Kammy: Kaderick, WHY do you ALWAYS make SUCH a MESS?!?Kaderick: Because I'm messy....and adorable...and I can't help that.

 

 

After I'd gotten home from the hospital and was lying on the couch "taking it easy" Kaderick called from the bathroom, "MOMMY!!! WIPE ME!!!"

(Kids don't think mommies ever get sick).

Anyway, "Can daddy do it?"

Kaderick: "No....he's not one of my leading wipers."

Well, at least I lead at something!

 

 

Camping and Kade says, "Sigh....Oh! How I miss the dollar store!"

 

 

Kalli Bork: Mini, you leave that blanket alone!

Kaderick: Really, Kalli? I think she's pretty harmless with it.

Kalli: I think you used the wrong word, Kaderick. Do you know what harmless means?

Kaderick: Yes, it means "unable to harm."

Sigh....well, it that context, he did use it correctly.

 

 

Kaderick was playing today and I heard him say, "....and last but not least..."

Tonight he was showing his daddy the spaceship he made and he said, "I still have some innovations I'm working on."

 

My Summer Paradise

Welcome to my summer paradise where cool shade, green grass and literally hundreds of blooms abound.

 

 

I get that not everyone is into the whole "getting one with nature" thing, but for me there is nothing quite like time spent in the yard and garden. It's good for the body and refreshes the spirit and soul.

 

 

 

 

Above are just a few of the rose in bloom today. There are 42 rose bushes and I dearly love each one.

 

 

While the roses bloom all summer long, the peonies above are short lived and only grace us with their beauty for a few short weeks. We especially love bringing blooms in from the outdoors and cheering up the dining table. We can have a fresh bouquet each day and many to share.

 

 

One of my favorite roses...I have lots of favorites though.

 

 

Roses on the table.

 

 

The clematis bloom for a few months and are a lovely purple color. One color we DON'T have in a rose.

 

 

I love these pretty champagne colored roses. They are all on one stem here and I found that amazing. I didn't cut them, but they would have made a perfect ready made bouquet.

 

 

The rose garden and beyond that the vegetable garden. This bench is a popular spot. Even Mini loves lying nearby.

 

 

 

This is one of my favorite bouquets to date.

 

 

We even enjoy the clothesline.

There is more....strawberries, blackberries, herbs and more but I've chattered on long enough.

 

Master Bath

 

I'd post before pictures, but there wasn't really a before. There was no Master Bath, because there was no Master Bedroom. Master Bork took two storage rooms at the back of our garage and opened them up to the end of our living room making a Master Bedroom. That work was done last year at this time. It's amazing and I love it! Anyway, he left the section nearest the living room unfinished for a bathroom and we've been making slow progress on it ever since.

 

 

We opted to go with a more bold and modern style than the rest of the house which is more mid-century/rustic. I selected black and white tile which will easily go with most any color should we ever want to change from the bold "Bermuda bay" turquoise it is today.

 

 

Behind the half wall is the walk-in shower. We designed a narrow tiled counter with a wall mount sink and a his and hers cabinet on each side.

 

 

The shower. I love the little shelving niche!

 

 

This photo is taken from the shower looking towards the bathroom door. The door is a frosted pocket door which saves a ton of space.

 

 

 

Those are the fun knobs we put on the little drawers. Hubby made all this, by the way, with not a bit of outside help.

 

 

The cabinets pull out for easy access to the sink/shower plumbing.

 

 

This is just to show the ceiling. We used painted white beadboard to cover the old non-shower-friendly texture and painted the beams black.

 

 

Another shower picture. This one shows the convenient built in shower bench.

 

 

Storage is somewhat limited in this smallish bathroom. The dimensions are less than 10'X8'

The TP storage on the back of the toilet was a thrift store find and nothing a nice coat of paint wouldn't transform.

 

 

Thanks for visiting one of the most photographed bathrooms on our block.

The Colors

 

As long as I can remember, I've had a thing for America. I love anything patriotic. Summer; from Memorial Day right on through Independence Day just says American summer to me. I like to add summer to our house with touches of red, white and blue. All I spent to do this was a dollar for a pack of small flags from the Dollar Tree.

In this clear vase, I just put some "pop it" fireworks and a few old wooden thread spools.

 

On our old door--was in my parents house when I was a small girl--I hung a handmade from scraps/jean pockets banner.

 

Here I just stuck some red geraniums (one of my favorite summer flowers) in with the white and added another flag. The vintage hymn book on top of the stack has a Christian flag on it and says. "Hymns of Conquest." I find it appropriate for this season of remembering those who have fought for our country.

 

The little fire truck was Rick's when we was a little guy so it is special to us.

 

The ball glove was also my husbands.

 

Once again, just a flag. The picture on the plate is of my great grandparents.

 

The old Coca-Cola box was here at the house when we moved here. I just gave it a fresh coat of paint and added some flowers, a flag and a couple of coke bottles. I've had the coke bottles here since a bridal shower I did for a friend a few years ago. Yeah...we aren't heavy drinkers.

 

I'm really still loving the cedar shutters and window boxes the hubby made me last spring. He's a pretty handy guy to keep around.

 

Here's my one new item. The cowbell was from my parents for my birthday. I'd say they know my taste.