but I settled with it becoming a Treasure Tin. Painting the tin was the first step, drying took a while because of the weather.

                                                     Click on pictures to enlarge
Gathering all supplies and setting up a station, I was able to finish the tin quickly. I used craft glue to put the ribbon around the rim of the lid, then added a heart bead. 
                                             

I almost forgot, I had to buy the shells, I purchased them from Dollar Tree. I had all the other things I needed in my craft supplies.

It took a short time to arrange the shell and place the beads.
I was able to get a nice arrangement and used the hot glue gun to seal them there.  

The inside of the tin was painted too. I added some batting to give it height, a cutting of pink satin fabric and netting. 
Then, placed a few favorite pieces inside. 

I love the results. Although I have a jewelry box, I thought this would look nice in my room, or even the Bunny Room

Either room, this piece is sure to be a nice accessory. I think I failed to mention it, but I've named this tin, "TREASURES"

Thanks so much for coming by to visit...and to see my little Treasure Tin. Hope you enjoyed my little tutorial.
  Now, don't let this be your last time stopping by...something is always happening At Our House. You don't need an invite...just stop by any time...cause you are always welcome "At Home With Loretta"...

More Photos - Now Of Our Lower Garden

  Hello all you good folks, I am so happy you are here with me today! I am still working on our Lower Garden and let me tell you it has been a chore. 
  I haven't changed my mind about doing the work yet, so far it is going smoothly. The number of rainy days helps me to catch my breath and rest...it also helps to divide the work into sections. Here's where I am at the present...

                                            Click on the pictures to enlarge
Coming off the porch to the left are the pink Azaleas shown below, now blooms are just about spent

Walking out on the walk the Camellia bush below has been trimmed and had to be supported. Looking down at the left bottom are the stairs to the lower garden. 

To the left of the stairs going down in the picture just below you can see where I've cleared out the roses and the ground-cover from the top of this wall. Looking across to the trees there is a lower wall. The ground-cover has been severely cut back to the lower wall. Can you see the city park/playground in the background?  It is just across the street from us

And, all the way up this lower wall I cleared, chopped and cut until the wall was showing. It will help us to decide if all the ground cover should go.

  The property just on the other side of this wall belongs to the neighbor. I don't expect it to be cleared, because all of that overgrowth was from their side...even a fallen tree, branches and bush. 

Driveway is now cleared of all the debris from the neighbor's. It might not look it, but yes, I did trim those huge Azaleas below.
  When we bought the house, their growth was even with the top of the wall below them. I trimmed thinking I'd made a difference. I was unsteady on the ladder so I stopped.
  Now, I have to wait until next blooming before I can tackle them again. That's okay, we'll just have another mass blooming next year!

 You can tell by the marks on the wall how much growth we had from the groundcover. The wall is cleared now as you see below to the stair back up to the main garden.

      
Notice the second and third steps...This happened when the gas well drillers were shaking the ground from their testing. Do you know what I mean? The terms escape me now...

  Now you can see the entire wall all the way down the drive. I still have work to do at that lower end near the street and the flower garden on that side. It will have to be replanted with other types, because the neighbor's trees and such is so overgrown, it completely shades this side of our lower garden. 
  I'll have to shop or, find seedlings...shade lovers. It will be too costly to redo the entire area, so I'll have to tackle this in stages also. 
  I just do not like the previous owners' ground cover...green is pretty color, but I like flowers...blooms or bulbs. I'm thinking seriously about taking some of my bulbs from the old home place; the soils are different...I'm not sure they will thrive here. 

  Thanks you so much for visiting and I sure hope you come back...after this long post. Sorry I got so long-winded!

Take Good Care,
Loretta xx

More Photos Of My Porch & Garden

Hello and Good Afternoon Friends

                                                     click on Pics to enlarge
Did you enjoy our photos from yesterday's post? I mentioned I didn't want to post too many at once...(I think I might have gone overboard taking them). So, I'll keep posting until I'm done.
                           
 These are the pics that I really want you to see! Remember the Azalea I rescued from the plumber in back of the house? 
Well, this is it...yes, it lives, even bloomed this far into the year! Imagine my surprise when I came onto the porch and saw the buds on it!

It wasn't long after that that blooms like these above, were showing all their beauty. I am so thankful to God for it.

I took some clippings from the ground cover that was taking over the low-wall on the west side of the property and re-planted it in this pot. It lives also!

My huge spider plant that grows in a back bed needed to be divided, so I put this one in a pot and it seems to be doing just as well as all the other plants. I really have been blessed with them all!

  This pic  above shows these plants on the porch. You notice the landscape timber on the porch? That's Miss Kitty's scratching post...it keeps her from the wicker and cushions. 

Hey, it works!
  
  I'm sitting here with the heat on in the house...can you believe it? The temp dropped today and will continue to do so. Weather report stated we will have a record low in the 30's, some with frost Saturday morning! 
  Rain is gone but high wind from the north and low temps will remain. I know there are some of us experiencing unusual weather... there isn't anything we can do about it, so don't grumble... just endure it...after all, that's all we can do!
  
  Gotta run now, hey ya'll be good to one another and love your neighbors... Hope you have a nice weekend whatever you plan to do!  Thank ya'll for taking care of my Girl for me...told you you were some good people!!

Hold down the fort for me now,
James & Loretta