Outdoor Blogger Meet

An Outdoor Wednesday Post hosted
by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.
Thank You, Susan!!
I do hope you'll stop by her blog
and see more great links having to
with anything outdoors.


I post so many photos from Longwood
Gardens that I should be on staff.
Some fellow bloggers had commented
that they would love to visit the
Gardens but hadn't been there in years.

I talked to Mrs. Rabe and Kelly about
organizing a meet.

They were in favor...and so it began.

Sadly, when the time drew closer Kelly
was unable to join us but now she can
...in a virtual way.

Others of you were with us in spirit,
which might have been nice for you
given the weather.



This was the sight that welcomed us.
We were driving through the clouds...
with a mist that was constant.

We wondered briefly how we might
recognize each other but...

It turned out to be no problem
since I have posted recent pictures of
Chelsea and Warren on my blog.

JD, Jim and Karen found us.

Mrs. Rabe, Lindsay, Emily, Rachel
and Kyle soon joined us and we were off!

Jim and Karen with their cameras at the ready...


We talked and laughed our way
through all of this beauty...




































The five bloggers present tried to pose
but it was so wet and we were so busy
getting to know each other that I don't
think we have one photo of all of us where
no one is talking.
Here you see
Mrs Rabe from Creekside Cottage.
My daughter Chelsea who writes Its About Friends.
I am in PINK.
JD from Ribbon Challenged.
Karen from Nittany Inspirations.



The guys complained at us just a bit
as they attempted to get a decent photo.
Sorry men!
Not going to happen!




Mrs. Rabe had to leave first.
This made Chelsea sad since
the girls are all such
dear friends.
But the idea of lunch
cheered her up.

It was at lunch that
Karen and I discovered that she
knows my brother and his wife.
She was at their wedding.
Small world!!!



It was delightful to meet these
wonderful people.
We are beginning talks about
another "meet" next year.

Hope that works out!

Thanks for checking out the
fun we enjoyed.

♥♥Becky K.♥♥

From Brown to Green!

A favorite walk.
Only a few weeks ago it looked this brown.


This week it is sooooo green!
Have to love it!


The grapevines before...


Can you see them now?




More pretty and colorful
shots of a neighborhood come
to colorful life.












I wonder if my neighbor was watching
me take pictures of her azalea
and ornamental maple....hmmm...




Well, if so I hope she feels proud.





They are so beautiful!

Enjoy your day...
Take time to notice the new
things wherever you are.
It is always a-changing!

♥♥Becky K.♥♥

We are Out...

...looking for Spring!



See You tomorrow
with a Beautiful Life Post.

♥♥Becky K.♥♥

The Weekend Camera Action!

Wow! I am amazed I could crawl out of bed this morning.
What a wonderful but tiring weekend!

Saturday I took a walk around the yard with camera in hand
and caught a few flowers doing nice things.


My mother-in-law weeded most of this area last week and the boys put the mulch down. It was a mess because we had cut these bushes off and were debating removing them altogether or just letting them grow back. I am glad we let them stay.
There is a ways to go but this is progress. I wanted the mulch down on what was weeded so that it will at least help with preventing more weeds.


Then I was at the church and took some pictures there. I wanted to show you what I did to help this situation:
These plaques were too small and too light...

I used some mahogany stain and lightly went over each of the plaques. I then got a burgundy ribbon and attached it behind all of them to make your eye perceive it more as one piece rather than three little items. It is a small change but it makes a huge difference!


As for that mahogany stain, I also put it to good use on these...

This wall is large. To find items that would fit well and pay retail for them would have cost a small fortune. So, being the yard sale diva that I am...I found these pieces of pottery. They were a dingy, dirty yellow but I thought I saw potential in them. First off, I painted them a faux paint to match our chairs. However, when I put them up I was not happy with the color. So back to the imagination I went and out came the stain. I love them now. They match the piano, pulpit and the post makeover...remember the posts?

Anyway, then I found this picture for $50 at Kirklands. So all together this arrangement cost $57.00. I am pretty pleased with that.


A few other shots inside the church...just to see if you see any changes since I showed you last. It is easy for me to forget at what point things have changed. I need to get some photos of the office area and the library.



It has been fun to have this as a project...I think it would have been more fun if there had been a bigger budget, however, there is a challenge in making things look nice with very little money. We have taken tables from our homes and our offices...we have found things at auction and we have gotten creative with pictures from Goodwill.

I am happy with how the flowers are growing out in front of the church. This has been my Mom's project and she has done a wonderful job. I also love the table and chairs that Joe and Carol picked up for the little patio area. Too Cute!

This photo shows just a tiny fraction of the flower beds all across the front. Mom waters them faithfully...not an easy job given that she has to carry the water there since there is no outside water source and the only sink in the place is in the bathroom. You can't get a watering can into the sink, it is too shallow. We plan to add a sink up in the mini kitchen area we are developing.

Sorry for all of the pictures...if you have a slow connection this might have been a bit much...

Yesterday, we had seventeen here for lunch as we celebrated Chelsea's birthday and got to know a new family at church. I made a huge pot of beef, potatoes and carrots.

This was the "before" picture. I was a little too busy to get the "after". We also made ham and string beans as a second main dish.

Chelsea totally enjoyed her birthday and loved having everyone here. Her eyes just danced all day long. I did not get a pictures of the cake but let me tell you that Georgia made a wonderful Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. Oh, my Goodness!!!!! It was wonderful!

Well, I had better get moving as there is much to be done today.

Blessings on your day.
Hope all is well with YOU!

I found something NEAT today!

We were just getting ready to hit the books when
the phone rang. It was a neighbor whose husband
had called her to inform her of an amazing amount
of flowers and plants for sale at his "Hay Auction."
He just knew she would be interested. Now she wanted
to know if I, or either of the Moms, might be interested
in going with her as these would have to be purchased
in larger than usual quantities.

Oh, my goodness, YES!

First, I love auctions!

The rush of the bidding.

The sound of the auctioneer as he/she works the crowd.

The competition...

You name it...I love it!

Neither Mom was available so Arlene
and I headed out on our adventure. We had
not been here before but that just added to
the anticipation.

We arrived to find a large warehouse full of
neatly aligned carts brimming with flowers, vegetables,
hanging baskets, even strawberries.

We quickly got our number and scoped out our choice
flowers. I was elected to be the bidder while Arlene
served as scout. We make a pretty good team!

Ahhh...success.

We came home with:

15 Hot Pink Geraniums
3 flats of begonias
15 potted zinnias

These have been divided five ways and are
already adding color to our neighborhood
flower beds.

The plants are healthy and beautiful.
We will be going back for other varieties.
They should have flowers for the next few weeks.

I love the sense of community in a place
like this. The older farmers casually taking
in the excitement while waiting for their
turn to sell their hay...or in some cases to
purchase hay.

The flowers are an aside for these men, but I think,
a fairly welcome one. It gives them opportunity to
chat with their neighbors and friends. I delight in
stepping into a Norman Rockwell environment.
This day reminded me so much of being in
one of his paintings.

What a gift that came my way today!

Loved IT!!!

By the way...the kids did not miss out on
school. They continued working on their end of
the year reports, Chelsea did some math
and then we had bowling this afternoon with our co-op.
We are not going to fall behind at this late date!
We are ready to be done!

Gardening Fun

Mom arranged with Warren's Mom, Georgia, to take Mikey to work in her truck and then to use the truck to bring back many, many bags of mulch. I decided as long as a truck would be there to go ahead and get some too.

The weather was perfect so with Jonathan's help we unloaded the mulch at our two houses then the real work began. I started my new flower bed...

It looked like this when I began...


It is not easy to remove grass. I started and was soon puffing and panting. Chelsea wanted to help. Pretty soon Jonathan joined us and the two of them worked together very well and very efficiently and got it done!
Made a Mommy proud!

We took the sod out in big chunks and relaid it into the mess left when they ground up the stump after we took down the tree. Funny story...if you haven't read it. Warren reworked that sod when he got home and I think it has a great chance of "taking" and growing there.

The end result.
Click on the pictures and they will enlarge...


Aren't these flowers sweet?









This hosta spent last summer looking dreadful!
I brought it over from Mom's since she was having a new porch put on and needed to move it. She shared it with me. The poor thing was so shocked...but look at it now!
What a difference a year makes!


These beauties are waiting to be planted. I think I'll put them where I can enjoy them from my kitchen window. They are so cheery.




Today I am headed to get a burning bush. I had intended to place it in this new flower bed but I am settling to put in nearby in the yard. Maybe next year this bed will expand to get closer to the size I am looking for. Better to start small and complete the project than to have it languish unfinished. Amen?