Spring Has Sprung Here in NC!!

Hi Everyone!  Well the film of green pollen has arrived and that means Spring is here.  What a mess on my black car.  I put the car in the garage when I'm home but it is out in the open at work.  Today I thought they clean off the parking lot with a blower and it was dust on my car but then I saw that light green color and new immediately it was pollen.  Some of the leaves on the trees are out already here and some of my plants are just popping up out of the ground!

My flowers are really starting to wake up and the camellia I planted back in the beginning of February is blooming!!

Lady Banks rose has a ton of new shoots and leaves coming along nicely.

My new camellia blooming nicely.

Wild purple violets are blooming all throught my lawn.  I love these little flowers.

 I have noticed that the sunrises and sunsets have been beautiful also lately.

This beautiful sunrise/clouds just were so beautiful.

This sunset the other day was so pink and then turned a bright orange.  So much fun to watch it move from one color to another so quickly.

I am so glad and happy to say I am finally done painting all the walls in the main part of the house and the 3 small halls to the bedrooms and the garage!  Everything was painted with the SW color of Sea Salt.  I had the Benjamin Moore store mix it for me, I just like their paint better.  

This was the very last area, the dining area that I painted.

This is the short hall to the laundry closet on the left, the coat closet straight ahead and to the right the door to the garage.

This is the short hall to the 2 guest rooms (1 is my craft/office room).

Last but not least is Mr. Riley!  We spent a lovely part of the afternoon on my patio enjoying the sun and soaking up some much needed Vitamin D.  The sky was definitely Carolina Blue, it was 84 degrees, no wind or breeze and just lovely!

I hope that Spring has sprung in your neck of the woods too or is atleast thinking about it.  Enjoy!!

Until next time!

Sherri

Welcome March-One Step Closer to Spring!!

 Well March is now here and we are one step closer to Spring!!  I can feel and smell it in the air when I go outside.  Riley was really jumping around the yard wanting to chase all the robins that have been in our yard lately.  I love hearing the birds singing again, the dandelions coming out (they feed the bees, so I leave them alone), I even saw a violet blooming in the yard yesterday.  

I had to go to the post office yesterday to mail a watercolor painting I did for a client and the gazebo in the center of town looked so nice.  The skies were blue, the sun was out and the camellias that were blooming there were so pretty!  Here are some photos of that:

Maple buds getting ready to burst out with leaves!

This camellia bush was just loaded with flowers and buds.  So pretty!

I love that this gazebo is in the center of town.  

I have been keeping myself busy with work, painting the kitchen and knitting.  I even got the energy to clean up my crafting table!  It needed it so badly for the last few months.  Now I might actually be able to work there-LOL!!  I am painting the kitchen the same color as the living room-SW Sea Salt (I had Benjamin Moore mix it though, I just like their paint better).  I will be painting the dining area the same color.  All 3 rooms just are open into each other.  After I get the actual rooms done, I will paint the 3 entryways to bedrooms and the garage.  I am so glad I painted the rooms this color.  It makes it so much more homey and inviting.  

I did a little more decorating on the kitchen island.  I bought these faux tulips from Amazon and put them in a blue Atlas canning jar.  They look and feel so real.  I already had the bunny.  I love this time of year!

I painted a red headed woodpecker for a high school friend of mine in GA.  She hired me to paint another one for her sister who lives in NJ.  I painted, sprayed it with UV protectant and mailed it to her yesterday.  I hope she loves it as much as my high school friend!

Can't forget to give a garden updated even though not much is going on out there.  The roses are starting to get leaves on them.  The Lady Banks rose bush on the trellis by my front porch has green leaves coming out already!  It should be beautiful this year.  I see some daylilies starting to send up leaves too.  The Helebore (Lenten Rose) that had one bud and flower on it is nowing blooming really nicely.  So good to see the garden waking back up!

Well that's all I have for now.  So remember even though Winter is still here, get outside and look at your gardens and see Springtime wonders!

Sherri

February Will Be Leaving Us in a few Days!

 Well February is on it's way out and March will be coming in.  I wonder if it will come in like a Lion or a Lamb as the old saying goes!  

Things have been really busy, working alot.  I only seem to be able to get on here once a month.  I hope that with my decrease in days at work (I asked for only 3 days a week and still have the weekends off) that I will have more time to do things I like to do.  I do like work, but it is alot sometimes.  I did get to do 4 days of arrangement making for the floral department for Valentine's Day!!  Here are some of the arrangements I made:

They were all alot of fun to make and every one of them sold!

Josh, the Floral Manager told us (there were 4 of us helping out for Valentine's Day in different roles) that we could take anything in the Floral Department for a thank you from him for all our hard work.  He had one of the one most beautiful roses and I asked if I could have them.  It was 1 1/2 doz of these roses and I was able to make 3 arrangements out of them when I got home.  Here they are:

There was a beautiful sunrise one of the mornings in early February that I would love to paint (watercolor) sometime.

Just absolutely gorgeous the colors were!!

My double amaryllis opened and it was beautiful!  There were 2 stalks and so many buds on them.  They opened and died and then it sent a 2' stalk out and it is getting ready to open again.  Just beautiful!  I got it from Longwood Gardens.

My ruffled pansies are still going strong outside in a planter on the front porch.  I always have regular pansies but I've never seen the ruffled ones.  I got these at Pike's Nursery.  So beautiful.

The camellia I bought when I bought the pansies is still blooming and there are many, many buds on it to bloom as soon as it gets a little warmer, which is this week.  Wednesday it is supposed to be 70!!

This is my Helebore (Lenten Rose) blooming in my garden.  I used to have Helebore in Mint Hill when I lived there.  I always love them because they are one of the earliest flowers to bloom.  This one hasn't let me down!

This is a rose I bought at work and made an arrangement from the dozen.  I just love the coloring!!

I bought some things for Easter for the house at work and I also set all my bunnies out.  I don't decorate for St. Patrick's Day, so Easter is the next holiday.  I love my dining room table arrangement!

This is my Easter decorating on my Dining Room table.  I bought a new Linen look table runner at Hobby Lobby also.

I bought this cute pink gingham mug.  Like I really needed another mug!  I just couldn't pass it up for the pre-Easter and Easter season.  I bought this and a cute little pink plate with a bunny on it at work.

I also bought at Hobby Lobby a picture for the wall between the living room and kitchen (I have an open concept home).  I loved it the moment I saw it.  I love the trees and in the distance there are sheep.  We used to raise sheep on our farm in NJ.  It just spoke to me to buy it LOL!!

Well thanks for coming on this journey with me!  I have been knitting some and I have a watercolor commissioned piece to paint.  I am also planning on where I'm going to put the 3 roses I ordered and some other plants.  There will be a change in the garden behind my house.  It will be much better for roses (the full sun) than veggies.  I ordered a raised bed with legs for some veggies, which I will put back by the tree that hangs over my property.  In the future I would like to have about 4 raised beds with legs back there.  Kind of a veggie haven and some herbs.  I would also like to plant a tree or two back there.  The sun sometimes is so intense, just a little too much!

I am still painting my rooms in the main part of the house.  I was working so much and exhausted I stopped after I painted the living room.  I definitely will be working on the kitchen soon.  Then maybe my bedroom and master bath.  Eventually I would like to have the whole house painted.  I can only do a little at a time though due to time and this body isn't as young as it used to be LOL!!

Well everyone have a wonderful month and hopefully I'll get on here more and you can see what I've been up to!

Sherri

I Can't Believe It Is January and that is almost over!!

Well here we are at the end of January already! Alot of things have been going on and I never got here.  Well better late than never I guess!

I got a promotion at work.  I am now a Clerk at Customer Service at Harris Teeter instead of a cashier.  I love my new job and I'm still learning it.  I started with Harris Teeter in September and I have great managers and co-workers!

My friend, Angie was just here from Minnesota for a visit.  It was like a heat wave for her!  We had such a wonderful time talking, visiting, antiquing, shopping, eating wonderful food, etc. She also had a birthday yesterday (the 27th) so we had a special dinner at Chef Santos in Salisbury.   I took her to the airport this morning and boy do I miss her already!  Riley really loved her.  He keeps looking for her and even was by the guest room door waiting for her to come out.  I had to open the door to show him she actually had left.  Here are a few photos of our visit:

This is Angie.

We were driving around and coming home from White Owl Antique Mall and we saw this house with the cutest conservatory.  This is in Mt. Pleasant, NC.

One of the Antique Booths at The Depot at Gibson Mills Antique Mall.

This is Lower Stone Church on the way back to my house.  I love the look of this church with all the stone!

Angie snapped a photo of me at Gibson Mills.  

Pansies at Pikes Nursery in Matthews, NC

This is the main fountain at Pike's Nursery

This cute arrangement at Pikes had this little cabbage in it along with pansies and stock.  Smelled amazing!!

I made this rose arrangement for Angie's room while she was here.

These roses are so beautiful!!

My amaryllis that I have been waiting for it to bloom, decided to bloom and it is gorgeous!  I bought it from Longfield Gardens and it is a double-just gorgeous!!

I made 2 new wreaths for the winter/spring months for my church.  They turned out nicely.

I started painting the walls in the living room-SW Sea Salt but mixed at a Benjamin Moore store.  I like Ben Moore paint better.  I love how it turned out.  I will continue the same color through the kitchen and eating area.

So as you can see I had alot going on in January!  February looks pretty busy too, but I am going to try and get on here more often.  I love blogging-it gives me so much joy!

I hope you have a wonderful last few days of January!  See you in February.

Sherri

These are the books I read for 2024

 Books I have Read for 2024

1. The Whittiers by Danielle Steel

2. Missing You by Harlan Coben

3. The Wind Chime by Alexandra Walsh.

4. The Women by Kristin Hannah

5. The Beach House on Amelia Island by Hope Holloway

6. The Woman on the Ledge by Rita Mancini

7. Murder in the Tea Leaves by Laura Child.

8. The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin

9. Never Lie by Freida McFadden

10. My Husband's Wife by Jane Corry

11. The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden

12. The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane

13. Go as a River by Shelley Read

14. Hemlock by Kiersten Modglin

15. Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner

16. Hot Rocks by Nora Roberts

17. The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances

18. Summers at The Saint by Mary Kay Andrews

19. The Perfect Husband by Danielle Ramsey

20. The Perfect Affair by Angela Henry

21. Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake by Sarah Graves

22. The Arrivals by Meg Mitchell Moore

23. I Said Yes by Kiersten Modglin

24. The Mother in Law by Kiersten Modglin

25. The Good Neighbors by Kiersten Modglin

26. Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand

27. The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church

28. The Dinner Guests by Kiersten Modglin

29. Without a Trace by Danielle Steel

30. Skyward by Mary Alice Monroe

31. The Wisdom of Winter by Ann Seyler

32. Becoming Mrs. Abbott by Kiersten Modglin

33. The Manor House by Gilly Macmillan

34. First Lies Win by Ashley Elston

35. All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

36. Lessons at the School by the Sea by Jenny Colgan

37. How to Destroy Your Husband by Jess Kitching.

38. The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine.

39. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

40. The Summer House by Lauren K. Denton

41. An American Beauty by Shana Abe

42. The Senator's Wife by Liv Constantine

43. A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales

44. A Slow Burning by Paula Hawkings

44. Of Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings

45. The Sweet Taste of Muscadines by Pamela Terry

46. The Sisters Next Door by L. H. Stacey

47. Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory.

48. The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes

49. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

50.. Death by Chocolate Marshmallow Pie by Sarah Graves

51. Monticello by Sally Cabot Gunning

52. Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

53. Home for the Holidays by Sara Richardson

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Hi Everyone!  I know I missed the whole month of November and now the month of December is almost over.  I have worked so many hours in November and December, it really left no time to enjoy chatting with all of you.  I have cut my hours down, so now I will have more time to chat on here.

November was a good month.  Thanksgiving I had to work at the store from 9-2.  I came home and ate a full Thanksgiving dinner that I prepared the day before.  I was able to go back home to NJ to visit my Mom, sister, Sue and her family for a few days.  I left the Saturday after Thanksgiving and came home on Wednesday afternoon.  I had fun with my family members and it was so good to see them because I hadn't been home all year!

My sister's house all decorated with wreaths and trees on either side of the door.  Chuck, my brother-in-law put them on a timer and they all come on at the same time each day.

My sister's Christmas tree, so pretty at night. I love the reflection in the window!

 December's work schedule was very hectic and alot of hours also.  I did manage to get the house all decorated.   I enjoyed decorating this house for the first time!  Last year I closed on the house 12/18, moved in on 12/20 and left for NJ for Christmas on 12/22.  I also bought a new chandelier for over my Dining Room Table and I love the new one so much more.  It is more me!  Here are some photos of what I've done:

Cupboard all decorated in my Dining Area.

My dining room table all decorated.

I have a small drop leaf table in my Dining area/Kitchen area and I put this little manger scene I found and the ironstone pitcher that was my Mom's all filled up with greenery and little bell fairy lights.

This is my little Christmas Tree upclose.

My view out the living room window.  I took down the blinds and put up velvet medium gray curtains.  I love how it lets more light in.

I am forcing some Paperwhites too.  They are doing so well!  They will bloom soon and the whole house will smell so good!  I'm using a trifle bowl to put them in.  It is working out well because the height of the bowl is keeping them standing up straight.

This is my front door all decorated.  I love my Moravian Star that I put up this year.  John and I always had a really large one we would put up.  I thought this smaller one would look better on this house.

This is my new dining room fixture.  I decorated it with greenery and small deep red velvet bows on each candle.

I have a long dough board on the ledge of the pumpkin pine cupboard, which I decorated with greenery, red berries and these 2 lovely votive candles I have had for years.  I used the waxed flameless votive candles.  I love them!

I made wreaths for the front door of our church.  I love the way they turned out!

Rockwell (where I live) has a beautiful gazebo and they put a Christmas tree in it this time of year and put up some lighted roping around the top.  It is so beautiful at night.  Just love it!

I was asked at work to help out with flower arrangements for Valentine's Day.  They had me make an arrangement to see what style I had.  This is one of the bouquets I made with peach colored spray roses.  They were very happy with it!

This is a knitting project bag I bought from heidiandlana.com.  I love it and it is perfect for this time of year.  The fabric looks very vintage!  The little gingerbread cottage place marker is so cute too that I bought!  I'm making (and I better hurry up) two dishcloths.  One has an evergreen on it and the other has a candy cane.  They go quickly so I hope to have them by tomorrow night!

Well I better get a move on, the dog isn't going to wash himself!!  I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and I want to thank all of you who stop by.  I know I don't post as much as I used to but hopefully 2025 that will change!  

Love and Hugs,

Sherri