Can't wait to see heaven...

If these gorgeous flowers are an inkling to what's to come in heaven, I can't wait!  ( I wonder if I'll have to water them by hand there too)

Daylily in front yard

 My Red Torch Lily

Project 20

The odd shaped but useful area between the sidewalk to the back door and the garage is officially finished! Steven calls it Project 20 because it cost us about $20 ($21.80 to be exact).  Glad it is ready before the hot summer got here!

There's always change

Ok, we loved this large oak tree near our home.  We built the driveway around it.  It's limbs stretched out long and wide providing shade.  I'd love to know how old it was. The trunk was large enough that it's diameter was larger than a coffee table.  But, last year's heat and drought was too much for it and it died so we had to have it cut down yesterday.  Things look so different now.

Neighbors & Gardens

I have a neighbor who, though greek, lives in a french chateau style home with an english garden.  She says gardening is more than a hobby, it is therapy.  I stopped by this evening on my walk to see how her preparations are going for this year's garden tour.  I mentioned after the tour getting some foxglove for seeds since she has a hillside of volunteers and in her gracious manner she not only picked foxglove, but made a huge arrangement including lamb's ear and coreopsis to enjoy while I wait for the foxglove seeds to be ready.... love flowers and good neighbors....

Table Transformation

I recently purchased a dining table for $25 and decided to refinish it, although I've never done that before, there's a first time for everything.  When I got it home it wasn't in terrible condition, but there were signs of memories made at it.  I think I mainly took on the project because I was dealing with the sorrow of losing my friend, Alex, of 15 years, and the idea of being mentally and physically challenged sounded compelling.
Here is the table when we bought it:

At first, I thought we may be able to match the stain to repair these spots, but no luck... so the refinishing began.  First step, sanding it with 80 grit sandpaper, then 220.

Next, we used a gel stripper and stiff bristled brush to clean out the engravings.

Then, we noticed the chairs we planned to use with the table were a bit too short.  My handy husband discovered he can remove the table legs and lower the table just enough...

We sanded with 320 grit paper and got it clean- ready for the danish oil finish...

This is a chair with the old finish next to the table now... one more coat of oil left to do.