Dreams of the Mountains

The temps are in the 100s, and it is so HOT!  I dream
of the Blue Ridge and the Smokey Mountains!

I can't believe we are actually going next week to someplace
COOL for vacation. I can't wait! I better pack our sweaters!

But then again, we'll need our shorts and flip flops, too!

Thank you for visiting today.  Where do you go to keep cool
in the summer?

Love,

Lottie 

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New Deck

We love to be outdoors! I especially like to set a picnic table for
simple meals like breakfast and lunch. 

Can you see my problem?

Yes, I have to carry the dishes and food up and down four steps!

The patio was nice and I enjoyed it, but it was small. DH started
building a deck last winter.  It turned out better than I ever
imagined.

I can't wait to set a table on the deck and enjoy the sunset
in the evenings. DH is my hero!

Thank you for visiting today.  I wish we could share a
lemonaide on the deck together.  Hope you are having
a good week!
Love,
Lottie

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without"

I have learned so much since I started following blogs
about how to live a more abundant life through frugality
and thriftiness.  And it has been incredibly fulfilling!

I discovered Tina's blog over at Tightwad Mom's Frugal
Forum and love it! I found this cup at a yard sale and
think of her blog whenever I see it.  I keep my pens 
and pencils in this cup on my desk now.

 

Hope everyone is having a good week!  I hurt my

back a couple of weeks ago and have not helped

DH at all on the renovation.  In fact, I've been

such a pain, he is ready to send me back home! :-)

Love,

Lottie

Granola (Homemade and Delicious!)

I know it it HOT outside and I should be thinking of homemade

ice cream or ice slush.  But no, I started thinking about how good

a bowl of granola and cold milk would be.  I remembered seeing a

recipe for homemade granola that sounded wonderful!

I mixed the ingredients together in a large bowl, spread it evenly in
a pan and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 min., then stirred
it, put it in for 7 min., stirred it again and let it cool.  It was so easy
I made another batch the next night while I was cooking dinner.
For a great recipe, go to this link and read the list of ingredients.  I
put coconut, walnuts, and raisins in mine.  As a result, I have no
"after" pictures as everyone ate my granola as soon as I put it in
little bags for later! (Hide yours when you make it! :-)

Love,
Lottie

Welcome to Pink Saturday - Dream Bath

I have a large bathroom with a claw foot tub in our old
home place.  We are busy with other projects this summer

so the relaxing bath in beautiful surroundings will have to
wait awhile longer.  Here is my inspiration picture.

I don't have a fireplace in my bathroom, but I do have 
a long claw foot tub.  It is painted black on the sides. I
have a pale pink color picked out to paint the walls 
(Pink Shadow by Sherwin Williams).  Right now, we
have 4 ft. of white bead board below with 8 ft. of red
painted plaster wall with a RED plaster ceiling! 

So, I'm very, very eager for DH to paint the walls pink.

Poor man, I have sooo much for him to do.  I'll have to

draw him a warm bath.  But first, I better run get him

a blue towel!

Hope everyone is having a  wonderful Pink Saturday
and be sure to visit Beverly for more sweet pinks at

How Sweet the Sound.

Have a great weekend!

Love, 

Lottie

In the Garden - Happy Day

I've neglected my garden. 

It is hot outside and everything needs water

to survive.  I went for a walk yesterday,

and I know it is just my imagination,

but it seemed like the garden

was.....happy to see me!

Hello, Lottie!

The Black Eyed Susans seemed to shout for joy!

The red Salvia seemed to salute as I walked by.

The Vinca was giggling in the old wooden barrel.

The Crepe Myrtle was singing and swaying in the breeze.

The Hydrangea was happy I brought the water hose.

And sweet Sardis seemed happy we were walking in the garden.

The Tiger Lily and the Dragonfly caught me by surprise!

The Dragonfly looked.......like he was..........smiling?

If he says, "Hello, Lottie," I'm going to run!

Hope you enjoyed a walk in the garden.  I know Disney must have put this

idea in my head from all those cartoons, but it does seem the garden is as

happy as I am when we spend time together.  Hope your garden is happy!

Love,

Lottie

The Reality : Of an Old House (vs. the Romance)

There are some hard realities that go along with the romance 

of owning an old house.  We are finding out the hard way what

some of those are.  As with any house, you have to constantly

repair it.  There are special things you have to do with a home 

over 100 years old. This is not romance. But then again, it is.  

 

 I'll add a hall update later.

It took an entire day to scrape and prime 

both sides of one section. How many days 
are left in  summer?

DH was wondering the same thing.

What happened to the romance?

As they say, "Work makes life sweet!"

 Hope you are having a great week!
Love,

Lottie

The Romance : Of an Old House Part 4 of 4

Old houses are romantic!  Yes, indeed.  They are so beautiful that they
capture you and they just won't let go!  And the world around you just 
changes while you are looking at an old house.

The reality is that you have to pay someone to paint those columns, or
you have to climb a ladder and do it yourself!  That is what I am doing
at the homeplace. I'm washing columns by hand and painting them.  DH
is up on scaffolding painting the trim.  It "IS" reality.

Nevermind reality, let's take a tour today of Shorter Mansion in Eufaula,
AL, and get a good dose of "romance."  It makes the washing down the
columns a little easier.  This is Part 4 and the last pictures of our trip to
Eufaula, AL.

Beautiful mirror and doors in the foyer.

One of two fireplaces and two chandeliers 

in the ladies' parlor.

Two green chairs that were donated by 

The White House during the Kennedy years.

Decorative plaster on the walls that 

once were painted with gold leaf.

One of two side marble tables in the dining room.

Looking from back hall to front door.

This mirror only will fit in a room with 14 ft. ceilings.

This porch has been featured in many home magazines.

Yes, the glass in the windows is curved, too.

In the library.

At the top of the stairs.

Back downstairs and looking at those columns

again.

This "IS" romance.

And this is "really" romance!

So, keep a lock on your heart,

and your pocketbook!

Because just when you think you have

escaped the lure of romance,

down the street is another one!

Love,

Lottie