Sitting Pretty

Seven years ago when we moved into this house, Prince Charming suggested we mount a porch swing outside from the deck off our bathroom.

It seemed like a great idea, but we never got around to purchasing the swing.  Instead we purchased these lovely wicker rockers.









And pretty much everything on the porch

Last year Prince Charming bought this long couch, under the flag banner, so that on Sunday afternoons I can stretch out here and pretend to read the newspaper as I take my Sunday nap.

I picked up the rocker and the little chair at garage sales.  The lamp and the two chairs which I'll show you in a minute I found at one of my favorite consignment stores, Bonita Things Quality Consignment. This store often has cute furniture sitting outside their door to lure me in. Here's a close-up of the lamp.

And the two chairs that match it have lovely little details, like the cut-out in the back.

Back detail

Front detail

A couple of years ago I decided to replace the metal chairs that used to sit here with these much more charming wicker chairs. The two I found at the consignment nicely rounded out the seating arrangement.  Much more charming that metal chairs, don't you think?

Not to wander too far from the topic of hand, that is the worry of were to sit.  But my generous niece, Melynda (read about our previous adventures here), loaned me this lovely little wicker planter.

I think the fan, adds to the vintage feel of the porch.

Prince Charming thinks this vintage fan, adds to the overall clutter that screams, crazy-little-old-lady-lives-here.  He keeps hiding the fan.  I keep finding it and putting it in a new place.  It's a lovely game we play.

We also have this wicker chair for quiet reading on the "reading patio".

And this wicker rocker by the front door where P.C. takes his morning coffee in the sunshine.

And this wicker glider on our bedroom balcony.

I nest here in the shade to write this blog.  You could join me here for a cup of coffee.

So you might feel just the slightest sympathy for P.C.'s stand that we have ENOUGH DARN PLACES TO SIT!!

But still, I had my heart set on a porch swing.  Someplace to sit and hold P.C.'s hand, maybe smooch a little as we watch evening creep across the yard.  And so last month when my birthday rolled around look what Prince Charming brought home!

Yes dear readers, a porch swing.  Isn't it charming nestled here?  In a couple more years the autumn clematis that Ann (see the previous post about the butterfly lady) gave me will wrap completely around these posts, creating my own little slice of heaven right here.  Come join me for a spot of tea, won't you?!

Now let's take a quick run over to Charlie and Linda's for a garden tour and festive 4th of July celebration.

We're continuing the theme we started last week with Linda's garden (read about it here) with another neat and tidy garden.  Charlie is an engineer by training and it shows in the absolute pristine layout of his gardens.

Makes you want to pull up a chair and lounge in the beautiful shade, no?

Look at these gorgeous vegetable gardens.  To me, seeing a garden like this is like watching the Olympic gymnasts and ice skaters, they make it look so easy to be talented and graceful, that you can fool yourself into thinking, "I can do that too."  But I've tried and failed too many times.  So now I just admire the skill, persistence and talent of gardening masters like Charlie!

A masterpiece! Not a weed in sight.

Linda, Charlie's wife set a festive table for our celebration of the 4th of July.

And the most delicious shrimp gumbo I think I've ever had!

Beautiful gardens, a new place to sit and swing with that darling P.C. and delicious food.  It's been a charmed week.  Hope that you too had the blessings of good friends, good food and beauty all around.  Take care of each other wonder ones until next week!

One more of Charlie's beautiful garden to see you into the weekend.

Porch Time!

As often happens here in the Midwest we went directly from spring with highs in the low 40's to summer with a high temperature of 80 degrees. Perfect weather for a good porch cleaning.

Usually I try to have the porch set up for spring before Easter.  But I just couldn't bring myself to dunk my hand in a bucket of water when the temperatures were hovering closer to 45 than 65.

Last Friday as soon as I rung off with all of you, I filled my bucket and headed for the porch







It was a mess, as it usually is after the winter.

The best way to get rid of five months of winter dirt and spring pollen is to vacuum the floor a couple of times. Make sure to replace the vacuum bag when you're done, you don't want all of that grime and pollen let loose in the house.

Then use a power washer or the "jet" setting on your hose nozzle and blast away the loose stuff.
Then you're ready for the big guns:

Dirtex cuts the dirt with just 2 tablespoons mixed into very hot water.  This year I tried a different mop and I've got to say that I think this mop worked the best of any of the varieties I've tried.

It's just a simple wringer mop from Menards.  But it's firm sponge handled the dirt and grime beautifully.  Two moppings with a squirt from the jet set hose between them and the floor was looking pretty good.  It took me all afternoon Friday to vacuum and mop the porch and I still needed to make a pass with my Swifter mop to get the last of the grime up.  But it was time for cocktails with Bob and Linda followed by a dinner out and dancing to some live music provided by my friend Wendy's band Ace at Luna Art + Wine.

All I can say is it must have been the warm weather, or spring fever, or Bob's wicked Manhattans because once Prince Charming heard the music this happened.  I knew PC was a good, maybe even wonderful, dancer.  But I had no idea PC had "the moves".

Saturday dawned with bright sunshine and continued warm weather. I bounded out of bed, ready to tackle day two of the porch project.  Prince Charming needed a little more rest after his wild night of dancing and charming the ladies.

All of the porch furniture came out of the shed for washing and mending.

Washing station

Mending station

Last year I tried to get all of this work done in one day.  In my rush I ignored wicker that had come loose from legs and peeling paint.  This year, I've called a truce with myself over my sense of how long something "should" take versus how long it actually takes.  We added this porch when we bought the house seven years ago. So after trying and failing for seven years to clean the porch and all the furniture in one day, this year I scheduled a two day cleaning. I was much happier and the process was a joy rather than a grind.

Our friend and handyman Emrah suggested using super glue to reattach wicker. I hate super glue. It's messy, my fingers always stick together before whatever I'm gluing has a chance to dry. But since I was taking things slow this year, I had time to think.  I was going to need something to hold the loose wicker pieces in place.  I had a lot of loose wicker and not enough clamps. Besides the clamps were too big for many of the small legs.

So I came up with this!

Rubber bands worked as wonderful clamps to hold the wicker in place. I wrapped the wicker around the legs, put the rubber bands around it, and pulled the rubber band away from the part I wanted to glue.  No stuck fingers, just re-glued wicker!

After that it was time to paint.

Grab our first lunch on the porch.

Chicken salad on a bed of spring greens, pink lady apples and extra sharp cheddar cheese. Yum!

The paint I used only took two hours to dry.  So after lunch all of the furniture was ready to be put in place.

I'm trying a new arrangement this year.  Prince Charming isn't sure he likes it. I'll let you know what he decides because in our family, PC has the best eye for proportion and so he gets to make final decisions about furniture placement.

In June everything has to come back off the porch and we go through this whole routine again to wash off all the tree pollen. That's when we put the rugs down and really decorate. So if PC still hates this arrangement, we'll change it.

By the time I put everything in it's place for this spring version of the porch and fluffed the last cushion it was getting late. I headed in to get cleaned up.  When I came back out, look what that Prince Charming had done!

The fountain was up and running.  Here's what it looked like before I went inside.

He really earned his title as Prince Charming this week !

Before I ring off I want to show you what's blooming in the garden this week.

Cherry trees

Blue bells!!

Can't recall the name of this one

Redbud

Fern

Tulip

Bleeding Heart

If you've got time, join me on the porch for a cup of tea or a glass of wine.  Until next week take good care of each other!

Amplified Gratitude

Snowdrops blooming in the garden today!

Sometimes angels sneak up on us and whisper profound, life changing secrets right into our hearts.   One Sunday, Pastor Peter hit me with a message so wise and helpful it took my breath away.

"The opposite of love is not hatred, but fear," Pastor Peter said. It was like he'd given me the secret handbook to life.  The opposite of happiness is not unhappiness but fear, the opposite of courage is fear, the opposite of creativity is fear.

Fear is the one trump card the Crazy Old Lady who lives in our heads has.  Her whole hand is the fear card. 

Fear tells us you're no good, you're self-indulgent, you have no talent, you're embarrassing your family, you're too emotional, you are wasting your time, you are too old, too fat and too stupid....the list goes on and on.

Happiness shrugs it's shoulders and says, "Well it may all be true, but who cares?" It takes our big scary monsters and personal demons and shrinks them down to size.  

Wonderful, just great, you may be thinking. Sign me up for that happiness pill,  book, program, whatever it is because I could really use some tonic for the pile of unpaid bills, the kids fighting, all of the folks who made me mad this week, the harsh thing my sweety said last night and the pile of laundry getting moldy in the basement.

There's no book, no pill, no program. Here's how to let a little squeak of happiness into your life-- amplify your gratitude.  

Just notice what makes you smile, feel a little warmer, a little lighter, stop resisting whatever is happening in your life, if only just for a second. Gratitude puts a stop to the  ceaseless yearning and longing for something else. Gratitude allows us to take delight in whatever is right in front of us.  

When I started noticing the warmth of sunshine on a late winter day, I could, just in that one moment feel a spark of gratitude.  I'll admit it was slow going at first and required effort to find five things I could be grateful for each day. Day by day, it got easier to find gratitude in more and more things.

Research suggests that if you record at five things that you are grateful for each day, you'll feel happier. Just five, every day. Better than a pill more like magic, you'll feel happier!

One of my wise and busy friends, Lisa,--a mother of two, owner of her own business with a husband and two dogs (not sure how Andy will feel about being lumped in with the dogs, but he's friendly, loyal and trustworthy so hopefully he'll take it well) uses DayOne app to take a picture and record a one-word diary entry on her smart phone.  However you choose to record your gratitude, just do it.  

As a way to get you thinking about what makes you grateful here are 10 things in my life that make me feel grateful:

Notes from friends

Hanging laundry on the line

Wearing hats

Taking a walk

Serendipity

Bike Riding

Sweet corn in August

Summer nights on the porch

 

Days spent on the water

Gardens, especially creating beauty in my own garden

And one bonus gratitude

First Snow

Dear ones I'd love to hear what makes you grateful. As a special thank you for sharing I'll be giving away this unique one-of-a-kind painting I made to one lucky winner who shares what makes you grateful in the comments below. Deadline for submissions is next Tuesday.

Dear readers you fill me with gratitude.  Take good care of each other until next week.  And don't forget to leave a comment!