Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Spring jumped into Summer!


Well, it seems spring time was short lived here in Central New Jersey! We have been having some pretty HOT weather, BUT I am not going to complain, because it could be worse, I am thankful we do not have to deal with flooding, earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, hurricanes and heavy snow storms or ice storms! This will be short lived until the true dog days of summer arrive and then my big complaint is pushing that lawn mower which gives off a tremendous amount of heat, it is quite a workout for me! You would think by October I would be as skinny as could be, but no! I also do not enjoy cooking when it is very hot, but then again I do not enjoy cooking! I do not mind using the grill on the deck, keeps the kitchen cool and I love to eat food that has been grilled!

When we moved back to New Jersey from Michigan it was July, I thought that summer I was going to die with the heat and humidity, we were not used to it after living in Michigan for 8 years. That summer was so hot and humid, the children and I would spend our time in the finished basement. I made a promise that I was going to find a job that would work for my schedule since my daughter and #4 son were still young. I was going to put in central air and did not care what I had to do to earn the money! The next spring I took a job cleaning the homes of the owners of a place called The Martinsville Inn, I cleaned the 3 homes and the Inn. . . and I filled in cleaning the home of another family member on occasion. . . the pay was good, the job was not pleasant but the hours worked for me and my children. The job was hard, I cleaned I forget how many toilets at the Inn, and all of the bathroom floors/mirrors/sinks, I wanted money and as I said, it worked for me. Do you remember the cartoon of Carol Burnett at the beginning of her show pulling a big cart with mops, well that was me at the Inn. I did that job for 2 years until I was able to have a real job, which I took at the community college! But, anyway, my first year I saved some of the money and had central air installed in my home and I still have that unit. One of the best decisions I made way back then! I clearly remember the day the unit was installed, it was mid August and it was very hot and humid, the contractor came inside and showed me how to set the thermostat and about an hour later the children and I danced around, it felt soooooooo nice!

So, even though we are having a "heat wave" I have still been busy doing things around the house and yard.
  • I changed out the bedding for spring time. Here are different views of the bedroom, the quilt on the rocking chair and the wool hooked rug are very old. The dresser in the corner belonged to my husband's family. The piggy bank on the floor belonged to my husband's Aunt. I also moved the white rocking chair from the family room to the bedroom. The little yellow table by the bed has hidden compartments in it, I love that table! Of course I cannot forget my little Raggedy Ann, she normally is not on the bed, I made her and could not bring myself to selling her, I am attached to this one for sure!

  • I made some new pillows for the outside deck furniture and bought new seat cushions. I still have one pillow to stitch shut before I put it outside, the pillow covers are made from an outside/indoor table cloth, the colors were perfect. The fabric is stain and mildew resistant!

  • I put my redware plate with my crows on the sideboard in the kitchen, they are ready to go to market! I found the plate last weekend when my husband went out antique browsing!
  • I made my little stone fruit arrangement in the dining room, again, I had some fruit and found the grapes while at the antique shop last week.

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I have been doing yardwork, getting my flower beds ready for planting with the annuals, cleaning off the deck furniture and painting it and the never ending battle of sweeping off the deck, little things from the trees keep blowing onto the deck and it builds up quickly!

I also have puttered around the house moving things here and there, making small changes.

Next week we are heading to Vermont for my son's graduation, I am hoping for warm weather when we go and this hot/humid weather we are having now is preparing me for my trip to Walt Disney World in June! I call it my WDW basic training! When I come home I will be bringing my two grandsons back with me for 7 weeks.

I hope that everyone is having nice weather, and if it seems to warm or too cold still be thankful for the gift of seasons and changes, they are all gifts from God!

3 comments:

Linda - Behind My Red Door said...

WOW you are ambitious in a heat wave! Everything looks wonderful!! I need to more outside work but it will wait. I would much rather have winter than this. Ask me in January and I'll say the same thing - I prefer winter over summer. The main thing I hate about winter is the sand and salt mess - I don't mind the snow or cold one bit. I love heavy clothes and nesting! Summer - once it stays hot, forget it. Not for me!! LOL

Well I am going back downstairs where it is a full 20 degrees cooler! Tomorrow - back tro seasonal and then by the time it is hot again, it will be time to put the a/c units in the windows. Thankfully, this rarely happens this early!

I hope you have prefect spring weather for your trip north. What a special occasion that will be! Looking forward to pictures of the graduate!

hugs, Linda

Simply Shelley said...

Hi Martha,I love your bedroom...it is decorated so sweetly.......your home itself is beautiful...inside and out.......

Blessings,Shelley

Carole said...

Hi Martha. First I want to thank you for your visit to my blog. I appreciate your taking the time to do that, ESPECIALLY when I read how busy you have been. You are doing a wonderful job decorating, and I have to say, anyone that loves stone fruit is a friend of mine! It's one of my obsessions, as you might already know.
Happy day
Carole