Getting Ready For Fall

Started taking out my fall decor...the weather is also unusually cool here. Makes you want to sip some apple cider and sit by a fire. I will wait to put out Halloween and Thanksgiving things. Right now it's just some leaves and pumpkins.

Cleaning Up the Family Room

Today I washed floors and tidied up my family room. I am thinking about starting to take out some fall decor. Am I too early? All that stuff makes my home seem cozier. I love fall colors! Are you decorating for fall yet? (Plus the cooler weather is also prompting my mood!)

First Day of School!

The girls started school today! Brittany is in Middle School now (6th grade), Bridget (3rd grade), Maddie (1st grade) and Elizabeth (preschool). They were all very excited! So was Mom! Ha! Ha!

A Local Garden Tour

These homes inspire me...I'm sure there are a few I forgot about but I thought you'd enjoy a few pictures of the gardens around here that I just love to admire! Enjoy!

So pretty!

Love the porch on this one.

Isn't this cute? At night it's all lit up and so inviting.

Whoever lives here is a Master Gardener! It's fantastic!

So colorful!

This one got an award from the city last year. I can see why!

Another neat one.

Oooh La La!

So charming!

One of my all time favorites! I want my ivy to grow like hers!

Summertime Flowers at the Bungalow

Just a few snapshots of my front yard...soon the weather will change and all my pretty flowers will take a long rest until next April when I will start to see them again. This weekend will start to feel like Fall - cooler temperatures, football games starting, and the kids start school Tuesday!

Boo Hoo! I will miss my garden!

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo! Roosters Everywhere!

I think I have a thing for Roosters! As I walked around my house,
I found several! Roosters above my kitchen cabinets...

A reminder that my house is my nest!

Rooster hangin' out in the family room.

A thrifted Rooster platter!

Another thrifted find!

Rooster holding my napkins.

A great book for nesting in your home by Nell Hill!

More in the kitchen.

Dining room rooster. I like how he's white.

Rooster above my hutch.

And finally, a rooster rug!

Somebody Cares

I was cleaning and rearranging today... I also did a bunch of laundry! (We have a lot of that around here!) I have this little "Somebody Cares" plaque on my counter in my laundry room. I don't know who wrote it. I found it in an antique shop. I think it's an old card that had been framed.

"Somebody Cares"

Somebody knows when your heart aches, And everything seems to go wrong. Somebody knows when the shadows need chasing away with a song. Somebody knows when you're lonely, Tired, discouraged, blue, Somebody wants you to know Him, And know that he dearly loves you. Needing his friendship so holy, Needing his watch care so true, His name? We call His name, "Jesus" - He loves everyone, He loves you.

How wonderful a reminder for me as I do my daily tasks.

I also like to light a few candles and play some pretty music to keep me cheered while I'm cleaning!

Pretty Hydrangeas

These are some pictures of my hydrangea bush in my back yard. It is doing well this year! Aren't hydrangeas beautiful? We just returned from an RV adventure out west. Hopefully I can get back to blogging regularly now! My hammock is from the Victorian Trading Company. They have some neat stuff!

Another Favorite Heirloom

I almost forgot this picture - it is one of my FAVORITE old photos - it shows my great-grandma Alma (on the left) with two friends having a tea party in their Victorian dresses. I don't know who the two other ladies are but I wonder about that party and what they talked about! Even the table and background pictures on the wall are neat. Heirlooms are so awesome, aren't they?

Heirloom Party

There is a blogger Heirloom Party going on - I have loads of heirlooms! I love to know where they came from and the story behind each item and person. This is my paternal Great-Grandma's Chair.

maternal Great-Grandma's Chair

Loads of family photos - one is my grandma and her brothers and sisters - all together my great-grandma had 15 kids! I can't imagine how she did that.

The blue chair belonged to her. These are my great-grandparents Margaret and Stephen. The man and his son are my great-great grandfather and great-grandfather. Would you believe my goofy relatives had these hanging in their basement ABOVE their washer and dryer???

This is my Great-Aunt Alice. See that necklace she is wearing?

Here it is in this shadowbox! She is also wearing it in this photo.

This is that little girl Alice's mother, Alma. She was from Sweden. I have her picture, her chair in my living room, and original papers from Sweden. (Lower right framed paper.) I have her sewing machine, too, with instructions in Swedish!

Alma's brother came from Sweden, made this while he was here, then went back to Sweden!

Alma and Alice's dishes.

A plate from Alma and Alice.

I love how victorian it looks. Plus that neat turquoisy blue color. Yum!