THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

It was another weekend of heat and humidity in the Midwest. And that is the forecast for this week. It explains my reclusive behavior perfectly. Little trips to the store and sitting in the backyard for tiny bits of fresh air at a time have been on my agenda. These are truly the 'dog days of summer'.
I finally went out and bought frames for the watercolors that Fifi Flowers did of the Lakehouse and Summerhouse. I thought I was going to have to have them custom framed but they were easily trimmed to 8 x 10 and fit in pretty frames from Michael's. To get a better look at these paintings, I have them on my sidebar. I can't say enough about Fifi's work and all you have to do is follow the link and visit her shop to see wonderful watercolors she has done and sells in addition to custom artwork. She also has a calendar now of vintage bicycles. Try to take a peek if you can.
I hung both pictures in the Summerhouse where I spend a lot of time. This weekend we had good friends visiting, Craig and Snow. Craig and The Husband grew up together and Snow and I have been good friends since she and Craig got married. They brought along their adorable kids, Luke and Ella. Snow and I hung out in the Summerhouse quite a bit, catching up on everything, enjoying a lot of girl talk.
Once again we feasted, this time on Italian meats and good bread that Craig gets from an Italian deli here in Chicago. Snow made her signature prosciutto and melon and we ate watermelon from morning until night. All of this was washed down with tons of iced green tea, my new summer favorite. I didn't think to take pictures until we had dug in quite a bit and it wasn't so pretty.
When I was taking the pictures of the watercolors, I took a few of the Summerhouse as I am nearing the end of the decorating. All I really have left to do is get blinds and make some window valances. Since we sleep out here once in awhile or put up guests on the Murphy beds, we need to have a little privacy.
This is the little table I bought at The Worlds Longest Yard Sale last year. This is coming up again in another few weeks and I am SO excited. It's unbelievable what people have to sell in the Midwest, and so many of the antique dealers prepare all year for this sale. I believe it ends somewhere around Detroit so we are near the tail end of it. I was going to paint the chairs in this picture white, but I have decided to wait a bit. I have an old brown cabinet in here that ties in with the color of the chairs and I don't want a totally white room (yet).
This weekend we travel to Galena, Illinois for the 80th birthday celebration for my father in law. Galena is a quaint little town about 3 1/2 hours from Chicago. It will be a big fun family affair. Sunday or Monday we will leave for a 2 week stay at the lake and we are mapping out some fun trips to do, including going into Ohio which is only about an hour from the lake. As always, it will be so nice to unpack and not have to go home after 3 days. Life gets very hectic being at home 4 days and at the lake 3. Nothing gets totally finished it seems.
Thanks for coming by to visit today. If you have seen any of these pictures before, I'm sorry. Like the 'dog days of summer', there is a lot of repetition going on! :-) One day flows into the next and soon we will be wondering what happened to summer. In spite of the heat and humidity, I am having a good summer and I hope you are, too. And you are always WELCOME to come and have a peek. Have a great week!