Memorial Day and Summertime

Memorial Day in my mind begins the patriotic season and summer. I do not minimize what Memorial Day means at all as I will explain later in this post. Living where I live, both the true meaning and the warm weather make this holiday important in remembering and embracing my favorite time of the year.

I have subtly decorated my home, so we will take a tour starting at the front yard and moving in the door no one enters except Gus and me, but we will get to the entry that everyone does enter in before we are done. I love patriotic decor, but I have learned I can't take too much of seasonal decor --period. I get tired of it and for some reason I have never been good at removing the regular decor to replace with seasonal decor. I tend to add in which can make clutter. 

Jeff talked about for 23 years (the number of years we have lived in this house) putting a flag up. With the stone and stucco, he just never wanted to drill through either. America 250 finally got him to bite the bullet.

He also bought the kids one and both have put theirs up too. The family is all in!

Side note to digress on...don't you love digressions?! Jeff and I had an entire conversation last Sunday afternoon while putting around on the boat on which houses looked like coastal Florida (especially northwest Florida, cuz there is a difference). Ours doesn't fit the bill. We love our home...it is strong and has extra precautions built in for hurricane and waterfront living, but Indiana sandstone would not have been our choice nor does look like any kind of Florida. 

Now, we move on with the tour. I found this lovely ribbon on Amazon and added a bow to the light post and to the swans that adorn our front porch. The swans are a nod to my mother in law. 

I added my redbirds with flag wings back to the flowerbed, because Floridians do yard art. Probably too much!

I didn't do much to the foyer ---remember I can't remove standing decor. I added a flag. I also tried out some red books under the candlesticks but decided to keep the blues.

Just inside this foyer door is a favorite spot of mine. I added a ribbon to my bunny. Just a simple touch and I only did ribbon on the bunny and not all the items I do at Christmas. More of a simple approach.

Close up view of the ribbon for which I had more of. I don't remember where I got it and have only enough to do Mr. Bunny. BTW, the print above is one of my favorite things ever. A Panhandle of Florida map. All my favorite places.

I am currently stitching something that I might add to my church pew just across from Mr. Bunny.  We will see. All of these things will get tweaked many times probably.

Moving into the dining room, I added a table runner made by one of Mama's good friends. 

Then we open the double doors in to the family room. 

I added some stitching to the built ins and of course, there are tributes to both our dads which served in the military which are full time patriotism on display.

Left side of the fireplace.

Close ups of the stitched insertions and then a stepping away look.

Oh and I added in a flag too.

 I added a stack of patriotic picture books to the coffee table. A simple but cute way to add seasonal decor.

Moving into the kitchen I added some flags to the island. The kitchen table has some blue checked napkins. I also have some red ones that I can switch out as well.

On one counter, I have added a couple of stitches. This section really is not a cooking counter so I can usually add some decor with no worries.

I actually did remove a picture to put this stitch up.

Right outside my kitchen window I have my geraniums with some flags and down on the boat dock Jeff has a flag there.

Back in the kitchen and down the hallway where EVERYONE actually enters our home is my latest stitch all framed. I know some of you saw it on Instagram. I just love it.

I removed a stitch for the summer that goes here. I may move this stitch to my sampler wall later, but for this summer it will be where it can be seen and enjoyed.

"O Happy Day" by Plum Street Samplers with changes to make it fit my liking.

Then in the guest bathroom right past the sampler, I added a ribbon and the Liberty Bell stitch.

In my sewing room, there are more patriotic things that are on display all the time.

My bunnies in their red, white and blue outfits, my shuttle stitch along with my students saying the pledge of allegiance.

*****

Jeff and I attended a reception at a local elementary school that Jeff was the principal of and then later after  him I did my last 3 years of teaching working on grant that involved the school. It has a high military presence and if you have ever driven from the west to our beaches you probably have driven by it and noticed it because it had all the looks of a military town school with red, white, and blue showing. Mary Esther Elementary Thunderbirds located right on Highway 98 (the Miracle Strip Parkway).

Every teacher came up to Jeff and told him he was their favorite principal and honestly it made my time there immeasurably easier because they loved him so much. The school is closing along with another elementary school. The south end of the county has been in a population decline or families with children decline for a decade. The cost of living is just so high... no more land to build on. To shorten this, there a lot more changes coming. Change is inevitable. The north end is growing like kudzu and they are building a new school there right now.

It was this visit to the school reception that I really thought I am going to FINALLY add a Memorial Day post. I have always steered away from it. When you live in a military community you are very aware of the sacrifices made. There are 7 military installations here in the Panhandle of Florida. 

On the evening of the school event a couple walked in that reminded me of Jeff's first year as a principal there and having the most horrific news to give a teacher. Now, this one involves life, but many I have know made the ultimate sacrifice. 

It was around 2010 and the superintendent called and said she was on her way with military officials and for him to get someone to cover Mrs. D's kindergarten class. Her husband had been blown up and was in horrible condition. That was a hard thing to deliver and watch. Later, we would learn that he had survived but lost both legs. He was there on Tuesday evening for the reception and it sent me on a tailspin of thoughts of how many people I know about in just my small world that have lost their family member.

I really don't feel it exactly appropriate to appoint myself the story teller of all these losses, but I have known personally many -from a child I taught who lost his father in the Khobar Towers back in 1996. The losses in our community for me started way back in 1991 with the first Gulf War. You just don't live here and teach and not see the loss. I have had two from church killed in action. My daughter's wedding photographer was a casualty that came later from the war from some chemical he was exposed. It is just a part of life in a military town. It is deep and personal reminder of what those families go through.

I have many members of my family who have served and fought from both our dads, numerous uncles, cousins, and 2 brother-in-laws. 

I may celebrate the coming of my favorite season - summer - but I know we are blessed to live here.

P.S. I am taking some of my small stitches to the Auburn house for the summer too.

Picture from the reception at MEE the other night. Jeff actually ended up speaking to the crowd. He did well as always. Reminded them of the rich history the school has had to the community.

Daylilies, Pillows, and a Roof in May

Hello May! The month of daylilies. 

I love May. For all her beauty in my neck of the woods, it is sometimes rushed over amidst the busyness of the season. When I was teaching May was one of the busiest months of the year. I really try and soak May up these days. 

I will go ahead and say I have visited few blogs in the past 2 weeks or even more. Life is still a little too crazy around here for my taste, but I know I am not alone in that. When things are coming so fast that I can't recover I know I have to pull back and that is what I have done the past couple of weeks. 

I have little to share for stitching or reading. I have been busy with my flowers getting the summer blooms ready and taking in the spring blooms.

The Stellas always arrive first in my front flower beds. These little ones always arrive in April, but the others all wait until May. The pink ones above arrived first in May. 

I knew that if I mentioned my troubles with what to do with the shells stitch, my blog friends would come up with some wonderful ideas. You didn't disappoint. I haven't moved on with a plan for it or hung up the Florida sampler yet, but I have lots of ideas stirring around in the old noggin. Thanks for all your ideas.

I am holding off until school is out and I have some free days to go shopping or do some more Internet surfing, but I think I have some ideas to work with now. 

I also have some ideas for where to hang the sampler. 

I find the older I get and the more crazy life is that home is where I want to be. Quiet and cozy. I love sitting out on the deck, strolling down my neighborhood street watching the birds and looking for little things in nature. 

I rarely change things in my home and do my best to not be lured in to spending money because of things I see. I hadn't bought anything new for the home in ages, but when I saw these pillows....

I knew they would be a perfect addition to my living room couch. 

Now, that they are in there I realized I was pushing the navy too hard. I totally love navy. It is my absolute favorite color and love it paired with Kelly green, bright pinks and of course, burnt orange (War Eagle).

The new pillows add to a soothing look.

Below is the real daily look in case Gus decides to sit on the couch.

Along with all the other stuff going that is not all that blog worthy, we are getting a new roof.

Oh the fun!

We have had red concrete tiles for the 40 years of our home's existence. Red tiles would never have been my choice - honestly Indiana sandstone wouldn't have been my choice for the exterior either. I love Indiana sandstone, but it just doesn't seem coastal. Red tiles probably go well with something other than the stone too.

None of it much matters when you get to look out at the water each day...

The Before...

The tiles look a little less red when they are dirty:)

I do not ever really say, "What were my in-laws thinking?" However, Jeff says, "What were Mom and Dad thinking?"  It is more appropriate for him to say it than me. It was their dream home and it is beautiful...just not my choices. Lindsay always says that time period was crazy in dress and any thing style wise and she is a bit right. The home was built in 1984 and is 40 years old. 

The concrete tiles were billed as a lifetime tile. That is a bit misleading. Let me share a bit of thoughts on that. The roof was not going to get blown away --- it would have taken a lot to blow them away. In watching them remove them this week, it has been quite an ordeal. It appears there was a layer of concrete and then the tiles themselves but they are truly concrete. The ones most put on today are a composite mixture tile. 

That said, the house is a fortress to have held up that much weight all these 40 years, but the studs are on 12 inch centers rather than the usual 14 or 24 of most buildings. Jeff's dad was trying to make it as sturdy as possible. 

The tiles would last forever as long as nothing ever fell on them, but I truly believe if a tree had fallen on them at any point in the 40 years it would have been hard to repair without doing the whole thing over. One strike in my book.

The wood around the edges and around the skylights and started to rot. I have been complaining about the skylights for some time, but Jeff just wasn't hearing me. Over the 5 years we have had 2 roofers over here looking at them and trying to keep them from leaking. Then about 2 weeks ago, it rained really hard and one of them was no longer leaking but pouring. Then almost at the same time, the termites flew in and were swarming. That is common in May here in Florida. You will see them around the lights at night outside. One night they were going crazy by our 2 back doors and one of the doors had a big enough crack they were coming in. All of that got him moving and the roofer was out the next day to let us know if it was time.

We decided it was time. We are not going with the same roof because as I have said they are not really life time tiles and the cost is crazy. Insurance will want them changed again anyway or cancel you.

So.... regular, but highest quality asphalt tiles in a much more muted color is the new roof choice. The house should look totally different. 

It is also not a quick job because of removal of the concrete tiles. Fortunately they have worked in small spaces around the home because we had a line of storms come through today that could have been disastrous. It was not for us. 

Lots of tornadoes in the north end of the county and schools closed up there. I had all 3 grandsons today at different times trying to work around all the mixed up schedules and the roofers though they tried didn't get to work today.

I will share the new look soon. It is going to be really dramatically different. 

Of course all of this will lead to other things... cleaning gutters, repairing the area around the skylights inside where they have leaked for some time. Home ownership seems to always have little tasks to spend money on.

I am grateful to get it done and behind us. We will have a new roof and no leaks. I am also grateful we had no leaks when the line of storms moved in today. It got bad over by Mom's place and several tornadoes in the surrounding areas. 

Hope to catch up soon with all my blogs,

Sandy

Christmas Tour 2023 Part 2

We move in past those glass doors in the distance to the rooms that most of our time is spent in other than sleeping. There is  a new chair in the mix in this room, so shall we get started?

The burgundy recliner gave up the ghost and that sent us on a search and thoughts of a new chair to replace it.

The day I took the pictures it was so cloudy, so I am sorry about the quality of my photos. I am not a photographer. Maybe after Christmas I can talk Jeff into taking my blog photos!

The chair on the right is the new one. It is smaller and spins. The one on the left used to be on the right and was considered my chair. It is very large and I couldn't touch the floor when sitting in it not even with a pillow behind it. I brought the idea  to Jeff that he might like it and we could get a smaller one for me. He once had a chair like this and an ottoman. We had a leather set forever here and he liked it. 

Now, I would honestly love a good old fashioned wing back chair but I decided to stay with the look we have achieved in here. The chair doesn't look that much smaller but it is not nearly as deep and I can sit and keep my feet on the floor. Ha Ha. I brought home the fabric we chose and laid it against every item in that room since the goal was to tie things together. I love the pattern and the chair. Not sure about Gus since we don't fit as well together as we did in the big chair.

Now, the funny thing is when we got it in the room, we tried them out and decided that the new patterned chair looked better in the opposite position that pictured here. SO...we thought one evening we would try sitting in new positions and see if we liked it and then we could swap our belongings. Well Folks, that lasted maybe 15 minutes and we looked at each other and decided looks weren't everything. We are both quite attached to our spots in the room.

I have a pillow cover ordered for a lumbar pillow that I already had to go in my new chair. I just like a lumbar pillow.

Now, back to Christmas tour. The tree is lovely. 

One of the best things about this room is the placement of the tree. 

Full of old and new ornaments... 

The gold one and the icicle are from Mom's ornaments.

Along with the blue one below...

And I just stitched myself one of those little reindeer with the cardinals on his back...

Pulling out all the old favorite decorations is always fun. My little drummer boy that I repaired 2 years ago.

Whether it is all the reindeer that my mother-in-law picked up at all the craft shows of the 80's and 90's, or the little tins, or the candle holders, or the wooden tree that Paul Allen decorated with glitter in preschool so many years ago --all hold such special memories.

I shortened the garland above the palm tree print this year. It looks so much better. Don't know why I didn't see that the last 2 years.

Oh and tucked away in the reindeer cart is my little Christmas carol stitches. 

The stack of Christmas books on the table is another fun thing to pull out. Miles is taken with the baby Jesus. He points to it all the time. I don't think it is because it is Jesus but just a baby. He will learn though.

Turning towards the kitchen which is in heavy use all the time especially keeping grands. Almost couldn't find time to capture a photo. AND lo and behold it has had a change.

A good change. Mother asked if she could take the tree to her place. I had thought about taking it to her but didn't think she would say yes. When the decorations started going up over there and by the way it is so pretty over there she thought of it. I took it up and set it on a table right as you walk in to her room. It can be seen immediately if someone opens her door. She has kept it on so that is awesome. 

I kept the scene here the same and just replaced the tree with a little oval Christmas plate that I had and all is well.

I am just loving all my stitches lined up. The cardinals are bringing me joy, so they will probably stay up through January.

That is the end of the tour, but the reading glasses made me think to update you on my eyes. I finished my drops on Tuesday. A month long regimen of drops is over and done. Reading glasses are not on the top of my head nor hanging from my shirt. 

Hallelujah!

I don't have to have them to read my phone, my computer, or even a book. I do occasionally need them so I am laying a pair in strategic places and keeping a pair in my purse for the occasional need. I still have to have to stitch or sew but I didn't think that I would ever not have them on my body somewhere. I have my eyes officially tested next week. I am thinking I am all good. 

My completed drops chart. 31 days of drops!

I think it took doing both eyes to see the best results. Now they are still 63 year old eyes and I miss the eyes of my youth, but I miss a lot of things (smooth and toned skin for one). Aging gracefully is important too. There are many beautiful older women. 

Last note on Christmas decorations. I see so many pictures out there of garland that I love, but I know that if I added one more thing to my house I would be overwhelmed. The art of loving your decorations is to know when to stop and to put out what you love.  I love nothing more than looking at a Christmas magazine, but I also love to be realistic and enjoy what I do. Even when I lived in a smaller home, I lived by that rule. I can feel overwhelmed by too much quickly and be ready to take it all down rather than just do a smaller amount and love it. 

January will be here before we know it and possibly the only thing about I like about winter is a clean slate with decluttering and deep cleaning.

I hope to have a Christmas stitch ready to share next week.

Living Room Tour

 Earlier in the week when I could not concentrate on stitching or reading I cleaned. I did most of it crying intermittently. Anyone who has ever had a shedding dog that requires daily vacuuming will know that I cried as I vacuumed. I stated in a previous post that it was so gloomy outside. 

That actually makes for better picture taking in my living room, so I cleaned and actually took pictures. I haven't shared much of the home in awhile. I love looking at homes so here goes a living room tour. 

I have found that I don't feel the need to decorate for spring as much in here mainly because the colors are more springy in here. When I had my leather couch that I loved a lot, I did feel the need to lighten things up come spring.

So we will travel around the room. First up is a wide shot of the bookcases.

Then we will add a closer view of the shelves. I love books and that is no secret.  I also love most everything on the shelves. They are things that have stood the test of time. They are our style and story.

I did add a few flower picks in a vase on the bottom shelf.

I added a springy bird stitch and a St. Patrick's Day stitch on this side. 

Moving along is the doors that lead to the front door, formal dining room and downstairs. The door to the right is our bedroom. 

Gus and I are both still very sad that Lemony is not with us. He is laying where she laid. 

Moving on...

Next wall.

That space in the middle belongs to Jeff and that is about as neat as it gets, but he is happy so I just let it go. Behind those gigantic chairs were two dog kennels neatly covered in a linen curtain I had made for both of them. I wrote a post about how I neatened them up a long time ago.

I cried and took Lemony's down because I had said Gus was the caboose. The kids have dogs now and I am not getting younger. It wouldn't do for me to see a sweet little Golden puppy though.
You can also see how cloudy and wet it was outside the day I did it all.

I moved my little childhood desk that is now on its third generation of use where Lemony's box had been. It gets pulled out on days when Tucker stays with me.

The other wall is my space. I don't know that mine is much neater, but my basket of books and stuff is behind the chair and in the cabinet. I do have a cup for my stitching glasses and scissors and stuff there. Real life.

We keep a binocular there because I love to look at the ducks and birds on the water.

And we are back full circle around the living room. Kitchen to the left. Tour of next time.

The weather was gorgeous the last two days and I was able to get outside. Lemony would have loved it. I guess you will get overload of Gus pictures now.

We were sitting outside yesterday. I do have some stitching to share that got stitched before the big thing. I haven't stitched or read since. I hope next week I can settle down and do so. I had read a good book that I will probably add more of this author to my list. 

 

Thanks for all the love this week.
Sandy