Battered and rusted

Making you look at some more of my photos. Holly fusses if I don't post regularly and would prefer that I post every day. So here are a few more closeup shots.

One is a shot of a very rusted iron table that a friend gave me several years ago before she had to move. I took this pic as a possible background element. Of course, I planned to sand and refinish the table, but have never gotten around to it. It has reached the point now where it is almost garden sculpture. We never use it anyway and I think it would probably require sandblasting and rewelding in some spots.

I have set up several sitting areas outside, but we rarely use them. My dh feels compelled to be near a TV and then it seems to either be too hot or the mosquitoes are too bad(which they are right now, really bad!) or something. I'm hoping as the dd's and their hubbies and hopefully grandchildren (in the appropriate time) come to visit that we'll be able to utilize our outdoor areas more. I will go sit out on our deck by myself when it's not too hot, but as it is on a southeast corner of the house, most wind is blocked, so in the summer it is unbearable out there. Those of you in more moderate climates should appreciate your temperatures. IF my screened-in porch was completed instead of being forever in the "pergola" stage, that would be a great option for a hot weather retreat, BUT it is not. Again, those of you with husband's who finish construction projects be thankful or who are able to hire projects like that to be done. I will say that what my dh does build he does extremely well, but it seems to run in his family to never complete things. And to be honest, I'm a bad procrastinator myself, so I'd better not say much more along those lines.

Here is another shot of a butterfly, this time from above. Notice how battered it's poor wings are! Does anyone know what kind of butterflies these are?

The top photo is "One Ear". He was a gift from one my brother's and dsil and not too long after I got him, was knocked over by our very hyperactive lab puppy. Bunny survived the fall, but unfortunately we were unable to save the ear. I still love "One Ear" anyway and he now helps me remember Dexter, who was stolen from us when he was only about a year old or so. He was a full-blooded black lab who was not the brightest, but was very, very sweet.

I've been keeping myself out of too much trouble this weekend. Yesterday, I priced and took a few things to the flea market, paid our rent, collected what we'd made(which unfortunately was not much), and then browsed around while I was there. So I had to buy a couple of things, you know! They called my name. I'll try to take pics to share. One was the cutest sugar and creamer in a booth that must be going out of business since they had 75% off everything. It is off-white, with black trim and with little black and blue chickens and flowers and the wording "Just Between" on one and "Us Chickens" on the other. Ended up being only $2. I have vague plans in the back of my mind for my kitchen in which I utilize blue, silver, white, and black, so this would fit in well with that. Also bought a wooden Hawaiian pineapple box for $12. Right now it's holding fabric napkins on top of my frig, but I know it will always be useful storage and I felt like that was a great price. Heck, you can't buy plastic storage bins for much less than that.

Also, in between this and that, I've been cleaning and repainting my front porch. Took everything off, washed down the vinyl siding on the walls, cleaned and then restained the floor decking, and cleaned the chairs and "stuff" before putting it back.

Next big thing I want to get accomplished before I go back to work is to get the salsa made. I've got all the ingredients now, just to get the time. Need to go to Mom's tomorrow and run a couple of errands for her.

Update on the cold: it's not gone away, but is now in my throat and upper chest. Still not too bad. Could be a lot worse. I've been hoarse since yesterday, though. Hope that goes away before I have to go back to work.

My apologies for being so chatty! Maybe it's because I've been unable to say words, so I'm having to get them all out of me somehow!