Monday, June 18, 2018

Early Summer at Home


Hello,

A few things going on around here: 

I decided to change the color of this metal tray...


...to berry pink. 


It was an intense color, so I am not sure I like it.


This tea set goes with it quite well.  
Using spray paint, I can change it back at a whim.




Like many of you in the country areas with nature all around, my laundry is flying carefree on the line. These cotton towels are from Walmart.

I know there are people who don't approve of my shopping there, but if you will look at YouTube videos by people who visit from Europe and the UK and other places, you will see how they react to their first visit to Walmart.  It is interesting to see it from someone else's perspective, when we are so used to having the convenience.

At my recent visit to Walmart, there were quite a few of what I would call elderly employees and they couldn't do enough for the customers. One person asked me what I was looking for and took me clear across the store to find it, then asked me what else I needed and took me to another place, and soon my list was filled, as this person scouted out everything I needed. They weren't able to cut fabric, so they called someone.  That was such an interesting benefit. I don't think that has ever happened before. The men there were especially enjoying themselves while at work, as they visited with the customers at the same time.

When you go shopping in some of the grocery stores in the evenings, you will find them 
 less crowded and the staff more relaxed, as they joke with one another and with the customers. When the managers are not there, they use the intercom to wish customers a happy evening or fire each other.

These people must have a lot of time on their hands or they are just enjoying the interaction with the customers. A lot of other people are talking about this, too. One lady told me if I needed anything else to call her and gave me her in store cell number!   Now if we can only get some of the local politicians to behave the same way.  


Now that you have seen my laundry, I will show you the flower beds. The vegetable garden is growing like it has been hit with some kind of super stuff, but all it has had is rain, rain, rain. I don't have a picture of it right now, but I have enjoyed going "out" to lunch there. This year I planted arugula, and have really enjoyed eating it. It is also good roasted in olive oil.





I got this folding table and chair set for the trunk (boot) of the car for when we go on road trips and stop for tea. It all folds up so nice and flat and is lightweight plastic. It comes in sage green and dusty rose and is in a catalog called Blair.

The house on the land next to us is for sale and I got a good picture of it. Isn't it cute?  I hope to meet the neighbors next week and am getting a gift basket ready to set on their porch.

Two ladies called this morning and asked to come to tea!  I gladly put aside my ambitious list of things to do (paint the bathroom, sew 5 dresses, clean out the kitchen shelves and drawers, get the bedroom clean enough to have a path to the bed ---that's a joke, you trolls---) and quickly made some hot scones and jam!  

They brought some goodies, too:


More scenes of the garden:



Some pink things on the mantel for the ladies tea:

I like changing this scene or 'scape" for the seasons. The next scene will be sea shells.

Tourist season is just in its beginnings and I am always amused at the things even my own guests from other countries say. They like the clean restrooms,the free water in restaurants and the free refills in the fast food places.  They almost always comment on the clean streets and sidewalks, although I am sure it is not always the same in every part of the country.  

If I were a tourist, neither the friendly service nor the scenery would be the main attraction. To my mind, it is the experience of taking a road trip with Mr. S. who sounds like a tour guide. On your left you see where my brother and I played, and ate dirt. On the right is where we saw a bear coming out of the woods (in 1950). Up ahead is a restaurant we have not yet been to. Etc.  You would think I wouldn't be surprised in the least at his wry humor, after knowing him for so long, but he always catches me off guard with some of the things he says. Being a tourist with Mr. S. has to be the highlight of any trip. He puts a special accent on everything. 

Road trips are a fascination with some of our visitors. We might be a bit bored with our scenery but they are not.  Mr. S. and I have a one-day only road trip planned, were we can be home at night, and I'm really looking forward to it.

The biggest thing our tourist guests  comment on is the flag. "You are never in doubt where you are," they say, "because everyone has the  flag in their front yard or on their house." No matter what the political affiliation or the political beliefs, everyone has the same flag.  And, by the way, Americans don't like people asking who they voted for. It is private, and they don't want to argue with anyone. For the most part, Americans, as my foreign guests tell me, aren't very critical and can't argue very well anyway, so there is no use starting any kind of a disagreement. It wouldn't be very exciting. We would just start talking about the price of potatoes or corn or something instead, or I  would say, "Did you know there is a new WalMart, a new Hobby Lobby and a new Home Goods in the town next to us?" 

Or, like Fanny, in Jane Austen's "Emma", we would simply say "Tea!" when the conversation gets too personal or too critical.

In closing, I want to share about my good looking Canadian cousins I had the privilege of having breakfast with the other day when they drove down from Canada for a visit to the coast. We love and admire them so much. They are a brother and sister, the children of my mother's sister.  They are just so good looking. Did I already say that? It needs to be said twice.  It felt good to connect with them, and they invited us to come visit them, for ...was it Thanksgiving or Christmas?  I think I will try the Canadian Thanksgiving.

The vegetable garden. Mr. S. built it up on a raised bed for me, so I could stand upright while taking care of it. If I get down on the ground, I might not be able to get back up without help, and it might be a long time before help arrives, since Mr. S. is always on the go.

The dinasaur Mr. S. dug up is still there sitting on a board.

The season is late for us here, so the climbing plants are not climbing yet, but I'm looking forward to peas and cucumbers.

Our first salad: lettuce, arugula, radish, onion.


  That is all for now.













20 comments:

Dawn said...

Your home and yard look so cheery and peaceful. Your guests must find it a lovely place to visit.

Christine said...

Lydia, Your garden is looking lovely, as is your early summer decor’. In Scotland, we started the summer with promise, as sunshine and higher temperatures had everyone thinking “we are actually going to get a summer!”. Sadly, our enthusiasm was short lived, as the weather has predictably taken a turn.

After severe high winds and rain over the weekend, fortunately the only casualty in our garden was a large, lovely plant of Tom Thumbs I’d grown from seed and it’s ceramic pot, although the leaves on my other plants took a bit of a beating too.

We can’t get our washing out on the line at the moment, but look for breaks in the weather, when even a wee hour in the breeze can work wonders for the drying time. I think we spend most of the summer staring at the sky and looking for fast moving rain clouds :-)

Keep the photos coming.. and thank you for sharing.

Blessings,
Christine

Unknown said...

What a fun, chatty post! I do enjoy your encouraging and instructive posts very much too, but this one just had a real "getting to know you" feel about it �� I love how you use your home to for ministry and I would love to go on tour with you, with Mr. S as the guide~~what fun!
Enjoy your day!

Christine said...

Oh, I like the intense, berry color you picked out.
So happy!
We have a Walmart. Yesterday. I had a young man , stop what he was doing and escort me to the product I was looking for! I can say that about ANY OTHER store! You can’t find help anywhere, except to check out.
I laughed at your comment about a path in your bedroom (Trolls... Uck!)
Laundry on the clothes line is always so fun!

Lynn said...

About the hot pink paint you used on the tray....can you go with a pale version or just a pale pink?

magnoliasntea said...

Delightful post!
I especially enjoyed:
"get the bedroom clean enough to have a path to the bed ---that's a joke, you trolls"
Laughter is truly a medicine.
Have a lovely day!

Lydia said...

I am always "edified" for lack of a better word, when a walmWal employee escorts us to the car to help us unload anything large or heavy. They always have something witty to say.

In my little town, a mechanic came in to Dollar Tree to find me when the car repair was finished! I was supposed to go over there in an hour but he got finished early. It's a family owned business so the employees are family members and they do what they want and enjoy their work and have fun talking to the customers all day.

Lydia said...

Christine in Scotland, I've been watching YouTube videos about the weather in Scotland and how some Scots deal with it. It is like that in Alaska and the northwest. Sometimes you blink and summer is over.

Lydia said...

Diane, one of my visitors at tea was a former employee of Walmart for 17 years. She explained that in each store the employees get a share in Walmart stock and they work as though they owned the department where they serve. She said they all cooperate together to give themselves and their department and the local store a good reputation. I think every politician should wotw at Walmart and learn how to serve the country better. 😊

Lydia said...

Maybe I will keep the berry color and get another tray in white.

Emmarinda said...

I think I will appeal to my Mr.for a raised flower bed like that.

Outdoors said...

My mother likes to change her decoration with seasons, too. She has the same glasswear in several colours: yellow for easter, red for christmas, bright for winter, green for summer.

Could you explain this Walmart -thing to an europain lass? It is a huge chain of big grocery stores, right? And you can get almost anything in those stores with reasonable price? And for some reason people find other people going to Walmart amusing?

Lydia said...

Just go to YouTube and type in "my first visit to Walmart" or something like that

Donna Johnson said...

Just so comforting, love your place.

amulbunny's random thoughts said...

I like the berry pink, it is certainly pink! Your garden looks good, mine is non existent this year. Next spring I'll be more with it and have the spouse make me an elevated one. That won't dissuade the critters much but we can try.
I have a path to the bed. I need about 20 sq feet more closet.
Got a nice dress today, it's a scoop neck and sleeveless and looks like the colors on an Arizona Green Tea label. Really lovely. Now that it's getting a bit warmer I'll wear it.

Lydia said...

Ann, he can use boards and bricks and rocks to make the raised bed. The trellises are parts of a broken nursery crib.

Betsy said...

Mrs Sherman I found you through your videos on YouTube so I came here to your blog to tell you i just love your videos. You have really helped me feel more empowered in my role at home. I have suffered with some periods of severe depression over the past two years and I now know it was because I was not putting enough value in the work I do at home. I now do my housework/homeschool with more contentment and engage my children in more memory making activities. I wish you had a podcast cause I love to listen to your videos when I clean!

Lydia said...

I don't have podcasts but you can use my videos the same way I think on continuous play if you can figure it out. I think you just click on my name under the video and then go to the videos

Unknown said...

I always enjoy reading your letters to us. I shop at Wal-Mart once a week for my groceries. A lady has to shop at places that are close to her home or where prices are affordable. I liked seeing pictures of your home. Our homes should be very special to us.I liked the color you chose for that tray. You chose a color from your heart. A lady never can go wrong when she chooses from her heart. Blessings

Anonymous said...

I love the little splashes of color!