"They Do It With Mirrors!"

Summer is advancing.

It has been a curious one. Very warm and humid, yet, with very little rain.

     Summer has, also, been a bit off balance because of the many projects that we've had going, this year. They are too numerous to mention here. They, happily are getting ticked off, one by one. Last summer, I had been warned that it was the "year of the dirt". Indeed it was!!! It seemed like all twenty acres were torn up - definitely our yard was a complete wasteland.

     This year has been the "year of trying to put it all back together again". It has been the year of the weeds and rocks and hidden pitfalls in the lawn. A year of puppies and their enclosure ruining our lawn and keeping our front porch in a state of complete disaster. A year of trying to reclaim our home after the hectic previous spring. Hardest of all, I've had no garden because it cannot be put in until the completion of the stone wall.

     We still have no kitchen table (the puppies' crate takes up all of the room) and no place to sit or eat outside. (Don't worry, though, we're not eating on the floor - we do have a beautiful dining room.)  I cannot wait to regain some sense of normalcy!!! What pictures shall I show you? There is usually disaster lurking in the background of every one! So far, my photos have been accomplished with mirrors - angles, redirection and illusions.

I wonder how many of you remember this post.....

 Well, here are "the making of" photos.....

Oh, it's going to be soooo beautiful when it's all done! Can you just imagine what it will be like when there are raised vegetable beds down by the barns and hollyhocks and roses just outside these windows?

     Well, there is hope! The wall has been completed! Tom has added composted dirt from a lovely pile that he found hidden in weeds in the barnyard. He's weed whacked our lawn and evened out the ground and reseeded it. I will do a bit more soil amendment in August and, then, when it's a titch cooler, move what plants I have left from the old house. Finally! I must say that I have been living vicariously through all of your posts about your gardens and blooms and outdoor gatherings!

Just a note: for those of you who have been following along for a while, now, Tom is not Mr. Toad. I realized, after my Father's day post, that it was a bit nebulous who I was talking about. Going more from the Disney version of the characters, my own Dad is Mr. toad, I am Moley (with toadlike tendencies), my mother is McBadger and my husband, Tom, is the very responsible and upright Ratty. Well, my beloved Ratty has been extremely industrious. I just want you all to know how very impressed and grateful I am for my husbands stoic stubbornness and stick to it gumption. In a contest between a large boulder and him - the boulder will be moved!

 In the midst of all this are the puppies.

 We realized, after a few days of trying to come up with official names for them, that they're stuck with their original nick names; so, "Chubbs" and "Una" it is.

Chubbs was tentatively exploring the pond when Una came barreling into him and, into the black muck they both went!

Then, they both got to experience their first bath.

For Chubbs, "ignorance is carefree bliss"!

 

Chubb is playing "The Ghost and the Darkness". (Do you know of those famous African lions, now stuffed in the Field Museum in Chicago?)

 Proving that Chubbs is only a little bit fat but, really, he's "foofy"!

Fresh meetings after the ordeal, and.....

..... a cookie!

 (Since this photo, I've started thinking about the two of them as "Beauty and the Beast".)

 

 As for the rest of the summer? Well, I do have a meadow full of flowers,......

  

 ......there has been plenty of local fresh fruit and berries and vegetables at the store,.....

..... we've finally had a few smatterings of thunder storms,.....

..... and the summer is mellowing and cooling.

 Love,

Katy Noelle

Adoption

Daisy

Wyatt (and our vet, Brandi)

Pink Toe (our name), going to comfort the little boy who had picked her out but was home with a broken leg.

Lucy and her new Mommy

Lucy and her boy!

Our vet matched Shirley and Ginger up! She is going to be the healthiest, well taken care of little sweet puppy in the world!

This sweetheart was picked up by Tom's Mom (my mom-in-law) to go to Aunt Mertie who has had all of her pup's chew toys and pillows and blankets, etc. waiting for 5 weeks, now.

Two princesses!!!

The small furry one has a new name - 'Alison' (as in 'Alice-in' Wonderland)

And, we kept big Chubbs!

er,........ big Chubbs.....

Big Chubbs......

If you want to see big Chubbs, you'll have to go to this post, Chubb Jr.

and,.......

we, also, kept Una!

 

She was the first born and I will never forget how full of awe we were to hear her first cry.

Although, we're still trying to think of official names.......

So,....

 yes,

I am brokenhearted to see the clan scattered 

but,

 

 really, 

I am filled with joy!

My husband jokes that one of my hobbies is to paint front doors.

He has a point.

 

When we lived at the parsonage, the front door was 4 different colors. I think, however, that, since it is the "gateway" to our homes, our front doors should make a statement - exude some kind of feeling. Hopefully, the sense one has as they enter our abode is of welcome and anticipation. I mean, you all know what I'm talking about. A beautiful front door can make our hearts ooh and ahh! A beautiful front door is really a pleasure. It is like the crowning jewel on the exterior of our homes.

Last year, I painted the door "Nantucket Fog" (Benjamin Moore) to do something - anything -  with the outside of the house while we were trying to pick the official house colors and do something with the landscape.

     Admittedly, a much simpler way of changing the front door is by hanging something on it. Oh, I bet that most of you are nodding your heads (at least in spirit) in agreement. Changing what is on our front door can be, also, a sort of celebration of the changing of the seasons. I am stating the obvious, though.

     Above, is the wreath that I've had on my front door for almost 9 months. I have had the slight trouble that, most of my wreaths don't fit between the storm door and the door proper. It's been frustrating. 3 months ago, I saw a very pretty wreath made out of solid white fabric roses at that french store, Target. (For those of you across the Atlantic, it's not really french. It's an American, middle priced department store that is very popular at the moment. Tres Chic!) The price for the wreath, however, was one that made me scowl and think, "I can easily make that for, at least, half that price." I put it on my list of things to do and, finally, got to it, yesterday. Happily for me, my discount department store had this one already made for a quarter of the price. Perfecto!

It just needed a little "something"....

    The change of wreath has come in time for the Memorial Day weekend which was May 30th. Although, some of the celebrations for Memorial Day are quite serious, that weekend, also, marks the unofficial start of summer. There is another reason that the 30th of may is celebratory (besides being the day that I arrived in Vermont from California,  17 years ago). Two years ago, on May 30th we closed on (bought) our home. What a day! It was like a beautiful dream that I will never ever forget!

Well, we celebrated these wonderful milestones by toasting marshmallows and lighting sparklers.

We fired up our pagan altar on which we offer burnt marshmallow offerings to the god of summer fun.

This called for a mosaic!

(This is the first one that I have ever created!)

The door is open!

Summer - come on in!

Love to you all,

Katy Noelle

P.S. Just in case your worried about our "pagan altar", my husband is very interested in archaeology and has, indeed, worked on some "digs" in the Middle East. We just kind of think this way, sometimes.

My camera really, truly is gasping it's last breaths. I was amazed at this last photo. I have to cajole every picture out of it and, then, I'm not really sure what I've got.

I am linking to "Mosaic Monday" at The Little Red House. This is a lovely blog! Mary has, also, provided a tutorial, on her sidebar, about how to make a mosaic. Thank you, Mary!!!