Decisions

This Spring while I was doing a little fluffing to make the house look a little lighter and more springlike I brought one of my garden benches inside.  I folded a couple of quilts to soften the wooden slats, covered it with a spring green throw and added a couple of pillows.   

It sat there all summer looking cute but we didn't use it much as it faced the fireplace.  A couple of weeks ago I decided it should look a little more like winter and fall so I headed to one of my favorite thrift stores to see what I could find.

Look what I found in my favorite color. RED!  I found all this bundled in a plastic bag for under $5.00.  It is a bed set for a twin bed.  It included a bed skirt, two pillow shams, a round table cloth, a small square tablecloth and three pillows.  I cut some foam to add to the quilts as you could still feel the slats even with all my padding.  I was so excited by the color it added to the room.  But last night as we sat watching our first fire of the season my hubby said.  "You know this bench isn't very comfortable I don't think we are going to like sitting on it all winter."  So what do I do?  Let him suffer all winter because I love the look or find somewhere else for my treasure? 

Just A Peek

Thought I would give you just a peek at some of things in my booth.

 I liked this fallish looking basket filled with dishes in autum colors.Included is a tablecloth in case anyone wants to go on a picnic.

 This side has a lovely picture with brightly colored fruit and flowers.  An animal print throw and pillows blend with the colors nicely.

This is the cutest little side chair.  It would be perfect in a bedroom or as an entrance hall seat.

I painted two wrought iron charis a lovely lime green and reupholstered the seats in a leafy lime green and turquoise pattern.  I also painted a small half table to match.  This morning someone bought one of the chairs and the table.  I had envisioned them around a small round patio table so I thought people would want two chairs.  The lady said she wanted it for a desk chair for her daughter's room. Now I hope someone else  is looking for one lone chair. 

One Down

I have so many things I still want to do in my lifetime I will probably never get to do them all.  But last weekend I got to cross one thing off my list.  Several times in the last two years I have been slated to take a hot air balloon ride.  But the weather never was right for take off.  Finally on Sat. morning I got the call.  What do you mean meet me at the airport at 5:00 a.m..

We were guests at a magnificent sunrise.  The weather was perfect in the low 70's with a small skiff of mist floating just above the dew laden grass.

Oh look the pilot and balloon are here  Well,  I am not sure I am flying in something that comes in that small of a package. 

This is my hubby and oldest son.  Can you tell they have never done this before.  Just waiting for instructions.

OK, the next thing we do is light a fire to heat up the air the fan is blowing into the balloon.

That didn't take long at all!

The view is exciting from up here and the reflection of the balloon in the Lily pad pond is breathtaking.  The sun is warm on our shoulders and it is fun to wave to all the envious people below who have come out watch us float by. 

Wonder if they would invite me to coffee if I dropped in.

Well it looks like when it's time to land you just pick a nice backyard.

All this really has to back in that bag.

This is the top of the balloon.  It reminded me of a giant spider web.  So graphic too.

Took a lot of assets to get all the air out of the balloon.

This is my granddaughter M.  She really enjoyed her first balloon ride and is taking a little rest before we load the balloon.

This is our pilot Becky Petrehn and the granddaughter.  If you look closely at my granddaughter's hands you can see the leaves she captured as we flew low enough to touch the tree tops.  If you would like to have a balloon adventure contact Becky at Balloon Ad-Ventures.  913-9158150 is her phone number.  She is a

 great pilot and fun too,

Well one dream down only a thousand to go.

Sometimes

Sometimes as all of you know life gets so full that blogging is not even a consideration.  In an earlier post I mentioned that both my mother and brother were ill.  I have flown to WA state  three times in the past three months and stayed a week.  I was there for my brother's operation for esophageal cancer.  He came through the operation in great shape and will start his 2nd round of chemo soon.  My mother is now at peace and out of pain.  She was 87 and was still so full of fun and told jokes all the time  until the pain became too great.

And then, I don't know what I was thinking, but I decided to open an antique booth again.  Actually I found a little store in Greenwood. Mo that I really liked and the booth rent was reasonable.  I had so much stuff in storage from my last booth that I needed to sell or just toss.  I do thoroughly enjoy the hunt for treasures and decorating my booth.  It also has helped me to focus on fun things as well.

If you live close or are visiting the KC area please stop and visit my booth at "As Time Goes By" located at 605 Main on the south side of the street in Greenwood  The store in an old white house with a charming  front porch.  It is a great shop with a variety of vendors.  I am booth 16 or just ask for Stella's booth.

I am happy to be back and looking forward to visiting everyone.

Porch Update

I finally finished sewing all the covers for my patio furniture.  My three pieces of material stretched just far enough to do both my front and back porch.

I covered six of the chair cushions with the lime green and black stripe.

For four of the chairs that fit around my rectangle table I used the lime green poly to do the seats and covered the backs in the outdoor print fabric.

Isn't this a cute print.  It has little bugs hidden on the leaves.  In this one if you look close you can see a grasshopper on the leaf on the the top right hand corner.

A couple of the side chairs also have this fabric.  Notice the little green table.  It is a child's table I curb shopped.  I found the prettiest green in a spray paint called Fern.

I loved the green so much I took a bench that used to sit by pond that was lavender and painted it green as well.  Well a couple of flower pots too.

Now I just love to step outside with my morning coffee and enjoy all the bright colors.  It is so nice what a few cans of spray and fabric can do.

It's a Lilly Day

As I drank my first cup of coffee this morning I admired all the Lilly's that are just beginning to bloom in the garden.  They are a welcome sight as my roses have finished their first  flush of blooms and I am lacking color in the garden.  I am always glad to see the Stella's bloom as they last so long and make such a brillant splash of color in the garden. 

 I had another nice surprise.  I planted a Siberian Iris two years ago and it has never bloomed.  I had three lovely blooms today so I am so excited.  I only planted one as wanted to see if I liked them or not.  They are a keeper.

These orange Lilly's are toward the back of the yard but are so brilliant they catch your eye even from the living room window.

I have always loved the brilliant pink of these Lilly's that grow beside my tea kettle fountain.

Our temps are much cooler this morning which is a relief from all the heat.  Hope you all have a lovely fun weekend.

It's Curtains

 I was wandering through TJMax yesterday and these green curtains caught my eye.  Take me home they said.   But what would I do with you I asked?  You know the back porch they said.  No way I don't have any way to hang curtains there.  But they won and followed me home. 
Looking at my wrought iron I decided if I strung wire between columns I could probably hang the curtains.  As I was walking by the garden shed this morning I noticed a coil of wire my husband must have hung from a tree by the door or else God was answering my  unspoken prayers. I hung the curtains and love them.

I just can't decide if I should let them blow in the breeze or tie them back with a black ribbon.  I am afraid if they blow to much they may begin to tatter at the edges.  But they do look so summery floating in the breeze.