Thrifty finds and steamy times

I am so tired of whining about how hot it is. Everyday. Foggy windows. Clammy underpants. Yech!! Actually, I'm just tired of how hot it is, not the whining part, 'cause you know I've trained my whole life to whine!

But that's how it is, so we deal with it. (whine, whine.) And we keep on pulling weeds and applying mulch. Everyday.

So, this is the finished side of the house. I think it looks really nice!



This is the walkway up to my studio, not so nice. I started, but need to install more edging (green long thingies on the walkway.)



I did get one small section devoid of invading Bermuda grass and quickly laid down some cardboard and mulch. Believe me when I say that it is bad!! (Shut up, MIL!) Some sections yet to be done.

That yellowish plant in the middle is an azalea. See the weeds climbing under the porch railing?? It sticks up 4 or 5 feet above the porch floor!


How come the weeds look so much healthier than the plants?!? This is bad on so many levels!


But today, the backyard was just screaming for some small attention! I forgot to take a "before" shot, but let me assure you that the azaleas were invisible in a sea of 4 foot high weeds. I only went for the tall weeds, the ones that were sticking up under the porch railing. The flatter ones don't give up easily and are going to require a shovel, some dynamite, and a trained team of moles tunneling underneath to uproot.



Cr*p! The lens fogged up! Let me clean it off and try again.



There! That's clearer. So it needs a bit more work, and then there is the entire rest of the backyard beds to do (arg!) But it's a start.



I filled this cart twice with weeds just from that little section. Oh, there is a load right in front! I was too tired to put the cart away!

So, after I cook myself in the early morning frickin' airless humidity light for about two hours (baste with sweat frequently and test for doneness by squeezing out your socks,) I head for cooler past times.

Here are some things I found a while back while out thrifting running important household errands.



There are three of these quilt tops! Similar but not exact fabrics in each. $2.00 a piece.

Closeup

A pretty sheet (top) and a vintage tablecloth.



Two embroidered linen pillowcases for a quarter a piece.



A pretty "stained glass" quilt wall hanging thingy with a doily in the center!



Closeup of the colors.

Which brings me to a giveaway! I am graciously giving away this wallhanging. All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment telling me how you deal with the heat of the summer. I need ideas folks! I'm not about to swim in the 12 inch deep creek with the beaver, and I can't keep serving Stud Muffin only Popsicles for dinner, either! Besides, we both only like the cherry ones and there are never enough of those in a box.

I will leave the contest open until Monday night... which is my wedding anniversary... 24 years of bledded wiss! Which, I might add was how old I was when we started this adventure! I have now been married for as long as I was alive before I was married. Yeah, you can do the math and figure out how young I am! Oh, and I will use a random number picker-outer to choose the winner!

Celtic Spirit asked what the teasers were that I made and posted last time. Well, I can only show you one of those things, until I know that the other person got their package.

I made this for a bloggy friend, Catty Ax Lady, who is having a little girl in September.





Too funny that she is decorating the nursery in pinks and brown! I did not know that when I started! Jump over to her blog to read what lovely things she had to say about what I made.

Don't forget to comment to enter to win the fabulous quilty thing I got!