A quiet morning.

It's early morning here at the lakehouse.

The crowds are gone, and the mood is peaceful.

 The laughter, and children's voices are quiet.  All you hear are birds singing.

 The water is calm, and waiting for the kayak to cut through the stillness of the morning.

One lone mallard glides by. He seems to be enjoying the quiet.
I love mornings like this....peaceful and serene.
The glory of God is heavy in the air, giving light to my soul.
I hope you are able to enjoy the morning, before heading off to work, or running errands.

Debbie

Pure bliss.....

                                         
What a gorgeous evening here at the lakehouse! Even with the clouds, I enjoyed myself....until the mosquitoes decided to feed.
                                         
                                              
 I left the pharmacy at 4:00 today, and took the kayak out right after changing my clothes.
The water was as smooth as silk. As I glided through the water, the scent of lilacs was heavy in the air.
The holiday brought up LOTS of people! You could here voices, and laughter travel over the water.
The smell of campfires burning was welcomed while passing the homes and cottages on the canals.

 People passed in boats as I listened to the soft purr of the motors. Kids peddled by in their paddle boats, making the splish-splash sound as they went by.

 A pair of mallards swam in front of the kayak for most of my ride, and we heard the clink of horse-shoes being played at some of the houses we went past.

 After returning, I sat on the dock and read a "flea market" magazine. What a relaxing time for me.
It was perfect!

 Once the mosquitoes started their feeding frenzy, I came inside.
Now I hear the sounds of golf carts driving by. Boats are still going up and down the canals, filled with people laughing, and enjoying the night.

There is just something about the "start of summer".

I thank God for my eyes to see, my ears to hear, and my nose to breath in the wonderful scents of an early summer evening.
As I close...the tree frogs are singing, and the Robins are chirping. I hear the gentle roll of thunder in the distance.
What a blessing........
I sincerely hope that you are enjoying this start to summer, and all the wonderful things it brings.
Warm hugs.
Debbie

Bringing in some color.

Good evening.

Yesterday I painted a couple of chairs for the dining room.

I wanted something with a little more "color" than the white, and the Robin's egg blue.

I really like the mixed colors of the chairs...and needed something to go along with the beachy blue's of the mason jars on the sills(previous post).

 Sooooo...now there are white chairs, light blue, and aqua chairs. I will probably paint the light blue chairs that are left with aqua.
I love having things white...but I'm liking bringing in a "cottagey" color for some contrast.

What do you think?  Yes?...No?....Does the color look okay with the wood, and the white?

Sea blue jars, and doilies

Hello everyone out there in blogland!

I just wanted to say....blogger is causing me fits!

I cannot leave comments unless I go back and forth with my google account and click off the "stay signed in" button....argh!!! and that doesn't always work for me...ARGH!!!

Anyway....today's post will be about the beautiful canning jars, and lovely linens I bought from my friend that shops in Florida for me. Debbie hits all the flea markets, and garage sales down there  during the winter season.

The picture above shows a gorgeous old table cloth with an unbelievable crocheted trim. I hung it on the back of the wicker settee.

 I LOVE handmade doilies. I've been wanting some for my window sills. This one I cut from a large piece. One end of the piece was damaged...so I just cut it apart and ended up with three doilies!
I am so happy to have large sills to display old bottles, canning jars, and shells we collected from Sanibel Island.

 The jars are the color of the sea. I love the blue as the sun passes through the glass(as you can see in the left corner of the above pic). The color of the jars, and the pretty shells sitting in the sun remind me of Sanibel Island. Sitting on the beach with my sis, Laurie, from Heaven's Walk.

 The ruffles on this doilie remind me of the waves as they crash, and foam on the shore...revealing the shells just washed up on the sand as the waves recede.

I'm sorry about the quality of the next pic...but I wanted you to see the wonderful color of the glass.

 I like to mix up textures...adding the pretty crochet piece on top of the ticking, then adding the metal stand and cloche with the seashells made a nice statement.

I'm soooo glad the sun is finally shining here at the lakehouse! Today is my day off, so I plan on being outside for the rest of the day.
Oh...before I go...please check out this new blogger. Her name is Holly, and she is brand new to blogland. I work with Holly at the pharmacy. She's an awesome young woman! her site is www.hmbeadcompany.blogspot.com
I hope you all have a joyful holiday weekend!
Hugs to all.
Debbie

Baby pictures.

Good Tuesday afternoon everyone.

I just got home from work.

I was checking on the babies, and Mr. and Mrs. Robin got REALLY upset.

The picture isn't the clearest, but it's the best I could do with two birds dive-bombing my head!!!
It's unbelievable how fast these babies have grown!
I didn't want to upset the parents too much, so I only took one quick picture.
I will try to catch them when they are getting ready to leave the nest.
Have a wonderful evening!
We are expecting frost, so I'll be covering my annuals once again.
Smooches....

A very old, new piece...

Hello.....

I worked in the bedroom this morning...cleaning, and setting up a VERY old piece of furniture.

You can see it in the left hand corner of the picture.

 It seems, when the grandkids stay, they always want to sleep in Gramma's room. The girls love the netting over the bed, and all the pillows.  Now there is a special little spot, just for them.

 My daughter, Kelly, and I found a bed at a shabby shop about two years ago.
The bed was very narrow, and six feet long. The support was just some burlap, hanging in the middle.
The shop owner told us it was once a "slave bed". She had two of them in her shop.
Kelly wanted it for a youth bed for Kayla. I wanted it because I love antiques.
My son in law cut the planks down, and Kayla had the cutest little bed ever!

 Kayla is now in a "big girls bed", so Kelly wanted to sell this little bed.  I offered to sell it in my shop, so Kell put the bed in my car, and I brought it home.
The longer I had it, the more I couldn't part with it.  The bed is such a piece of history. It's a reminder of a time when people owned people.....a time, that hopefully, will NOT be repeated.

I wonder who slept here. Were they treated well? Did they experience freedom after sleeping in this bed? 
I will let my grandchildren know what this old piece of furniture was used for. Hopefully they will appreciate how far this country has come, and will have compassion for the person that slept in this bed so many years ago.

Debbie

The babies are here!

Good morning friends.

It's pretty cloudy here at the Lakehouse to day...that's okay tho....we are excited about the babies arriving!

Mr. and Mrs. Robin have been working on their nest for quite some time. They made sure that everything would be perfect for their little family.

Every year they set up their summer home here at the Lakehouse.

We've been waiting, patiently, for the big day. Yesterday the babies decided to join our Lakehouse family. Mom and Dad were very busy the whole day! They took turns feeding the little clutch.
We haven't peeked into the nest to see how many little ones there are...but in a couple of days it will be okay to look. We don't want to upset Momma with our presence just yet.
The nest covers the outside light. Good thing we haven't had to turn it on! Usually the Robins put their nest in the basket...but I guess they wanted an upstairs apartment this year.
It's such a treat to watch as the babies grow, and learn to take that first trip out of the nest.
I hope you have a surprise waiting outside your door this morning......
Debbie

Waiting for summer.......

Good evening everyone.

I hope you had a nice Monday.

I worked at the pharmacy until 7:00 tonight.

I really enjoy my job...but there are days when I miss being at home.

I like being here to see the progression of the sunlight as it passes through the house. Especially in summer.

The early morning sun sparkles off the water, and reflects off the bedroom ceiling. I love laying in bed and watching the light dance in waves above the bed.
Then mid-afternoon comes, and the whole house is bright and cheery. I can look out any window and see the flowers basking in the warmth and glow from the sun.
Early evening brings a softness that wraps itself around the gardens, and causes the ripples on the water to reflect light off the dock. I love laying on my stomach on the warm wood, and looking down into the water. The little fish, and turtles glide by...enjoying the last of the days light.
I miss those joyful summer moments when I'm at the pharmacy.
I soooo look forward to days off.
When I DO work, I can slip into my kayak at the end of my shift, and glide through the water like the little fish, and the turtles...soaking up the last of the days light.
Summer cannot get here fast enough.........

Sunshine....finally!

Finally!

The weather here in northern-lower Michigan has been cold...but we finally got some warm days!

Warm enough to start planting some flowers.

I've seen so many posts of gorgeous gardens already in bloom. All I have coming up, so far, are the grape hyacinths.

 It will take a few weeks for everything to fill in...but I'm so happy to finally have some color on the porch.
Once things "really" spread out, and fill in, I'll share more pictures.

I don't know why, but my porch always ends up looking "country". Must be leftover from living in the farmhouse.

I'm tired, but it feels good! Being outside all day does wonders for the soul.

 I moved the potting bench off the porch for a bit of a change. I brought out an old baker's table I've had for a loooong time, and put that on the porch this year.

This always looks sweet once the flowers start spreading out.

I asked Mr. Lakehouse to put window boxes on the rails this year.....well...he did...ONLY THEY ARE ON THE FRONT OF THE RAILS, INSTEAD OF ON TOP!!!!

 Some days he just doesn't get it.

 When the sun sets, I light the little lantern, and it looks really cute.

So...that's it for now. My next day off, I'll be pulling weeds....LOTS of weeds!!!
Enjoy your weekend everyone!
Tata.....

Good News!!!

Praise God!!!!!! Kayla(on the right) had the ultra-sound on Monday. The mass is NOT cancer!!!

We are waiting for the final reports, but Kelly was informed this morning that the lump is not cancer!!!!

I cannot tell you how happy we all are!
Kayla will be on a strict organic diet, and will see the doctor every week for a while. We are a thankful family.
Thank you for the prayers for our precious little girl, and her family. My daughter was so overwhelmed after reading the request post for prayer, she was in tears. Kelly couldn't believe how compassionate the blogging world is.
I appreciate every single one of you for lifting us up to our Lord.
God is good!!!
Love,
Debbie

Just a little change....

It's a gorgeous morning here at the Lakehouse!

The water is still, and looks like glass.

I woke up to birds singing, and the smell of fresh spring air.

 While working on some sewing projects yesterday, I found some old ticking from a feather bed. I forgot I had it, so was very glad to see it in the sewing cupboard. I should have used it for the shop, but after making a pillow, I added it to my bench under the window....LOVE it!!!

 The pillow brightened things up so much, I decided to make a table runner.

 I did make some lavender sachets for the shop. How vintage they look!

The ticking really freshens up the dining room. It helps to lighten my mood this morning. Amazing what a little change makes in a whole room!
Have a wonderful day everyone!!

Happy Mother's Day...and a request.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone here in blogland!

Today I got a phone call from my oldest daughter, Kelly.

She's a tiny little thing, with eyes as blue as the sea. Her smile brings tears to my eyes.

Kelly has been a rock for me..from the time she was four years old.

Her Papa had leukemia. Kelly was only three years old, and Erin, her sister, was five months old.

After Patrick died, my little girl was the person that understood my sorrow more than anyone else.

 All the years since, whenever I've been sick, Kelly has been my rock.
She has three beautiful children of her own now....but if and when I need her...she's always there.

Now I'd like to be there for my sweet, precious girl.

Kelly's daughter, Kayla is five. Kayla has a lump in her breast.

Kayla has been examined thoroughly, had blood test, etc. We know that it isn't a hormonal issue.

Schedules, and appointments have been rearranged so that Kayla can be seen at the UofM hospital on Monday, where she will have an ultra-sound.

We are praying for good reports.

 Kelly has gone through so much this past year. Family losses, loved ones with health issues, and other major situations. Her son, Ethan has had some pretty tough health issues recently as well.

Please keep my little girl in your prayers for strength, and peace. 
Happy Mother's Day my precious daughter.
Love,
Mom