Summer’s whizzing by

Is it Friday already? These summer days are passing by so quickly I can hardly believe it. I’m spending them with a pile of books with time out to play on the computer. Isn’t that what summer’s for? And I don’t feel the least guilty either.

I’m in a summer state of mind

The temps have cooled down to a comfortable 76 degrees and I’m lovin’ the summer. I’ve taken a vacation from all the housework and am spending my days enjoying this weather. Between the computer and my books I’m having a fun time just relaxing…and well it should be. This is what summer is all about. Here’s another Photoshop creation. Each day I try to learn a little something more about using my program.

Dream

This week Kim Klassen’s class is using the texture Dreamy. Here is what I made.

Ah, rain!

It was very hot and humid this morning but this afternoon we had a little storm. How we welcomed the pouring rain, and thunder and lightening. It didn’t last long, but it cooled the temperatures down to 68 degrees. Wow, does it feel good! I went out yesterday and took some pictures. I used Kim Klassen textures to make a pretty picture.

Sizzlin’

It’s almost 11:30 at night and the temperature is about eighty! This isn’t Florida. This has been by far the hottest day in a long, long time. When we went through town tonight it was 103 degrees. We headed over to Olean to eat dinner at Applebee’s and then take back some library books. We continued on to Rose’s where we played three games of Five Crowns. What fun!
   The plan for tomorrow is to stay in and stay cool. Glad we have a/c.

Feelin’ Beachy

These hot temperatures in Western Pennsylvania are making me think "beach". So I’m joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch and her Thursday Tablescape day.

The starfish napkin rings, bamboo flatware, and aqua placemats give that coastal feeling.


The soup tureens were picked up at the Christmas Tree Shoppe.


Summer begs for shells. Although we are far from the shore it’s nice to add a few on the table.





Now if only some island native would come and bring my supper.  

What are you doing this hot day?

Don and I are cleaning up down in the basement. Are you like me and have things that accumulate? It seems the basement is a fine place to put things when you don't know what else to do with them. We have not been good in the past about actually taking things from the house and getting rid of them when we buy new things. So they get carried up in the attic or down in the basement, just to store. For the past few years I've been making an effort to go through that "stuff" and do something with it. Peter Walsh, an organizer on tv, has helped tremendously with his philosophy of using what you have and not storing a lot. I think my resistance was to letting go of the past life, even though I've moved on to other things. But now I'm realizing that I don't need that stuff..I'm not using it, and don't plan on ever using it again. So I'm boxing up things I don't want and plan to take it to a flea market to try to sell it. So today we went through cans of old paint..to go to the garbage. Old wet boxes from the rain that came in the basement...out they go. I'm planning to get everything up off the floor so things don't get wet ever again. It's been a job..we only worked for a little while and got a lot accomplished. If we worked it like a full time job, we'd have it done in no time.  But that's enough for today....it's another very hot one...and I'm headed for the air conditioning.

It’s hot, hot, hot

I

It's another hot day. It was ninety in the shade this afternoon so I did indoor chores like laundry, etc. I did cook a roast in my little cooker. I use it a lot when the weather is like this so I don't have to heat up the whole oven. Don got fresh corn and yellow squash and we enjoyed a summer meal.
    I am getting in a lot of reading time. It's been quite a while since I've done this much reading. I read a whole novel this afternoon about an elderly woman and her life. It didn't seem to have a point. I kept waiting for a conflict, or event to be resolved, but her life just went on. Much like reality I think.
     Now I'm reading Patterson's Toys.

did I mention it’s hot?

Whew! We are not used to so many days in a row that are in the eighties. Today it hit 90 degrees. That may not sound hot to those of you in the south, but in western Pennsylvania we are having a time with it. First of all, we don't have central air in our homes up here. Our average summer temperatures hover around mid seventies. Just right! But for a few weeks we've had a streak of extremely warm days (and nights) with no rain. We are lucky to have a window air conditioner in our sunroom and find it a cool place to go when it gets steamy. I also bought one for the bedroom so we could have a good night's sleep for a change. But most of the folks in town are just suffering it out. No one wants to utter a whisper of complaint since our winter and our spring were both very cold. But I think the cooler temperatures coming our way next week will be welcome.

My grandson, Dan, is getting his own apartment at Penn State. He's a junior this year and I've been on the lookout for furniture for him. I found this IKEA bed at a yard sale on Friday. I also picked him up a nice small black bookcase at a store yesterday.

Playing around with Photoshop

It's too hot to be outside so I've been playing around in Photoshop.

The Coffee Shop

I have often said that having a computer is like having an education right at home. I have learned so much from tutorials on the web about photography and blogging. One site that has been generous in their help is the Coffee Shop blog. There are many great photoshop freebies and excellent tutorials that are helping me learn to do more with the pictures that I take. Today she gave away some vintage frames and I created these two images.

A Busy Day

It finally cooled down a little (high seventies) for a while today.  In the morning Sadie and I took our daily walk with Joan. It was so nice and cool walking on the Pitt trail.  Don and I decided to do some desperately needed yard work. The bushes near our little picket fenced in area were in need of much attention. Don began to trim one bush but because of his lung issues was unable to do more. I took the trimmer and did the rest of the bushes and cut up the long hanging branches of the weeping cherry tree.  I think it looks a lot better. It was nice to finally feel healthy enough to get ambitious. I also washed the kitchen windows and cleaned the screens. Then the rest of the day I spent reading the new Steve Berry book which was quite a page turner.

Don’t look too closely, we didn’t have time to clean up the area. That’s today’s job.

It's a dog's (or cat's) life

So, Sadie, what do you do when mommy's not home?

"Well, sometimes I take a swim in the pond, but mostly Top Gun and I just sit and watch for you to come home."

Awww!

What a busy day

Today I felt like I was back at work again. As President of the Women’s Literary Club of Bradford I had a meeting with my officers and directors this morning to iron out a few things before I start assigning committees for next year. Then I came home and spent hours (yes…hours and hours) on the computer getting people put on committees and calling for chairpeople. It took all day, but I’m almost done. The computer really comes in handy for things like this. Sometimes I wonder how I ever got along without a word processor. I remember typing at a typewriter and hitting a wrong key. I either started over or used white out. Now you simple backspace over a mistake. How simple. I wonder if the younger generation appreciates how easy it is to communicate now…send an email in an instant, text in the blink of an eye, call up a movie on your computer. And these new phones/computers….the world at your fingertips. Amazing. What else will they come up with ?


Isn’t the lavender luscious this year?

Summer day

We wait….all winter through cold temperatures and snowstorms. We wait…through rainy spring days with cold winds. We wait…and finally….it’s here. Those brilliant summer days with gentle breezes and warm sun. And we forget all about the long cold winters and springs and just enjoy each day trying to make the most of every moment. It is pleasant to open the door in the morning and hear birds singing and feel the gentle sunshine. Welcome, summer. I’m glad you came.

Fourth of July (people edition)

Put together 8 families, 7 dogs, and one lake house and what do you get? Loads of fun! My sister Diane invited us and my two boys and families to her house on Smith Mountain lake in Virginia. All of her family was there too. (even Steve who flew in from Seattle). They broke last year’s record by having 24 people there at once. Luckily the house is huge with 4 bathrooms and three showers. we used up all the beds and brought air mattresses. We had a ball….swimming, boating, tubing, kayaking, jet skiing, playing games, and getting in the hot tub. It was such a fun weekend for us all to be together. Diane and Noah on the deck.
  Sean is ready to try out his new fishing pole.
There was lots of swimming and floating on rafts and boats. I was so happy that Sara and Sean came Sunday afternoon. We all are playing pictionary. (Did I mention drinking?? LOL)
Only one slight (HUGE!) catastrophe. There was a storm and the power went out. The chicken pot pie wasn’t completely done so we ended up finishing it on the grill. The power didn’t come back on until 10 o’clock. The five young people went out to the bar leaving us in the dark with the five little ones. (With no lights and no air conditioning and nothing for them to do). Hmmm…do grandparents get extra points for that? More games, this time 5 crowns. And we played marbles too. Sean learned how to jump from the dock.

Even Sara enjoyed the water! We loved it when the ice cream boat showed up!
This is living!






 

The Fourth of July

How I spent my Summer vacation by Sadie Karrasch

After a long two day car ride my family and I finally got to Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. I’m a great car rider. I sleep most of the time and only sit up when the car stops moving. I was so happy to be at the lake and around all my family.
They put a wading pool out on the deck for me and my friends Noah and Jackson.
I let Jackson throw water on me. It was a fun game.
Mom made me wear a life jacket. She said that I didn’t know when to quit swimming and thought I might drown. Maybe she’s right because I started swimming with my friends in the morning and wouldn’t get out of the water until the last person got out too. Aren’t Ryan and I cute?
Chris taught Sean and Noah to jump off the dock. So of course I had to do that too!
I was just one of the kids!
You know, swimming sure makes you tired.
With 24 people and 6 other dogs I never lacked something to do. I don’t know why they called me an “attention whore”.