Remembering With Appreciation...

....on Memorial Day.

Wrens Again!

My sharped eyed brother, Mark, spied a Wren sitting outside the little clay pots we have above our carport.  I got them years ago in Williamsburg and they have occasionally had nests in them, but not recently.   Until now....

I thought our wrens were gone, but I had heard one scolding Bumby in the morning and just assumed it was an adult hanging around still.

Could it be Rita?  Again? Or one of her offspring? Already?

A mystery, but a beautiful one.

Patience is a Virtue

Just so you don't think I've been doing nothing but laying around on the couch....

I tackled a small project that unexpectedly came my way.  Unexpected in the fact that I had not considered trying the painting/distressing practice on an old Windsor chair I've had for many, many years from my Aunt Dot.

It is a dark wood that I don't necessarily like and just never really fit into the house's vibe. Hah! Laugh if you will, but yes, my house has a vibe.  It's called "try a lot of different looks and see what sticks".

I tried to sell the chair at a flea market, but no one would pay what the chair is worth. I didn't want to just give it away, so I thought why not try to make it a piece of furniture I like? And with the furniture trends in certain circles veering towards the shabby chic/distressed look I thought I'd try that out with my leftover chalk paint.

The patience part? Well if you've ever painting anything with spindles and bars, it is a trying task.

With the help of the television droning on in the background, I gritted my teeth and went to it.

First few strokes brought panic - "what have I done?!?!?!"

After it was fully coated with the chalk paint, I hated it and really regretted the painting. The character of the chair had gone flat. Bland.

Got my sander out and started bringing out some of the architecture of the chair and started feeling a bit better about it.

It passed Bumby's inspection, but neither she nor I are totally happy with the way the seat turned out. 

 I was going for a worn look as if many seats and been seated in the chair.  I may redo that area.  Must confer with Bumby first.

Overall I like the look.  I feel that it "fits in" more here at Boston Manor.

And best of all, I will keep Aunt Dot's chair around and enjoy it's presence more now.

What projects have you been up to my good friends?

Have a great week!

Sadie and The Flip Flop

"Uncle Mark" from Australia picked up a child's flip flop from our walk along the causeway here in Anna Maria Island.  Who knew it would be the perfect thing for Sadie to retrieve, Labrador-style.

Okay, I never said I was a "Spielberg", but I am TBL!

Hope your weekend has been great!

AMI - Where the Living is Easy...

....especially if you are a Boston!

The Maven and me trying to teach the Bostons to boogie board.

Having fun hanging around our pretty little cottage.

Eating some good food.

Mr Tennis and my brothers, Mr. Connor (Richard) and the Wizard of OZ (Mark)

From left, The Maven, Mr. T, Mr. Connor, Mark and Sandy.  

Dinner at The Sandbar in AMI (Anna Maria Island)

Seeing some beautiful sunsets from our dinner table at The Sandbar...

Seeing some beach action...

Relaxing.

A lot.

Mark, along the Bay side of AMI.

I hope everyone is well and looking forward to a relaxing or fun weekend!

They are Here!

My brother and Sandy have arrived safely from Australia via Europe and then New York City.

They have settled in comfortably here at Boston Manor and soon the whole household will head for a long weekend at the beach, picking up Mr. Connor (other brother) on the way there.

An appropriate picture presented to the Boston Lady from NYC

Like Bumby I'm going to be up to my ears in stuff, so I will be in and out of Blogland.  I hope to be able to show you the cottage we will be renting and the surrounding area of beautiful Anna Maria Island and Bradenton Beach. while we are there.

Here's to a good week for everyone, especially those facing surgeries, life challenges, as we all do at times.

Stay strong my friends.

Odds and Ends

In case there are some of you out there that must know what the mysterious post-it note, said, Mal solved the issue.

Thanks Mal!  So, I got right to it today and stripped the pillow covers, under Bumby's strict supervision...

And cleaned the couch! Now, it will be nice for our visiting family members next week.

And just in case you think I've been slacking, I tackled another chalk paint project.

No one worry or scold me, I wore a mask this time - no wheezing!

Will show you another time the results.  Still trying to decide if I like how it turned out or not - need to live with it awhile before going public.

Also, look at this rose on my father's rose bush! Two colors on one bud.  I had never seen this before, but my friend, CG had and she even had a name for it.  What was it again CG?

We saw Alice and her family last night and she was delighted with all the kind comments on the post I did on her this week.  She is ready to tackle the next part of her recovery.

Lastly,  Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in my life.

  Especially my wonderful MIL, Orlando Grandma. 

 Enjoy your stay at the beach and we will see you when you get back home!

Ring That Bell Alice!

I've been part of an incredible journey for the last 7-8 months with my friend, Alice. On Tuesday of this week she completed a very trying twelve week stretch of this journey called, Breast Cancer Survival.

We've sat there on Tuesdays past and heard others ring the bell signalling the end of their chemo-therapy treatment.  I know for Alice, the day she would ring that bell seemed a long way off some weeks.

I have observed the ultimate in grace under pressure, pro-activeness and smiling/laughing through adversity in my friend. She has kept a journal of this fight for her life and has educated herself to the hilt.  And, she laughs. She has found humor in the horrible. 

Alice, I'm so honored that I was there this week when you finally got to ring that bell!  I know the road ahead of you is still a long one, but you have shown that you are up to the challenges that the rest of your journey has  in store for you.  You are an inspiration to so many.

Especially to me.  

Thanks for letting me share your story with my blogging friends.

Good times are ahead, Partner!

The Queen of Post-It Notes Hasn't a Clue!

It must have been this...

Because the brain trust of Mr. Tennis and The Boston Lady cannot understand a simple Post-It note.  Sure, this one is easy.  Written without haste or stress. Obvious.

But this one? OMG! I wrote it to remind myself to clean or do something before my brother's visit here next week. Brain freeze!  And it's not just me.

So, far, between the two of us, we've come up with "Calculus". Apparently I am to learn that before next Monday evening.

Ideas? 

No help from The Bostons! Why should they care? It obviously doesn't say 

"feed dogs".

 Come on People!

Happy Birthday to Sammy our DIL!

We are sending birthday wishes from the central region of Florida to Sammy, our Daughter-in-law, all the way to sunny Southern California.

The girl is game for anything we throw at her! Always!

She and our son, The Writer, just closed on their first house last weekend and moved in.  Stanley the Greyhound now has a backyard to call his own, and of course now they will enjoy the benefits of being homeowners.  So excited that you get to spend this birthday in your new home, Sammy.

And she cleans up beautifully, don't you think? Gorgeous!

Love,

Your Orlando Family