Irises 2013

Hello!  Thank you for visiting us today!  We are taking a walk in the backyard to look at the beautiful irises blooming.  DH and I planted this iris bed about six years ago and DH has taken care of it.  We love to see what is blooming each morning and each evening.  Walk with us and enjoy the music, a different take on Love is Blue.

 

 

Have a great week! 

Linked with Outdoor Wednesday at Southern Daydreamer

Love,
Lottie

Snapshot of Happiness

You would think that a light bulb moment would happen in church, or in the middle of a beautiful garden, or walking on the beach during a gorgeous sunset!  Not to me.  It happened in the waiting room of my chiropractor while reading Good Housekeeping magazine.  The article stated that the key to happiness was in how much gratitude we felt.  So I started thinking on the drive home about how thankful I was for my quirky extended family! Here is a snapshot of a day in the summer of 1965.  That is ten year old silly me right in the center.

Life can change in an instant.  We can't make time stand still nor would we want to.  I am amazed at how many family members in this photo are no longer with us.  I can almost hear the laughter and the silliness that went on before this photo!  ( And the fun during the watermelon spitting contest between the girls and the boys) Be thankful every minute of the day for "your" quirky family, no matter how quirky!

Celebrate your life.  If you are having a particularly great day, grab a camera and take a picture.  I guess we as bloggers do that anyway.  I think of all the pictures I took of my children cleaned up and in their best clothes.  I thought I was doing what I was supposed to be doing, but now I wish I had pictures of my two little sons digging holes in the backyard.  They were so dirty it was hard to recognize them!  Oh, how I wish I had taken a picture that day!

Well, at least I have a picture of  the participants in the watermelon spitting contest of 1965!  I am so thankful I have this picture.  Thank you for stopping by today!  Do you take snapshots of happiness?

Love,
Lottie

Form Follows Function - Side Porch Revamp

A few days ago I was writing about my solar lights in pansies when I in the process shared my side porch.  I had to make some changes to the porch because it didn't function well.  I needed a place to put my indoor plants to keep them watered during warm months.  Usually, we just set them on the floor of the side porch, which makes it hard to keep clean.  I bought this (rather flimsy) iron plant stand at Lowes, along with the fern.  This will keep everything together so I can water easier.

I moved the green chair by the door so the bench and water feature would fit on the other side.

I still have plenty of seating.  When neighbors and friends come over we just open the door and invite them inside.  I guess I'm the only one who sits here and listens to the water feature.  And the porch functions well.

Around the corner of the house the azaleas are starting to bloom!  Thank you for visiting today!

Love,

Lottie

Linked with Sunny Simple Life link party

Garden Lights and Other Thoughts

It is in the 80's today and the pansies won't last long.  They have been wonderful this winter.  Dear husband went late to buy them in the fall and dark purple was all that was left.  Oh, how I have loved those dark purple pansies this year.  I added solar charged garden lights to the pots and the night has been magical.

 

I placed a light in the pansy barrel by the side porch.  After we turn the lights out on the porch, the garden light prevents a stranger in need from falling on the steps.  It also looks beautiful through the window.

The side porch is always in the shade.  I love to sit here in the spring when it is cool.

This year I put two colorful (my favorite colors) plastic deck chairs out with a bench.  My goal was to change the porch but not spend any money.  So I just moved things around.  The water feature had been stored in the shed for over five years (something stored in front of it) so it was nice to have it out again.  The sound of water bubbling is relaxing to me.  Dear husband enjoys it too now that he has stopped looking for a broken water pipe.  Sardis just enjoys being on the porch with us.  He doesn't mind the frog who guards the water feature.

 On the other side of the porch is our park bench.  It only cost $20 new about fifteen years ago.  Dear husband has painted it and replaced the slats in it.  The UPS man always lines up Amazon boxes on this bench. 

This post is titled Garden Lights, so let's go to the deck on the back of the house and look at more lights.

 When I look out my kitchen window at night, I see lights glowing from this pot.   The picture below marks the step down on the deck.

 

And now to prove that I am a real person and not a robot, here is my deck swing where I sit in the cool evenings!  I moved it diagonally to redecorate.  The background is real, not staged. (Hence, proving I am a real person. LOL!)

Now would you mind stopping on the swing for a minute ? I need to share some thoughts.  I love reading your blogs and looking at the beautiful pictures of your homes.  Lately, I have come across some incredibly well written blogs ... and now I seem to have writer's block.  In fact, I have been on the computer five hours today with this post!  I'm going to stay with it.  It won't be Shakespeare, but it will be me.  Thank you for visiting today!  

Love,

Lottis