"Six Unspectacular Things about Me" Tag ...

My friend Diane at A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words, tagged me to name "Six Unspectacular Things About Myself."

This was an eye-opening and rather humbling experience because I could think of lots of unspectacular things about myself and very few spectacular things.

Here are just a few of my many unspectacular traits:

1. I'm a Dr. Pepper addict.

2. I'm all thumbs when it comes to sewing ...
... and can't even sew a button on without
getting the thread all tangled up.

3. I love blogging, but I get frustrated with myself for getting bogged down with editing pictures and worrying about the layout of a post, rather than just getting it DONE.

4. I'm an introvert and changed my major in college to avoid having to take a speech class.

5. I'm claustrophobic.

6. I love music and love to sing, but can't carry a tune worth a darn.

This was a fun tag and I'd like to extend an open invitation to anyone who would like to participate.

Sincerely,

A Family Vacation in Blue Ridge, Georgia

My husband and I will be joining several family members this Sunday, for a week-long vacation in Blue Ridge, Georgia. There will be 11 of us ranging in age from three to 86, and we have reserved a lodge located on the Toccoa River in the mountains near the town of Blue Ridge ...

Here are a couple of pictures of the lodge, which has three levels, including five bedrooms, three and a half baths, a beautiful kitchen with top of the line appliances and granite counter tops, a loft, media room, small office space, and a game room ...

[Photo]

One of the features of the lodge that I'm looking forward to the most is a gazebo, which is located right on the river behind the lodge. It has a huge fireplace and I can't wait to introduce our three-year-old granddaughter Avery to the art of roasting marshmallows over a fire! We've been telling her about our "bacation," as she calls it, for a couple of weeks now and last weekend I made a chart for her to put stickers on each day to count down the days. Here she is in her "fishing hat" practicing with her new Dora fishing rod ...

Looks like she's pretty good judging by the awestruck look on her daddy's face ...

The lodge has internet service, so I hope to be able to share some things and keep up with my blogging friends while I'm gone. Until then ... Happy blogging!

The Making of a Stone Path

We have an area on the side of our house between our house and our neighbor's house which leads to our backyard. We landscaped the area last summer, and made a path in the center. When it came time to choose the material to use for the path, I made a big mistake. I chose black lava rocks which looked okay, but we soon found out that they are very difficult to walk on.

A lot of hard labor was involved in laying the rocks. My husband is a firm believer in doing things "the right way," so the path area had to be leveled, then he put down a fabric mesh liner and installed edging on both sides of the path to hold the rocks.

[You can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like]

The rocks had to be hauled by wheelbarrow from our driveway in front of the house all the way around the back of the house to the side where the path is located. Then finally, the rocks were spread between the edging and leveled.

This is the lava rock path after it was finished ...

We lived with the path for a few months, but it didn't take us long to realize that it wasn't what we wanted. I really didn't like the way it looked, and, as I mentioned earlier, the rocks were difficult to walk on.

Naturally, after all the hard work (not to mention the money) involved in building the path, I was hesitant to ask my husband if we could take the lava rocks up and replace them with natural stones. I waited a while longer before I broached the subject, and he said, very sweetly, that if I wanted to take the lava rocks up, we could have stones put down, thinking that I'd never attempt to remove all those rocks by myself. Well, that just made me even more determined to tackle those rocks!

So, early one April morning, I decided I was going to begin the rather formidable task of removing the rocks. The first thing I did was go to Home Depot and buy gloves and a small wheelbarrow. This is the one I chose and I just love it.

It's lightweight, yet sturdy, a perfect size for me, and has a neat little storage place for my gloves, gardening tools, a drink, and my cell phone (in case I get bitten by snake or something and need to call 911).

I used a "flat blade" shovel and started where the path ended in the backyard, working toward the front. About an hour ... and three or four wheelbarrow loads later ... this is what I accomplished. I was pleased with my progress and when my husband came home that afternoon, he seemed to be surprised at how much I had gotten done in so little time.

This is where I put the rocks as I took them up (behind our house) ...

After two or three more rock-moving sessions (and probably a dozen more wheelbarrow loads), I finally found the rock I had been looking for all that time -- the last one! I was so happy to be finished, and was proud that I did it all by myself.

Another month or so went by and we hired a landscaping company to install an irrigation system and lay the new stone path. They "put us on their schedule" and work was begun two weeks later (no one gets in a hurry but ME).

We chose blue stone because it blended with the natural stones used around the pond and waterfall in the courtyard.

I discovered that there is definitely an art to laying stone ... even randomly. The guy who laid them does tile work in his spare time and it was amazing to watch him work. He did a beautiful job and we are thrilled with our new path.

But there was one more project to be done -- the addition of a stone bridge to connect the pond in our courtyard to the new stone path.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went to the stone place and picked out the stone for the bridge. It is eight feet long, weighs approximately 1500 pounds, and has lichen and moss growing on it which gives it lots of character. And yesterday was the day they put it in place (I was sorry I didn't take pictures of the guys bringing it in, but I was so excited, I didn't think about it until it was too late).

Here is the stone after they got it set ... Doesn't it look like it was just made for our bridge? [You can tell more about it if you enlarge the pictures]

We waited so long for this project to be completed and couldn't be more pleased with the results, especially the bridge. I've walked back and forth across it I don't know how many times "trying it out," and I just love it. The only thing I worry about is our little granddaughter falling off of it. We'll just have to keep a close watch on her until she gets used to it.

A Tale of a "Basic Little Black Table" ...

A couple of months ago, I went to a yard sale and found this sweet little table ...

It was kind of banged up and its paint was peeling, but I loved it and asked the lady the price. I was delighted when she said, "$2.00?" -- with a question mark at the end like that might be too much! Of course, I was even more delighted then and paid her for it.

After I got it home and looked at it more closely, I decided that the paint was too "chippy" for the "distressed" look I wanted, so I decided to paint it a cream color and distress it myself. That called for sanding some of the paint off and I and my "little helper," Avery, went right to work ...

Isn't she adorable? ... lol

Well, to make a long story a little shorter, I sprayed the table a cream color, but didn't like the way it looked ... so, being the perfectionist I am ... I abandoned the project for a couple of weeks.

The other day when I was in Wal-Mart, I bought a can of flat black spray paint and figured if I didn't like the table painted black, I could just use it in the garage or somewhere. So, Saturday when we were staining our gourds (see my "Stained Gourds Project" post), I sprayed the table black and liked the results.

Here it is in my bathroom where
I had planned to put it all along ...

I just love it when a plan comes together, don't you!

Sincerely,

"Stained Gourds" -- A Fall Decorating Project

I don't know if you've seen gourds used in fall decorating projects, but I'd like to share with you the way I use them in mine. A couple of years ago I bought several dried gourds in various shapes and sizes at a yard sale. I took them home, wiped them off with damp paper towels, and then stained them with Minwax stain in several different finishes. I also used oil paints on some of them to add more color.

I was so pleased with the way they turned out and use them on my mantel for fall, along with vines, berries, and leaves ...

If you decide to try this project, be sure to select gourds with character, i.e., with lots of different colors and patterns. The more interesting they are in their natural state, the prettier they will be after they're stained.

The best thing about working with stain is that you really can't make a mistake. If one finish is too light, you can just go over it with a darker stain until the desired effect is achieved. Also, if the gourd has a lot of color and interesting patterns, you may want to just spray it with polyurethane to seal it and not stain it at all.

I use paper towels (be sure to wear gloves because the stains are oil-based), and just "dab or rub" the stains on the gourds.

This year, I wanted to do some for my mother and daughter, so I went to the local farmers' market and bought 14 gourds in various shapes and sizes. Here is what they looked like before I did anything to them ...

Today, my mother, daughter, granddaughter Avery, and I (that's four generations) had a good time staining the gourds. Even Avery, who is three, got in on the fun (notice her little mouth all drawn up like a bow with concentration) ...

We were happy with the way they turned out, and can't wait to decorate for fall with them ... What do you think?

While I had the stain out, I decided to "revive" this little fellow with a new coat of stain. He "lives" on a rock beside our waterfall, and he had faded from the sun, poor thing ...

Here he is after his revival ...
Doesn't he look happier?

To Every Thing There is a Season ... Decorating Transitions

Even though we still have a lot of hot summer days ahead of us in Mississippi, my thoughts have already turned to fall. Fall is my favorite season when it comes to decorating, and I've been daydreaming about some things I'd like to do.

I guess I'm just tired of my summer decor and ready for a change. In this post, I'd like to share with you some "vignettes" of my summer accessories, and then in a few weeks, I'll post pictures of the decorating changes I've made for fall.

I'll start with my breakfast room ...

I know that silk flowers are in the top five on the "Decorating Mistakes" list, but sometimes it's impractical to try to use real flowers or plants. I love my collection of seasonal silks I've accumulated through the years and update them periodically.

In early spring, I put silk dogwood branches
in a magnolia vase on this chest ...

When spring turned into summer, I replaced
the dogwood with these wildflowers ...

This is my kitchen which is at the other end of this room ...

Next, let's move into the dining room ...

I love the simple elegance of orchids and used
this silk one on my sideboard for the summer ...

This is my summer centerpiece for the dining room table ...

And moving into the living room ...

More silk wildflowers on a sofa table ...

And REAL ivy plants on the mantel,
with silk grasses in the brass urn ...

I splurged on these silk lilies in the spring and
liked them so much I left them all summer ...

And last, but not least ... This is the summer wreath hanging on our porch door which opens into the breakfast room. It features miniature birdhouses, watering cans, and a little bird nest with two birds sitting in it ...

I'm looking forward to visiting some of my favorite shops during the next couple of weeks to see what's new for fall, but first, I'll visit my attic. It's always fun to get out all my vines and berries and gourds and ... hmmmm ... did I say "gourds?" That reminds me of a gourd project I'm going to work on this weekend and want to share with you, hopefully next week.

I think it would be fun if we all shared the way we make the decorating transition from summer to fall. I showed you mine ... how about showing me yours ?

Sincerely,

Picture Memories ... Past and Present

Today I'd like to share with you a picture I gave my daughter Whitney for her birthday last November. This first picture is of Whitney when she was around three years old (33 years ago!), dressed in a dance costume sitting and waiting for her group to perform at a dance recital.

I just couldn't bear to get rid of all of her old costumes and shoes, and remembered them last Halloween when we were trying to come up with a Halloween costume for Whitney's daughter, Avery Grace, who was two at the time.

I went to the attic and found the box of dance costumes which were just like new. After trying on several, we chose that same costume her mama wore for her dance recital. It fit Avery perfectly and brought back so many memories of her mama wearing it 33 years ago.

I took this picture of Whitney and Avery that Halloween night ...

Whitney's birthday is November 3rd, just a few days after Halloween, and I decided to surprise her with a picture of her and Avery wearing the costume. I was excited as I edited the pictures and put the collage together, but the impact of it didn't hit me until I printed the picture and saw the two of them together. It was like Whitney was looking 33 years into the future and seeing her little girl ...

Needless to say, I burst into tears when I saw the printed picture, and if I remember correctly, Whitney was pretty teary-eyed, too, when she opened it on her birthday.