RAMBLING ROSE (HOUSE)

Hello there! It's ANOTHER sizzling day here at Deer Haven. A lovely day though, sunny with a breeze rustling the leaves on the trees surrounding the house.  I was awoken this morning by a knock knock knocking. So, in a befuddled state, I tried to locate where the sound was coming from.  Pardon me if I digress here. Next door to our bedroom is what should be a guest room but has been made into my sewing/craft room... where I used to churn out quilts and wall hangings for family and friends.  💖  Dare I show you a picture or two or three? They would give new meaning to the words "decluttering needed here". :-) The lighting in all the pictures is very bad. We keep most of the curtains drawn in the house to try and keep it as cool as possible. I've interspersed happy pictures here and there to offset the darkness of the others.

Enter here...

turn left and walk straight ahead...

sit at machine...

Leave by reversing or just back out carefully...

A forgotten project.

Anyway, the knocking was coming from outside the big window so I made a noise and a Hairy woodpecker flew to the tree opposite. I saw the lovely red spot on his head as he peeked at me through the leaves. He was larger than a Downy. So bright and pretty, I wished I had my camera!

It has been a busy week here. We started it off on Sunday by attending a pool party at my son's house in honor of his and Roger's upcoming birthdays which was actually yesterday. It was sizzling, humid, hot, and I really suffered but I enjoyed seeing our small family together in one spot. My heart overflowed with love. 💖

My four grands

Lucybelle had her stitches out and she has been very perky (ha-ha) and happy again.

I met with my Retina specialist and received an injection. I have been having injections for many years. It is customary to eat out after the appointment. Fortunately, the restaurant was empty. It felt so normal sitting there in a booth with my husband! Looking out the window, watching traffic and people coming and going. Bliss!

The following day I had an appointment with my family doctor. Changes in medication, a referral to an orthopedic regarding knee pain, and a good chinwag  about Maine (he has a cottage there),  pictures being shared of our families and I was good to go 2 hours later! Monday I go to the lab for routine blood work. I stopped at Rita's for a cherry gelati on the way home. Cold and yum on a 93 (F) degree day! Do you see a pattern here regarding food as a reward for seeing my doctors?!

That brought me up to yesterday.  I watched 7 episodes of HIDDEN while Roger slept the day away. He was totally exhausted from working not only with my son but at home mowing, etc, in the constant heat and humidity. Meanwhile, it stormed heavily outside.

Our butterfly bushes are in bloom!

Today I must grocery shop to prepare 2 salads for tomorrow. My daughter and family are coming down from the Poconos to celebrate, yet again, Roger's 74th birthday 🎂. A bucket of KFC, my potato salad, and another called "overnight salad". Recipe below. And, of course, chips, watermelon and birthday cake!

OVERNIGHT SALAD

Cut up in bite-size pieces 1 head of lettuce and I head of cauliflower. Blot the water from them so your salad doesn't end up soggy. Layer in a tall glass bowl. I use a large wooden salad bowl. Next, I add a layer of cherry tomatoes cut in half, peas, sweet onion, diced mushrooms, sprouts, bacon bits, and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. The dressing can be made ahead of time but don't put it on salad until just before serving. 

DRESSING

1 cup mayo, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, dash of salt and pepper.

The week just disappeared from my life...a blur now

I have been writing this for over a week. I had such trouble uploading photos from my camera to my laptop. Finally! I realized what the problem was and bought more storage space and viola! The problem is solved! So, onward we go. oops, now to find the photos I uploaded. grrrr. I do not like the Google photo app.

This week we are back to our usual temperature so another day in the house. Yesterday even Roger decided to stay in and we vegged. I made a fish chowder, we ate leftover salads and watched season 2 of Balthazar on Amazon Prime. I just love the Roku that Erick, s-i-l, hooked up for us right after I came back from Maine. I don't know what I would do without Erick! so glad Judi found him over 20 years ago now, I think.

My happy mail for last week was a reciprocal saw. It has lovely blades to cut down bushes and branches, Roger is very worried.😏  I  showed it to the boys and we were all anxious to give it a try but it was way too hot to be doing any sort of work outside. I got the idea from CHATEAU  LIFE on Youtube. Angelina uses it for all sorts of things and it makes her life so much easier. I am hoping it will do the same for me, haha. It will really come in handy in Maine.

A few people have asked me to show pictures of the inside of our house. Well, our house is old now. Other houses around us are much newer and very manicured. we are not, manicured, that is. The only thing we really have going for us is our location. We are in a little valley here, down below the main road that winds through the development. We are also surrounded by trees which gives us total privacy. This alone is a good selling point because we are the only property that has this feature. I can walk around the house outside in pj's if I wanted to and no one would see me. Another unique feature is that we are a good distance from our neighbors so it would be a safe and perfect place to raise a family, have pets, etc. We are hoping that when we sell those facts will give our property a boost. Our house is rambling and is on four floors. That is one of the reasons Mom is not anxious to move here. There is plenty of room with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths but you have about 5 steps from the downstairs to where she would be sleeping etc. Although she would have a lovely handicap modified bathroom with a Jacuzzi walk-in tub. Our sleeping area, sewing room, bathroom, walk-in closet, is on another level. And then there is the finished off basement with rooms for the furnace, storage, Roger's weight room, etc. Added to all that is a long walkway that we use for coats, shoes, and plants. We can access the driveway and garage from there.  I took a few photos but they are very dark. We have blinds closed and curtains drawn to keep the heat out and help the central air from running constantly. Our tastes are eclectic and it might look like nothing matches but it is home to us. Roger loves antiques and I have grown to like them also, although I spend my money in other ways, lol. Having said ALL that...

Family room 1
My latest crochet project is on the chair of the table with a bag of yarn next to it.

This cabinet is hand-painted.

Family room 2

Walkway to garage.

Foyer

Top floor landing

Rambling

Every afternoon I take the dogs for a walk around the property and we almost always see deer, a groundhog, birds of course, and squirrels and chipmunks.

Well, it's time to send this ramble on its way. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing I hope you have peace of mind. It is so important to our overall health.

Much love,