One Fish, Two Fish

 

 One of the first questions people ask us about the new backyard pond is "Are you going to put fish in it?"

The answer:  "Yes"

As of yesterday six little goldfish have found a new home.

 We were advised to let them float around in their little bag for about 20 minutes to get acclimated.  

When the time was up, Brett released them into their new Home Sweet Home where we hope they will be very happy.

This is all new to us so we are learning as we go.

We've been doing a bit of research on caring for the little guys and found interesting information on their care and feeding (or lack of) here.  

I'll keep you posted on their progress.

For now I feel like a new mother who is constantly checking on their well-being.  Right now they are very small for the pond and it seems they must be hiding as I never see them.  On the bright side, I don't see them floating on the top belly up.  I hope this just means they are happily munching away on the underwater vegetation.

On another note, here we are in September.

I'm looking forward to cooler temperatures so that we can sit outside more often.  We tried it early last evening and nearly melted.  Our temps here have been in the mid 90s.  Coupled with the humidity it feels more like the upper 90s.  

So tell me, are you enjoying the cooler, crisper early fall temperatures yet?

Chasing Summer

 

It seems it wouldn't be summer if I didn't chase a butterfly around the garden at least once.  With all the construction going on out there this year,  I haven't wanted to run around with my camera for fear of looking a bit... well you know, don't you?

 

Sadly one of our butterfly bushes had to be removed to make way for the new landscaping.  However, the one right outside the kitchen window remains.  Often when I am sitting here I see them gently gliding amongst the purple blossoms. 

Flying Flowers

Beautiful, Graceful Works of Nature

 

They oftentimes fly off just when I'm about to snap the picture.

So I usually just snap~snap~snap away hoping for a good shot.

 While waiting for my next opportunity to snap I couldn't help but notice this.  One lone leaf already sporting it's fall finery.  Uh Oh, can the rest be far behind?

Guess we better keep chasing summer while we still can.

 

Patio Before & Afters

 You may remember this from an earlier post.

Our patio had developed large cracks along the foundation and along the top surface, seemingly due to poor workmanship when it was originally built.  It seems the patio was constructed right on top of all of the trash and debris left at the work site.  Over time water was seeping into the cracks making them larger and putting the patio at risk for eventually caving in.

After receiving several estimates, it was decided that the best solution was to demolish the existing patio and start from scratch.

As long as we were going to start over, it was also decided to enlarge and reconfigure the shape.  The previous patio was ample, but our yard space provided for a more spacious patio, so that is the way we chose to go.

It was very satisfying to watch the work being done step by step.

In the photo above you can see the patio was in the process of being filled in.  Once it was completely filled, they used a small (noisey:) machine to "tamp" down the surface.  Best of all, no trash or building materials buried under there.  

When the decision was made to have the patio re-built, we also decided to go forward with something we have been dreaming and talking about for years.

It involved a large pile of rocks.

Some of them were very pretty inside.

The beginnings of this project were a bit on the muddy side.

Soon enough the mud was a distant memory.

As was the crumbling patio.

Random Thoughts

 

In all my years of gardening I've never encountered poison ivy...

until this year.  It was a fairly mild case, but since it continued to spread I paid a visit to my dermatologist.

She sent me home with a cream to take care of the poison ivy and also a "patient education" list on caring for dry skin.

I thought it was rather interesting and thought I'd share some highlights in case you, too, might find it interesting:

Dry skin lacks WATER, not lotion or oil.

The MOST DRYING thing you can do to your skin is to apply water to the skin and then to let it evaporate. 

Treatment requires keeping water in the skin, so drinking water doesn't help.

I never really thought of myself as having dry skin, although at this stage of life I am noticing a lot of damage from my long ago habit of sun worshiping.  Oh how I wish I could turn back the hands of time :).  But since that is not possible, I was encouraged by some of the tips for caring for my skin now.

Those tips follow:

• Quick showers using cooler water.
• Mild soaps like Dove for Sensitive Skin
• Pat dry after showering.  Rubbing can cause itchy skin
• Apply lotion right after drying to help keep moisture in.  My dermatologist has been highly recommending the CeraVe products (pictured above).  They can be found in drugstores. 
• Avoid scents and dyes.  I have now switched to unscented detergents and have quit using dryer sheets altogether. 

 

 In other random news, I recently saw this product on another blog and thought I'd give it a try.  These BB creams are something I didn't know anything about.  I had been using a mineral powder with a sunscreen underneath.  It was working okay, but I was ready for a change.  This one has sunscreen in it and it seems to do a good job of evening out those middle age flaws (another result of too much sun in my younger days).

Just so you know, I'm not being compensated to talk about these products.  Just sharing a few things that I've found helpful.

If you have any input on skin care or beauty products that you're loving right now, please feel free to share.  

Moving right along from beauty products to puppies...

I told you it was random here today.

This little puppy seems to have been left on a neighbor's porch in the middle of the night.  She had a collar and leash on.  The neighbor has tried everything to find it's owner to no avail.

She's only a couple months old and cute as can be.

Brett & I felt so bad for her, we even tried to let her stay here.

Peanut would have no part of that.  She is too old and set in her ways.

The general consensus around the neighborhood is that somebody bought her and realized they couldn't take care of her so they left her for someone else to figure out.  Luckily this neighbor is determined to find her a home and has found a rescue group that has been able to place her.  According to the rescue worker, this is happening all the time.  It seems so unfair to the poor little puppy.

This whole experience has made me have a new appreciation for the necessity of spaying and neutering our pets.

On that note, I'm wrapping up the randomness for today.

Any random thoughts you'd care to share?

When Life Hands You Disarray...

 

 My messy kitchen table is just an extension of the discombobulation going on here right now.

Very soon my husband's small business will move from a rented office building to our home sweet home.  After nearly 25 years, this will be quite a change for us.

We've been going full-throttle to sort through years and years of stuff in the garage, attic and son's former bedroom to make room for the desks, file cabinets, computers, new phone system, etc. needed for conducting business from home. 

I met Brett at work a long time ago and have worked along with him in some capacity since he started his business all those years ago.

Along with sorting through things here at home, we've been paring down to the bare bones at the office.  In amongst all of the stuff lies years and years of memories.  Former employees, office parties, business trips, loyal customers and on and on...

This (somewhat) unexpected move is reminding me how quickly time goes by.  There seem to be more of those reminders at this stage of life, I think. 

While I'm not quite sure how all of this will work out, I am trying hard to set it up here so that our office space is kept separate from our home space.  

Right now, the upstairs hallway is lined with stuff in transition.

I spent the morning scrubbing baseboards and carpet.

Now it's time to step away from all of that and bring some order and beauty to at least one spot.

I started by clearing the clutter from the table and then went in search of a clean tablecloth. 

 

Okay, I folded this one so carefully after laundering it last time.

What the heck happened?

I briefly considered leaving it. 

But, I just couldn't do it.

I love the looks of freshly pressed vintage linens.

I actually don't mind ironing them either.  Sometimes I'm a wee bit lazy when it comes to wrangling the ironing board out of the coat closet, however.

 I've been on the hunt for an oval tray to use in the center of my table.  My sister-in-law spotted this one the other day and the hunt was over.  I love the patina and the mixture of metals.  Let's have some fun playing with it as we spruce up the table, shall we?

My backyard is also in a state of discombobulation, but that's another story for another day.

I was able to gather a bouquet of limelight hydrangeas out there this morning.

I am liking the cut crystal with the tray.  How about you?

You know those posts where they give you step by step directions for creating the perfectly pinworthy centerpiece vignette for your table?  Well, this is not one of those.  This is just little ole me mixing and matching with my garden flowers and thrift shop treasures.  

 Speaking of thrift shop treasures, I pulled a few dishes out of the cupboards.

That tiny tea cup had no saucer.  It's tiny price tag made me no longer care about missing saucers.

I like my table centerpiece vignettes to have a candle included.

Looking for something less predictable than a candlestick, I'm going to try using the tea cup.

 

I think that is the cozy glow I'm looking for.

That little snippet of hydrangea fell off while I was arranging them.

I'm good with leaving it on the tray.  What about you?

The goblet in the forefront was given to me by my Aunt Marge.

I was still in junior high when she gave them to my mom to save for "Kimmy" (as my family affectionately calls me :).  Aunt Marge said she thought I would appreciate them and she is right.  I kept them neatly packed in a box in my closet until my wedding day.  

She received them as a wedding gift.

She was 13 years older than my mom.  If my mom was still alive she would now be 90.  I'm too tired to do all of the math, but I think we can conclude that they are very old.

I'm just happy to have them.  

Good memories of my dear aunt.

 While it's true that most of my house, yard and office are in a major state of disarray, all's well at the table.  

Oh yes, the beauty of blogland... a wonderful place to come to escape reality from time to time ;-D.

Now I guess it's time to get back to reality and make some dinner to go on that table.  I'm thinking this  will be on the menu tonight.  It looks like a great way to use the tomatoes and basil I picked from the garden.

 

A Sunset Cruise

 

After dinner last night we decided to take a little sunset cruise.

This would be Jaxson's first boat ride.

We were curious to see how he would like it.

 Grandpa was happy to have assistance with the captain's duties.

 Once we dropped anchor, he also experienced his first swim in the lake.  

Despite the bulky life vest, he seemed to take it all in stride.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

New Couches

 

After what turned out to be a picture perfect holiday weekend, you'd think I'd have more exciting photos than a picture of my couch.

I believe I was so busy enjoying the moments that I never once picked up the camera.  I must say I loved having the 4th fall on a Friday.  How great to be able to carry  the festive summery feeling right into the weekend.  The other thing I loved was the absence of humidity we enjoyed throughout the weekend.  I think that's almost unheard of for a summer day in the south.  Let me just say that, at least for me, it was a blessed relief and reason enough to celebrate.

So we enjoyed time on the lake, in the lake, grilling, watching the fireworks, in the pool and a few walks were thrown in there too.

Now, about that couch.

After 15 years our family room love seats were showing their age.

Not to mention they were always way too short for my 6' husband and sons to sprawl out on comfortably.

Not too long ago Brett and I had some time to kill while waiting for the car to be serviced.  Spotting a new-to-me consignment shop I asked him to drop me off.  With no intentions of purchasing anything, I happened to spot this couch.  The colors were my home decor colors in a nutshell.  Not necessarily colors I see in the furniture stores today.  Since I don't want to re-decorate the whole room, I was keeping my fingers crossed that they would fit in with what I had.  A bit risky as they couldn't be returned.

We had to remove one end table to accommodate the new length.  Other than that, a perfect fit.  

Not only for the room, but for those 6' tall men too.

 

 Speaking of perfect fits, I'm playing around with photo sizes here today.  I usually choose the extra large size.  Today I'm trying large instead.  If you have any thoughts on the whole matter, please feel free to share them.