PAINTING SOME FURNITURE AND MORE SUMMER FUN!

The "What shall I wear" dilemma I wrote about last week ended up with me choosing the color block dress with a cardigan also from Old Navy (from a few years ago).  It was a good choice as our evenings have been getting cold.  The other dress is great and I was going to wear it at the lake this past weekend but I found when I put it on that the top hangs very low.  Even with a flesh/beige bra, it fell pretty far down!  So I think I may do some alterations on the straps.  And thanks for your votes...everyone seemed to really like this one, I do, too.

This is Snow and her hubby Craig.  You might have "met" them before as they come up to the lake quite often. The Husband and Craig grew up with each other... went to the same grammar school, high school, college and law school.  Wow! And if you look closely, you can see that Snow is also wearing a maxi.  We had a great dinner on their deck and then sat on their front porch which faces a park.  It was a really nice evening.

This is Snow's little (big) baby, Cassie.  She wanted to hang out with the girls.  She is the prettiest, most sweetest German Shepherd I've ever been around.  She's huge but she's so graceful.  She would wind around our chairs on the crowded porch and you would never know she was there.  Isn't she pretty?

This is my July 4th haul from Deals that I mentioned in my last post.  I'm so excited to start jazzing up the patio.  I was going to do it this weekend and then I thought it might just blow away.  Everyone is emailing and texting about what sort of food and dishes to bring.  With breakfast, lunch and dinner and appetizers going all day, it's like A Taste of Diamond Lake.  

The lake fireworks show is Friday night.  I think I've told you, everyone goes out on the lake in their boats and anchor and the fireworks are shot off from the island.  We used to have a pontoon boat in addition to the speedboat but it was just too much to take care of so we sold it a few years ago.  But when we had it we could get all of our guests out on the lake.  Now The Husband makes sure he gets the kids out and the rest of us sit on the shore.  As for myself, I sit on my upstairs balcony with 2 shaking basket case sort of pups.  Even the random firecrackers going off now scares the daylights out of Milo.  And another thing we have that is so fun, a live band plays on the shore of the sandbar and everyone anchors and gets into the knee high water to dance and float and play Frisbee.  My sons actually drive our guests over on the boat group by group to drop them off.  Oh, it's so much fun!

I arrived this weekend to find my lady slippers growing like crazy.  These multiply like prolifically so I may divide them and bring some back here to the city once they're done blooming.  I should have neatened up the gardens a bit but I have all sorts of plans for after the 4th and we get into a routine.

This is what I busied myself with.  The Husband bought this used picnic table and benches years ago and it was the most unflattering shade of gray.  Gun metal gray as you can see (the benches I already have painted in this picture).  He would not let me get near them with a paintbrush and every spring would put this monstrosity in my pretty English garden.  And then he would defiantly sit at it with his coffee and newspaper every morning.  Finally this year, with said ugly paint peeling, he said, "Do what you want with it."  So faster then you can say Sherwin Williams, I was on that set.  I also hauled out a coffee table that I have in a corner seating area in the Great room and painted that.  I really, really do not like this table and don't know where I found it and why I've kept it.  So I thought I would give it a chance with a paint job and if I didn't like it I would put it down by the road.

This is the before...I already had the legs painted.

And here she is in the corner sitting nook with some fresh picked daisies and a basket of shells.

So...is it a keeper?  

Well, that's what I did all weekend.  I was smack dab in the middle of the garden with no shade but definitely my sunscreen and I got a little color.  The Husband worked on cleaning his grill and worked even more on the beach (he is obsessed with having the PERFECT beach).  And Milo met a 

few visiting dogs (not only do our neighbors bring their dogs, their friends bring their dogs so we always have a menagerie of hounds running around).  Milo promptly met a golden retriever,  "Edie" five minutes after we arrived Friday night and actually leaped through the creek to get to her.  It would have made for a great little romantic  video captured in slow motion with the Theme From Chariots of Fire playing. When I jogged over to drag his butt home, he wouldn't come back  via the creek.  I had to walk down the road 1/4 of a mile.  He did double duty on the lead line that night.  

 The Husband and I worked up quite a sweat laboring at the painting and grill cleaning and we spontaneously decided to go on our first boat ride.  The skies were blue and the water just perfect.  Believe it or not, this lake gets crowded with boats and people jet skiing, tubing and water skiing.  But it was wonderful Sunday.

So we are back home and dealing with the rain...more thunderstorms early this evening.  I was able to pull some crabgrass before it started...my backyard garden looks like a jungle and I just don't want to deal with it until next week.  

Well, I'm glad I squeezed in a post.  I still don't have internet at the lake and I may be going as early as Wednesday morning.  So I'm wishing all of you a wonderful and safe Independence Day.  Wave that flag proudly and celebrate!! :)

Joining Tweak It Tuesday at Brenda's blog, Cozy Little House.

XO,

Jane