A Country Drive

Hello, Dear Friends, I hope that you had 

a wonderful weekend! 

I had a stressful end to my week - my 

two dogs, Whitey Bear and Kai 

got sprayed by a skunk! 

Oh, yes they did! 

I'll spare you the details, but to make a long 

story short, it was a very stinky affair,

involving skunk remover shampoo, 

baths on the deck under a patio umbrella

in the rain and the dark, 

and a lingering odor that is gradually dissipating, 

but none too soon.  

There was no harm done to the skunk :)

Sigh........Life in the country! 

I was only too happy to get away

 this weekend for a long country drive

to my little grandson's house, to cheer me up. 

So come along with me and we will enjoy the 

better side of country life - beautiful scenery! 

As you can see by the dramatic skies, we've had a 

bit of rain and cool weather, but on Saturday, the skies 

were starting to clear. 

The fields and roadsides were full of beautiful 

wildflowers. Buttercups, daisies, foxglove, wild phlox

and roses. 

Usually, 14,411 ft. Mt. Rainier looms over the landscape, but 

today it was hidden by clouds. 

There were happy cows in lush green fields,

 and farmers on their tractors.

Old farmhouses nestled among the rolling hills and fences. 

I love the very large flowering tree (mulberry?) in the fenced yard

and the purple flowering ground-cover on the sloped bank. 

Perhaps a favorite place for grandchildren to play :) 

Who wouldn't want to explore these lovely fields with a basket for wildflowers? 

An old gas-station on a once bustling corner, 

remains to tell its tale. 

You can barely see the old gas-pump peeking through

the weeds. 

And what is this mysterious object anchored 

in the middle of an overgrown field? 

Perhaps the remains of a basket-ball court at a long ago

home-site? 

Only the daisies are left to whisper of the secrets held here. 

As we leave the farmland, we enter the mountain forests, 

bisected by high electrical lines carpeted with yellow Scotch broom. 

As a child, along with adventurous friends, we would 

explore the wild places through these dangerous access points, 

where guardian angels hovered over us unawares. 

I think of some of these 'adventures' we had,

 oblivious to the risks taken through innocence and curiosity. 

Small mountain towns filled with charming cottages 

make us yearn for simpler times. 

The side entrance.....

A modern 'cottage' with an equally charming garden. 

On the way home we pass through a modern mountain village. 

This one with a pedestrian bridge

leading to shops, a hospital, movie theater, etc. 

The long road home......it is 90 minutes each way. 

We follow the setting sun as it illuminates the old 

wood mill. 

This is a lonely, isolated road that I would never take alone. 

There are miles and miles of forest and this mill

 in the middle of nowhere is particularly creepy. 

The lowered sun illuminates grasses along a small pond. 

As we enter the farmland, we see a faint rainbow 

in the distance. 

A very lucky horse. 

Shall we search for the pot of gold? 

Oh, no, it's in a cow field! 

You go first.......:)

It was a wonderful ride! 

Thanks for coming along, Dear Friends! 

xoxo

Flea Market Finds and Makeovers

Hello, Dear Friends! 

My goodness, it is already June!

I know that I have not been around 

lately, and I apologize for my absence. 

I have been thinking of you, though. 

I wish I could say that I have been sun-bathing

on a tropical island, but no,

 that is wishful thinking! 

I have actually been hard at work. 

We finally had some hot and dry weather, 

here in western Washington State, 

which means that I have been catching up

on my outdoor painting chores. 

I've stained the deck, given all my deck chairs

a new coat, too, and have been having 

a bit of fun here and there on the side.  

I recently went to another flea-market with my daughter, 

Heather, and we had so much fun finding treasures! 

I have shown you a photo of my kitchen, 

because that is what I was searching for.....

all things 'kitchen' and all things 'green'. 

So without further ado, let me show you what I found! 

This was the first thing I spied as we walked

in the doors of the old field house at the local

fairgrounds where the sale was held. 

 Although.....it didn't look like this.....

It was bright blue! Although it was cute, 

it wouldn't fit in with my decor, 

and I wanted to try my hand at something 

I've wanted to do for a long time - stencil 

a doily pattern. 

I started out by spray-painting all three table surfaces 

a creamy white. 

When the paint was dry, I used some two-way tape to 

tack down some paper doilies with the middle one

'over the edge'. 

I then spray-painted the whole cart green. 

What do you think? 

I was happy with the outcome, 

although if I were to do it again, 

I would use a temporary spray adhesive

on the doilies, as some of the green paint 

sifted under, but not enough to spoil 

the effect. 

It is the perfect little piece for my kitchen, 

and can be wheeled out onto the deck, too. 

It would make the cutest dessert cart, wouldn't it?

Or a sweet drink cart.  

I also found some beautiful hand-crocheted pillow edgings. 

So much work went into them! 

Of course I had to make some pillows for them! 

I found four green-checked dish towels and made two 

pillow cases out of them. 

Before I hand-sewed the crochet lace to the edges, 

I wove a thin green ribbon along the flat edge
so I could gather them slightly to fit. 

A standard bed pillow fits inside each one perfectly. 

The dishtowels are thick and sturdy - 

resisting wrinkles. 

I think of all the work that went into 

the crochet lace and what they once were used for. 

Perhaps for a bride or a beloved family member. 

Maybe the pillow cases wore out and the lace 

was painstakingly removed and stored away, 

only to end up at a flea market for me to find :) 

Now they are loved once more. 

I found some green-handled vintage kitchen tools, too. 

An apple corer/peeler comes in handy sometimes. 

And who wouldn't like some fancy-cut 

 baked sweet potato 'fries'? 

  

I found some new pretties for my 

'kitchen queen' cupboard, too. 

A very cute green and cream sifter......

Two vintage vases......

Some green depression glass dessert cups.....

And a pair of lime juice glasses and a flower-edged pot-holder. 

I'm always looking to add to my pot-holder

collection and I found several little beauties. 

In green, of course! I love them for placing under 

serving dishes or to protect surfaces from scratches - 

never to use as actual pot-holders! 

They are too pretty for that. 

The tin holds cooking herbs. 

I found this heavy metal flower holder, too. 

It makes a perfect holder for my planning desk. 

My son and daughter-in-law gifted me 

with the window on Mother's Day. 

The panes open up in the back to insert 

photos or artwork.
xoxo

Kai is always photo-bombing :)

This sweet little needlework made it into 

my sitting area on one side of the glass door. 

The frame matches the 1950's pen and ink

watercolors on the other side. 

I hope that you enjoyed my flea-market finds 

and that I have inspired you to visit a 

flea-market near you!  

You never know what treasures you'll find. 

All that decorating made me hungry.....

Won't you join me for a bite? 

xoxo

Thank-you for stopping by, Dear Friends. 

xoxo