Summer is half over already!!

I haven't been able to get out and work in my flower beds for quite awhile because
the mosquitoes are so bad here in Michigan if you step outside the door they will
carry you away!! No kidding!

I have been debating and debating and debating with myself over whether to paint the teal
chalkboard boards on my pallet planter black instead of the bright teal. I have decided
that I am going to do it. You can hardly see the chalk on this color of paint so black it is...
WHEN I can get back outside to work.

See all these dry leaves? This happens ever year from this crabapple tree. I love the tree in Spring,
but it is awful this time of year and I can't even begin to keep up on picking up the leaves so
most of them stay put and it looks like FALL already.

Did you see my last two posts about my BFF's garden? She is so precise and not a weed in
sight and I am a MESSY gardener. ha ha! Takes all kinds to make the world go round. 

I purchase Rosemary every year because I love it so much!
I just made some Rosemary lemonade this week and hubby loved it as much as I did.
DELICIOUS!

My basil plant is huge this year. It is my very favorite herb along with Rosemary.

My pallet planter spilleth over. lol

I pray that all of you are having a wonderful summer and making tons of memories
with friends and family. I have always been somewhat of a loner, but I find the older
I get the more I just want to be alone most of the time. Not a bad thing. I do enjoy a good
shopping trip occasionally, but even that is getting old.

What are you doing this summer for fun??

Lush July Flowers

My flowers haven't suffered too much in the heat that we have had in Michigan this year.
There really haven't been a lot of very hot days yet and I hope they don't come at all!  I also haven't
used any fertilizer at all this year except what came in the soil that I planted them in.
I think they look nice and lush for all the things I didn't do. :)

Every year I try to feed them liquid fertilizer through the hose, but just haven't had
the time and we have had a LOT of rain so I didn't need to either.

They have come a long way since I planted them back in May.
I can grow nice flowers outside , but can't grow anything inside to save my life! HA!

The fern is HUGE and so green. I always get it at the same place every year.
I have tried Walmart in the past and did not have good luck so I stick with
our local greenhouse.

I have an old wooden white screen door that I would love to replace this one with, but
haven't taken the time to measure it yet. Hopefully it will fit. It has spindles on it and
I got it FREE several years ago. Wouldn't that be nice if it fit just perfect??

I adore WHITE flowers...don't you?

I can't wait for my Sweet Autumn Clematis to flower this fall. I love it that it is
a late blooming plant so I can extend the beautiful floral season a bit more.

How is the weather where you are? Hot, rainy, cold, snowy? EEK! Snow
will be here soon enough.

Blessings~

Summers last hurrah!

I haven't had time to do much of anything  but take some photos so I thought I would share
some more of my flowers with you.  The allysum above in my galvanized tub was all but gone
 in the awful summer heat, but I kept it in the container anyway and when the rain started
falling did these flowers ever put on a show!! It has flowered abundantly and I am
in L.O.V.E!!  I also love the hops that are in the same container!! They do so well for me!

My geraniums literally had ZERO flowers on them once the heat wave hit, but again
I just hung in there and they are coming back more beautiful than ever. 

Isn't she a beauty??

Geraniums sitting on my chippy white chair

Another view of the galvanized tub overflowing with hops and allysum. There is also a couple
geranium plants in the middle , but you can't even see them for the other flowers. :)

Still loving my white wicker cone 

I do hope you all are doing great! I haven't had much time to visit, but hopefully that can
change soon.  My mom is doing pretty good and actually visited today to lay on our bed
and try out our mattress.  Then she went to town and bought the same brand. We have
had ours for several years so they didn't make the exact one, but we love it!  How in
the world did I ever get off onto the subject of mattresses? oh well...have a beautiful
week ahead!!!

Window boxes, giveaway almost over and mom back in hospital!

I wanted to share my beautiful flowers in my window box with you and have barely had the time to
sit down lately let alone do a blog post.

It has been another hectic week as my mom was admitted back into the hospital on Wednesday. She
was admitted for blood clots all the way down her leg from her thigh. They have her on blood thinners
and hopefully she will be able to come home Sunday. I feel so bad for my parents. Mom was just
getting to where she was feeling better and now this. To top it off , the day they admitted her, my dad
came home and was watering moms flowers and his water quit! He had to call someone in and have
a new well pump installed!! I tell you what...when it rains, it pours! I pray they have some relief from all
of this craziness soon. 

Some of my best looking flowers this year despite the awful heat we have had because most of the time
this box is in the shade! :) I see it also needs some TLC as it is coming apart at the front corners.

Pretty ivy geraniums and allysum

I love my brackets that are holding up the box

Hubby and I will celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary on Sunday so yesterday we went
 to a beautiful Italian restaurant called LaScola Italian Grill and it was amazing! Delicious food
and a waiter named Justin who was the perfect gentleman. Freshly baked bread with oil for
dipping, house salad that was wonderful and I had Butternut Squash Ravioli on the
recommendation of my bff.  It was so yummy! I couldn't eat the last one on the plate
because I was stuffed to the gills. I probably ate 3 or more pieces of the bread before
we even got our meals. lol  Low lighting , leather chairs and all.  Just a wonderful place that
 we will visit again!

My crown giveaway is almost over so be sure and enter TODAY if you are interested.
{Scroll back one post to find it}

Creating a fairy garden

I have had fairies on the brain lately as it is getting closer and closer to the fairy
 party that I am having for my granddaughters.  I decided a couple days ago that I
wanted to make a fairy garden so I rounded up some plants, got up this morning
and my little fairy and I did just that.

She wanted to use a small rusty wagon that has been sitting around  for her new home.
We measured it and found that it was approx. 20 inches long x 10 inches wide and
she determined that it would be just right!

She also asked if she could use the wee rakes that are just perfect for her size and I
told her that would be okay so she got busy and went right to work and was done
in no time at all!

That much work tires a fairy out very fast so she decided she needed to take a break
and sit on her beautiful twig chair.

Just look at all the work she did!

A perfect home for a beautiful fairy don't you agree?

While she was getting her home ready she took a tumble more than once! She fell while
 adding the slate path and then again a couple times while planting her flowers.  She sure
 is a clumsy fairy! The first fall blunted off her nose and subsequent tumbles made her
 wings fall off, but her fairy godmother {moi} glued them back on and she is
*practically perfect*. No repairing her nose though. lol.

{truthfully her nose and wings were mishaps quite some time ago}

The best thing about her home is that when it rains her fairy godmother can pull her
home inside the garage so she doesn't drown!

Yep...I think my little fairy is very satisfied with her new home!
Happy Wednesday!!

{Please ignore all the shadows. It is very sunny here today and I did the best I could.
I have also rearranged the slate path a few times and I am still not totally happy with it
 so it may get another makeover...or two.  lol. }

Porch curtains, flowers and cutie patooties!

I am just thrilled with how my galvanized tub has

performed for me this year. Last year we had tomatoes

planted in it and it looks so much prettier this way

don't you think?

I planted ivy geraniums, hops, allysum along with an

asparagus fern.

The allysum (snowdrift or snow something??) is spilling over the edges very nicely.

Very light pink geranium

Oh my look who snuck into my post!! Aren't they just the cutest ever!!! Big sister Keira and little brother Kanaan.

My oldest son's children. Can you tell that Keira loves him to death??

{I don't think he minds being loved on either!} love this picture of them!

{Kanaan got his boo boo when we were out there

last time to visit, but he took it like a little man!}

my back deck...don't look too close ,but I spy greenish

stuff on part of it so I guess it is time to get out the

power washer again.lol.

{The fence came home from my booth}

Here is my front porch from a couple posts ago where I

didn't get this shot added. Thought you might want

to see the whole thing.

and WA LA......I hung curtains on the porch!!!! What do you think? I posted on facebook that I think the neighbors

think I am batty for putting them up, but I don't

care. Sure makes a nice peaceful place to sit and I

love it when they blow in the breeze.

I didn't buy one thing...took these out of my stash

from a garage sale last year. I think it was a huge

scarf type curtain. I ripped it in two and love it!

It has been an interesting time here lately at the Wayside

Treasures household. Last week we had to have a new

starter put on our car (2003) and a four wheel alignment

($400), this week new struts put on (over $600 , but

thankfully not the $800 they quoted us),

$250 spent on roofing materials for replacing a

tiny roof, and a yet to be seen price for a

lawnmower part. Hubby will pick that up tomorrow

after work. Can you believe I push mowed part

of our lawn today? We have almost three acres,

maybe two that we mow and I would NOT

want to mow it all that way! I sure got a

workout though!

I was trying to find a silver lining in all this

money going out and I did. Thankfully it happened now

and not when hubby was laid off a year and a half ago. God is good!!!

Now scoot on over to Faded Charm where I

know Kathleen has many lovely white posts

for you to view again this week.

{PS disclaimer here again...still can't get to many of

your WW posts because of my slow dial-up internet,

but I do keep trying. One of these days!!}

For those of you who asked the antique mall

where Leslie's french booth is:

Memories Antique Mall

4036 W. Grand Blanc Rd.

Swartz Creek, Michigan 48473

{just off of US 23 a mile or two}

Blessings~