Just a Swingin’

 

I’ve always thought a yard doesn’t look complete without some sort of swing hanging from a branch. Earlier this spring, while rummaging through the remains of an old barn, I came across this “swing.” Nothing fancy but it serves the purpose…

I took some snapshots of Ephraim the other evening while he was enjoying the summer weather on his swing.

 

 

Love little bare feet…(not so little anymore )

 

The next photos you will have to look at closely…

A nice smile.. but mom can tell it’s a bit fake.. then…

Ornery crossed eyes that I didn’t detect until later when I pulled up the pictures on my computer!

No wonder he’s laughing! (definitely a genuine smile )

Love, love this quote. I’ve used it before and won’t ever tire of it…

Have a wonderful weekend!

Home Sweet Home

 

Home was a swimming hole and a fishing pole and the feel of a muddy row between my toes
Home was a back porch swing where I would sit and mom would sing amazing grace
While she hung out the clothes,
Home was an easy chair with my daddy there and the smell of Sunday supper on the stove
My footsteps carry me away but in my mind I'm always going home

 

I always loved this song! I would love to imprint this image of home into the minds of our boys. Of course I’d add the smell of honeysuckle wafting through the air, the sound of trickling water, the haunting song of the wood thrush, the chorus of the tree frogs and crickets, the croak of grandfather bullfrog echoing across the pond…the list could go on and on. What a glorious time of year! All seasons have their beauty, but to me, spring tops them all. You can actually smell the green! Ok, I’ll stop fussing..although I need to add that I’m already looking forward to next spring! I know, I’m strange in that way…

I’ve taken a break from blogging due to crazy busyness which I won’t elaborate on. Let’s just say that my plans are to slow down now and really enjoy the summer; picnics with the boys, sleeping late,even sitting down daily  just to watch the birds while reading a good book and sipping on a cold glass of iced tea freshly made by my maid who gathered the tea from my herb garden that hasn’t materialized yet...oh yeah, I do have a few projects on my to-do list yet…

I’m exaggerating, but you probably get the point…I do want to slow down and spend more quality time with the “things” I love…family being first on my list.

A few months ago I felt the front porch needed a makeover. I  still love our porch swing but I’d gotten kind of tired of the reds and browns and felt it needed a little freshening up. This is what it looked like last summer…

Here’s the after…

I basically just painted the swing and added a different quilt& cushions, all of which I already had. The “home” sign is the same sign I had displayed at Christmas time. I just used the other side.

I also added an old door as a divider to the right of the swing.

I  painted the bench that used to be red..

I added our house number after painting light green and white stripes on it.

The pergola that I built a few years ago using branches and twigs had seen it’s better days so I ended up redoing that too using old lumber that was still in good shape. Hopefully it will last awhile.

Before…

This past winter wreaked havoc with snow weighing down the branches, breaking them off.

Now the after…

I added the screen door to give the honeysuckle a place to expand. I can’t wait to smell those blooms again! It should happen any day…

So with a little bit of time and no money (the best part) I gave the porch a makeover that should last for a while..( I can almost sense hubby rolling his eyes)..for some reason.

Happy Spring everyone!

If you want to read the original post on this porch swing, here is the link:

Our Country Porch Swing

 

Country Wedding Decor

 

“Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."

Mark 10:9

I was blessed with the privilege to do some decorating for the wedding of a special couple that got married yesterday. Being horse lovers, they wanted some rustic décor, including fence and a wooden pergola, which was right up my alley!

 

I added some lanterns, which were lit during the wedding.

 

 

I made a few rustic signs to display on the fence. The fence is a split rail fence that Hubby helped me with..he fixed the posts so they would stand and I stained and glazed it to make it look weathered. The bride and groom signs are written with rope that I glued onto an old board.

 

 

I found this beautiful old door on a pile of wood from an old barn that was torn down… (note the original old latch & hinges!)

 

The smaller door I made using wood from the same pile. I used my usual technique with the lettering.

 

 

Although this isn’t the sharpest picture, you can see the backdrop I made with some old pine barn siding behind the bridal table. I made the Mr. & Mrs. signs and added an old wooden box to hold jars with candles inside.(you can’t hardly tell with the angle of the picture, but there are four jars in the box)…

 

 

 

I saved the best creation for last… my niece was flower girl and looked so beautiful with her dress and flowers in her hair…

 

Thank-you for visiting! Hopefully it won’t go this long again until the next post..I have been too busy! Watch for some gardening and outside posts next…Welcome spring!

Bloom Force

 

Bloom Force… it almost sounds like an action packed, good guy never dies type of movie title. Or could it be the code name of a secret mission conducted by a mysterious undercover agency? Better yet, is it possible that it’s what I get the urge to do in the middle of a gray January?

We’ll go with the latter since it’s a little less violent.  

I’ve always wanted to force blooming tree or shrub branches to bloom indoors in the winter, but I never got around to doing it until this year.

The first week in February, I dug out my trusty clippers, donned my muck boots, tramped through a half a foot of snow and proceeded to chop off some branches. (pretty good movie so far?)

These are the different kinds I chose…

 

Before I stuck them in water, I used a hammer to split the ends of the twigs, allowing water to be better absorbed.

After I put them in water, I set them in the laundry room since it,s cool and dark in there. ( my laundry room is in the basement )

 

A few weeks later I was rewarded with beautiful Bradford Pear blooms!

 

 

The next one to bloom was the Forsythia…

 

 

I thought they didn’t bloom as fully as some I’ve seen in pictures but I was just so happy to see fresh color in our house so I didn’t complain. I’m sure there are some tips I could of followed to get better blooms but that can wait until next year.

I got a few little blooms out of the Dogwood…

 

 

The Lilac had a couple little blooms also, which I didn’t get a picture of. For a while I thought the Crabapple was going to sprout some color but sadly the little buds ended up wilting away.

My favorite was definitely the Bradford Pear. We don’t even have a tree, I got the branch from my sister’s tree. I felt like a common thief walking out and helping myself but she, of course, didn’t mind.

I would encourage anyone to do this, especially if you are like me and can hardly wait to get your fingers in the earth again and watch for those first spring blooms.

And if you don’t have any flowering trees and shrubs to force, you can always make your own!

 

 

I just used the pear branch after it was finished blooming and stuck it into a vase…

 

I cut out some circles out of white tissue paper…

 

 

I folded the paper so I could cut out multiple layers at once.

I folded each circle in four…

 

Next I cut a notch in each one…

 

 

Now the “buds” are ready to be glued onto the twigs. After fluffing them a bit, this is how they turned out…

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this first little glimpse of spring! Hopefully the next blooms I post will be surrounded by real soil, fresh spring air, bird songs and trickling water… sigh…I can hardly wait!

Good night everyone!