A Very Quick Iced Tea Chat

Well hello!  It's a beautiful summery sort of day outdoors.  Perfect for an iced tea and a fan and a chat.  We can sit by the pool if you'd like...If you don't mind having your feet in a kiddy pool as you sip your tea.  Or we can sit indoors and gaze over the yard.  I've just this morning potted up the last of the flowers I'd purchased over the past two weeks.  Not one went to waste, not a single one!  I wasn't that diligent last year but this year I've been very mindful of the need to USE what I purchase and make my expenditures impactful. 

The birds have finally been drinking  at the bird bath which I think is rather fun.  Not many flock there yet, but I've seen a mocking bird and a blue jay over the past few days and that's just when the blinds were open.  I love to watch them drink.  This morning I added potted plants to the steps, which I skipped painting for now because frankly I'm a little done in with projects and plans and changes.  It seemed unnecessary work and I let it slide.  The potting of plants was where the money really was this time around and so that's where I concentrated my work. 

I'm so pleased with all I've done though some of it needs to fill in a bit.  I've a post I'm working on that showcases all sorts of projects but would you like a little sneak peek?

I can't seem to find my camera at the moment or I'd show the latest shot of the flower bed in front of the back porch.  This will have to suffice.  Josh loves to walk about with my camera in hand and one of us had it last and it's misplaced.  I am not laying blame upon him because I think I was the last with it and I simply can't recall where I put it down.   Otherwise there would be lots of pictures in this post...Oh well!  I do have a photo of a project I worked on this morning.  Thanks to Pinterest, I was able to make my own version of the permanent water fixture:

That is not the intended position for that watering can but was good enough for the photo.

I now have hanging baskets on the front porch, have finished this flower bed and have a few pots of flowering plants on the steps out back that can be seen from the window.  I'm out of potting soil once more and out of weed mat (I couldn't find the sort I prefer yesterday).  I find it just plain hard to paint with Josh about,  so we're at a halt of most projects at present.  I still want a few potted things for the front porch, perhaps something to go in the other two flower beds, more herbs...Oh I could just spend all I have in the yard and I mean that sincerely but I shall not.  We are on sort of a role lately with projects though. 

Indoors there have been a few projects started and a few changes, as well.  I moved the dining room table which prompted John to put in his request for an oval rug yet again.  We found a lovely one at Overstock and I like it a great deal.  It was a wonderful bargain and free shipping.  We ordered it on Sunday and it arrived on the following Tuesday which I thought was pretty doggone awesome.  That prompted me to go to work on the chair seats (it rained and stalled painting projects).   I ordered new artwork for the dining room walls above the buffet.  It's not quite complete yet since the mirror that hangs there is a wee bit too formal for the canvases I chose.   Bess and I decided a shabby sort of paint technique will bring the tone of the mirror down just enough...but that's a painting project for future weeks.  Tweaking is very much wanted but everything must be done in moderation. I've burned through my allowance for six weeks time and must restrain myself from further expenses until at least two weeks hence.  Each change has my heart singing a happy song as everything is turning out lovely.

But the big change, the one change that I had looming at me,  was the arrival of my son and his family.  I'm happy to say we're settling in well enough.  John admits he feels overwhelmed at times and I confess I do, too.  Bess admits that living out of suitcases instills a sense of impermanency and makes her a little anxious.  Sam....well he's far too tired after a day's travel (averaging 200-400 miles per day) to even speak.  Josh is too little to say what he feels.  Week one is very nearly done and we all seem to feel rather amiable towards one another yet. 

Josh has warmed up to us considerably.  Oh how my heart leaped with laughter and joy this morning when he stood outside my bedroom door and shouted "Gahs!  Up!"  He calls us 'Gah' at the moment which is fine.  We're accustomed to these temporary names from the grands until they get their full language skills up and running.  And yesterday evening he looked about at me, his mom and dad, John's empty chair and suddenly said "Gah?" and shrugged his shoulders,  meaning John, who was working.

I've learned a few things this week.  For one thing, my 'rules' have stood us in good stead.  Bess and Sam are quick to do those few things I asked.  I'd told Bess to feel free to do laundry if she needed and she's done so.  It's her bit of 'normal'.  We have divided meal duty and planned meals together each of us bringing out recipes/dishes we'd like to prepare.  I've happily sampled dishes they'd normally eat in their home.  I prefer to do the clean-up because I like to load the dishwasher a certain way, but I am quick to accept help when offered and to ask for help when I find myself needing three or four hands instead of just two.  Josh is not a messy child, which is a bit of a surprise really.  He tends to keep his toys together in one area.  He's not prone to dropping food when he eats.  Again, this is a surprise to me.  I'm accustomed to the sort of devastation the twins left behind, lol.

I had the loveliest of mornings.  John took on an extra half shift and went off to work.  It was already nearly full light when he left at 6am and the birds were singing their hearts out.  I came indoors and opened windows in the bedroom and had my Bible study with a chorus that beat out many church choirs.  The cool clean air filled up the room, the bird songs made it so peaceful.  John had suggested I go back to bed to rest and perhaps I ought to have done but truly that lovely start to my day with a natural symphony worked just as well as sleep would have done.  I wished for a moment I might have that sort of quiet early start to every single day.  At the very least, however, I do take time to do my Bible study and prayer before I even consider walking out of my room, including for coffee.  It's probably been the most sensible thing I did to prepare myself for this time.

We are just teetering on the brink of a crazy birthday month.  It kicks off with Taylor's first birthday.  From there it's birthdays times 8.  I went to town today and bought cards at the dollar store...and on my way home realized that I'd forgotten the very last birthday of the month!  I shall have to go back and buy another card. 

John and I slipped out and went to Home Depot yesterday.  On our way home he spontaneously went by Burger King and ordered burgers and chocolate shakes.  I haven't had a chocolate shake in well over a year and though I didn't drink but half of the small shake he'd ordered, it was mighty good.   When we got home I worked on supper prep and played with my grandson and piddled about in general.  I finally got on the computer yesterday evening and checked email.  I had a note from one of the genealogy sites wishing me a Happy Anniversary.  I checked the calendar and said "Hey John, guess what today is?  It's our anniversary!"  That was our anniversary 'moment'.  His reply was, "Huh..."   Well never fear, he did acknowledge it two weeks ago.  He purchased a lovely ceramic glazed bird bath I'd wanted for the past two years.  The same one the birds were drinking from this morning.

Tomorrow marks the one year date of my health crisis...And I do feel it worthy of celebration.  The outcome might have been different.  The year might have been more difficult.  I truly believe that every single thing needed came at exactly the right moment, from the moment I fell in the kitchen floor through doctors and educators and all. 

Personally, it was a year when I made some decisions about who and what I allowed in my life.  The crisis clarified and magnified for me what was truly important and what areas needed real impactful changes.  I can say that it wasn't always smooth, nor painless, but during our vacation this year I compared my life to what it had been and honestly the peace and calm and content I feel now has truly made me realize how right I was in those choices.

Now I shall end here.  I don't know just when I'll chat again, but I hope you all will be patient with me...It's only a short season!   Talk to you later!