Painting on a HOT Porch

Purple Adirondack Chair

Blackberry vines grow everywhere here at
Brambly Pines

.....even on the arms of chairs

Genavive's little rocker from 16 years ago.......now blue

Ryan's 39 year old table/chairs made new....
(Michelle used them also) 

I spent three days painting furniture, on the hot, hot back porch.  I drug up all the paint supplies, brought out the radio from the house and turned the two fans on full blast.....and took off painting.  It really wasn't THAT bad out there if ya just stayed out there and didn't go into the house.  I sure got a lot done.  I had put one of the blue Adirondack chairs over in front of the studio but since my accent color over there is purple, the chair just had to be painted.  Once I got it purple my mind took off thinking about all the fun things I could paint on it.  It's stopped at blackberries. ( that's the thing I can paint the best).  Now, it's an eye stopper, sitting out under the tree in front of the studio.
  I saw in a magazine a picture of a porch and they had put a child's table/chair set in front of a love seat and used it for a coffee table along with the kids being able to use it also.  A bell went off in my head.....another trip to the barn to get Ryan's 39 year old little table/chair set.  ( yes, I saved half my children's childhoods and boy am I ever glad I did).  It was pretty beat up but with two coats of blue paint on it, it became brand new.  It now sits in front of the double rocker on the back porch and it's ready for Vivienne and Lily Ryann to use when they come to stay with us.  Lily Ryann had asked me where her " rocking chair just her size" was when she was here this summer and I had put it back down in the barn.  There was just no space for it in the house.  Sooooooo, since I had the blue paint out, I went down and got it.  With it being painted blue, it can be used on either of the porches and it will be here waiting for Lily Ryann for the next time she comes to Alabama.  At the end of my three hot, hot days spent on the back porch, I feel like I have all kinds of new furniture.  The miracle of paint and a little work!!!!!

Must be July 4th....Time to Crank Ice Cream!

Lily Ryann and Ian waiting to eat.....

Genavive turning.....

Ian turning.....

Heather turning.....

Ryan turning.....

Vivi kept the freezer  filled with ice.....

YUM!!!!...best ice cream EVER!!!!

It was time to turn.....the ice cream!  The rule is....who doesn't take a turn at turning, doesn't get any ice cream.  Everyone decided they wanted to turn but Lily Ryann.  She didn't want any ice cream....ha.  As everyone took their turn, Vivienne decided she wanted ice cream so her job was to put the ice into the freezer the whole time it was being turned.  ....one piece of ice at a time.  When it was time to " eat the ice cream", Lily Ryann decided she did want to " just taste it" but with one taste.....she wanted " more"!  This was the first time Heather, Ian and Lily had ever had homemade ice cream.  It was decided it was the  " best ice cream EVER!".  Our 45 year old ice cream freezer is back down in the barn until next July 4th.  I'm not too sure how many more years we will be able to use it.  It has seen it's better days.......but when the time comes, we will be buying another " hand crack" ice cream freezer.  That's half the fun.....the turning....the other half is eating ice cream that you have made by hand.

Decorating.......with art.

Our pretty July 4th Banner......

Vivi is thinking about what she wants to
draw on the banner.....

The girls coloring the banner......

One of the best things that I have bought at Sam's Club is a huge roll of white paper.  I have used it for wrapping Christmas presents and now the kids have found out how fun it is to draw pictures on it and making banners.  Michelle put all the kids names and their age on the banner....so years and years down the road when they are all grown up, they will find the banner in all my July 4th decorations and have a great memory from it.

Slip Sliding Away......

The side yard slip n slide

Water time at Grandma's is
AWESOME!!!!!!

Here comes Ryan....

and Michelle......

next is Vivi....

Vivi and Lily Ryann

Ian and Genavive.....


Michelle saved the weekend of keeping the kids busy in the hot, hot weather.  She brought a little pool with a slip n slide.  Then, she added a long piece of plastic to cover the whole side yard.  Some plastic, water and cheap baby shampoo makes for a fantastic afternoon in the yard.  Big kids, little kids....they all loved it!

A Hiking We Will Go......

Off to Caney Creek....

Best way to  " hike"

Ian..loving the falls

Happy Lily Ryann

Ryan and Heather

Heather, Ian, Lily Ryann and Ryan

Vivi...touching the Falls...

Our Sweet Genavive.....

Ryan and his girls....

Enjoying the coolness of the canyons....

I have never been hiking in the forest without Chuck.  It's actually kinda scary to me but I really wanted to take the kids to Caney Creek Falls while they were here for July 4th.  Since it is a mile and a half hike to the Falls, we didn't feel that Chuck would be able to handle it.  So, it was all up to me.  I loaded everyone into our Pilot ( I love having the extra seats in the Pilot so the whole family fits) and headed to the forest.  Chuck gave me instructions how to find the road that Caney Creek was on.  After that, I was on my own since cell phones don't work once you drive into the forest.  I didn't have a problem. I drove through the forest and  found it!!  Everyone jumped out, got their back packs we had packed lunch, water, etc in and sprayed down with bug spray.  Off we went down the trail.  Usually there are lots of blackberries along the trail but because of our dry summer and I guess everyone else walking down the trail, there weren't very many berries.  I did pick a few and of course Vivi thought they all belonged to her.  She is my " berry eating baby".   As you get closer to the Falls, you hear the water before you see it.  First we checked out the top of the Falls before going down the canyon to where we would spend the afternoon.  Then the fun began.  What fun it was to watch Florida kids playing in a natural waterfall and climb on rocks and cliffs.  It was 97 degrees that day but in the coolness of the forest, it was no way near that hot.  The kids all squealed from the cold water of the Falls.  After our picnic lunch, playing in the Falls and a walk down the canyon, it was time to pack up and hike our way out to the Pilot.   I know a good time was had by everyone that day.  Something tells me that the kids will want to go back to the forest in the near future.  .....and I can get them there.

Peaches Grow on Trees?

Lily picking her first peach...ever!

Ian's first peach also....

Takes two hands to hold a big peach

Since all of our Florida kids ( all but Genavive) had never seen peaches growing on trees, I thought it would be fun to go to our friend's farm to pick peaches.  After all....we were going to make  " peach ice cream" come July 4th.   It didn't take long for us to fill two big baskets of peaches and we were headed back to Brambly Pines.

Off to The Thrift Store

Chuck's truck all loaded up....

We even used Ryan's truck......

I had been waiting forever to get rid of some furniture and " junk" that has been in the barn for six years.  Since Chuck's surgery, there was no way either of us could have loaded the trucks with all the furniture.  Ryan, Heather, Genavive and Michelle pitched in and loaded it all up to be taken to the thrift store in town.  Of course since we were right there, we HAD to all go inside and see what kind of " junk" we could bring back home with us.  Afterwards, we all had lunch at " Moe's" ( which seems to becoming a family tradition when the kids all come up)  Now, I can start cleaning the barn.  I'm sure I will come up with another truck load that needs to go to the thrift store.

The Funeral!!!!

The Funeral March.....down to the
cemetery. 

Ryan, the grave digger

Vivienne and her flower she picked

Taking turns laying flowers on the grave......

The first day the kids were here to spend July 4th weekend with us, we had to attend to another " chicken funeral".  ( we are now down to just two girls)  We all got in a line and walked down to the cemetery, with sad funeral music playing on Michelle's phone.  It was hard digging the grave since it hadn't rained in awhile.  As Ryan ( the grave digger) dug, I poured water from the watering can to help soften up the ground.  We all walked down to the garden to pick some flowers from the cutting flower bed, to be put on her grave.  I said a few kind words about what a nice chicken she had been, giving us all her eggs and how she had a good life here at Brambly Pines.  She had a very nice deserving funeral.

Hydrangeas!!!!

This summer brought such pretty blooms on the hydrangeas.  Since we had a mild winter last year, the bushes are just loaded with color.  I don't know if the blue ones are my favorite or if it's the purple.  I think it's a tie.  I just love living up north where you can plant your hydrangeas outside......and they actually grow and bloom!!!