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Monday, June 24, 2019

June Blooms and Good-byes

Sophie Roses
This is it - the final week in our Oakdale home. All month long I've been appreciating each and every flower bloom, at each stage, from every angle, at every change in the day's light.


Rhododendron

Peonies just forming buds

Clematis with just a few flowers

Autumn wondering why on earth we would leave this garden. I mean there are four bird houses here, not to mention the butterflies and hummingbirds!

Clematis gate  - front view

Baptisia Australias starting to bloom

A man and his John Deere tractor, the final lawn mowing.

Rhododendron hedge damaged by deer, but still looking fine


Sophie roses and mountain laurel

Baptisia Australias  now stands as tall as my shoulder

Siberian iris

Peony in full bloom

Clematis vines now covered in these beauties

Kousa dogwood and roses brighten a foggy day

Kousa dogwood has long lasting blooms - two weeks and still hanging on!
 
There's is something so sad and beautiful about fallen rose petals covering the ground

Peonies buds beginning to pop...


...and now in full bloom
Lilies in bud, and purple salvia in bloom
Rose vine side view

Rose vine front view almost covering the bird's entrance
 
Ok Gary it's time. You've mowed the lawn for the last time...

...now let's say good-bye to that dirty old John Deere cap!
Time to finish up our packing and look forward to views of nature's garden along the Thames River. Norwich, here we come!

See books by Laura S. Pringle on Amazon  

The Pringle Plan is a series of educational guides. 

 ©2019 Laura S. Pringle. All Rights Reserved.

Monday, June 10, 2019

Painted Furniture Projects 2019

My latest masterpiece! An old dresser with a fresh new look.
Several years ago, I repainted my outdoor furniture, created a painted desk with a couple of file cabinets and a piece of plywood, and updated several pieces of furniture. It was my first summer of retirement, and I'd been dying to get these projects done for years. 

This time it's a little different. We're getting ready to  downsize to a condo, which means I've been selling and giving away items like crazy. The old deck set I had repainted a few years ago, won't fit on the much narrower balcony at the condo, so its gone to someone else's new home. Now I had to solve the problem of finding something to fit the balcony. The solution: A bistro set! 

I saw this one in an antiques mall and fell in love! It reminded me of the type you would see in an old soda fountain shop. More importantly, it reminded me of one a friend had years ago. I remember sitting on the deck, sipping my very first glass of sun tea - with lemon! How I enjoyed the company of kind people and the views of the Connecticut River.

Here is the updated version. I can't wait to see it on the new balcony in a few more weeks. I'll enjoy the old memories of friends, as I create new memories on the Thames River.
While I was at the antiques mall, I also bought two dressers. The blue one pictured above will replace a wider triple dresser, and the white one below will be storage for a bathroom with no cabinets. Thank goodness for neighbor Tim and his gigantic truck, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get all this home. We set up everything in the garage, so I could take advantage of the work space before we move. Then I pulled in a few other pieces from the house that needed a fresh look.

The garage became project central. The plan was to finish everything: bistro set, two dressers, file cabinet, and pine cabinet, in two weeks.  Of course that didn't happen, but I did finish the bistro set, blue dresser, and file cabinet.
I got a good start on this dresser...

...but the finish details will have to wait until after the move.
The pine cabinet I know I'll need for extra storage has two coats of primer and hardware and doors reinstalled. Since I can't decide which room I'll end up using it in, or what color I want to paint it, this will also wait to be finished after the move.

The old beat up file cabinet from the garage came out pretty nice and will go in my new office. I glued inexpensive frames to the drawers for a nice detail, painted everything white, and then added gold to the frames and hardware.

Over the weekend, we moved the furniture inside, rolled up the the plastic, packed the paints away, and cleaned the garage. Now, with three weeks to go, we're ready to get serious about packing!

See books by Laura S. Pringle on Amazon

 The Pringle Plan is a series of educational guides. 

 ©2019 Laura S. Pringle. All Rights Reserved.

Monday, June 3, 2019

A Perfect Mystic Day


The weather was perfect - warm and clear.

Just as we approached and right on schedule, the signal that the bridge was about to open went off.

Perfect for picture taking tourists, the bridge begins to rise.

A little higher...


... almost there...

... and now all the way up.
A look down river reveals no boats coming from this direction.

A view across river shows a quiet day at the park.

Let's start to walk.

Wait a minute! Here comes a boat!
 
And there it goes out to the Long Island Sound.

We had lunch on the deck at The Engine Room. I recommend the Cobb Salad! See: http://www.engineroomct.com/ And enjoyed wandering through all the shops. I found a lot of decorating inspiration for my upcoming move to a condo. It was a perfect day!

See books by Laura S. Pringle on Amazon

 The Pringle Plan is a series of educational guides.

 ©2018 Laura S. Pringle. All Rights Reserved.