This stuff really works!

Fact: cleaning a shower is a necessary evil. The stuff that gets sluiced off bodies somehow finds its way into the hardest to clean corners and who wants to spend a lot of time digging it out? I came across this recipe some time ago and recently tried it and I'm impressed!

The 1/2 cup of soap and vinegar combination is thick so the second time I added a cup of water to it and it cleans just as well. Simply spray on after a shower, let it on until the next one and scrub down. It does have a strong vinegar smell but is tolerable. And...it cleans water drops off of shower doors and leaves them sparkly! That in itself is newsworthy blog-worthy and is so, so effortless which I love.

Just thought you all wanted to know this! :)

~ Esther 

Our newly paved driveway.

Let me say that again...OUR NEWLY-PAVED DRIVEWAY! Paving wasn't a ten on the to-do list because it is an expense and a luxury. But...take a hill, loose stones and two summers of dumping rains, it moved up to the top of the list.

The first time I used it, I got stuck. It was like sinking in six inches of snow stone; needless to say, the first time using it was the last time. Heavy rains washed away the stones and created miniature canyons in it.



It's been in a for a month now and is such a treat! I can now drive down to my creative place and it makes walking the drive easier and safer for me.

 

~ Esther

Autumn round-up...
Is my memory so poor I forget how beautiful autumn is or is it extra beautiful this year? It's almost painfully so with no word description available!



Both of these two pictures are unfiltered and we are surrounded by gold for a few weeks. 

 Ohhh...I love lavender! It's beautiful year round and adds to outdoor winter interest.

 My garden tea is still growing madly. Drinking cold tea doesn't taste quite the same in November...

This lovely clematis is in its second-cutting bloom and it's still quite lovely. Brick and stone...be still, my heart! 

Autumn on my kitchen window ledge.

 

~ Esther

They're back.

 

The wind chimes are hanging again. 

 

These were a birthday gift from my honey some six or so years ago. When we lived at Fleur Cottage, we had lots of strong winter winds and it took its toll on the chimes.

 

Several weeks ago a local friend invited me to their annual  friends & family pig roast. To help pay for the expenses, there were drawings for donated items. I won a wind chime and discovered my friend made it. He repaired mine, including painting it. Though I preferred it in the original color, it does hang nicely here and I'm delighted to have it back up again! 

 

 

~ Esther

L.C. Smith & Bros

I found this typewriter at GW some years ago. Initially, I bought it for the key buttons, thinking I'd take them off for a craft project. Crazy idea! It was filthy...maybe that was the cause of the crazy idea. 



Because I wanted to get it in working order, it sat in the car trunk for two years waiting to be dropped off at a repair shop. Never happened! Several weeks ago, I cleaned it up and now it sits on my newly painted desk. Exactly where it belongs!

~ Esther

Two Years and a Blue Hydrangea

I love July! The heat, the barefoot days, the beauty and smell of flowers, outdoor picnics, campfires...I love it all! July is also the month my honey went Home to be with Jesus and it will be two years on the 16th. The memory of those last six weeks we had together was hard but is especially sweet and close to my heart.

 

In those last weeks when visits were limited, a friend dropped off the loveliest bouquet of brilliant blue hydrangeas and a signed note assuring us of her prayers for us at the front door. I did not recognize the name, though later via fb we connected.

 

I love hydrangeas and in years past I had planted a variety of them but seldom made bouquets for inside the house because they wilted so quickly. But these brilliant blue hydrangeas kept their beauty a few days short of three weeks...I was amazed!

 

When the first one started wilting I stuck it in the ground to start a shrub, hoping it would be a blue one. In the mean time, after connecting via fb she offered me a good-sized start from her shrub. I planted it right outside my bedroom window here at Apartment 12 in memory of my honey. It struggled a bit last summer but this summer it looks amazing! And it's blue! And no, I didn't give it anything to make it blue...it just is! The one I started from the bouquet? It's pink! So my blue hydrangea is extra special, not only as a reminder of the last weeks with my honey but also a reminder that a friend cared enough to share the beauty of her hydrangea with us. 

 

I'm know there's a scientific explanation for the difference but I choose to believe my blue hydrangea is a gift from God!

 

~ Esther     

What's Happening at Apartment 12?

 

Today is an amazingly beautiful day after the week end rains. I'm sitting outside in my porch enjoying the sunshine and breezes and waiting for a paint project to dry. Outside of my own gardens, the goals of the Petershiem's are slowly happening. One of them was a proper fence for the goats and chickens.

 

The goats ate my first crop of lettuce and enjoyed my porch way too much. The chickens scratched and scratched my mulch looking for bugs. It was kind of cute but extremely annoying! Now they live in harmony (mostly) behind this fence.



I planted moss flowers last summer knowing they would re-seed this summer. I transplanted them throughout my garden and by next summer there will be many more everywhere.

The hot peppers look lovely and I've had baked poppers this week. I'm hoping to process some by the time summer is over.

 I've got blue hydrangeas! Love, love!!

Mecks Market opened last week several miles from here. It's exciting to see this store carry fresh organic food and meats and I shall be a regular customer!



We went shopping last week. Ty 'needed' socks and loves anything soft ball, hence his choice of new socks. He calls me Gammie. Melts my heart.



Until next time!

 

 

~ Esther