Dog days of summer.

The 4th of July is kind of like the mid-way point of summer.

I love the holiday but I hate that June has left us.

I found this little shirt for Addison at a garage sale for a buck.

The skirt was $5 at Wally's and her bow is left over from last years ribbon stash.

I thought she looked pretty festive for the day.

 I love summer and of course it's goes by way too fast.  I want to take in every fair and festival around.  I want to travel, grow flowers and spend time just soaking up the sun.
Over the 4th, we made it down to one of our favorite festivals, River Fest in Lacrosse, WI.   We had little Addison in tow and it was a really fun day!   She got to go down some gigantic blown up slides.

Ride around on a cute little train.

Have her little face painted.

And cool off in the fun fountain/ kiddie wading pools.  There was a magician and a really amazing clown act.  We left with one little tired 2-1/2 year old who kept saying, "I don't want to ever leave, I don't want to ever go home, not ever, not ever. "   hehe.

My flowers are growing like gang busters and filling in beautifully!
We've had beautiful weather lately.  Mostly in the 80's, sometimes humid, sometimes not.  I prefer the not, but the plants seem to like the humid.

And my hydrangeas are making me smile this year!  Last year between the early heat wave and the low rain I had maybe one bloom.  This summer they are full of blooms .

This is a smaller clematis I have near the garage.  It's doesn't get as much sun as my larger one but with the rain and warm temps it's done wonderfully this year.

I planted 6 teeny impatience that I got for a buck.  This old bird bath has worked great as a planter for them.

I have always loved daisies!

And I am thrilled with my lilies!  I put one teeny tiny one in here last summer hoping it might grow.  Well grow it did and divide and bloom!  I am a new lover of lilies, they are amazing plants and I am going searching for some great deals on them to plant mid-summer.
                                                                       How is your summer going friends?
                                                                                         Cindy
                                                                               

I am joining Seasonal Sunday's at The Tablescaper.

Budget Patio Decorating

     Happy first of July friends. Summer as usual seems to be flying by.  With the 4th just a few days away I wanted to share with you our patio.  We have a small covered front porch that DH and I use more frequently.  But our patio still gets it share of use.

As I was tidying it up yesterday I realized that everything out here has been re-done from it's original state.  Our picnic table was the sorriest of things and looked ready for the fire-pit. A couple of years ago, DH tore it apart and made it like new again.  To see that post click here.

I was going to set a complete table out here but my 2 year old grand-daughter thought we were playing kitchen and restaurant so I just set out my burlap place mats with jean pockets that I made a few years back.  

Another angle.  DH drilled a hole so that we could use an umbrella with our picnic table. 

I wonder if I can paint the umbrella too. It's only a few years old but the sun has faded it out quite a bit.

The chair was a gift from my daughter and I have it filled with petunias.

DH just finished the railing.  It too was old and the paint was chipping like crazy.

He tore the whole thing apart and made it like new again.

To see that post click here.

You can see that my clematis has just started to bloom.

I love petunias and I plant them quite frequently.

Here I have one of two old fashioned metal lawn chairs that I bought at an auction years ago.

I think I paid $20 for the two of them.  A few years ago DH gave them a new paint job.

To see how he did that click here.  

I have an old table covered with a patriotic tablecloth and ready to use for plates and as a place to set some snacks.

I made the patriotic pillow last summer after seeing them on Etsy.

No pattern necessary they really are quite easy.

The wrought iron set was purchased about 20 years ago.  They originally were black but last summer I spray painted them a cheery red. I made some simple cushions from outdoor fabric, a lot cheaper than buying them in the store.

To see more click here.

An old tea pot becomes a fun little planter.

Just drill some holes in the bottom for drainage.

Another view of the recently redone patio fencing.

I found this shelf at a garage sale for $5.  It was new from Home Goods and still had the tags on it.

Hubby used dry wall screws to anchor it to the stone, and now it's a handy little planter.

Over here you can see my other old patio chair painted a dark blue.

And the other side of the  patio fencing that DH recently re-did.

An old deep metal pan becomes a funky planter with just a few holes drilled in the bottom.

I bought this old coffee pot at an auction and it's become one of my favorite planters.

A view from our picnic table.

Thanks for stopping by, I sure would love to hear from you.

Cindy

I am joining the following fun blog parties.

Met. Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Tweak it Tuesday @ Cozy Little House

Tutorials and Tips @ Stone Gable

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll thru Life

Patio re-hab

Hello friends.

We've had some beautiful June weather this past week.

The kind as my DH puts it, we dream of all winter.

June means my painted daisies are in bloom.

Oh how I love their vibrant pink color.

June also means school has finally ended and my building construction teacher hubby has time to do a few projects around our home as well.

One of his first priorities is this peeling and nasty looking fencing that surrounds our back patio.

Five years ago, he scraped it, primed it and painted it.

It had been a nasty beige color.

It was quite the job and looked really pretty for awhile.

However as of late it has taken a turn for the worse.

We looked into replacing it with the white vinyl fencing and priced it out.

However it's very pricey and we really didn't find one we liked that well.

So my resourceful hubby took down every single piece.

( a job in itself.)

He then planed every single piece and applied coats of Thompson Water Sealer.

And just look at the difference it has made.

The wood is cedar as my hubby suspected and I love the different knots and grains.

Sorry this is a little too bright but I think you can see the difference it has made.

From this...

to this.

And the only cost was the can of water sealer.

He is working on the other side now as well and when he has it all done I will update you with the results.

June is just bursting out all over and I love it.

I could re-run June several times every year and never tire of it.

Have a lovely week my friends,

Joining these great blog parties.

Tweak it Tuesday @ Cozy Little House

A Stroll thru Life  for Inspire Me Tuesday