Drop Down MenusCSS Drop Down MenuPure CSS Dropdown Menu

August 4, 2016

This and That This Week #4

Last weekend was a bit busy- we made the trip to Grand Rapids and delivered the lawn furniture and grill to our daughter.

As I explained last week had the dining set painted yellow at her request and brought the cushions from our old patio set.  The glider, tables, and chaise-lounge was part of a set we had for 14 years.  She didn't really want such a big grill but my friend had this available and the price was right!

This is a little arbor with a gate to her back yard.  The clematis vine has taken over here.  I chopped at it and tried to clear a better path.  We showed her some ideas on how to remove the weeds that have cropped up.  I wish we were closer so I could help more often.


After you come through the arbor this is the backyard.  The previous owner had made this large patio/deck area.  It needs a cleaning which she has been working on since we left.  The big umbrella stayed with the house when she purchased it.  It's nice a large and provides some needed shade.  

She sent this selfie to me a few days later.  She loves sitting outside now :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Last Saturday Dan decided to get the deck staining done.  We don't have eaves troughs or gutters if you prefer, because we get so much snow it tends to rip them off the edge so there's a heavy drip line across the deck.   With all the snow we accumulate here the deck get's shoveled off pretty much daily through the winter so it get's a lot of abuse.  We even use an all plastic shovel to reduce the wear and tear.  
We stained all of it in 2009 and touched it up in 2012.  This time the decking was stained but not the railing since it's doing just fine.

About 2/3rds of it was done first.  

Tuesday night it was finished.  We'll  let it cure and then move everything back in place. Our deck is approx. 25 years old now.  We did discover that have a board to replace.  We've been using a solid stain madeby Cabots on it which works well for us- very durable!  We get ours at Lowe's.  They mix it to any color you like.  


 I was browsing at Pier 1 and these canisters stopped me in my tracks.  they look so close to the ones that I have in my kitchen (see below).  Mine were by Chris Madden called Corvella from JC Penney but they stopped making them a while ago.  I just checked and these are on sale now and this is the link incase it's of interest to you "here"
I was contacted a while back by someone wanting to buy mine and I thought of him when I saw this.



I thought this was cute with the seashells and starfish lining the vase and hiding the floral stems.  If you had a small vase that could be centered in a large glass dish like this you could have natural flowers in the center.  It would be a lot work to get the seashells to look this good so I wouldn't want to be changing it very often!


Ugh….Cracker Barrel has Halloween and Thanksgiving out already.  I spotted this vase filled with wheat and realized how easily you could replicate this.  I've seen the wheat at Michael's and of course that's just a simple mason jar.  Since this is the time of year for corn on the cob- saving corn husks should be easy!

Here's a backside view of it.
I don't do fall decorating until mid September- that's plenty early for me.  Even though the stores are selling and pushing the seasons early I don't succumb to it.  I may pick something up for the future but I don't display it until I'm ready.  We truly have 4 seasons here and I want to experience them for as long as possible! 

I'm working up a later summer look for the black tabletop and plate rack.  Haven't been able to get to the finish line with it just yet!


My boots got booted off the deck while it's being re-stained so of course I set them on the path to go for a walk!  
I have a cute little video of a chipmunk visiting my fairy garden if you'd like to see it click "here"


See ya next week!

Joining:


9 comments:

  1. Liz, your deck looks wonderful, like brand new. I know that was a lot of work. I love the idea of the vase with the seashells. So pretty! Every store in our town is full of Fall decor. I am just not ready for that yet. Like you, I want to enjoy the season plus is difficult to think of Autumn when it is over a hundred degrees outside. :) Take care, Maria

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the boots Liz! And I will be borrowing that shell lined vase idea, thanks for sharing...I don't even think about fall until mid Sept either, it's summer in the south until mid October. Your daughter is lucky to have such generous parents, love the yellow!
    Jenna

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chelsea's patio looks lovely. How great the previous owners left the large umbrella. The patio furniture looks so pretty and bright. She will enjoy that patio a lot. Your deck looks great! Re-staining it brings it back to life. Love seeing the little chipmonk.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Liz, I adore that gate into the garden. It makes it feel as if it is a secret garden. The fall stuff is out in gangbusters. I don't decorate for fall until late September.

    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Liz! I'm so happy for your daughter and that you were able to help her. She is a very pretty girl. Your deck looks great - of course it does! ;) The canisters do look like yours too. Oh, you've just answered a question for me. I've always wondered why our house didn't have real gutters - now I know. That does make so much sense.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm sure your daughter is enjoying her new furniture and grill now! It's always nice to have an outdoor space. Her backyard looks nice and private. Your deck turned out great! I like the color you chose for it. I am not ready to bring any Fall decor out yet. It's still summer and will be hot here for a long while. I hate that the stores bring it out so early!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Liz, your daughters deck is beautiful with her garden furniture. I bet she's really enjoying this lovely space.
    Your deck looks great painted too. I love the color. All the art shops have fall and Christmas out here too. I've been painting holiday already but it's just too hot here to begin decorating for fall even though I think I'm ready for a cool down. Have a great weekend ahead!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your boots are adorable no matter where they land! Your daughter lucked out to get that backyard and you to help her with it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your daughter's deck and garden look nice with all of her new pieces. The clematis is so lush on the fence and trellis. I imagine you are now enjoying your freshly stained deck. ♥

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments! I don’t always get a chance to reply but I do read them!




ABOUT ME



Welcome to Home and Gardening With Liz. I have combined my previous blogs “Infuse With Liz” and “Sit With Me In My Garden” into this new blog. I love interior decorating and gardening. I enjoy redefining interior spaces by moving things around and reusing decorative items already found in the home. I also enjoy creating tablescapes and an occasional crafting project. I'm so pleased you've stopped by. I invite you to follow me and I do hope you will keep coming back! Liz
 Follow My RSS Feed  Follow My Google+  Contact Me Follow Me on Pinterest