In Celebration of Earth Day

Sunset over Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound

In commemoration of Earth Day, 

I want to share with you 

the beautiful sunset 

over Puget Sound, here in

the Pacific Northwest - Washington State. 

Vashon Island Ferry along Puget Sound in WA State

Earth Day was started in 1970. 

20 million Americans took to the streets

to rally for a healthy, sustainable environment.

The 1st Earth Day led to the creation of the
United States Environmental Protection Agency
and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water,
and Endangered Species Acts. 

You can read about the history

of this movement Here. 

Washington State Ferry disappearing across the Sound

Earth day is now celebrated

in 190 countries around the world. 

Seeking a healthy environment to raise 

a family, we moved to Washington State in the early 80's. 

Washington State is known for its environmental 

activism and pristine beauty,

but like all places on Earth, 

it takes each and every one of us

to care for this beautiful place

we call home. 

These photos were taken at Redondo Beach
last weekend. 

Thank you for coming along with me,

Dear Friends

to enjoy the pretty sunset 

along Puget Sound. 

xoxo

Wishing you lovely sunsets, too, 

as we celebrate this special day 

honoring our beautiful home. 

xo

Faux Concrete Message Boards

I have been doing a bit of organizing included

in my spring cleaning, and noticed that

my hallway message boards were in need 

of a make-over! 

This is what they looked like! 

Not very pretty! 

I took down everything posted and filed 

what I wanted to keep. 

Then I got to work! 

It was a beautiful spring day, 

so I brought my work outside.

Can you see Weenie Baby lying in the sun?

Old shower curtain liners make great 'drop cloths'. 

I sanded the wood frame lightly. 

I painted the cork board with Delta Ceramcoat acrylic paint, 

in 'Rain Grey'. 

The grey painted cork looks just like concrete! 

The cork soaks up the paint, so I needed more than one 

2 fl. oz bottle per board. 

Even if the cork board is slightly damaged, 

the paint will cover that up.

I used a 1 inch paint brush.

Whitey Bear lounges nearby :)

I let that dry completely, then used painter's tape

to protect the edges before painting the frame. 

I used the same brand of paint in 'North Sea'

and a smaller artist paintbrush. 

I also painted wooden tacks the same color. 

Sticking them into corrugated cardboard made that easy! 

I wanted to 'dress up' the tacks, so I used blue 

buttons that I had bought by the bagful at the craft store. 

I simply glued them to the top of the tacks with Krazy glue. 

Aren't they pretty?

My favorite colors. 

Here you can see the tacks and the faux concrete 

look to the message board. 

So much better! 

These message boards were both thrifty finds. 

I chose colors to compliment the colors

in my hallway. 

The walls are painted a very soft aqua. 

This hallway leads to the stairway and is

directly off my kitchen. 

I use it to store folding chairs for 

extra seating when my whole family

comes to visit. 

There are usually 10 of us, or more

with friends. 

The stair landing is a mini art gallery

for my 'Posie Paintings'. 

The octagonal window looks out onto the deck 

and gets late afternoon sunshine. 

The hydrangeas are from my garden. 

I painted the small chest years ago 

with kitchen sponges cut to the shape

of petals. 

I keep family photographs inside. 

The milk glass compote is a 'wedding jar' given 

to my Mother by my Father for a 10th wedding anniversary.

They were married 58 years. 

The painting of sweet peas 

in a blue canning jar was another gift

from my Father to my Mother. 

She saw it in an art gallery, fell in love

 and my Father surprised her with it. 

The doorstops were also hers. 

I love having these little remembrances

of them and their love. <3

Peanut follows me back....

I might paint these frames, 

what do you think? 

Shabby Chic white? 

Now I have a pretty place to keep all those 

lovely invitations, thank you cards, 

and other sweet things too pretty to hide away. 

I hope this inspires you to give your message 

boards a pretty upgrade. 

Just a little paint, a few tacks and buttons, 

and you can turn that Plain Jane cork board

into a stylish faux concrete message center. 

xoxo

(I receive no compensation for mentioning name brands on my blog xx)

Today I am linking with: The Enchanting Rose - Roses of Inspiration

and

My Salvaged Treasures - Vintage Inspiration Party

Losing Myself - Five on Friday

Today I am joining Five on Friday 

*1*

 First off, on Monday, I decided - finally - to start 

a reducing diet. 

Since losing my beloved dog, Champ, 

I have not been as active as I used to be. 

Every morning we would take long, 

 brisk walks together - Champ, Whitey Bear, 

and I. 

But living on the edge of the wilderness

without my protector and guardian, 

I have been sticking close to home. 

So......both Whitey Bear and I have 

gained a few......:)

I am now on a reducing diet (as is Whitey Bear) 

of 1200 calories a day. 

To make this less painful, I have decided to 

make each meal special.

Breakfast and lunch are approx. 300 calories.  

Here I have a breakfast of 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese, 

topped with 1/2 cup of pineapple chunks, 

and two whole wheat crackers. 

My sweet Ramblin' Man came home from 

his business trip with a bouquet of roses

that I am enjoying here. 

I am also enjoying an issue of Jeanne d' Arc Living

magazine. You can only get this magazine at 

certain shops. I am lucky that there is one close by. 

This magazine is sooooo lovely! 

This issue is called 'Lovely Summer Outdoors'

 I bought it last year.

*2*

For lunch I enjoyed a tuna salad wrap....

3 oz of water packed tuna

1 tsp light mayo

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 cup celery

1 whole grain tortilla

1 handful greens

lots of tomatoes :)

I think my tortilla was on the small side....:)

I ate a bit of it and then wrapped the rest up. 

It was surprisingly filling. 

You can see my constant companion, Whitey Bear

acting very nonchalant....

He is hoping I might drop something. 

This song by Sting comes to mind...

'Every breath you take

Every move you make

Every step you take

I'll be watching you. 

I need to add, 'Every bite you take'! 

The new issue of Country Living magazine

was my reward. 

*3*

Over the years I have saved diet plans and recipes

for weight loss and kept them in a large envelope. 

I decided to create a notebook of my favorites to make it easy

to stick to my diet. I used plastic sheet protectors 

to insert meal plans and recipes and now my diet 'plan' 

is right at my fingertips. 

I categorized them into breakfast, lunch and dinner,

all between 300 and 400 calories, 

with ideas for 50-100 calorie snacks during the day. 

,  I just have to open my notebook to plan

my grocery shopping and meals. 

This keeps me on track. 

It is not easy to diet with a husband or family, 

so I have found recipes for dinner that will work 

to satisfy Ramblin' Man by giving him larger portions. 

A typical dinner looks like this:

3 oz chicken breast

topped with 1 tbsp nonfat yogurt, lemon juice

and rosemary

3/4 cups cooked brown rice

1 cup steamed veggies with a tsp of butter. 

For dessert and I can have fruit with yogurt

or sliced apples with a bit of peanut butter. 

*4*

This morning I had a whole wheat English muffin

topped with peanut butter and sliced bananas. 

Next week I will start an exercise routine

with a favorite CD. 

I want to lose at least 20 lbs. 

I have lost 2 already! 

It is a warm morning and I am out on my deck 

without a sweater! 

It is very quiet except for the occasional jet, 

a distant lawnmower, and barking dogs

on the next mountain, that gets Whitey Bear 

off his feet every few minutes to start 

a ruckus with Peanut and Weenie Baby! 

The hummingbirds are flying back and forth

to the feeders and chasing each other around

while chittering their territorial calls. 

Every once in a while a little breeze will get the 

wind chimes tinkling and send the scent of 

pansies my way. 

I threw a whole bowl of nuts in their shells

(from Thanksgiving) 

off the deck and into the woods the other day

and I can hear a Stella Jay trying to crack one open

(which gets the dogs to barking once more). 

A crow is calling in the distance. 

The tiniest iridescent blue winged insect is walking around

on my computer screen right now.

He could fit on the head of a pin.  

Life is amazing!  

*5*

I could sit here all day....

But duty calls and I have a busy day. 

This weekend we are attending a company dinner

at a waterfront restaurant. 

I hope to take photos of the setting sun on the water

to share. 

So this is my 'Five on Friday' 

Thank you for joining me today, Dear Friends. 

I will drop by to visit you later when I am done with my chores. 

xoxo 

Won't you join - Five on Friday ?

A lovely Morning

I woke up to a rosy dawn and clearing skies

after some cold and stormy days. 

Can you see the fresh snow in the mountains? 

This is what I have been looking at for days. 

Pretty dramatic....but very cold

with wind and hail. 

I had this brief glimpse of Mt. Rainier

this morning, after days of being hidden, 

 but already the clouds 

have obscured it once again. 

It's not quite warm enough to spend the day

in the garden, but I still have plenty to do 

inside. 

I still have my little house guests, Peanut (shown here)

and her sister, Weenie Baby,

but there may be some developments 

with my daughter Jennie's house-hunting.

I'll keep you posted..... 

What with those two and this guy, Whitey, 

plus two cats and a cockatiel, 

daily vacuuming is a must. 

Whitey is starting to shed....

Actually, I also have to dry-mop in between! 

I love the sunbeams shining through

the windows! 

Morning is my favorite time of day. 

Each day holds new promise. 

Later, I will cook a Marinara sauce

from scratch for Ramblin' Man's

homecoming. 

It is a favorite of his :)

My Ramblin' Man has been gone for days

but he is coming home tonight. 

I've used this time to put things in order

after my busy weeks hosting Easter

and baby shower plans. 

This wine rack was used at the shower for the punch. 

I've re-purposed it into a plant stand

by the window. 

It comes in handy for parties! 

My stone bird collection....

I found the quail at the garden show this year. 

 xo

It always takes me a few days to regroup

after parties.....

I have put off working in the gardens, 

so that is on the agenda for this week. 

Everything is blooming and growing - 

the trees are leafing out and 

the weeds are, too! 

Although there are pretty scenes everywhere....

Here Ajuga and Forget-Me-Not make 

a lovely pairing in my garden by the rose arbor. 

I have done a little sewing....

a new pillow. 

The large one is my newest addition. 

The crocheted table cloth I used was a thrifty find. 

All of these were fashioned from vintage

crochet and made into sweet pillows

by me. 

I will tend to my indoor garden today, too. 

This is tucked into the corner behind

the settee. 

I have always loved houseplants. 

Some of these plants are over 20 years old!

I love African Violets....

My sweet blog friend, Mariette, offered 

her technique for multiplying them in a comment

 on a previous post. 

Simply cut off a leaf, put it into 

potting soil,(African Violet potting soil, preferably)
hold in place with a hair pin

and cover with half of a plastic 2 liter soda bottle. 

Thank you, Mariette, I will try this! 

To keep them blooming, I use fertilizer

specifically for African Violets

and always keep them moist. 

I step outside to sweep the front entrance

and shake a few rugs. 

I bought 3 new Columbine at the market

last weekend. There is a beautiful 

garden section there and I always 

come home with something new.....

I bought the lidded tin for my pantry, 

and when loading everything, I tucked 

the Columbine into the tin for transport. 

I liked this arrangement so much, 

I think I will keep it this way! 

I guess I need to buy another tin! 

This Bleeding Heart came home with me last week! 

You can see the Bumble Bees like it! 

I do love Columbine! 

They remind me of party pinwheels! 

Well, I guess I had better get back to work - 

the washer is done, the sheets need drying, 

and the floors need attending to. 

Then I need to start that sauce....

I will be glad to see my Ramblin' Man

again. It has been very quiet here. 

Thank you, Dear Friends for stopping by today! 

I hope your day is filled with a sunbeam or two. 

xoxo

'My friend is one whom I can associate with 

my choicest thoughts.'

- Thoreau -