A new friend

I have a new friend that comes to visit.


He sneaks up to the kitchen window




walks around to the other side of the bird feeder...

and makes himself at home.

He's been enjoying his meals here all week.

Even when the house finches come to eat, it doesn't seem to bother him and he dines with them too.

Friendly little guy!

A rose painting

"If the rose puzzled its mind over the question how it grew, it would not have been the miracle that it is."

J B Yeats 1871-1957

Have a great weekend!

A planter turned chandelier

In case some of you didn't know, I bought this hanging planter at an antique shop with the idea of making it into a chandelier.





I took the chains off and attached them to the other side, then I added crystals on the bottom where the chains were. Simple!

Voila!




A hanging lamp for the garden.




Isn't it pretty?




I just love how it turned out!

Sweet Maddie

Our granddaughter came to stay with us for a few days.

We spent time at the park...

fed the ducks...

did some cooking together...

had breakfast on the patio...

played badmitten in the back yard (the birdie and the racket somehow ended up in the tree!)...

went swimming at the pool...



went shopping, played card games, painted some art projects, watched movies, played computer games, walked Otis and Riley, and lots of other things ~ and we had so much fun. There was lots of activity and also time spent together talking, laughing and telling stories.

I took her home this afternoon which is about an hour drive. We stopped at Starbucks and had a snack along the way.

The house is quiet now, and I'm near exhaustion. Time to get back to the ol' routine.

"Love you, Sweet Maddie"!

Smile,

and the world smiles with you.

I may be away from the computer for the next few days because my granddaughter is coming to stay and we have lots of fun things planned. I'll be back later.

Purple, red and yellow...

the colors of the bird house I just painted.

It has little sunflowers all along the sides. So bright and cherry, I'm sure our feathered friends will love it!

This will be listed on my etsy shop, whimsytwo, so check it out, and while you're there, take some time to browse and see all the other whimsical gifts.

Have a sunny day!

Cheers!

Today is our wedding anniversary! It's been 37 years since hubby and I walked down the aisle together ~ young and in love and not knowing what life would hold. It's been a wonderful journey and I love you dear husband!

Happy Anniversary, Galen!

Antiquing

My sister and I had a good day of shopping on Saturday. We went to the local antique shops, flea market and Goodwill. Here are some of my treasures.

A beautiful ornate Italian dish with flowers. It has holes around the outside of the dish and I'm going to weave a ribbon through the holes and hang it in the kitchen.

A rose napkin holder made out iron or metal. It will go perfect with my Italian planter that I have.

A small decorated box made in Italy.

An old metal jewelry box with a deep red lining.

And my most favorite thing of all ~ this piece! It's supposed to be a plant hanger, I believe, but I have other plans for it. I'm going to turn it around, attach the chains to the other end and hang crystals on the bottom. I'm turning it into a lamp and hanging it in the garden.

It's going to be lovely, and I'll show you when I'm finished!

Birdfeeder

I was out shopping the other day and bought this window birdfeeder. It attaches to the window with a suction cup, and it has a thermometer on the back. I thought it would be great for the kitchen window where I could get a close up of the birds feeding and also read the temperature outside.

Shortly after I put it up a little bird came. I'm not sure what he is, but he's so cute!

And then more came! Now I'm getting lots of little birds feeding right outside the kitchen window. It's so enjoyable to watch them.

Have a great day!

Happy Father's Day!

Wishing all the fathers a wonderful Happy Father's Day!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Company's coming...

...and I'll be busy the next few days.

I wanted to show you a picture of one of the day lilies that just started to bloom in the garden. They're so big and beautiful!

I'll be back later.

Have a happy day!

Extreme heat...

...that's what the weather forecaster reported this evening. Five straight days of 100 plus degree heat! Too hot to be outside. So, in the evenings, this is what I do~

the crossword puzzle after reading the evening newspaper,

enjoy a few of my favorite magazines,

and watch a good movie. This is a wonderful movie about the life of Beatrix Potter.

I'm hoping tomorrow evening I can enjoy the back porch.

Pretty tins

I was at Goodwill the other day and this decorative tin can caught my eye. "I must have it", I thought, and since it was only $1.29, I bought it. It's embossed on the bottom, Made in England, Designed by Daher, Long Island, NY. When I got it home I put it with the other two tins I had. It so happens that the one on the left in the photo below was made in England and designed by Daher too.

Look how pretty~

In this tin I store buttons.

In this tin I store spools of thread.

What will I store in this one?

They look like pieces of art.

I believe you need three of something for a collection. I guess I now have a collection. I'll have to keep an eye out for more pretty tins when I hit the thrift and antique shops!

A challenge

As you know, I said I was going to reupholster a wing back chair. I finally finished it. Whew, what a challenge! I've covered chairs before, but nothing like this one.

So here is the BEFORE.

This is the fabric I chose. It's a soft tan color, like sand, or a cafe latte! I bought seven yards of fabric (the charts listed 5 - 7 yards), and I'm glad I bought seven because there wasn't much left, and it allowed for mistakes (which I did make a few)! I found that the worse part for me was sewing the seat cover. Everything else was stapled or tacked.

These are the tools I used ~ staple gun, scissors, nails, tacks, and a hammer. (Also a sewing machine.)

Here it is AFTER! Finished!!!

It's sitting in the middle of the living room on this photo, because this is where I worked on it.

Here's a side view. Of course, there are a few mistakes (hopefully no one else can see them) and it's not perfect, but to me it's like a new chair!

I've decided to move my new chair into the bedroom in a cozy little corner where I can read at night.

So if you have a project that seems too tough to tackle, just do it! I wasn't sure how this would turn out but took the challenge and I'm happy I did!