Two of my favorite things: the French match striker and the weathered blue table. Contrasts in texture always tempt me to pull out the camera.

I decided not to go to the Country Living Fair. I’ve been there several times in the past. I don’t want to spend any money right now and the less temptation of that sort, the better. The parking area, which is on a field, will be completely muddy. I’ve been there when it’s muddy and it’s no fun slogging through it. If I had some money to burn, I might have gone.

But here is the primary reason: we’ve had nothing but rain and thunderstorms for the past few days and we’re getting them again on Saturday and Sunday. Don and I both hit the wall yesterday – we were pretty glum all day long. Normally, we can pull out a positive spin on the endless rain and gray skies and wind and flooding in our area, but we just couldn’t get there yesterday. And we’re not special – everyone is having a hard time.

Today it will be sunny and 78 degrees. I am going to stay right here and enjoy my property and my porch and I’m going to do my best to revel in it. I don’t want to go somewhere else. I want to be here, at home.

If you’re curious about the Fair, you can search the blog for past posts about it. I’m sure there are some new vendors, but most of the vendors remain the same from year to year. And it’s lovely, really. They do a great job. Anyway, the search option is on the side bar. Just type in Country Living Fair and you should be get an idea of what it’s like. I’m so glad they have good weather for the start of the Fair!

Just finished Merry Hall  this morning. Next up is Laughter on the Stairs, the second book in the Merry Hall  trilogy.

My heart goes out to those areas that have been devastated by tornadoes, ravaged by flood waters. My prayers are with you.

Happy Friday.

Hello, my friends.

I hope you’re enjoying this holiday weekend. We are – the weather today is lovely, lots of sun, temps will be in the low eighties – a perfect day. Though, as we installed our downstairs window A/C unit about 30 minutes ago, I detected some humidity in the air.

But, it’s not raining. It’s sunny. The gardens are looking lush. I’m going to install myself on the porch for as long as possible. Don is off taking portraits.

The sofa cushions, by the way, are much more comfortable today. They just need some ‘sitting on’ to break them in, which we’ve been happy to do.

I’m going to take the day off tomorrow. I think most of you are enjoying your downtime and aren’t necessarily online. Good for you! So let’s all take a break and I’ll see you on Tuesday morning.

Remembering our soldiers who have lost their lives in battle.

A sacrifice beyond imagining.

Happy Sunday.

Well, I felt like my back was getting better yesterday afternoon, but today is not so good. So far. I’ve had to cancel my oil change twice now. The only chair which seems to have enough support for me is my blogging chair, so there I sit. I made the mistake of sitting next to Don on our many-years-old sofa in the den last night and I’m paying for it. Its saggy cushions don’t offer enough support.

And it rained all day long yesterday. It’s going to start raining again around noon today and will rain the rest of the day.

The area behind the kitchen is like a small pond. The ground can only absorb so much water and we have had more rain here than I can ever remember us having. Maybe three days of full sun this entire spring? The rest have been a mass of gray skies and rain. It’s also colder than normal – last night’s low was 39 degrees.

Don and I want to scream, but we’ve refrained so far.

I’ve got nothing else to share but this photo of our door knocker. I quite love it. We’ve had it for years. But you’ll notice it isn’t on the door; rather, it’s on one of the porch posts.

And I don’t know if anyone has ever used it.

We don’t have a working doorbell either.

We hear the sound of a car coming up the driveway and that’s our doorbell.

But I do like the look of the leafy door knocker on the post. It looks welcoming – someone could  use it if they wanted to. In fact, I used it the other day, simply to hear the sound of it again.

The agenda for today? Sitting, with occasional standing and walking. Ibuprofen. Reading. Sleeping.

Rest in Peace, Doris Day. I simply loved her, not only for her legacy as a singer and an actress – Pillow Talk remains one of my favorite movies – but also for her love of animals and the foundation she established for them.

Happy Monday.