When the Rain Comes

Someone asked for rain and we got it in buckets this weekend.  We were still able to have a good time and accomplished several jobs that needed to be done around the old house. 

This is a chalkboard that I found last week at a rummage sale. I had to paint over the chalkboard paint that I had on this wall in the hallway, before we could hang it.  (My handy guy did the hanging, I'm the painter.)  This looks so much better, finished and pretty.  The walls are all blue but they are showing green in this photo.  It's a hefty piece from Homegoods, and I got it for $5. 

 I like to have a welcome, happy birthday or other message that you see as you enter our home.

Outside I painted the wooden posts on the arbor, but have not painted the metal parts because of the rain.

 This is what it looked like when it wasn't dumping buckets of rain on us.

 Kinda angry.

I was able to harvest another large basket of lavender.    I had a bee drinking from the lavender as I was harvesting, so I left half for the bees still working until the frost.

 It was not as fragrant as the summer harvest, still, what a bounty, for the bees and for me.

 One tiny Queen Anne's Lace flower is still in bloom.  All the others have set seed and dried.

 So many hydrangea still left on the bush.  Later we will cut everything back to the ground on the Annabelle.

 A set of tiny leaves where the kiwi vine was replanted.  There is hope for a come back next year.

 This wreath is from last year.  It has faded but still holding onto the flowers.

 Some things are just too sweet to change.  This little garden gate welcomes you on our front door.  It's been my go to Autumn decoration.

The Great Pumpkin flag has had a good run.  I hung it first in the city, some 23 years ago.  I don't do spooky, and I don't really care for Halloween. (Except for It's a Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.)  I mostly decorate for the harvest, remembering a few fun things for Penny and the kids that come trick or treating.

 I found these two English marmalade jars at the thrift.  I've seen them on blogs and in home decor but have never seen any for sale.  They are like milk glass, not like our glass jars at all.  Not sure how I will use them, but I have many orphan silver spoons that would look great peeking out of either of these cool jars.  They were .99 cents each.

 Then I found this beautiful  English biscuit tin that was sold by Williams Sonoma.

 I am pretty sure that the art was done by Susan Winget.  She has done drawings for Lang, and I have admired her work for years. It's so cheerful and beautiful, and in perfect shape.

 You know I love a bargain, and this tablecloth was a steal.

 It's huge and the soft colors are so beautiful. It might be too big for any of my tables, but it sure would look lovely on our bed.

I started to organize my pantry and take an inventory.  Officially, I have 5 cans of pumpkin, three cans of water chestnuts, four cans of assorted pineapple and 4 jars of jelly. I know, why?  I had to throw out some expired goods and put all my baking paraphernalia together..  Stop me if I ever want to buy a paper cupcake liner or lolly pop stick.  It's a good time to get things in order before the birthdays and holidays start.  This kind of project just starts other projects,  Cleaning the area of  overflow groceries in the laundry room.  Organizing my bags, wraps and foils...  All while doing the laundry, paying a bill, writing a list and remembering to post something on the blog today.  I am not sure where this burst of activity came from, but I know to ride the wave.  The older I get, the fewer and further between come these days when I do EVERYTHING.  There is satisfaction to be tired from all the activity, and the thrill of opening my pantry and not being crushed by the contents.  Mom and Dad used to tell us about Fibber McGee's closet.  It was a radio show, but whenever they opened the closet, you heard a great crash as everything fell out.  Mom and Dad are on my mind and in my heart today, their anniversary.

Penny is on her second month of kindergarten.  She has great stories to tell and has made many new friends.  This girl has quite a social calendar, many birthday parties and now Daisy's, the tiniest of Girl Scouts.  She was so excited to wear her new winter coat to school this first cold morning.  This school thing is getting in the way of fun and frolic with Grandma and Grandpa.  Gone are the days of taking her out of preschool for the afternoon, or the week.  We still have pumpkins to hunt and jack o lanterns to carve.  Penny has her Halloween costume, it's a character from a Disney show called the Descendants.  The Descendants are the children of Disney characters like Captain Hook and Ursula.
It's all very cool and not at all Daniel Striped Tiger.  Where did our baby go?

Thanks for stopping by and for your friendship.
Enjoy this beautiful day.
Love, Penny