I am a Victorian Soul, who lives in a small townhouse that was built in the mid 1970's, not a huge Mega Mansion!! I just recently lost my Hubby Joe, who was a Retired Letter Carrier. I worked night shift as an RN on a Hospital based Rehabilitation( Physical Medicine) Unit for 37 years before I had Knee Replacement Surgery and officially Retired in 2019 after 41 years working in Direct Patient Care ... I am so glad that we retired at 62 years of age and got to spend that time together before he passed....I still do love Retirement!!!!

I DABBLE IN A BIT OF THIS AND THAT!!!!

" IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO BE WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN"
George Eliot
George Eliot was actually a pen name for a woman named Mary Anne Evans......

BLOGGING FOR FUN AND FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!

Saturday, June 20, 2020

A Bit of This and That in my Own Bed and Breakfast!!!

Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!
I am so happy you decided to stop by!!

 This post is going to be a bit of this and that......

But first, I want to Thank, Kristen, over at White Arrows Home, for choosing my post, Word of the Month for June, ENJOY,  as your feature for this week's Charming Home and Gardens Link Party!!
Thanks so much, Kristen!!

Please stop by and link up to this lovely party!!!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there.......

For the past 33 years, there is not one single day that goes by that I do not think of and miss my Dad....
He is with me always as I carry him in my heart.....

We will be celebrating Father's Day, at home, ordering pizza, with our Sons and Daughter-in-law like we do every year....

And for Father's Day, Joe has a new look!!!

He was in very bad need of a hair cut since the last time he got one was in February!!!

He, supposedly, was trimming" his own hair since he would not let me or anyone else touch his luscious locks as our son, Joey, calls his Father's hair.....
Our sons did not inherit their Father's head of hair, needless to say!!

Since our County opened up into the Green Phase on Friday, Joe broke down, giving up his dream to return to his glory days of having hair down to his shoulders and went and got a hair cut!!!!
Since J.C. Penney's Styling Salon, where we have gone to the same stylist for over 20 years, shows no signs of reopening, he went to Sports Clips which is literally located at the top of the hill to come into our development!!!

He even got a new updated style!!!!!!
Much to our son's chagrin, he has enough hair to comb it back and to the side!!
  And not even a bald spot in back!!
  Okay, his head is now twice as big as it already was!!!
 Geez!!!!!

I saw this meme on face book and I just had to share it because I totally disagree with it!!
I DID get the answer RIGHT!!!!!

5 years ago, if I was asked Where do I see myself 5 years from now?

My answer, hands down, was always RETIRED!!!!!

And that I am so I DID get it RIGHT!!!

For the last year and a half now, I have been thoroughly enjoying myself and loving being home!!!

Now I know people find it hard to believe how I have been able to get through the last few months with not much changing in my life.....

I, unknowingly, started preparing for this about 20 years ago.....

When I started to have major health issues, it became quite clear to me that my days of traveling were over and it was not going to be something that I  would be able to do when I FINALLY got to retire.

So I started to create my own little vacation spot in my own home.....

I created my very own little Victorian Bed and Breakfast, the kind that I would love to stay at, in my 1970's built townhouse...

A Bed and Breakfast with a nice front porch with a view to sit and maybe watch amazing sunsets......
 I took these pics last night....
 And look at pretty flowers......

These are ground sedum that I planted in the front yard that are now blooming with yellow flowers.....
 The Bed and Breakfast that I would stay at would have a pretty Cottage Garden and a nice Private patio where one could sit and  relax and put one's feet up......
This is the chair I get to sit in every morning with my cup of coffee and my feet up!!
 The trees behind us create a wonderful privacy screen from the row of 10 townhouses directly in back of us along with the privacy lattice that I attached to our chain link fence....
The Cottage Garden would be filled with whimsical Garden pieces......
 After looking through my collection of Garden magazines, I was inspired to copy something I saw.....
I already had the shovel on the far left in place against the fence because it actually helps hold the lattice up......

I went through our shed in the back of the yard and pulled out another shovel that I am sure I will never use again as I think my digging days are long gone!!
I used paint from my stash and simply wrote on them......
They do make me smile!!
This spade has been used to help hold the lattice in place for many years now so I decided to brighten it up too......
Just the right bit of whimsy!!

I also wanted to freshen up this watering can that I have hanging over my new wheel barrow filled with gerber daisies.....
So once again, I found some paints in my stash and painted it in pastel colors of yellow, purple and green.......
I left the handle and spout that original green color......
I thought it looked a bit bare so I went through my stash of faux greenery that I bought at the estate sale of a Florist and added some to the watering can.......
Much better.......
There would be whimsical lighting in the Cottage Garden of the Bed and Breakfast.......

In a previous post, I shared how I simply placed a wire hanging basket over tear drop solar lights to create a Farmhouse style look......
This was my inspiration picture from Pinterest........
 I was thinking about this picture the other day and a light bulb went off in my brain....

Maybe it was a solar light bulb, huh?

Too Corny???

I remembered that I also had a stash of chandy crystals.......

Black ones to boot!!!!

 Now will you look at that!!!
I can not even remember what exactly I took these off of but I have had these for many years.....
And I have finally found a use for them!!!
And this is why I keep things.....
Some day, I am bound to find a purpose for them!!

The Cottage Garden in my Bed and Breakfast would have flowers blooming, both perennials and annuals......

My Missouri Primrose are now in bloom......
 I transplanted these from my MIL's yard many years ago!!
 The marigold seeds that I planted are popping up......
 I added 2 begonias to this pot as I grew impatient, waiting for the marigolds to sprout!!
 This Purple Leaf Plum Shrub that I trained to grow into a Tree was badly damaged by 2 years of infestation by Gypsy Moth Catepillars......
 The right side was good but the left side was dead......

So last August, I had Joe cut it severely back......
The one thing that my Dad always taught me that when it came to gardening, when in doubt, cut it back.........

This is how the Tree looks this Season.......
Yep!  It made a come back......
Love the colors of these leaves......

 There would be plenty of our fine feathered friends to watch while sitting out in the Patio.....

Cardinals.......
Morning Doves......
Grackles.....
And Robins.....
And even birds that aren't real but glisten when the sun hits them.....
So as you can see, I have been preparing my Bed and Breakfast for a very long time, anticipating when I would be on a Permanent Vacation!!!

This is why I have weathered this Storm pretty much unscathed....

And let me share one more gorgeous Sunset from our front porch!!!!
Life doesn't get much better than this in my book!!!

 I hope you will stop by to visit again soon!!

Stay safe, healthy and most of all, HAPPY!!

Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!

If you do not have a blog, PLEASE  give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment.  If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......


I am linking up to these parties:

SUNDAY
Snickerdoodle Sunday
Silver Pennies Sunday
Happiness is Homemade Linky Party

 MONDAY 
Inspire Me Monday
Love Your Creativity Link Party
Busy Monday
Over the Moon Linky Party
 Handmade Monday
You Are The Star Blog Hop
Metamorphosis Monday
Little Cottage Link Party
Make It Pretty Monday

TUESDAY
Inspire Me Tuesdays
Lou Lou Girl's Linky Party
 All About Home Party
Tuesdays with a Twist
 Farm Fresh Tuesdays Blog Hop
Celebrate Your Story Link Party!!
Tuesday Turn About Link Party

Ducks in a Row Wonderful Wednesdays Blog Hop
Party in Your PJ's
Waste Not Wednesday
Charming Homes and Gardens Wednesday Link Party

THURSDAY
Vintage Charm
Home and Garden Party Thursday
Share Your Style Thursday Link Up Party
 Encouraging Hearts and Home Party
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop 
Grace at Home Party

FRIDAY
 Funtastic Friday
Friday Favorites
Home Matters Linky Party
Embrace Your Style Link Party
Flaunt It Fridays

 SATURDAY
Saturday Sparks
Pink Saturday-Anything Goes!!
Best of the Weekend Party

Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!
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7 comments:

  1. Julie's Creative LifestyleJune 20, 2020 at 3:38 PM

    Hi Debbie, I LOVE Joe's new haircut! He looks so good with short hair! I enjoyed looking at the photos you took of your yard and it so bright and cheery looking. I love the pretty sunsets too. Hope you have a nice weekend. Happy Father's Day to Joe!

    ReplyDelete
  2. BetsyJune 20, 2020 at 5:21 PM

    Joe looks like two different people. I like both styles of his hair.
    Gorgeous sunsets, hurts my eyes almost to look at them. So bright. I see you have decked out everything in your garden. I can't stay on top of the weeds here. I like keeping them cleaned out because I am scared of snakes hiding in them.
    will be back again, betsy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sandi MagleJune 23, 2020 at 1:52 PM

    Hi Debbie, I feel so sorry for those people who can't stand being home...I'm like you---we have our little heaven on earth, here also...so I'm totally content. I do miss an occasional movie, or a play we usually see 5 times a year. But, that is about it...lovely photos and attitude...wish everyone could see the world this way. Sandi

    ReplyDelete
  4. Joanne June 25, 2020 at 8:28 PM

    Those are beautiful sunsets!! You do have lots of whimsy in your garden and so many fun things to look at. Thanks for sharing with us at Encouraging Hearts and Home. Pinned.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Eclectic Red BarnJune 28, 2020 at 3:39 PM

    Debbie,
    I just love looking at all of the items in your garden. Congratulations, you are being featured on Over The Moon Linky Party. https://www.eclecticredbarn.com/2020/06/over-moon-linky-party_28.html
    Hugs,
    Bev

    ReplyDelete
  6. My thrift store addictionJune 28, 2020 at 5:03 PM

    What gorgeous sunset photos! Your garden is a happy place to be and I know you are enjoying it! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Amber Lyon FergusonJuly 1, 2020 at 10:34 PM

    I always enjoy seeing all of the fun things your put in your garden! I love the painted shovels!

    Thanks so much for sharing at TFT!

    ReplyDelete

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