A Merry Christmas post!!!!

It's been so long.......

I must admit to you all.....IG has made it easier for me to see what everyone is up to. 

I am still working at the pharmacy, and to be honest, I took the summer off from blogging to enjoy being outside in the gardens, and on the lake.

I don't know how you guys do it?!!!

Of course, I don't have a large following.....so keeping up a blog shouldn't be that difficult for me...lol.

I am just plain lazy.

The down side to IG is losing that personal contact that you have with blogging.

Then there are those that do both!!! and run businesses, and their households, etc.

Like I said....I am lazy.

My youngest daughter, Melissa and I did well with our booth.

This winter it will slow down, but we are looking forward to a busy spring and summer!

Bun Bun is bigger. He is still my little fuzz-butt, though.

He spent the summer months in his rabbit house and outside-attached cage area.

Now that it's colder, he is inside.

He is litter trained, which makes things so easy with him being inside.

I just wanted to do a post, and wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!!
I trust you are well, and happy.
Joy to you and your families!
Love,
Debbie
xo

Summer evenings at the lakehouse.

Summer here at the lake has been enjoyable, with hot, humid weather, and sunny skies.

We experience a few cooler days with rain...but the flowers appreciate that, as do the people needing a bit of a break from the heat.

Evenings are spent sitting in the swing under the candle lanterns gifted to me by one of my daughters as a Mother's Day present.

It's always a treat watching the boats glide by as the sun goes down.

Hubby usually starts a campfire, and the frogs start their familiar songs.

You catch the faint scent of flowers as the breeze carries their fragrance along it's current.

I love this time of year, with all of it's sights and sounds as the evening progresses.
I trust you are enjoying your summer, as well.
I am joining Kerryanne at Shabby Art Boutique for the Shabbilicious Friday Link Party this week.
Debbie
xoxo

A morning walk in the cottage garden.

I took a walk through the cottage garden this morning, and was pleased to see all the roses blooming!

The New Dawn climbing rose is doing well on the new arbor we put up this spring. 

A Nelly Moser clematis is growing on the opposite side of the arbor, and is beautiful this year.

The Hollyhocks will be opening soon.

Another New Dawn climber growing in the obelisk we purchased with the arbor and iron fences.

We just planted this lavender rose this spring for it's fragrant blooms.

Love New Dawn....starts out this gorgeous pale pink, then fades to white.

Yellow roses were always my favorite.

As I've matured, pinks have become more pleasing to me.

I really enjoy the formation of the old roses.

These beauties remind me of the ruffles on a ladies dress.

I planted a few Knock Out Roses...but only two bushes survived the winter.

There are still more flowers to show their pretty heads.

The lilies are almost ready!

The veronica, and yarrow are slowly peeking through.

No hurry.....there's plenty of summer left to enjoy the flowers.

Like this gorgeous white rose!

I'm working on a new brick path since we put in the iron arbor and fences.

The cottage garden isn't very large....but big enough to keep me busy. Along with the other gardens around the cottage.
Have a wonderful weekend.....and take time to smell the roses!!
Debbie
xo

The roses are blooming!!!

Woohoo!!!

The roses are blooming!

There are a few different varieties here at the Lakehouse, and they are slowly starting to open...a few at a time.

The peonies are opening up, too!

The last ones will be the pink ones.

The whites smell just like hyacinths.

It smells like Easter in the cottage right now.

I am loving all the shades of pink roses!!

I noticed a yellow one was waking up when I got home from work today.

The New Dawn roses should be open in just a few more days.

We planted two lavender bushes this year.

I'm anxious for them to show themselves.

They are the most fragrant of roses, it seems.

Having flowers from the gardens in the house again just warms my heart.

I think, out of all of the roses in the gardens, this wild, yet delicate looking pink rose is one of my very favorites.

The fragrance is intoxicating, the color is glorious, and the shape is magnificent.

It's not exactly what most people think of when we talk about roses.....but to me, it's perfection.
As the days go on, there will be many more roses to come.....different colors, shapes, sizes, etc.
I LOVE this time of the year!!
Enjoy each day, and take time to smell the roses!!
Blessings.......
Debbie
xo

Some sweet pictures.

Oh my goodness, have you ever seen anything so sweet in all your life?!

My youngest daughter and her family have a small hobby farm, and they raise these darling dwarf-lion face bunnies.

They have a few for sale, and these are the pictures Melissa posted of the fuzzballs just today.

These are some of the recent babies available.

So tiny and cute!

These little puffkins are used to being handled everyday by my daughter, and granddaughters.

I hope they all find loving homes.

I just wanted to share these pictures with you, because I thought they were so stinkin' cute.
I hope they made you smile.
Have a good week!
Debbie
xo

Familiar faces in the gardens!!!

Hello......it's been awhile.

I've been waiting for Spring to arrive here at our cottage at the lake.

The gardens woke up, and some old familiar faces have emerged out of the soil.

What a delight to see my friends from past years.....

I love ruffles and lace, so it only be fitting that the flowers in my gardens be arrayed in finery that please my eyes and soul.

What glorious colors these ladies wear!

Some even wear the color of royalty.

These beauties were hidden behind the garage....so I invited them inside to be enjoyed each and every day.

The sun was so bright, you can hardly tell that these little darlings are actually a pale yellow.

They don't seem to mind, as long as they were able to be photographed for the post today.

Right next to the yellows, are the dainty blue and purples. 

They don't take up much space, but sure do make an impact!

New to the garden this year are some pink bells.

A cheery little flower that mixes well with the other Spring plants.

Another friend that is a very welcome sight this time of year.....the fairy-like flower...Columbine!

They grow profusely in almost every garden here at the cottage!

I love the soft colors, and delicate flowers!

They make a lovely wild bouquet for the mantel that just makes my heart sing!

The roses are finally budding. It shouldn't be too much longer....
I understand many of you are already heading into your summer gardening season....we have just started spring flowers up here, so we are behind most of you. It can be frustrating at times....but I am so happy to (finally) be getting flowers!!
Have a fun week!
Debbie
xo

Flowers for the porch.

The weather warmed enough for us to work outside the past few days.

Today I put the flowers on the porch.

It was a most enjoyable Mother's Day.

It will take a while for the window boxes to fill in, but for now, having some color helps so much!

I'm going with mostly pinks, lavenders, and white this year, but did add some yellow for spurts of happy color.

We needed a new mailbox.

I had The Mister cut the old one in half so I could fill it with flowers, and use it as a container on the porch.

Hopefully the flowers will perk up in a day or two.

I just filled the box today.

I used a bread pan with little stones in the bottom for drainage...then slid it inside the mailbox.

I have to watch the weather to make sure the nights don't dip below the freezing mark. If they do, I will cover the annuals, or move them into the garage. It's still "iffy" here as far as cold nights go.
Lots of weeds got pulled today! and there are plenty more that need to be pulled!! 
It gives me something to do as I wait for the roses to bloom.
I hope you had a Happy Mother's Day!
Debbie
xoxoxo

Strip garlands as valances.

I know, I know....this gal really loves strip garlands!

It must be a shabby "thing" with me.

I have them all over this cottage!  Mostly in windows.

(I got the idea from my youngest daughter.)

I'm sure the neighbors must wonder if we have either a moth infestation, or I leave the curtains on the windows until they rot from sun damage.

I love this time of year when the morning sun comes in the windows...especially when it reflects off the water, and dances off the ceilings like diamonds.

These valance/garlands allow lots of light to come into the windows, and also allows us to see the view of the water, and boats as they pass by on the canal.

There is one more window to go, and then I can work on the window boxes on the outside! 

Having the windows "curtain-free" at the bottom allows us to see the flowers in the boxes on the inside as well as the outside.

It's starting to finally feel more like Spring here at our shabby cottage!!
Have a great week!
Debbie
xo

The living room floor is finished!!

Finally.....The walls are whitewashed to look like faded barn wood.

The wide plank pine wood was put down, but a change was made with the paint for the floor.

ORIGINALLY I was going to paint the floor white. Hubby has this "thing" for wood floors, so I said I would white wash the pine so the grain of the wood could show through. After hubby put down the pine, I purchased milk paint which is supposed to be mixed equal parts water with equal parts powder.

The paint was thick, so for white washing, I added more water......the properties in the powder didn't stay mixed with the extra water, and the process turned into a big mess!

I did NOT like the way the floor looked, and washing it off, with more sanding turned into more of a mess!

Happily, I went back to my original idea to paint the pine white........

You cannot see the "planks", because the paint is "fresh"....eventually the boards will be more defined with daily foot traffic.

I will add one or two throw rugs when I find "just the right ones".

For now, the bare floors are looking good to me.

The walls and floor give the room more of a "cottage" feel, and I'm loving that!

I keep moving things around, and adding pieces, then removing things.

I'm sure it will take a few days before it feels "just right".

Hopefully.....it will all come together, and won't look too slap-stick.

Here's a look from the dining room.

(The dark corner is the pellet stove. Someday, that will be lighter, and brighter.....one thing at a time.)

Now we wait for nights to stay above the freezing mark so we can plant, and have flowers!!!
It's time to be Outside!!!!
xoxoxoxoxo
Debbie