A Visit with Linda

Linda and I have been trying to get together for weeks, but you know how busy lives can be!

Got to see her new find, a French dish rack that I know Megan Brockman would love!  Linda, as usual, has everything to make it look perfect!

Speaking of perfection . . . a chocolate martini!

Sitting on the back porch overlooking the lake and catching up, Brownie wants to get in on the conversation.  Annabelle Fern is nowhere to be seen.

So much for the martini!  YUM!

As has come to be expected, a big thunderstorm rolled through.

Please disregard the initial looking through the screen and in the end the singing lol! There were actually waves on the lake from the wind. Next week, Chambord Spritzers at my place!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

Fog, rain and humidity have been the norm the past month.  We can count on a thunderstorm just about every afternoon.

Torrential rain, even the day I went to pick up our newest rescue, Voodoo, a deaf senior who would be staying with me for a few days.  Got to see Renee again, she had been in Switzerland seeing her family for the past month.

Such a sweet little guy.

He loved Daddy's bed so much, I let him take it with him when he left.

You can always see and hear the storms and rain before they make it to us.

My friend George stayed the night at the boathouse arriving at 2 am on his trip back from NY and on his way home to Gulfport, MS.  We finally got to meet Harry, the pyr/chow.

Harry and William were being adopted in NY, but they had a big fight and the adopter kept William, not Harry.  I don't think he minded going back home with George.

Voodoo and Harry's meet and greet.  A little stiff, but hope they are buddies by now.  Voodoo went back with George, he will be going to Houston Chow Rescue.

With so much rain, not much to show in the flower department, but foliage is doing fantastic, as is the lettuce.  We feel like rabbits by now eating so much of it!

Toad lily given to me by a gardening friend in a small faux bois pot I found at a thrift store

Praying hands hosta.

Silver fern

Mouse ears hosta.

Coleus.

Geranium.

Mother's Day Weekend

The annual visit with the family, just hanging out at the boathouse drinking pina coladas sans rum because I forgot it and getting some sun.

Still limber at 87! (She's not going to like that I posted this shot haha!)

Went to Saluda to watch people zipline, getting prepared for the group zipline in July.  

The fog was so thick on the drive up that no one got to see the nice mountain views and how high up they were.  I think the fog added to the zipline experience, but some were complaining.  There won't be any fog in July when Bob finally sets sail.

I always plan on taking more family photos and maybe even getting in one, but I get so busy with meals and making sure everyone has what they need that I forget.  Maybe next year I will get better at it!

On the homefront, I have not been mowing certain areas where there were leaves of plants I could not identify, and to my surprise one was a peony that bloomed this year.  Very fragrant and only one bloom.  

The lettuce has reached its max and we are having salads every night because it is beginning to bolt.

Tomatoes are ahead of schedule and next to produce!

Dodged a Bullet!

Yes, this is the cute little group of buildings I had my eye on to turn into an antiques shop/bookstore, sad to say.

At least those beautiful blue/green painted boards are okay.  

Just one huge tree was all it took.  At least the log cabin is still standing intact.

I stopped by to talk to Heather who lives next to the cabins and owns it.  She and I were even talking about getting together and having a little art studio, but two days after we talked this happened.  

Heather was in her yard with her dog pushing her son on a tire swing.

This is Heather's house, the outside now looking really good after lots of elbow grease.  We talk about being in the "renovator trenches" and both of us have a long way to go, but I think she has a bit more than me because her house is huge!

I love her entryway with the glass french doors and big staircase and her youngest wanting his picture taken.

She's done a lot of yard work like me, tackling vines and poison ivy, but is now seeing the rewards of hard work.  This is looking from her front porch to the little old church across the street. 

On a happy note, I found this chenille bluebird bedspread for $5 at an estate sale in the middle of the week on the way to the grocery store.

I listed it on Ebay for $21.99 and with two days of bidding left, it has had 968 lookers, 27 watchers and 10 bids and is now up to $83.82!  I am shocked!  I haven't a clue as to what makes this so popular, it's not even in mint condition, but I will now be on the lookout for others!

Last week Linda and I headed up to Asheville to B.B.Barnes nursery and spent the day drooling over plants.  The fog was amazing!

If only you could smell these roses!  Blogger needs a scratch-and-sniff feature.

A $1900 Japanese maple!

Since we were so close, we decided to go to Bella and look at expensive bath and cabinet fixtures in this cute cabin.

We both LOVED this shower!

The boathouse is painted, the deck still needs staining, the screen door needs to be put up, but it's really coming along 

I spent a few hours cleaning out the small garden and plugging in verbena seedlings.

Found this cute almond-colored range at the hospice store for $75.  Just need an electrician to put in a special plug, but have had no success getting any calls back from electricians yet. 

Yesterday I had a long list of projects to accomplish, then Panda brought home a baby possom.  I spent six hours on the phone, emailing, texting and finally some luck!  A naturalist about 30 minutes away that would come to my home in the pouring rain since my car was in the shop and picked "her" up.  They all look like "hes" to me!

He left his brochure and said to call in a few days for an update.  I now have a list of great people that worked to help me find someone who could take her, most were either full, had some with broken legs that were taking a lot of time or were across state lines.  Maybe today I can accomplish something!