Hello July!

I submitted my June project just in time and it was featured on Folt Bolt's Facebook page today as Kriszta said goodbye to June and hello to July.  Last I checked it had 1000 likes and 194 shares. Social media is a crazy thing.

The July Scheme is just oranges and yellows.



My mom let us paint a bedroom in this scheme when I was younger...kind of scares me to think about it now. I also had a fuzzy tangerine orange winter coat at one point...hmmm.  As a young adult I hated orange....but have grown to appreciate it more as I have gotten older.

What keeps popping into my head are lilies....and I have a couple of ideas. It's going to be a bit of a challenge without any green but I'll it figure it out.                                                    

Day lilies are in full bloom right now...and come in all these colors.  I can't help but think of my sister LaVonn's fence line on the farm in Wisconsin....always in full bloom in July along with Tim's spectacular sunflower field. You can check both out here in this post. 

Hello July!

Form and Function

Almost 50 church people gathered in our backyard last night for the first "Hancock Grill."  The weather was perfect, the food was great, and everyone seemed to have a good time. Every Wednesday for most of the summer someone hosts a "grill" in their back yard. People bring their own meat and a dish to pass. It's a nice way for church folks to gather and enjoy each other's company and the outdoor season....and they are very well attended.

It was for both form and function that I lined the edges of my gardens with Christmas lights. It made for a lovely setting and festive mood...and helped guide the path for people back around the house to their cars. I thought this was a stroke of brilliance if I do say so myself.  

Half Way

I'm half way done with my Folt Bolt color scheme series.  My garden is growing!

June Color Scheme

I've been at the "nearly done" stage with this project for a week or more...and I set it aside. But I just realized that June is almost over so I took a few minutes this afternoon to finish it up.  Here's the June Folt Bolt color scheme art quilt....once again....just in time.

Incentive

Sometimes it takes a little incentive to get things done....and this time it's a back yard party.

I've been a little distracted with the new place in Portland. And because we had such a cool spring I hadn't gotten my screen porch cleaned up until yesterday. After a winter everything is covered in a layer of dirt and what I think is black car exhaust fall out.  On top of that is a layer of spring pollen. But the whole place and all the furniture got a good scrubbing and tomorrow night we're having a back yard BBQ for church folks! There are crazy thunderstorms tonight....but tomorrow's forecasted to be a beautiful summer day.

The porch is such a nice place to sit....and it's ready for a party.

I'm ready....

....for some little project....or maybe a dance party.  It's a big studio with a tiny table. I'm going to be on the lookout for free tables. I might have one in Lexington I can take up.

You can't see it in this picture but there's a twin bed in here too....and for now that's all.  I want to get the room painted before I move any more furniture and art supplies up...I'm actually thinking a dusty purple. And...I just worked with an absolutely delightful electrician this last weekend on several projects including getting the speakers, wires and mount off the side wall where the previous owner had a big screen TV. I had such a good time with Paul, the electrician....we kind of bonded.

We've got some patching to do.

This sweet little antique writing desk filled most of the available space in the guest room at the last house. Now it almost has a whole room to itself....and this guest bed has a large room to itself too...right off the studio.

Did you notice the can of paint sitting on the floor? Both rooms upstairs have a slant where the ceiling meets the wall. 

The previous owner painted them the wall color...and I think they should be ceiling. Wall color just fades away...ceiling color shows it off more as an architectural element. So I have a first coat on in both rooms by brush....I'll roll on a second coat. It's funny how simple changes make all the difference.

Here you can see Connie's old bed getting reinvented again.  A year and 1/2 ago I wrote about it in a post called, "It's Coming Along"....and here I am again saying "It's coming along." This room is baby blue right now....I think it's going to be a soft and soothing greenish blue.  I think that color will go well with my crazy Kaffe Fassett quilt.  

Crazy Cool!

I'm constantly amazed at how nature can make something so detailed and so beautiful! This hibiscus has a crazy cool stamen.

It's part of a lovely planter full of bright happy colors as you go into Connie's assisted living facility. What a nice welcome.

"Partial Enlightenment"

Ha Ha....I loved this  "Story of the Day"  by Brian Andreas.  And the title is great..."Partial Enlightenment." I think every day is full of partial enlightenments...and I'm going to start paying more attention to them.

"The problem with knowing everything's going exactly as it needs to is that when you're not having that much fun it doesn't even do any good to complain."

I'm not going to complain for even a minute about how sore I am from spending the afternoon caulking woodwork cracks at the condo.  It's all good.

Clarke and the Coast

My niece Clarke is visiting and if you've been following along on this blog for a while you know she's had quite a presence here.  Her FEMA Corps team is stationed in Philadelphia right now so she came up on the bus for a long weekend vacation.

Today we spent a good chunk of the day out and about in Maine and took that 20 minute drive to Bug Light Park.

We did a little beach combing at what I call the junk beach.  These are Clarke's treasures all washed, organized, and drying on the patio. Up close some of these rocks are really beautiful!

Do you see my "find" in the picture on the left? I tried to take a shadow selfie with the heart rock in the right spot on my chest....but the sun was so bright I couldn't really see what I was doing.                                                            

 

This was my favorite....it's actually a round rock with heart shape markings. 

You gotta love a day on the coast...with Clarke.

Location

...location location.

Our new location in Portland is really growing on me! Our home/condo choice surprised a lot of people...even us. In a recent post I reflected a bit on things "falling into place"....and that's still how it feels.  There's work to do...but that's OK...we have lots of time. And, there's something about putting a little sweat equity into a home that really makes it yours.

When we sold our house in South Portland we were determined to find another one in the same area.

Portland Head Light

We loved being across the Casco Bay Bridge from Portland...so much to do and see and easy access to the water. But we quickly learned that because of those perks it meant low inventory and high prices....which worked in our favor when selling the last house. Homes we could afford were too small with too much to work to do and selling for way more than they should.

The Bug Light

So we widened our scope and reevaluated our priorities and landed in a condo on the north side of Portland. Portland is really a small city....so anywhere in Portland is close to everywhere. And, we were always open to a condo...it just needed to be right....enough.

We love the idea of the simplicity of a condo while we are part time now...and know we'll appreciate it when we are full time during retirement. Paul made two comments during the process that have resonated with me:
"We've been happy everywhere we've lived."
"There's something nice about people getting together to talk to each other about how to live together".....even if it isn't always easy.

We wanted simple and quiet and we wanted space for hobbies and guests. Truth be told Paul and I are homebodies.....we actually like staying home. And...we're good at taking field trips and going on outings. Acadia National Park is just 3 hours away. Jane's Beach is just 25 minutes away. Bug light Park is just 20 minutes away. Portland Head light is just 25 minutes away. East End Beach and downtown Portland are just 15 minutes away...and the bike path around Back Bay is just 10-12 minutes away.  And...as Paul learned last week roaring rapids on the Presumpscot River are just a mile away. And have I mentioned that there's a pool right across the street? Location Location Location!

I can't believe I'm including this selfie...but this was my inaugural swim tonight....and decided that I didn't really care what I looked like.
It was a lovely night and I had the whole place to myself.

Summer

"On this day when the sun spirals its longest dance, we give thanks for the light within and around us." 

This quote came through my Facebook feed and can be found here.

Once again, the window boxes downtown Lexington are just a delight.

Happy first day of summer!

Another 24...

...hours and the rain lily bud is in full bloom. And I'm excited to see a second bud coming tucked in on the left!  Woo Hoo! Don't you love those pointy yellow stamens?

I think Paul was a bit amused when I asked him if he thought anyone else out there washed their marbles today.  He didn't think so.

I've had a large jar of marbles sitting on a side table in the living room in Lexington for years and years....in the exact same spot. The jar was getting a little cloudy looking so I dumped it out and washed everything. I think it's heading to Maine to get re-appreciated on the dining room window ledge.  I'm shopping the house!

Wow!

Only 24 hours later and that little bud has shot right up.  I guess it likes hot weather. I apologize ahead of time because I don't think I can stop myself from obsessing about the rain lilies! Wow!

The gardens and grounds at the assisted living facility where Connie lives are amazing all four seasons. I love driving by this garden going up the driveway watching it mature and bloom. Yesterday I walked back down the hill to take a closer look at the salvia and penstemon...or at least that's what I think it is. Another Wow! In no way does this picture do it justice.

And...it's the June color scheme!

Phillip, the grounds manager is one of Connie's favorite people. He came up to visit her on a recent rainy day...she was pretty excited. I'm glad I was there to capture it!

I Have a Bud!

Every day for the last couple of weeks I've been checking my rain lilies for buds. I spotted one today and I couldn't be more excited. It's a little later than last year....it's been an oddly cool spring with just a few freakishly hot days mixed in. 

The foliage seems happy and healthy so we'll see how many blooms I get....this picture below is what I'm hoping for! This photo is actually of my sister LaVonn's pot....she's the one who gave the bulbs to me a few years ago. They originally came from her mother-in-law Rose.



These rain lilies have become one of my favorite plants...they are just a delight! They are dormant in the basement all winter and I put them outside mid May after danger of frost. They actually had to came in and out this year...it was a cold spring.
Here are my previous posts about rain lilies

This photo was taken May 13th when I just started watering them. They seem pretty sad at this point...but they're coming along. 

And....I HAVE A BUD! YAY!

My Father

I wasn't sure my dad was going to be able to walk me down the isle back in 1981...he had a tough year. But he did...and he was so handsome that day. He died later that same year. He was such a good, quiet, hardworking man. Happy Father's Day!