~White Wednesday at Home~

Welcome to  White Wednesday, brought to you by our lovely hostess Kathleen at www.fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com.  Kathleen loves white, as you will see when you visit her blog, and you will find a list of other participants that enjoy the “color” white… so versatile, fresh, and loves to reflect the light of sunshine in the summer, which is my favorite season. 

I know that for some of you, summer is incredibly hot and humid, so you’re ready for fall, but I am so blessed to live in sunny California, where summers are mild, yet warm enough for swimming, shorts, tank tops, and sandals… some of my favorite clothes!  I love to take walks in the warmth of a summer evening, when all the neighbors are out chatting, or walking their dogs…the smell of a barbeque…oh, yes, give me summer any day!  

Another thing I love about summer?  That’s the season that my house looks it’s prettiest.  Most of our plants are in full sun, so we have a lot of roses…I LOVE roses!  But if you know roses, you know they are summer bloomers…well, here, they begin to bloom in late April or May, and continue blooming throughout September, unless we get an early fall. So for this White Wednesday, I want to show you a little of the outside of my home.  It is painted white, but I will have to show you some color in order to show  you the white house, so I hope you don’t mind my throwing a little pink in here and there.

Walking up to my tea cottage!  When having a tea, I hang my “Mary’s Tea Cottage” sign on the left of the door.  I didn’t have it there when taking this picture, but you can see it on my sidebar.  I’m thinking of making another one, though, with a little more pizzazz. 

 

You’re almost here!

 

  Two little birds I found at a craft store last year.  Quite often, I will see a real bird  flying close by, trying to visit with them!

 

  Geraniums peeking over the railing, saying hello to the double delight rose bush.

My husband built these railings several years ago, before he lost his eyesight.  He always liked working on cars, preferably race cars – LOL! – and never liked working with wood, but when I said I would love to have a railing on the porch, he wasted no time building it for me.  I’m very proud of him.

 

Our house was built in 1951.  We’ve lived here for 35 years.  We’ve grown old together.

A little girl and a little boy, holding an umbrella, while reading a book, with kitty looking on.

 

I should know the name of this plant, but I don’t remember.  I am trying to create an English garden, and this one was listed in that category.  Is it phlox, or maybe stock…do  you gardeners know?

 

I absolutely love a flower garden, and have several magazines and books about how to garden, but it’s still a challenge for me to remember it all, like which plant needs which soil ... but you will find me haunting the local nurseries every spring, buying up more colorful plants, some perennials and some annuals.  I usually have lots of pots filled with flowers on the deck, but my hubby is always running into them, so I had to cut back a bit.  So far, he hasn’t complained too much about the geraniums on the front porch…knock wood!

Just to prove that I’m not a gardener, do you see those pretty pink flowers behind the white ones…you know, that you can barely see?  I planted the taller ones in front of the shorter ones.  It’s not my fault…they were all the same size when I bought them in those 4” containers!   I wonder if I can dig them up and replant them…hmmm…gardeners?

 

This is actually a picture of the double delight next to the railing, which has a very light creamy center, bordered by a soft pink.  I think the sun shining on it just reflected into the camera, making it look more white than it is, so I snuck it in as a “white'” picture!  

This is a white wrought iron stake that I bought new…there’s another one on the other side of the walkway.  A couple of old, rusty, vintage stakes would have been  my preference, but I couldn’t find any. I’m still looking and when  I do,  these will go in the back yard…I already have a spot for them.

 

  I have to brag about my photo editing…I just learned how to add text to my pictures!  I always wonder how other bloggers do such amazing things with their photos…well, I haven’t conquered it all yet, but this is one feather in my cap!

I hope you enjoyed your visit, and will come back next week.  I’ll take you   to see a few more white goodies  that I enjoy out in the back yard and deck.  Don’t forget to visit Kathleen and the other white lovers…I’m heading over there right now.

Please don’t forget to pray for sweet Amy, doing better, but still critical, and her family.  They need our prayers.  And please don’t forget to pray for our military and their families.  So many young men and woman  are in the desert heat that would make us think we’re having a cold spell.  Please pray with me for their safety while serving, and a quick and safe return home to this wonderful country of ours.  Also the men and women from other countries that are fighting along side our troops…they also want to go home soon…pray for them.  Keep our leaders in your prayers, that they will seek wise counsel and make sound decisions for our nation. 

God bless you all.  Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Mary