Baling Hay and Flowers

 After a rainy May and first week of June, we finally got the hay baled!

It was hot, thirsty work.

We ended up with 200 bales! Bruce did most of the work but I got to drive the truck around the field so he could load the bales, then I helped take them off the truck and load them in the barn. Whew. It was hot and humid!!

Oh, true story - My mother-in-law was with us the weekend we baled. She actually helped too - the first evening I went to get eggs from a friend, she and Bruce stayed at the farm and she asked him if he was going to load any of the hay that evening? He said he was so she drove the truck and then climbed up in it and rolled the bales to the end so Bruce could stack them in the barn. He told her to act her age. Y'all! She's almost 81. I sure hope I'm going as strong as she is at that age! :o) I wish I had a picture of her doing that.
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With all the rain and now sunshine, the flowers are blooming away.

Pretty wildflowers:

Wild sweet pea:

My personal favorite is this blue one. It really is this blue!

Here's a close up - breath-taking!

And those in the flowerbeds and in containers:

canna

begonia

catmint

four-o-clock

Lantana

 My white daylily is full of blooms this year!

"Jane Seymour" Daylily

I'm enjoying them while I can. Before long, it will be all I can do just to keep things watered much less keep them blooming. But for now, I'm finding joy in my garden, fields and woods.

Linking up here:
June Garden Party With Friends

Update on BBQ Area

Hi friends! It's been awhile since I posted anything on the BBQ area. It's not finished but I thought I'd share what I've done so far.

Even though I still need to paint the table and the cart, things look pretty good.
I found a great metal sign in Canton and hung it on the fence:

The "mosquito" plants have really filled in and grown:

I made a wooden arrow and painted it, then hung it up on the shed. It sort of points at the BBQ pit. :o)

The plants along the side area are happy. My Angel Wing Begonia is blooming away!

And to help get plates, napkins and plasticware outside, I bought this cute tote from Hobby Lobby and a galvanized tray from Wal-Mart. They are perfect for carrying everything outside in one go.

A mason jar holds the plasticware:

A metal bee adds a touch of whimsy. Isn't he cute? Perfectly safe too - no stings from this guy!

Solar lights hang on the umbrella and when it gets dark, they come on - red, green, and blue.

So pretty although Bruce commented from inside the house, it looks like a UFO. LOL. I really should try to get a picture of it.

You can see the chair cushions in the photo below. Don't they look great? I love how they turned out.

And that is where the BBQ patio is today. Perfectly useable but still needing a few tweaks. Happy Summer!

Linking up at these great parties:
Thoughts of Home on Thursday
Homemade and Handcrafted
Fluster Buster Creative Muster Party

Meeting Other Texas Bloggers and Misc. Happenings at the B Farm

Hello my friends! Is your summer starting off as busy as mine? Things have been rolling right along since the end of May.

We spent the week from Memorial Day weekend through the first weekend of June at the farm. The plan was for Bruce to cut the hay and bale it, but it rained the entire week. So much for that! However we did get some other things taken care of - like finding windows for the art studio -

On an afternoon with a break in the rain, we headed to Athens to a salvage place. We dug through lots of windows:

And found 2 large matching windows and loaded them up:

Here they are safely in the barn:

Those guys are heavy. It was probably quite comical watching me trying to help Bruce unload them...or nerve-wracking - I'm not sure which it was! I was afraid I'd drop my end and break them.

On another afternoon, we headed to Tyler to the countertop place and selected granite for the kitchen countertops:

Mayfair White

 Hopefully we can tackle that project the end of July but at least the granite is picked out! It's going to look amazing!

And on a very rainy Saturday, Bruce started framing up the walls in the art studio.

Bit by bit, it's happening! Tin Roof Studio is becoming a reality!! (And just wait until I share the cool logo my son came up with for me!)

The sun finally broke through the clouds Saturday evening. Gorgeous sunshine!

Bruce headed back to the city on Sunday but I stayed so that I could drive to the Texas Bloggers Art and Crafts Retreat on Tuesday in Rockwall. Oh my! What a fun day! I took along 5 mini paintings I did to give to the hostesses and speakers as a thank you.

Jemma from At Home With Jemma and Stacey from Poofing The Pillows hosted the event.

Jemma

 (I think Stacey was ducking the camera as somehow I didn't a picture of her. Next time I won't let her get away!)

They had everything decorated so pretty and Jemma's home is just beautiful.

One of the tables...love the turquoise

Judith's display of her craft project

We were treated to a talk from KariAnne of Thistlewood Farms. She gave each person charm packs from her fabric lines, "Sweet Tea" and "Simply Eclectic". If you're like me and don't have a clue what a charm pack is, you can go read about them here on KariAnne's blog. I can't wait to create something from them. They are so pretty!

After a wonderful lunch, we had Laura from Decor To Adore share how she used the charm packs to make a banner and cute magnets plus the sweetest sewing kit. If you'd like to see what it looks like, go here. We were then given the supplies to make our own banner and magnets along with a galvanized chalkboard.

Last, but definitely not least, Judith from Botanic Bleu, shared a beautiful craft using scrapbook paper, garden dictionary page, stamps, and paint. I didn't get to finish mine as we had run out of time but I will be finishing it up soon. I am updating the guest room at the farm and this will be perfect in there!

It was fun meeting other Texas bloggers and getting to know the women behind the blogs.

I snapped these pictures of Laura, KariAnne, and Jemma:

Then I got distracted and forgot to take more photos of the others. oops. Trust me when I say we had fun with the photo props. :o) Check out Jemma's post to see more pictures and get the tutorial for a great 4th of July wreath too.

Jemma has promised another retreat soon - possibly in February. I cannot wait and hope even more bloggers will be able to attend.

In closing, we were back at the farm Friday. This time Bruce did get the hay cut and it was drying nicely when more rain blew in Sunday afternoon. Needless to say, we'll be heading back up to finish the baling. Wish us sunny and hot days until we get done.

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For the Love of the Coast

I've had a love affair with the coast for a long time. The sound of the waves, the smell of the ocean, the sand between my toes are all siren calls. Our hall bath was once decorated in a costal theme since we loved it so.

Every year we'd go to the coast with my mom, my twin sister and her family. We'd go at Easter when the kids had a long weekend - mainly because my mom didn't like the extreme heat of the summer and partly because the rates were still low.

"Beach Fun" by Cecilia Bramhall

Then my mom passed away and it wasn't the same. In the last 14 years, I've been back maybe four times but it was hard. It reminded me of Mom and I missed her.

Me and my mom looking for seashells

When my son left for college, the coastal decor came down in the bathroom and it was given a new look. I let my daughter help pick out the shower curtain and all. But after 11 years, it looks tired and I'm ready to embrace the coastal look again - because let's face it; I still love the coast and the memories are special to me.

Here's how it looks today -  Not a whole lot going on - no artwork on the walls and minimal decor.

 The cabinets need refreshing as the finish is worn. I'd love to paint them white but they are really nice oak (and hubby says no), so I'm just going to refinish them.

The white tile floor is staying and I'd like to keep the walls the color they are. The trim needs repainting and the caulking around the tub needs to be redone, so I'll take care of that too.

Then to bring it back to the sea, here's my ideas for the space. So much fun stuff out there! I found lots of nice nautical-themed decor at Hobby Lobby and other stores. It seems to be everywhere!

One, the shower curtain. I don't want a cutesy or too colorful one. This one from Target is a good example of what I'd like to have although the color is maybe a tad too understated.

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Two, I really like this blue rug from Walmart. It's not a bathroom rug but the colors are nice and remind me of water. Plus it comes in a runner which would be good in front of the sinks.

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Three, add beachy accessories:

 Anchors, boat shelf, lighthouses, rope ball - all have possibilities.

A driftwood seahorse

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Whales and an octopus too!

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And of course, sea shells, of which I have plenty. I need art so I'll put some either on boards or in shadow boxes like these:

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Now that I have a direction to go in, I can start looking for my decor. I did go ahead and get the rug from Walmart and I found a small boat shelf at a thrift store. It needs a makeover but it's perfect for the space.

I am looking forward to working on it. The memories of time spent at the coast with my mom and when my children were young are all so special. It will be nice to have that reminder again.
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As for the other projects I'm working on, the patio is at a standstill. It's been too humid to paint and now more rain is predicted. It's almost there! I promise I'll share as soon as I can.

The kitchen and art studio at the farm are also on hold. I know we'll knock them out when the time comes to really get in there and do it, but for now, it's waiting on the time to do it.

My desk chair is almost done so be looking for that post soon. I'm excited about how that one is turning out.

 I guess the good thing is, I'll have plenty to share over the next few months!