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!!!!!!

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

July 4th Front Porch, Another Flower Update and Gifts!






 

 Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!

 
I am so happy you decided to stop by!!
 
Just a reminder, I will be posting on Wednesdays and Sundays every week so be sure to check back on those days to see a new post......  

Today, I will be sharing my 4th of July Front Porch and an update on my flowers out front....
 
But first, I want to  Thank Niky, over at House on Silverado, for choosing my post, By The Sea Decor On a Tray,as one of her features from last week's Sunday's on Silverado Link Party!!!
 

 Thanks so much, Niky!!!

Please stop by and link up to this charming party!!!
 
 
In my last post, I shared a Patriotic 4th of July Tablescape!!

 

 

 


 Click HERE if you missed this post....
 
 
And now for a few Personal Notes...
 

 Food of the Week
 
 On Sunday, I made boneless chicken breasts on the Georgie ( George Foreman  Grill) seasoned with Chicken Griller and Poultry Seasoning......


And served it with Knorr's Herb and Butter Rice.....

 
 Joey and I enjoy using these Dipping Sauces for the Chicken....
 
 
 
Joe does not dip anything.....


For our watered down 4th of July celebration ( Both my son Jim and our DIL Danielle have Co Vid), Joe picked up macaroni salad......



And Potato Salad ( no eggs in it) from Price Chopper....

 
Now there is not much of the potato salad left because Joe bought it on Friday and I have been eating it, so it is not a great picture but I totally LOVED this potato salad....
 
I had some potatoes left over from something I made for dinner a bit ago so I used up the potatoes and made my own potato salad.....


I got into a debate on a Food site on FB that "Home Made is always the Best"....

I disagree with that old adage as I have had some pretty terrible home made dishes made by family and friends and have greatly enjoyed some of the Ready Made or Ready to Cook Foods from local Supermarkets....
 
 As for the 2 potato salads.....

I like both equally because the one from Price Chopper is totally different from mine and has a really good taste....

Like I always say, Taste is Objective and depends on the person....


I forgot to take pictures before we ate as I was busy making up a Debbie Door Dash bag for Jim and Danielle but we had huge cheeseburgers that Joe bought already made up....


Joe's eyes are always bigger than everyone's stomachs!!

Hot Dogs made on the Griller


Corn on the cob from the Amish Farmer....

 
And ice cream cake....


So good... better than any baked goods in my opinion...
 
Jim and Danielle are recovering nicely from Co Vid with body aches, a cough and fever having been their only symptoms..... 

Thank God!

 
This week's Reheat and Eat Dinners from the WB Scranton Pens Food Service.....

Jumbo Crab Cake with Cajun Remoulade served over Jasmine Rice Pilaf & Oven Roasted Vegetables for Joe and I....
 

I have had this before and it is very good....
 
Joey passed on this week's Entree's....


Today, I want to showcase the artitstry of my FB friend Angela Leigh.....

A while back, I sent her another shipment of crafts supplies that I knew I would not be using and instead of selling them at a fraction of the cost of what I paid for them, I would rather pass them on to someone who would appreciate and use them in their crafting.....

You may remember that Angela was so kind to create for me a miniature room box replica of my Craft Room when I first gifted her 4 boxes of craft supplies last year.....
 
 

 



 Click HERE if you missed the post on this true Work of Art!!!

Along with all these other remarkable creations of hers in appreciation....


Click HERE to see that post!!


Yesterday, I received another package in the mail but as we do not go down to our mail box daily to empty it, I did not get to open it until today when Joe emptied our mail box....
 

I should have grabbed the camera and took pictures before I opened each package to show how beautifully everything was wrapped!!

Each package was enclosed in a plastic bag with stickers on it....


The stickers said "to my friend"....

Then each package was beautifully wrapped...

 
I believe this is Cynthia Hart wrapping paper!!!


Enclosed in the pink paper was this amazing embellished envelope........






Inside was this stunning hand made card....






Even her handwriting is exquisite!!!


 
I appreciate nice handwriting as a former RN, who had to write daily as part of my profession until everything went digital, my penmanship is awful as my mother always yelled at me that I did not hand a pencil or pen right.....

In the second package was this beautiful hand made envelope which has a velvet like feel to it.....





With this stunning hand crafted card inside of it!!!!





The inside of the card.....





Angela is not only a spectacular Miniaturist but a very talented Mixed Media Artist!!!

This is Angela and her husband , who recently recovered from a horrific car accident....


THANK YOU SO MUCH, my friend!!

I will treasure these spectacular gifts!!!



I pretty much decorated the front porch the same way I did for Memorial Day, minus the flags representing all branches of the Military....
 







 

If you would like to looks back on that post and also see how my flowers have grown, click HERE
 
 
Needless to say, the flowers have grown.....



Some a bit more than others.....
 
 
 
When I decided to do these pot topiaries, this was my inspiration picture which I did several years ago...


I thought that by planting a begonia in the smaller pot, it would grow taller than the marigolds as begonias grow pretty tall......

As you can see, that did not happen!!!

Ugh!!

 
Last year, Joe bought mini marigolds that did not get tall at all.....
 
And this year, I bought these monster marigolds that are so tall that the begonia has gotten lost!!!


You can barely see the red blooms in the center....

Okay, so I carefully took the begonias out and planted them in the back....

And I transplanted a coleus in the small pots instead...


Can you see it in the center....
 
 

Next to this pot, on the front porch is another pot filled with these tall marigolds.....



Bordering my next door neighbor's front porch....



I was thinking about trimming them in an attempt to get them to fill out a bit.....
 
 
 
Any ideas on this?????

 
Where I hung all my Patriotic signs and plaques is basically the same as it was for Memorial Day....




I use this Flag for the 4th of July.....
 
 

 
"God Bless America"


In the corner of the porch.....



More marigolds....


Impatiens.....




In front of the porch railing.....
 


Same marigolds planted in these 2 pots and they have grown larger than my elevated solar lights!!
 
 
 

 
The geraniums are doing fine!



Same thing happened with this pot where the begonia got buried!!


You can see the red peeping through in the center.....


I replaced it with a coleus so we will see what happens.....
 
 

The flower bed under the Living Room window.....



The impatiens here are really filling in.....








I had to switch these flower boxes as the back one with the coleus in it was growing larger as it gets more shade so I moved it to the front.......


And moved this one, that was in front,  to the back......


You can see the difference in the one that was in the shade more as coleus is a shade loving plant.....



The front flower bed at the top of the slope......
 

 
 You can see that the azaleas that we cut way back last year seem to have come back with a vengenance.....
 
I think we will have to trim them back a bit again!!
 
 
 
 These marigolds are certainly doing well in this vintage watering can!!
 
 



The park bench.....


 

 And I see that Joe has to trim the forsythia bush.....


 
I hope you enjoyed seeing the front porch decorated for the 4th of July and I will continue to keep you posted on how my flowers are growing......


 I hope you will stop by to visit again on Sunday for my next post!!!!

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:
 
 
 
 



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

  1. Linda BakerJuly 6, 2022 at 2:45 PM

    Good afternoon Debbie!
    All of your flowers are just lovely, making both the porch and yard so warm and welcoming. I'd like to sit out there for awhile and enjoy the view!
    I use to cook everything from scratch ( in my "other" life..) but no longer. A few weeks ago I bought potato salad at Aldi's and really liked it, plus Publix is quite good too but $$. When I'm in Walmart I always try to get a large container of their Amish macaroni salad. Much of the time I add things to it, like black olives, cheese or pimentos.. whatever. :)
    Your friend Angela is truly amazing! Such a blessing to share her talents with others. And what an attractive couple!
    I'm so glad Jim and Danielle are on the mend.
    Blessings, Linda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble ChristmasJuly 10, 2022 at 9:03 PM

      Linda,
      Thanks so much for your kind words!!! Too bad we did not live closer as I would love to sit and visit with you a bit on the Porch or Patio...I really do appreciate a lot of the Ready Made foods from the Super markets especially if you only want a little bit....Angela is truly a spectacular artist !! Stay safe, healthy and happy!!
      Hugs,
      Deb

      Delete
  2. Miss MerryJuly 6, 2022 at 4:47 PM

    First - OH MY - THAT CRAB CAKE !!!!!!!! What lovely cards and what a special friendship. They really are works of art and works of love, too. The older I get, the more I appreciate some prepared foods. I love my potato and macaroni salads. My recipes make 3 pounds at a time which is great for gatherings. But when it is two people here for dinner, a box of Suddenly Salad is great. Enough for supper and for hubby for lunch. I am not crazy about our grocery macaroni or potato salad, but hubby is so I just pick up a pound for him. I think your marigolds look wonderful! All your flowers do.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Judy at GoldCountryCottageJuly 6, 2022 at 5:57 PM

    Hi Debbie: Your flowers all look beautiful and your porch always looks so festive. What a dear and sweet friend to send you her beautiful creations. She is very talented. Only restaurants can do some food justice and only home cooking can be better in some respects. Like you say, it all depends on our tastes. We had a very quiet 4th but did go and sit in the car and watch the fireworks. They moved them a couple of years ago because of Covid but we didn't go until this year. They were just beautiful with no trees to block views and plenty of parking. I really enjoyed them..Hope you are enjoying summer so far..xxoJudy

    ReplyDelete
  4. JeanieJuly 7, 2022 at 4:23 PM

    You are the epitome of July 4! So festive and everything looks so patriotic! As you know, I laid low over the fourth weekend. I hope your son and wife are getting back to normal and you two have stayed safe.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Crowned GoatJuly 8, 2022 at 10:30 AM

    Love the way you guys celebrated the 4th Deb! It looks like such a festive event. You always put the best tablescapes and food combinations together to make it extra special. The cards Angela made are stunning. What a sweet gift! I'm so glad everyone is recovering well from the car accident and Covid. Thanks for keeping us posted on your flower garden and boxes. I'm always curious to see what works well for other people. It's crazy hot in Florida right now! Hugs, CoCo

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cindy@CountyRoad407July 8, 2022 at 12:12 PM

    Sorry to hear about the family and covid. Hope their symptoms stay mild. Looks like you had a great holiday weekend though. And thanks for sharing that BuffaRanch. I've never heard of that and I like to dip all the things (unlike Joe). LOL. Thanks for linking up on Farmhouse Friday. Hope this weekend is full of excitement.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnnJuly 9, 2022 at 12:50 PM

    What a lovely - and talented friend you have! Everything looks beautiful, Debbie and I love your little frog sitting under the table!

    ReplyDelete
  8. LindaJuly 9, 2022 at 2:19 PM

    Wishing your family with covid a speedy recovery. Gardens are looking wonderful, and such beautiful cards to receive. Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete

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