Hall Transformation "Before"

Dear blogging friends, it is time for summer and My Blue Cottage
takes a turnabout.  My dear sons take over the house and DH and I
travel to our Alabama homeplace for seven weeks to spend precious
time with family and work on our old homeplace. I will continue My
Blue Cottage, but the posts will be about our summer stay.

Last night I was dreaming I was walking through the homeplace in
the night listening to the quiet and at the same time, the train whistle.
I was dreaming about how to decorate the hall so the house would be a
little more comfortable as we work on it.  Come on in and visit awhile.

I have these beautiful doors and beautiful hall, but I haven't put any
furniture in here yet. I found a picture of an inspiration room.

I thought I could find two rugs as in the picture instead of trying to find
one long one.  I may paint the walls a pale lemon color to brighten the
room.  AND, put a sofa in the hall to receive guests!  I like the floral
sofa to put against the wall across from the fireplace. Right here!

And I found it!  I decided to look for a love seat so I could put a
small table beside it and a lamp for reading the mail. I walked in
the Habitat for Humanity store just as they brought in an almost new
floral love seat that would fit perfectly.  It was in excellent condition,
very clean and only $65.  We took it before they had it on the floor!

I think it looks pretty good!  In fact, it looks good in the blue cottage.
But I'll take it to the old homeplace for the summer.  Really, it might
even look good in the living room at the old homeplace instead.

I'll be sure to post "after" pictures when I get there. Thank you for
visiting with me today.  I hope to make the old homeplace more
comfortable this summer and I hope you will stop by and visit awhile.
I need your good decorating advice!  Have a great weekend!
Love,
Lottie

Pink Roses in a Glass - Pink Saturday

My DH and I took off and went on a four day trip
together in north GA.  It was great!  We visited
mountain towns and just spent time together. At the
first stop we made in Martin, GA,  my DH got out
of his truck and picked these roses along the road
for me.  I thought it was so sweet that I carried them
with me everywhere we went.  They are such
elegant roses and can blanket a hillside quickly.
      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We carried them on the balcony at the vacation unit where we were
staying in Helen, GA

DH suddenly became very interested in rooting roses.  He researched
the internet about rooting roses in willow bark that has been boiled and
steeped like tea. Have any of you had luck rooting roses?  Here he is
examining roses to try to root.

Hope everyone is enjoying Pink Saturday today!  Back home in SC,
it is pouring down rain, but that's ok, because it's all good for the roses!

I didn't have time to visit other blogs this week after taking off, but I
plan to visit this Saturday. Do visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound
for more pinks on Pink Saturday!

Love,
Lottie          ~Don't forget to stop and smell the roses~

Travel Part 2 - Dahlonega, GA

The second day of our trip, we visited a beautiful mountain town in
in north Georgia called Dahlonega.  It was where the first gold was
found in the United States.  Today I didn't take pictures of houses,
but enjoyed an art show downtown with DH.  We visited the shops
and enjoyed an ice cream cone.  It was fun!  Here are some of the
unique buildings around this beautiful stop on our journey.

We admired the brick work on this unique store, along with the
dental molding across the top.

And who would have thought of painting a store green?  I love it!

This house downtown has been converted into a restaurant.

 This house has been converted into a lawyer's office.

And now for my favorite buildings.....DH told me 38 years ago we
were going to get married and live in a rock house.  We did get
married, but we lived in a mobile home, which I loved.  (Love the
house you're in).  But I'm still looking for that rock house.

The town has the gold mine museum in the middle of a circle in the
middle of  town.

What a fun day!  There was just too much to do! Hope you are
having a great day today!  In my next post, I'll tell about the pink
roses in the glass.
Love,
Lottie

Travel Part 1 - Martin, Georgia

Sometimes it is good to get out and see a new perspective on things.
That is when I grab my DH and the truck keys and go on a trip.
We visited a little town in north Georgia called Martin.

Martin is a beautiful little town with a railroad track running through
the middle of it.  Stop with us awhile and take a little break.  Enjoy
the quiet and the shade trees.  Here are a few of the houses we saw.

Next door to this house is a beautiful little two story cottage.

Across the street, you see this large clean well kept home.

Then there are mysterious ladies hidden behind the trees.  This is a
large home you will miss if you don't slow down a bit.

This house I can almost hear the screen door sweak open
before I'm handed a cold mason jar full of ice and lemonade!

There is something about Martin that I really like.  I'm not exactly sure

what it is.  But I do like the brick work on the side of one of the store fronts.

This home has a beautiful rock wall in front of it.

Time to get back on the road.  Glad you stopped and took a break
with us!  I'll post more pics of the trip tomorrow.  Until then......
Love,
Lottie

Still Some Pink Left = Pink Saturday!

Happy Pink Saturday!

There are only a few pinks in the yard
this week.  The roses are blooming
and the pink azaleas by the front door
are starting to bloom!  I love this time
of day when the work is done and I
can sit on the doorstep and enjoy the
breeze.

If you have time, visit with Vanessa awhile at Vanilla Lavender. I really

enjoyed her Pink Saturday and entire blog!

For more pink, visit with Beverly at

How Sweet the Sound.

Love,
Lottie

Water, Water, I Love It!

I've mentioned in my blog before that a few  years ago I made a list of
everything I loved.  Close to the top of the list was swimming!  Since
then I have joined a water aerobics class and one year I went to water
aerobics 3 times a week.  I was never more fit, felt better, looked
ten years younger, and my brain even felt young (if that makes sense).

I love the pool, the lines on the floor of the pool, and the plastic lane
ropes.  Most of all I love the feel of the water as I move constantly!
I  .......seem to be in an extreme state of bliss....

I go to the YMCA pool in my town.  Some of the other ladies travel
from as much as 30 miles away to come to water aerobics.  Really,
when I  am splashing around out there, I feel like I'm the happiest little
ten year old girl!  And the pounds just disappear!

I hope you have a chance to spend some time in the water!
Love,
Lottie

Happy Mother's Day

My mother's name was Annie Lee Johnson before she married my dad.
Then she was called Ann.....and Mom.  Here are some pictures of her
soon after she married and later when I was born.

I was born in 1955.  Mom was 23 and Dad was 29.  My mother
loved being a wife and mother.  So we had to endure many things,
such as eating our vegetables and taking piano lessons.  Here is a
picture of  my brothers and I right before we had a piano recital.

You can see my brothers were not to happy about the suits!

Mom was also one of the funniest persons I ever knew.  She always
found a way to find something funny in every situation.  She loved to
drink coffee and talk.  She was also a diabetic and died from diabetic
complications at 68.  I miss her.

So, this is my tribute to her this special day.  My sons took me out
yesterday for an early Mother's Day to eat BBQ!  It was fun and the
BBQ was great!  The best part was being together.


Have a happy Sunday and "Treasure Today!" 

Love,
Lottie

The Crescent : A Life Line

The Crescent is an Amtrak train that travels from New York to New
Orleans and back again.  It is a life line for DH and I to our families.
At 5:30 am this morning I drove DH to the train station to catch The
Crescent to Birmingham so he can spend some time with his family
and spend this Sunday with his mother.  We packed his suitcases last
night and made sure everything was ready for his trip.

Clemson Station is a beautiful building built in 1916.  A few years ago,
the city of Clemson, SC  was very smart and put some money into
restoring this station with a waiting room.  They made it into a nice
place to visit even if you are not waiting to board a train. Often there
are students from Clemson University waiting with their luggage.

Then we heard the whistle. We waited at the gate excitedly because we
knew any minute the train would come around the curve in the tracks.

Just time for a quick kiss and for DH to board the train.

After DH finds his seat we wave to each other, just like new lovers parting.

My hubby and sons love trains!  I don't love trains, but I do love this
one.  A couple of years ago, DH lost some of his vision and now I do
most of the driving. I am so glad we have the Crescent as another
option than driving.  There is lots of  love involved with this train.
When DH arrives at the end of his trip, his dear sister will pick him up.
Then when he comes home, I will pick him up at midnight.  He seems
to be doing all right traveling.

Again, I am just so thankful for the Crescent!
Hope everyone is having a great week!

Love,
Lottie

Irises - Part 2

Warning, this post is full of iris pictures.  This has been a good year!
Here are a few closeups.  Hope you enjoy!

  We like to cut a large number at a time and fill the air with the scent
   of the old timers!

Thank you for visiting with me today in the yard.  I love to walk
around the irises after I get home from work and see who is
blooming today!

Have a great week!
Love,
Lottie