4th of July

Happy 4th of July to Everyone!

We had a couple over for casual dining the other night and I did a patriotic theme.


I bought the stars and stripes plates at Homegoods this year.

The silverware is from TJ Maxx.

My napkin rings came from Homegoods, as well. Napkins are American Living from JC Penny.

I bought this flag plate at Hobby Lobby a couple of months ago.

I cut little bowl for nuts or mints.

I'm joining Susan @http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ for Tablescape Thursday. Be sure to pay her a visit. It's always an inspirational visit.

Thanks for dropping in today. Have a wonderful and safe 4th of July!

Summer in the Backyard

The grass is having a hard time staying green in this 98 degree weather. The flowers are constantly needing a drink of water but I love this time of year. I love things when they are alive and so colorful. It makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Our backyard brings us so much enjoyment. We watch the birds having their breakfast while we are eating ours. I thought I'd share a few pics with you today.

I'm linking to Outdoor Wednesday http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ . Be sure to go visit and be inspired.

Follow me and we'll take a little tour. Visitors are always welcome!

Come, have a seat, and visit awhile. We can put up the umbrellas if it gets too hot.

We may get to see a hummingbird while we talk.

We've been busy this year resealing the patio and repainting all the furniture.

We usually eat breakfast and sometimes lunch at this table. We do barbecue for dinner but usually have to eat inside with the extreme heat we've been having.

We escape to the other side of the patio where our gazebo sets when it is too sunny and hot.

Thanks for visiting today. I love hearing from you.

Thanks for all the prayers for my hubby's recent surgery. He had a slight set back. They had to drain the knee after two weeks to relieve the pressure and alleviate the pain. He is doing physical therapy again and making good progress.

Forgive me for not being able to visit you lately. I'll be around soon!

Tablescape Thursday

We invited a couple over for dinner the other night and I put together this tablescape and thought I'd share it with you.

There's flowers and fruit on the tablecloth , so thought I'd stick to that theme and use a candle centerpiece surrounded by fruit.

I bought these monogramed plates at Kirkland a while back. I also used monogramed coasters from Tuesday Morning with cyrstal stemmed glasses.

Pretty floral napkin rings from Penny's, slipped onto black napkins.

A little candlelight to set the mood for the evening.

Stop by Susan's @
Between Naps on the Porch for lovely tables that have been posted.

Thanks for taking time to let me know you paid a visit. Love hearing from you!

A Few Changes

It's been a couple of weeks since I mentioned we were going to redo the front landscaping. It and a few other projects have gotten done -- just in the nick of time. The heat wave is upon us! It has been cooking down here in the deep south. Today feels like a 100! The actual temp. is a couple of degrees below that but after 95 who's counting. lol The humidity is almost as high!

Here's a couple of pics of the before landscaping. ( Well, maybe more than a couple. You may want to grab some ice tea. ) lol
It had become overgrown for the space.

We pulled out everything but my Japanese Tulip tree.

Here are the guys working at pulling and then transplanting some of the shrubs.

See this little tree? We had to be very careful with it. It was carrying precious cargo.

We couldn't believe all of these came from a tiny sparrow. Ouch! She was not a happy camper that we were moving her nest.

We kept them in tack and put this tree on the side on the property.

Here's the the Tulip tree with a fresh haircut and all new plants surrounding it.

We love the way it turned out.

We brought an old fountain from the backyard and hubby gave it a fresh coat of paint and luckily it still worked.

Some new petunias around the front tree.

I'm loving these Coreopsis. They come back every year. They are always blooming.

These are Callie deep Yellow.

I bought this tricycle at Home Goods.

These are Penstemon Red Riding Hoods.

An Astra African Daisy

Cryptomeria shrubs

Hubby worked so hard at planting, spraying and cleaning up the mess---all with a torn meniscus in his knee.

That's why I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. He finally had surgery on it and he has kept me hopping for the last couple of wks. lol

When people see him on his crutches, he tells them it's the result of too much housework!

Funny fellow--but there may be an element of truth there. lol

Since retiring he has kept very busy with many projects. The injury, however came from playing basketball.

He says he is retiring his number now. lol

Speak of the devil. Here he is with his pouchy lip. Poor thing! This too shall pass.

I'm hooking up to Outdoor Wednesdayhttp://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

Have a good week y'all! Try to stay cool!

Thanks for popping in!