OUTSIDE PICTURES OF THE LAKEHOUSE

Happy Monday, everyone!  We are having gorgeous weather here in the Midwest, 70 degrees and sunny.  It's supposed to stay like this all week...I am SO happy!  I want to take this time to thank all of you that visited my home tour at Marty's.  Everyone left just the sweetest comments and my heart was swelling.  And thank you, Marty, for having me.  If you missed it, you can see it here.

In the post I did before the last one, some of you asked what the lakehouse looked like from the outside.  Some of you were also confused as to what the Summerhouse is.  So I took some pictures over the weekend.  I didn't realize it had been so long since I've done this...so here they are (and another little tour).  This is the Summerhouse which is just a little 12 X 14 cottage separated from the main lakehouse.  It's built on the same patio slab, maybe about 30  feet from the house.  We didn't have room for a screened in porch and didn't want to close up our covered patio, so this is what we did.  The windows pop off, as you can see that in the one on the right.  It's just a great place to kick back and relax, watch TV, read, nap...The ceiling fan also radiates heat if you are in there on a chilly day.  Two twin beds pull out from behind shuttered closets, so it sleeps guests as well.  You can go to the post before this to see the inside.

This is the little porch built on the front of it.  It has a closer view of the lake and there is a standing fireplace nearby to keep you toasty on cold weathered nights.

From the Summerhouse, you have this view of the lakehouse, simply "our house". lol!  To the left you can see the covered patio, where we spend most of our time.

A stone wall separates the yard and beach area.  I would love to have old roses spilling down this wall.  This is a big crock of petunias I just planted a few weeks ago...perfect spot for them.

If you were coming up the driveway from the street, this is what you would see: The lakehouse on the very far left (or a peek of it's patio roof, the Summerhouse straight ahead and that is the shed on the far right.  In the center inside of the boxwood hedge is my little English Garden.

This is the lakehouse street side.  The balcony comes off the master bedroom.  On each side of the porch you can see the wisteria I am growing (battling).  It's finally inside the balcony climbing the wall and then I want to train it up onto those slats to make a canopy.

A side view.  So I hope you have a better idea how everything looks and that I haven't overloaded you with pictures.  We will have been here for 22 years in September.  Every year we have a new project and it is a little difficult since we are only here 2 or 3 days on the weekends.  It's a labor of love and I treasure every memory made here and each day I get to spend in our little home away from home!

I got so much done here this weekend.  We had cool temps but storms would blow in out of nowhere and we'd run inside.  One big project was thinning out the milkweed on the side of the house, just around the corner from the above picture.  I had to untangle and snip the wisteria off everything and then I came upon some plants they I just couldn't identify.  My friend, Barb, down the street stopped over and had a look.  "Well, Blondie, here you have black raspberries...".  Yay!!!  With so many birds, I get a lot of  'volunteer' plants.  "...and here you have some poison ivy.".  What????  I totally freaked out as I had been crawling through the mess to get to the wisteria attached to one of our power lines.  By the grace of God, The Husband had called me in after I was done with this for lunch and I had washed up really well.  I guess if I had caught it I would know by now!  So I am making progress there.

I also started a new flower bed in the English Garden.  As you know, The Husband and I are super territorial about our gardening projects, so I was determined not to ask him for help.  I dug out a section of sod in a 3 X 6 area in a half circle in front of the boxwood.  I already had some daylilys and lady slippers growing there.  I went to our little farm/nursery and came back and planted some spiderwort and plumbago.  I need to neaten it up and add some shredded bark, so I'll share pictures later.   I was so sore...what a workout with all of the shoveling, bending, twisting, flinging the sod.  I feel it in my hips and knees, but I feel GREAT about getting this done on my own.  I think The Husband is a little envious! :)

 So, we are home and we will be heading back on Wednesday night for the big 4th of July celebration.  Family and friends will be visiting right through Sunday.  We really do have a ball and even with the house jam packed, it all runs so smoothly.  Everyone brings coolers of beverages, meats to grill, side dishes, appetizers and dips and desserts.  The tables outdoors are just laden with great things to snack on all day, as everyone brings out their prized dishes.  I'm actually treated like a queen with all the women in my family saying, "Jane, just sit, we'll do it"!  I will be sure to get a lot of pics.

Everyone have a great holiday! :)

XO,

Jane