Where Do I start???

I will start with a trip to Castle in the Clouds in Tuftonboro NH.

I have shown this castle many times from my trips there so I will not go into it one more time. A beautiful day and free tickets from the library. I met my daughter and Grand and we took a tour.

My grand is an old soul she loved every bit of it. Then we traveled to Wolfeboro NH for an afternoon of lunching by the lake and shopping in all the little local stops. Just a perfect day!

My flowers have been very busy. 

Butterflies...

And bees, so nice to see pollinators. 

As you know we are putting a shower in our half bath on the main floor. That meant we took the closet from our tiny front hallway for the shower in the bathroom. I spent a few days painting and cleaning up. I will tell you this I am a horrid painter! I had to keep going back to touch up places I missed.

And in between all of this I had a birthday. Sat we headed out early for a day of shopping lunching and whatever struck my fancy. 

Early evening, we met up with my daughter and family and her in laws for the annual Jackson bridge dance. One of my favorite activities of the summer. Her father-in-law laid out quite the spread! They gave me a cake and sang to me. 

And oh what a dance it was. This band plays a lot of everything. 

And they filled that bridge! We danced and laughed it was perfect!

My daughter and son-in-law think there has been a change in me since my retirement. I asked husband and he said yes there is a relaxed air around you now. I will say I didn't know I was so stressed in my job I now know I was, and I always felt that I was missing out on life with my schedule. 

That ends my birthday, and it was perfect I got a gift of wonderful items that make baking bread an event. Lovely baskets made to raise the bread in and special cutters to make fancy designs. Now I can't wait to start making bread. I also got beautiful note cards and more I do have lots of thank you cards to write. 

This morning I saw this lone turkey come strolling through the yard. 

We haven't seen the bear in a while thankfully.

I heard that the sunset the other night was the last time we would have the sunset after 8pm until 2024. That is my biggest complaint about winter is the darkness. But there is still lots of summer to enjoy.

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One of my mother's sisters died last week she was in her 90's and had broken her hip and was not comfortable at all. They are having services Down East Maine in a couple of weeks. Husband and I are going to make the trip with a stop at my cousins to stay over. 

I am glad to be able to see family even for this sad reason.

Have a wonderful week!

A Break In The Humidity

Our old garden gate needed lots of repair, so husband made a new one. I christened it today with a wreath of garden flowers. 

Just a wee little wreath to say welcome to our garden!

Where mushrooms look like wood

The cone flowers are in full bloom.

And the garlic is drying. 

Welcome to the porch! The weather is wonderful!

Yesterday we were 87 and humid so very humid. This morning we were dry, breezy and 54. Perfect but more like fall than the last of July. I wrapped up in a blanket and had my coffee this morning. It made me so happy. This weather is supposed to last all week. 

Have you ever started a craft thinking "this is going to be so great!" and end up with well a circus tent? I wanted a large bee skep and it turned into a circus tent look. I put it in the garden and told the bees the circus has come to town enjoy. 

I am still cleaning out I found a container of things we used when we camped. Since there will be no more camping in my future, I am seeing what needs to go. These plastic plates are so cute I have to keep them, and the silverware is darling. 

Daisys on the handles it would make a cute table on the porch, so they are a keep also. 

Friday, I went to the thrift store to drop off yet more boxes and I had some time to kill so I shopped a bit, and I found this darling blouse. 

All stitched in a paisley design. 

Fits perfectly and quite a buy at 3.00. 

I will close with this I was walking by and saw the sun shining in and the breeze moving the curtains so pretty and peaceful. 

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Have a wonderful week!

Quick Post

I saw a post about making cream cheese from milk that is a bit past its date. Well I had a quart of that so I gave it a try and added garlic scapes. It turned out so good! And it was fairly easy. 

 

I had about a cup of blueberries to use up. Blueberry coffee cake

I also used up the last of the cheerio cereal (cinnamon nut) for the topping. Turned out great.

And last but not least my geranium in all its glory!

We are in for pretty bad weather today so I gathered some flowers I wanted to press and I thought I better take a picture if my geraniums before they get ruined. 

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HAVE A GREAT DAY!

I Stepped On A Frog!!!!

Ok at least I think I did. But that poor frog was flat and I had been gardening around there. Husband says no way I would have stepped on it and not known it. Just made me very sad the poor guy they are such good bug eaters. 

Sweet B and her best friend all dolled up for the Barbie Movie.

They went with a lot of the girls and moms from dance school they all got in the spirit with Barbie pink. My daughter went and said it was pretty funny. 

I spent the day cutting back and weeding Saturday in spite of the rain and lack of sun they are doing ok.

This is why the poor bear is hungry the acorns are tiny, the berries are not coming like they should, I do feel bad for him but not enough to keep him around.

And today was husband's 50th high school reunion.

I did not go to that school but do know several people in his class.

It was funny my football captain husband was nervous going in. Not sure why and really does all the old high school crap come back after all these years???

Oh and he had a great time!!!

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My brother is here for a couple of days and the weather is wonderful.

Have a great week.

Garlic

I dug up a half a row of my garlic I think I am a bit too excited, and I need to leave it for a week or two more, but I have these drying on a rack on my screened in porch. Everyone is getting garlic for Christmas! lol. 

My daughter gave me this plant for Mother's Day I repotted it and put it in my wagon, and it is going crazy! Now I am going to figure out if I can winter it over just for fun. 

The hollyhock is coming to an end. The leaves got rust from all the rain and humid weather not a surprise, but it is still going and going.

My zinnia seeds from the dollar store are starting to bloom.

I was gone for 3 days staying with Sweet B my grand while her parents were away.  First up we did a stitched bookmark that I did not get a picture of. Next, we made a bee skept!  

she decorated it all on her own. Such fun and so proud of her. And she now has contacts! She is learning to put them in and out and getting use to wearing them! I ran her to dance and camp. Pep took her to hit some golf balls and of course ice cream. It was a busy fun 3 days, and we loved it!

Bear update so he has decided to try and get into my car. Luckily, I see no damage. We called fish and game and really, they will do nothing until human life is in danger. He is crazy bold we have a group text with all the neighbors, and he is everywhere. at noon the past 3 days he is on the deck looking in the screen door of the neighbors. We were out in the yard doing yard work today the dirt road below us was being fixed with heavy equipment from all the rain and another neighbor was mowing annnnnd he shows up in our yard!!! with all that noise! We bought an air horn and tried that he ran a few yards and sat and looked at us. Cable guys on the other end of our dead-end road see him coming up to the truck they start the truck he Saunders off. Sadly, no fear which will get him and us in big trouble. Oh, and I can outrun my husband lol!

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Thank you for all the kind comments on my home. I am so proud of it, growing up we didn't have much so thanks to my husband and lots of hard work over the years we have this house in a great area with 1 naughty bear lol. 

Have a great Day! 

What the???

A tornado watch!!!??? We just never get them here.

People are closing their stores and restaurants freaked out, I get it.

This is our house and we do have a nice big basement that I hope we will never use for that!

We have been so hot and humid and so much rain! I am trying very hard to not wish the summer away but dang I am over this. This is completely crazy. 

Ok garden walk some gardens were lovely in spite of the weather we have gotten this summer. And I did not take as many pictures as I should have. This border garden was nice. 

Not sure what this plant is but it has red berries on it in the summer. The homeowner was not there so the docent has no idea what it was, but I liked it for interest. 

Lovely use of ferns and their astilbes were beautiful. compared to mine which are puny.

Some houses were not so much the gardens but the settings. Yes, this was on the lake, and some were views of the mountains. 

And some had such wonderful garden decorations. I loved this whimsical fence. It was hot!!! and humid!!!! but we saw all 11 gardens I bumped into a lovely lady I knew from rug hooking at her house on the tour. It was nice to chat and catch up. And husband ran into a man he knew at his house from years ago. Small world. We went to lunch and enjoyed the air conditioning and the yummy drinks. We dropped our friends off at home and headed home. 

Early evening about 7:30 I walk out onto the porch after locking up around the house and putting out my ammonia to ward off the bear.

And there is the bear walking across in front of the porch. He didn't like the smell of the ammonia down back or around our porch doors, so he was walking round looking for another route. We both started to yell at him to he looked at us like we had lost our minds and slowly sauntered off to the neighbor's house. He has a large patch of raspberries, so I am sure the bear made himself at home. This is a young smaller bear. And he looks harmless enough, but I am sure if you went after him, he would fight back in a big way. 

We were feeling brave with the screen between us (so stupid)

Have a wonderful safe week!

After The Rain

We have had some crazy rain and wind, but the sun did come out for a few days. Our poor neighbor Vermont really got hit I feel so bad for them the devastation is awful. 

My walk pictures a very blurry picture of a butterfly.

And so many mushrooms! they are everywhere. 

I washed the windows in our bedroom and washed and starched the curtains. Always makes me feel just a bit more organized and neater when that is done. 

I have been cleaning out and found these suncatchers. So, I washed the big window in the kitchen took off the sticky snowflakes (that were full of little bugs ick!)that keep the birds from hitting that window and put these up. Such a better look than dead bugs. 

Concerts on the common have started for the summer. This band was a lot of country and a little old rock. Not a huge fan of country but it was nice to get out in the park to listen to the music.

Last night I took a tarot card reading class at the library. 

It was interesting and fun. I need to buy a deck these are oracle cards not the same thing. 

I also got to the local church rummage sale yesterday.

The mirror will go in my half bath we are redoing, and the pumpkin will probably go outside for 5.00 for both a steal. 

I wanted to buy a 1/2 watermelon at the grocery store the other day, and they were 8.00. I am always shocked at the prices you would think I would be used to them. So, I thought that pumpkins will be crazy expensive this year too. So that is my alternative to a real one. And I did not buy the watermelon.

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I am off for a walk and to get some supplies for a craft project. I have 3 whole days with Sweet B while her parents are away!! I want to be ready. 

Husband and I are going on a garden walk tomorrow with friends the poor gardeners on the tour must be beside themselves because of all the rain. But again, it is a day out with great friends. 

have a wonderful weekend!