First one thing then another, again..........

We are getting LOTS of rain and even though things have grown and bloomed nicely it is hard to enjoy them fully because it is too wet to be outside.  One day I found enough dry time to go cut several flowers to bring inside..............

I don't do that very often but was glad I did this time.  I didn't take time to really arrange them - just stuck them in this white pitcher.

 They probably would have looked better had I made two bouquets or at least taken a little more time. The pictures almost look like different bouquets because it is so different from one side to the other.

The lavender flower here is society garlic. The red one salvia.

After I enjoyed them in the white pitcher this is what I was left with. I like it almost as much as the intact flowers.

The little bud is totally dried and still looks so pretty. I love tiny rose buds! So now all this is in a bag in a drawer awaiting its turn for another use.

I made some more big tags that I want to show you.  It doesn't take long at all to make these when you have such a large stash of supplies already on hand.  There is no "rhyme or reason" to the process except to get the heavy card cut to the size and shape I want and then I add a full size decorative background (could be done in bits and pieces) and then begin to lay things on it until it seems complete.

The possibilities are almost endless!

Any favorites out of these three?

Hot off of the design board and sewing machine is this dental care travel wrap.  I never have been satisfied with what I had to pack dental items in for travel so I decided to do something about it!  The part with the dots gets folded over the top of the brush, etc. Then because I wanted the dots to show when it is wrapped I roll it up with that dotted fold on the outside.

This is what it looks like all wrapped up. I used a small hand towel and made one fold and started sewing the needed individual compartments. I attached the ribbon in one place so it will always be in place when it is needing to be tied. Simple but very useable.

Now I want to show my albino agapanthus bloom once again all bloomed out and sparkling with rain drops.

All the other blooms are blue.

I think because of so much rain they are very slow opening up. And, speaking of rain, do you remember in a recent post that I said my back yard is prone to flooding...............

Just a few days after I wrote that this is what I had!  We got a downpour like you wouldn't believe - several inches of rain in a very short time. This picture was taken through the screen of my porch.

The whole big area had standing water. It took two days to go on down.

The streets were also flooded. It has been raining again all day today but just a slow, gentle rain. I am just hoping the big storm in the gulf heads away from us!!!

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I will be rolling up my tooth brush soon to go spend time with family. This will probably be the last post from me until I get back.  Hopefully, I will have something new and different and maybe interesting to share at that time. I hope you are enjoying your summer days.

Eclecticism.............

.......Eclecticism: In simple terms, it is the process of compiling a text from multiple sources.  Today, my post is a picture of eclecticity.  That may be a new word!

Showing one of the tags I made displayed here on a small table and on top of a book.  The green border is actually on the book.  I have never used much red in this room except at Christmastime. Now, I have something new in the room which allows me to add little touches of red all around.

This is a glimpse of part of the newness.

Another part of the newness

And still more.  I have been loving the french script that decorators recently started using. I've seen it on wooden furniture, small decorative items of different types including pillows....

This is my new pillow, one of four new pillows which came with this.........

Yes, a very red sofa.  Who would have thought I would be living with a red sofa!  The french look of two of the pillows probably sold me on the sofa. I was planning to purchase the burlap color version of this sofa which these same pillows came with.  At the very last minute on buying day I switched to red. 

It is taking me awhile to get used to the change, I miss the light whiteness of my old slip-covered sofa.  But, I knew it would be foolish for me to buy a white sofa to try to keep clean looking. Do you notice the little border around this picture?  I keep experimenting with Pic-Monkey photo shop.

Even good change is usually difficult for me until I get use to it. I will now be linning the yo yo throw for sure. It will look better solid white.

Remember that my little foyer and the adjoining wall is an olive green.  I have always liked that shade of green and red together. The porportions just need to be right.

The big picture is new to me.  My daughter was getting rid of it and I was not liking the picture that had been above my old sofa with the new one so asked if I could try it here and it does look better. Back to the color choice - I knew if I bought the burlap color sofa it would really be a dull look unless I repainted this wall which I had no interest in doing. So, standing in the store a light bulb went off and having no previous thoughts of buying a red sofa I suddenly told the salesman I will take the red one. I am buying a piece at a time and the next purchase will be the loveseat.

The first thing I bought a few weeks before the sofa was this table. It had a reduced price because the drawer was resting crooked as it is in this picture. All it needed was the tightening of a screw and it stays straight! It's almost tempting to go into that store with a screw driver - I could use another crooked drawer table!

This is not new but I have a renewed appreciation for it since it was relocated to this place on the new table. The little bird was designed to be a flower pot hanger, I believe, and was given to me many years ago by one of my favorite neices. This is the third way that it has been used around my house.

This one is new - new to me.  I bought it at a store my daughter and I were in for the first time on Saturday. The store is near her new house and it will not be my last time to go there. The store, called Gently Touched, has a lot of interesting used items at good prices. I noticed a lot of small things were priced at $12.00.  This old picture was marked down to $8. and there was a store-wide sale of 10% off so I got it cheap! I couldn't get a good picture of it because of reflections. It is hanging on a wall not much wider than the picture and is by the door to my porch. Because of my new red sofa it looks alright here. I have had an excelerated love for our flag lately - does that speak to my old age or what!!! Or possibly due to the scary things happening to our country lately!

Totally unrelated to anything before, except that it is new, is this purse I just made. I saw something very similar on Pinterest and decided to try to whack one out and I am real pleased with how it turned out.

It is made of linen, as was the one I saw.  It will probably be wrinkled half the time which will drive me nuts but I like the crispness of the white and tan together.  It was fun searching for the decorative items, which also are very much like those on the original.  I already had the medallion, the chain, keys, beads and striped ribbon. I easily found the buttons, flower, two other ribbons and lace.

Now, all it needs is a big snap or velcro under the tab.

It is lying flat and empty here and may look like it is not sewed straight but isn't that way in real life.

I had to cover cord with some of the white linen to make the handles.

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So, this is my compilation of many things. I have more, but decided this is enough for one post.  Thank you for looking til the end.  When I get the red loveseat and one striped chair I will give you a look at the completed room. Let's hope the dye lot doesn't change before I get that red loveseat!! A little concerned about that.

Summer Time...........

Nothing speaks of summer like homemade ice cream. Making ice cream brings back pleasant memories of long ago times. It was such a fun thing to do with the old hand-cranked ice cream maker!

I dug around in the garage and found my old maker. It is not our original one but is almost like it.

I decided to make a red, white and blue look out here on the back porch in honor of summer.

                                   I think kids are really missing out without the experience of making ice cream in this manner.  If they were a part of making it today it would be with a noisey electric machine in the kitchen that gets plugged in - just not the same. I just noticed I positioned the crank the way I would use it - left handed.

There is nothing like getting the mix all ready, pouring it in the metal canister, filling the wooden tub with cracked ice and salt and taking turns cranking until your arm hurt and then handing it over to the next person.  The ice cream was so cold it made your head hurt when you took a big bite.  You need big bowls for this kind of yummy ice cream and a big dipper like this old dipper! This maker has not been used in a loooooong time. I think I will see if it still works. Maybe we can all gather here and enjoy some together. What is your favorite flavor?

While we are on the porch I will show you around. Some of you have seen a few of these pictures before but have probably forgotten. This is my potting bench that my three children gave me for my 60th birthday - twelve and a half years ago. I have kept it sheltered from the rain most of the time or it would probably not be standing today looking less aged than me!

I have so many things to display on it and don't leave much room for working.

This leaf has been in this pot for months and has stayed exactly the same. It never sprouted or made new leaves and the amazing thing to me, never turned brown or dried up.

The bird nest is not the best thing for in this. I need to look around for something that would look better.

I like this garden angel in here, however.  Do you notice his wings are a garden gate.

These are on the wall above the chest. And, yes, I do wish I had put the little screen door a few notches higher.

You may have noticed by the wall picture that these things have been changed around since this picture was made.

 Hanging by the door to the house. The little garden trowel is a door knocker.

                                            I know this has been shown on another post.

Looking towards the end you can see the garden bench and the ladder back chair and beyond into the garden. And, I believe this pretty much covers everything on the porch. I am so glad it is here. It makes my little house seem a bit bigger. Both the living room and my bedroom open onto this porch.

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I will let you know if I get some ice cream finished.