Oh Mr. Lincoln

I'm not much of a gardener ~ that pleasure falls to hubby ~ but I certainly do enjoy our roses.  When we moved into this house the yards were bare,  and one of the first things we did was plant  Mr. Lincoln.

Here's what All About Roses has to say about this wonderful rose

• Most popular dark red rose
• Exquisitely huge fragrance
• Tough, reliable and very tall bush
• Ideal cut rose for flower arrangement

I whole-heartedly agree!

Counting My Blessings

xo Susy

Fresh Starts

I've been on a kind of self-imposed hiatus from social media.  All is well; it was lots of work and needed re-prioritizing that kept me away.  But, things have leveled off again, so Pizza Man and I were able to spend a few days at our fishing camp in the California desert.

He worked some, laying stepping stones along one side of the cabin

"Smile for the camera."  "I am smiling, take the picture!"

The next day we hit the dusty trail to the lake

 

He fished, I read a book and worked on a lesson plan on my iPad

The sunshine, fresh air, and reprieve from the internet and cellphones 

was quite restorative

I came home feeling invigorated for the season ahead

Thanks to all you sweeties that inquired of me during my silence.

It's nice to be missed (**

Counting My Blessings,

xo Susy

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

About this time every year, when the summer mornings start warming up, I open the bay windows over the kitchen sink for the season.

They're the old fashioned kind that swing open, so it means clearing the plants off, opening the windows on each side, and then putting everything back. 

It's one of my simple pleasures, and I'm sure I blogged about it last year.  The problem is this year there's major remodeling going on to the house next door ~ which means extra noise and dust.  So I'm stalling.

Here's a pic from last year

In the meantime I'm enjoying the morning light.

Some of my favorite pieces are perched on the window counter,

things I enjoy seeing every day.

 

Things that make me happy

 like my Salvation Army girl with a penny in her tambourine

that has The Lord's Prayer engraved on it

Plants in pretty pots

an orchid gifted to me for my birthday

a flea market donkey

 ~ only $10 at the end of the day ~

[btw - there's an article in Romantic Country Home this month about

our local flea market.  Named in the top 5 ~ and I can walk there!]

always a bird or two

And a spoon rack that belonged to my mother,

was almost given away, then retrieved

and pressed back into service

a vintage sugar and creamer turning purple

and if you look carefully between the flower pots.

sitting on the base of the old kitchen clock you'll find...

two tiny

meeces

 frolicking in the hickory dickory dust

* * * * *

It's pretty quiet next door...

maybe today is the day I let Summer in (:

what'ya think?

Counting My Blessings

and so much more

xo Susy

While the cats away  ^ .. ^  I'm playing with Carol at

 Vintage Inspiration Friday

Doodle

Doodle [do-dull]
To rearrange your stuff.

Well, that's my definition anyway.

 I moved yet another piece of furniture into my bathroom the other day, and it's more crowded than ever.  But personally I love it.  I'd put a big ol' mother-in-law-tongue in the bathtub for a soak, and liked the look of it against the white porcelain so much I decided to move a plant stand in for it.

I tucked it in as close to the tub as possible and installed the plant.  It immediately sprawled out.

 

That left a blank spot on the table next to the sink where the plant used to be, so I replaced a small lamp with a bigger one.  Moving the plant stand in from the dining room left a flower arrangement without a home, so I moved more stuff around. Etc.  I doodled.

I celebrated later that evening by soaking in a bubble bath, admiring my plant.  

It doesn't take much to make me happy.

Counting My Blessings,

 Susy

 Splish Splash with me over to Vintage Inspiration Friday
and Show and Tell Friday