T Stands For Sitting On My Front Porch

Last Tuesday the rain forced me back inside my house.

Some people couldn't understand why I was so upset about this fence.  In fact, CJ said she wished her neighbor would have built one like that in her yard.

But CJ doesn't have a large covered porch she can sit on three seasons of the year, like I have.

Now, instead of seeing what my neighbors down the street are doing, this is what I get when I sit in my favorite chair on the  porch.

Look ahead (ignore the wind chimes in the rocking horse that fell about a month ago that I haven't had time to restring),

appreciate the coffee I will gladly share,

watch for cars coming or people walking, but you can't see them till they are near or nearly to your property.

Look slightly to the left (which is south),

farther to the left,

and as far south as you (and I) can see from this chair (note the empty space where the wind chimes go)

Now look all the way to the north past the other chair.  Doesn't this make you feel terribly isolated?

The only good thing I can say about sitting on my front porch now

is it forces me to focus on what little bits of nature is going on around me.  Sadly, I'm not fond of being forced to do anything.  Of course, if you get really bored you can count the number of wind chimes on my porch (answer is 13 currently hanging until I get the broken ones fixed).

Now it's your turn to share your drink.  I promise that no one is forcing you to do it, either.  By now you also probably know the "rules," but in case you don't, please show something drink related. It can be photos, a place you visited, movies, tea cups, coffee mugs, a tea or coffee service, postcards, books, magazines, sketches, mixed media, drawings, paintings, tags, ATCs, scrapbooking, or other art that is digital, hybrid, or traditional, as long as it in some way relates back to a drink, any drink.  Please share below and Bleubeard and I, along with the rest of the T gang will be by to visit.   Please link only your T post and not your blog in general.  Old photos are acceptable because they may be taken any time, not just on Tuesday, and not just this year.

EDIT: Since several people have asked, no the owner didn't ask about putting up the fence. He also didn't get the property surveyed and I suspect it (or part of it) may be on my land. It is 8 ft tall.

Prep Day

First of all, I want to thank my dear friend Sharon, who I can call locally.  She  has been a blessing.  I wanted to explain that I had a power outage on Monday.  It was one of those annoying ones where the power is off for about a minute or two, just long enough that the clocks on the microwave and coffee maker have to be reset.  When I went to turn on my computer NOTHING happened.  Nada, zip, zilch.  I called my friend Scott who was out of town, and wouldn't be back until tonight.  

When he got here, he decided the problem was my power supply.  He said he would order one on Amazon and it would be here in a day or two.  I about threw up.  Literally.  That's when he suggested trying to find one locally.  He got one just as the computer store was closing.  He returned with a new one and that was the problem.  I now have a new power supply guaranteed for five years and made in Vietnam instead of China.  I assure you, it set me back more than I expected, but I HAD to get on the internet, especially since I was part of AEDM, as well as being late for hosting my T Tuesday party.  Seems the surge protector didn't do a good job of keeping the power supply from getting fried.  Regardless, I'll be by to visit as I can, since I'm still typing with one hand.  Now for today's post.

Today I'm on my front porch

preparing for the day after Thanksgiving, which is tomorrow in the USA.

It's the day I bring out my Christmas decorations.

I have a tabletop tree that sits in this blue bowl every Christmas, so it was important for it to be clean.

I still have to "fluff" the pillows on the wicker chairs, but everything else is starting to take shape.

As I was debating what I would do with my pumpkin (seen in silhouette on the bottom left of my photo),

I noticed the low winter sun that cast shadows over one of the wind chimes that is on the south side of my house.

I have wind chimes around all three sides of my front porch.

I can never get all of a single side in one photo,

but this gives you an idea of the various ones I have.

I also cleaned my mailbox, the largest one sold in the states.

As I was taking photos, I noticed I have a mess on my floor.  Not only do I need to sweep, I need to pick up the items I left there when I cleaned the yard and gutters a few weeks ago.  It's time to add oil to the rocking horse before winter takes over, too.

At least the metal has all been cleaned

and it wont be long until the porch will be decked in a winter wonderland.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I'm so very grateful for your visit.

This is Day 27 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM), hosted by Leah Piken Kolidas and I started cleaning my front porch in preparation for decorating it for Christmas.

AND, I'm back online!

A few days before Christmas

Some of you may wonder why, right before Christmas, I showed everything on my dining room table.  Well wonder no more.  This just goes to show I am capable of making a ridiculous amount of messes when I put my mind to it.  Instead of cleaning, Wendy and I decided to leave the mess behind (after all, it would be there when I got back) and go shopping.  Actually, it was Wendy's idea, because she could barely stand the mess I had made over the previous two weeks while painting and decorating my wooden houses.

Wendy was SO happy to leave the mess behind,

but was a bit concerned about the lack of gasoline.  I tried to explain to her the engine needed to be running before the gas gauge worked, but Wendy was not convinced.  Although she was born in Kansas, I truly believe she thinks she is from the Show-Me state (Missouri).

Convinced now, Wendy?

Wendy was eager to help me wade through the various menus at the ATM.  Since I don't speak Espanol, I immediately knew which button to push.  Finally finished, we headed for the grocery store,

then off to the thrift store, where Wendy jumped into a bowl of snowflakes under a Christmas tree.  Because I had groceries in the car, I took a quick look around the store, then brought Wendy home.  I then  finished my rounds, which included the cookie store and the Household Hazardous Waste Swap and Shop.  Unfortunately, I also left my camera at home, too.

Back home, I resisted eating my tree treat until I had cleaned the craft room and put everything away.  I agreed to share my tree with Wendy because she doesn't eat much. 

Then it was time to wrap my final wooden gift.  My wooden houses had already been wrapped, and this was the last wood piece I needed to wrap.  Then it was off to my sewing machine to make a couple of quiltlets before the big day.

I apologize if I missed a few friends and fellow bloggers and didn't stop by to wish you a Merry Christmas.  I hope it was one filled with joy, love, good cheer, friends, family, and happiness.

Patriotic tea

It's almost time to celebrate. Here in the US, we take our independence pretty seriously. We hang flags, pull out the red, white, and blue, and have friends stop by for a visit.


It may be a rusty copper house and merely a porch decoration, but it's also sporting a flag for the holiday.


In anticipation of a party, I've stacked several garnet red glasses onto a blue plate I covered with a white doily. Feel free to grab one. I have plenty, even though I'm having company tomorrow.


It's hard to tell these glasses are stacked, and their deep red color is very dark in this photo.


I've already grabbed my glass. I'm having iced tea


and sharing my patriotic spirit.


Turn left,


turn right,


turn sideways.


It doesn't matter where I look, it all feels quite festive and patriotic to me. And of course, that means it's time for a tea party. Be sure to join Kimmie and my Tea Tuesday friends, put on your party hats, and celebrate your favorite drink today. And happy Independence Day tomorrow to all my blogging friends who live in the States.


If you haven't already, please feel free to enter my blogoversary giveaway HERE. All you have to do is leave a comment on the giveaway post and nothing more.

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All Hail

Tuesday, after posting my Tea Tuesday post, I allowed Bleubeard to follow me outside. I wanted to introduce him to his Cat Grass. I thought the grass looked tall enough for him to enjoy, so I guided him toward the garden. Unfortunately, he headed directly for the Bermuda grass that permeates my yard and garden. Unbeknown to me at the time, this would be the last images I would get of this garden that I was so proud of this year.


At that point, Bleubeard was not cooperative, so I finally picked him up and set him beside the container of Cat Grass. Before I could get in position to take a photo, he had already started to enter the container. Just look how full and lovely all the plants and herbs were.



That image pose looks all too familiar. I've seen it too many times, and not in the grass, either!



Thankfully, he just sat in this grass and chomped on it a few minutes. It didn't take long until he was bored and wanted back in the house, though. Not exactly a glowing recommendation, especially since it is the first harvest from this year's planting season! Note also the container is NOT broken in this shot.



Fast forward to Wednesday evening.


I shot this from inside the screen door of my back porch which is not covered.


The front porch looked equally bad.


The hail continued to pound the ground.


It looked like a blizzard,


no matter which direction I faced.


Even my precious rocking horse took a beating.


The hail subsided and the rain increased. The grass between the two driveways was under water.


Leaves and tiny branches were everywhere.


The only things spared were the flowers and greenery under the tree.


I remember when I was shooting with an SLR, how hard it was to get a good image of fog. With this camera, it was nearly impossible. Actually, what you are seeing was the steam that was created when the temperature changed so quickly and drastically. About the only thing I can say for this photo is, you can see the branch hanging from my neighbor's tree is about to tumble into my yard.


I noted how the house on the corner of the next block looked like a white-out, because there were no trees in the yard.


After the first round of hail had passed, my neighbor came over and, as we talked, he picked up one of the hail stones and showed the size compared to a penny.


I was pleased to see my cosmos had not been damaged. I was just commenting on how early they had bloomed. It's normally July before I see them in the yard.


My neighbor found a bird and thought we might be able to save it.


It didn't look very healthy to me, but it eventually flew away later that night.


Fast forward again to Thursday morning. Apparently I slept through the next storm. It was the one that did all the destruction. My lovely garden is now


in shambles and my tomato plants are nearly beaten to the ground.


Most everything was destroyed, along with


some new herbs and another tomato plant.


Even my herbs outside the garden took a big hit. I'm not sure they will ever survive now. What had once been a thriving garden is now in shambles. It's a far cry from the thriving garden you see in the beginning of this post.


Fast forward to this morning, and you can see I've started the clean-up on my property. I ran out of steam as I was sweeping the sidewalk leading to the house, but at least the driveway is clean. What I wouldn't have given for a leaf blower when I was cleaning the drive.


One of the casualties is my neighbor's tree that has a huge branch broken off. Yesterday it was taking up most of the street.

Now that my electricity is back on, I'll be by to visit as many people as I can. There's a lot of damage and a lot of clean-up I still have ahead of me. I hope everyone who reads my blog is safe and secure. And thank you beyond belief for staying through to the bitter end of this tale.

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