Summer and Winter

Summer is approaching rapidly in our state. Beautiful warm, 60s, for us. We'll be getting the hot weather soon enough but the 60s are my favorite temperature.

I love summer with all the roses, peonies, gardenias and hydrangeas. The garden looks so forlorn now but Love Bunny will be out there this week sprucing it up and pruning the rose bushes. He does grow the most beautiful roses. Summer? I do love the new growth and lush green lawn but I'd rather bleed than sweat, friends. Truly! I love the fresh salads from our garden and my air-conditioning. But most of all I love the summer fruits: watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries. We are so lucky that we can get most of those fruits all year round except for watermelon and that's my favorite thing to eat.

But I also love winter. For one thing, I hate being hot. I love being cool. Another thing about winter is that our garage serves us well as a place to keep potatoes and they won't sprout. Also, I can keep cartons of Pepsi out there instead of in the pantry and it'll be cold enough when I bring it in. I love the butter being soft also. What are your favorite things about each season?
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A beautiful window treatment in a lovely bedroom.

I remember when we had mailboxes like this. Actually, when my parents moved to Salt Lake City in the early 1960s, we had a door with a mail slot. When I would visit them, I could always tell when the mailman had come with the rattle of the mail slot. I love that because I didn't have to go outside and walk to the mailbox in the snow like I do here in Idaho. Just very nostalgic for me.

Another gorgeous vignette in a living room.

This is another darling laundry room. See what you can do with almost nothing!

I'll have to tell you the story of when we lived in a house that was attached to another house similar to this but not the elegance of this, of course.

What a delightful gift shop.

I've wanted one of these for a couple of years but when I think about it, it seems a bit frivolous and can't bring myself to buy one. One of those things I can "live without." Definitely.

Another photo of laundry drying on a clothesline. Love it!

If this doesn't make you yearn for spring, then there ain't much hope for ya, chicks. ;-)

I'd still like a door on my pantry even though this is a lovely kitchen.

A cute way to hold children's things from school. I can see those trays done in chalk paint also.

A simply beautiful photo of roses in a dining room.

Ruffled lampshade, done very easily.

Exquisite china in pink and gold. Gorgeous!!!!!

A cute shower I'd love to have. I don't think you'd even need a shower curtain if the whole floor was tiled.

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Tidbit:
Theaters during Elizabethan times did not have toilets, nor did the plays have intermissions.

Also, Queen Elizabeth I outlawed wife-beating after 10 p.m.

Our state is #1!
Continuing with the "O", "P", "R" and "S" states and what each one is #1 in.

Ohio:
Library visits
Traffic tickets issued

Oklahoma:
Per capita use of electric and hybrid cars
Women in prison

Oregon:
Solar panels
Homeless population

Pennsylvania:
Covered bridges
UFO sightings

Rhode Island:
Drive-in movie theaters
Per capita illegal drug use

South Carolina:
Lowest gas prices
Strokes

South Dakota:
Lowest personal income tax rate
Per capita Facebook use
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Our Very First Home In California

When we first moved to California in 1961 we lived in a motel until we could get military housing on Camp Pendleton. We had left our belongings with hubs' parents and didn't get them for a couple of years so we basically had to start from scratch. We went to a local hardware store and bought 2 plates, 1 mug because I didn't drink coffee and we only needed one, 2 forks, 2 knives and one spoon as I didn't need a spoon. We had to be frugal. We somehow had a radio and I listened to that all day long. It was very boring for several weeks before we got housing.

Then we received word we had a place to live in on base—a trailer that slept four people. That's one bedroom and a fold-down sofa with a tiny kitchen and a tiny bathroom that we couldn't get in together. The shower was the bathroom. We were thrilled to get it even if it was tiny. We even had a clothesline though. Geraniums lined our little path from the street and we loved it.

Then a couple of months later our plumbing backed up and since there weren't any 4 sleeper trailers, we were given a 6 sleeper trailer. We loved the extra bed. We didn't qualify but since I was pregnant and would have our daughter soon they let us "upgrade" to that trailer. We were stylin' then!

When we were still in the motel room we lived just a few blocks from the beach and I remember we walked along the beach on Christmas day. It was wonderful. And the very first thing we noticed when we arrived on the train was the orange trees and the smell. It truly did smell like orange blossoms. To this day when I smell the orange blossoms, I remember stepping off that train.

We looked at rentals on the beach but they were so far out of our budget it wasn't even funny. I think they were $125 a month. Today they're probably that for 1/2 a day! But we loved it. We were so young and stupid then. ;-) Much wiser now.
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A quilted-type sofa.

Notice th' rug...th' rug!!!

Darling wall sconce. See what you can do with a little imagination!

Another gorgeous decorated bottle.

Another quilted-type sofa.

Elegant living room staircase.

Another cute sofa.

Bavarian homes.

I really do like that pinkish counter top.

Requisite roses. ;-)

Beautiful living room.

I love this old mannequin with the handmade roses on it.

Christie Repasy is one of my favorite artists. I wish we lived near enough to her to attend her Flea Markets.

Sweet little shop in Europe

Love this darling chair and the homeowner was very brave in her colors.

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Tidbit:

In Chico, California, the city council enacted a ban on nuclear weapons, setting a $500 fine for anyone detonating one within city limits. (Your tax dollars at work.)

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