Thursday, May 30, 2013

Blue Porch Ceilings and Backyard Projects

We had a great Memorial Day Weekend at the farm and it rained here at the city home...much needed rain. We had clouds, a few sprinkles, then sunshine at the farm. A perfect weekend to enjoy and to remember  all who have served/are serving. We are very blessed by you. Thank you!


I finally took pictures of the outside of the house with its new paint job...bye-bye streaky, half done yellow paint! So much better! We painted the porch ceilings blue - supposedly it keeps birds and wasps from building their nests there. Well, it didn't keep the swallow away. No wasps though - we'll see. It looks pretty anyway whether it works or not.
Front porch ceiling

swallow nest...so much for that working to keep her away
Back Porch Ceiling - used to be streaky yellow now a beautiful blue

House Front, New Paint
 Although it's hard to tell from this picture, the posts are white and the eaves are a sand color. It looks really nice with the brick.






Bruce worked on putting up a fence in the backyard. When done, it will keep the pups from running off after the deer or interrupting events next door. ( there's a bed and breakfast/ events venue next door) :o)


We put in a walkway from the driveway to the back door. Yay, no more stepping on sticker-y plants and dirt plus it gives me definition for a someday flowerbed.
Bruce dug and leveled the ground, I laid the brick.





You can tell where the old bricked area ended as there is grass growing in the cracks. :o) It got sprayed with weed killer. And when the fence gets done, we will continue the brick through the gate to the driveway.

I'm very excited to say I am almost finished painting the pew. I need to get the cushion done too. It looks so much better! Can't wait to get it done and show it off. I stained the legs dark walnut and painted the body of it Shenandoah Taupe-same as the dresser.





Oh another note, my beautiful pups are now 6 months old. They have gotten big and just love going to the farm!
Buddy

Herbie


Buddy now has a new nickname -Buddy Bear.  He was finding and eating the blackberries before I could get to  them. He finally convinced Herbie to eat some too. I wish I had a picture of them carefully biting the berries and pulling them off the thorny vines. So funny!
They bring such joy to my life. They are such a hoot to watch and play with. You can just see their Border Collie brains figuring out the next adventure. Lol.

As always the time there was peaceful and enjoyable.

Sunset


Ahhh, nice. Until the next time,

:o)
Cecilia

Linking up here:
The Dedicated House Anything-blue-friday-week-11

25 comments:

  1. I just love the blue porch ceilings. I've considered doing that to my 'city' porch. A change might be nice! But yes - I don't think anything keeps away those swallows when they decide they want to nest!

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    1. Thank you Susan! You should-it is really peaceful to look at that blue ceiling!

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  2. Blue porch ceilings would be pretty even without a purpose. You've been very busy and everything looks great. I love the last shot - sooooo pretty!

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    1. Thanks, Karen. Unfortunately, it doesn't do justice to the color in the clouds. I tried all different settings on the camera but just couldn't capture it. It's still a nice pic though, I think.

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  3. Good morning Cecilia! There are so many comments I have about this post I don't know where to begin, but you know me...I'll try ;).

    I recently heard about the blue ceiling so it's funny you wrote about it. I agree that even if there wasn't a purpose it's a lovely look for a porch. I can understand how it would be difficult to get the color to show up correctly. You would have to get into fancy smancy equipment :/.

    Laying bricks is hard work. I'm impressed!

    The pew is fabulous and you're totally going to have to 'sew' the cushion using my tip, especially since the bottom won't be seen!

    I so know what you mean about your pups! Dogs really are the best companions one could ever hope for! I miss my granddog so much. He's in Singapore with his mommy and I don't know when we will will see him again (by the way, we call him charliebear). We can't have pets in our rental but someday...

    I loved my little visit to your farm Cecilia! Maybe someday it can be a real one!! lol

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    1. Hi Doreen! Thank you for all your sweet comments! LOL I saw your post and I thought, "Oh how timely!" I was running behind so didn't get to comment on it- sorry! I just might have to do it - looks so easy!!

      Yeah, let's exchange visits someday for real. Wouldn't that be fun?!?

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  4. Beautiful, Cecilia-from the painted blue ceiling to the wonderful walkway you guys put in. You did a great job laying it! I love your sweet border collies. That is the farm dog of choice where I grew up in PA...and they were always named Laddie if they were boys and Lady if they were girls. They are wonderful cow dogs (and sheep dogs, too). I am so glad you are enjoying your place. Finally got a new computer so I can visit again- xo Diana

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    1. Good to hear from you again, Diana! Thanks for the compliments! I definitely couldn't have done such a good job without Bruce's help. (I tried but oops! It had to be torn out and redone. :) Oh well!
      Buddy would have been our Ricky to go with our Lucy but since she died, we went with giving him a different name and getting Buddy's brother. I am glad we did. They are so sweet! Looking forward to visiting you again too.
      :o)
      Cecilia

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  5. What a beautiful shade of blue - love love love it!!!
    You're so lucky to have such a beautiful getaway Cecilia - and I'm falling in love with Herbie and Buddy ( that was my Dad's nickname lol ) xxx

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    1. Thanks Suzan! At first, I thought it might be too bold but I absolutely love it now! It is a Behr paint but I can't find the color chip...ack! It's probably sitting somewhere in the farmhouse...it will be on the can of paint too. sigh, I used not to be so forgetful or lose things. :o)
      Yes, the farm is a great blessing and will be a wonderful home in what I hope is the very near future but I'm glad we have it to get away to for now. And aren't they the sweetest things? They live life so exuberantly. You can't help but laugh (even when they've chewed up the water hose and are running around with the pieces. )

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  6. Hi there Cecilia! The backyard is really coming along....always so much to do, isn't there? I love your sweet little guys. You are brave to have two border collie; they are an exuberant breed! Lol. Our little ball of fire is 8 years old and a red border collie like Herbie. Parker can handle a hula hoop like no one I know! Looking forward to seeing your pew all finished!! Jane

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    1. Thanks, Jane! LOL, I don't know if I am brave or what...I just know we had a hard time keeping our Lucy busy so we decided it just might be easier to have two this time so they'd have someone to play with. Of course, that means there are two of them to get into more too. I do love them. Buddy is showing good jumping ability so I might get him into agility. Just what does your Parker do with a hula hoop? Sounds like fun. I think they are the best dogs ever. So smart and personable! Have a wonderful weekend!
      :o)
      Cecilia

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  7. Looks like you have been working hard on your backyard projects!!...I love the blue ceilings...I have always wanted to do that...I had the same problem on my front porch with the birds nesting on top of one of the columns...so after the last nest...we cleaned up the mess and put a bar of soap at the top of the column...it worked...they do not nest there anymore...now they nest in my hanging ferns!!!..all 10 of them!!

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    1. Oh my goodness 10! That is funny - I wonder though if the soap would work in my porch. Hm...
      Thanks Shirley! Hope you and your family are well.
      :o)
      Cecilia

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  8. Love the blue porch ceilings. If you find the paint chip I'd love to know the name of the color too!
    Thanks for sharing.

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    1. I will look for it. Hopefully I can find it. :)

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    2. I found it! It is Sky Watch by Behr.

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  9. Thanks for stopping by! I'm now happily following you back :)
    Susan

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    1. Thanks! I appreciate it! Have a wonderful weekend.

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  10. Laying brick is so much work! I've only dug holes for cinder block supports, I can't imagine the dedication to the brick path you built. It turned out lovely.

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    1. It wasn't too hard - except on my muscles and the finger I smashed. Lol. Thank you for stopping by.

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  11. The blue looks great! I have never heard of it keeping away birds and wasps!

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    1. Haha, I think it's just an old wives tale! I read it was thought to keep spirits away. Whatever, it looks pretty. :)

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  12. Love that blue colour Cecilia! It's sooo pretty! We have cats ourselves, but I grew up with dogs and cats, and the one thing of many that I love about dogs is that they seem to wake up every day in a good mood, just grateful for another day of simple adventures. We humans can learn a lot from them!

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    1. Hi Tuula, I just saw your comment...yes, they are happy boys and we could learn quite a bit from them. I have two cats too; they live at our city house for now. I can't imagine life without either.

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