"Summer afternoon -- Summer afternoon..."

 ....to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."

~ Henry James

Ok, so I must confess...summer isn't my favorite season (despite the quote I posted above) but I have come to the conclusion that I don't have a favorite season anymore. I used to say it was the lovely autumn that was my favorite....but now, I truly must admit that I love each season for the different blessings they bring (but also each has it's not-so-great things about them too)! 

Summer is a time of gardening, being outside, swimming, sun, and fun! But it's also a time of heat (sometimes unbearable) and for me ~ bug bites! Oh, how they love to get me! My husband barely gets a bite. We enjoy sitting on our Amish rocking chairs on our back porch some evenings...but I just can't stand getting so bit up! Chris lights a citronella candle....but it doesn't help. I am not super fond of the bug off sprays either....unless I *have* to wear them. 

I'll have to photograph our vegetable garden to share with you. We have lots of corn and green beans growing! Above I shared some of my perennials as well as an area we just finished planting and mulching in! It was a lot of work (and sweat) but I'm so happy with how it turned out!

I always have people tell me how much they enjoy seeing photos from inside my home. It's humble and simple....but warm and cozy. It's our "place" and I am so thankful the Lord blessed us with it! 

In the kitchen  (those floors used to be covered in carpet when we moved here 20 years ago...then underneath that was tile...and more tile underneath that...and then the whole wood floor was covered in tar paper!! It was awful! During lockdown from COVID last year, we worked hard to get all those tiles and tar paper off. It was back-breaking, knee pain! But it was worth it! Now it looks like a farmhouse floor which I love! It's not the most beautiful floor and maybe one day we will cover it....but for now, it works for us and has an old, rugged, farmhouse look to it and I love that!)....

And here's a picture of the dining room (dog toys on the floor and all!). Our hand-me-down chairs that we had for years and years finally bit the dust so we had to purchase some. We decided to get four solid wood chairs and a bench....

Although not a "pretty" picture....here's the gym Chris and I have put together over the past year. I still use our local Y most days....but it is so nice to have our own place to workout when we want. Chris uses it often! It's nice and cool in this room because it's the basement! Our newest addition to the gym is the battle ropes at the bottom of the picture! 

Stella-cat....in all her glory! She and Winnie-the-Cat enjoy sleeping through the day in our air-conditioned bedroom. They sure do have it rough, huh? 

The last photos I have to share are from our 4th of July. A local parade was held on Saturday the 3rd. My dad took one of his tow trucks through it. Jaxson (my youngest) and my sister and her children rode through on it. Xavier rode with the volunteer fire company he is part of and Madelyn just sat and watched the parade, I think (she was at the other end of the parade so I didn't see her). 

Here is Jaxson, Eloise and Audra throwing candy... (Dinah, my sister and Dusten were on the other side of the truck)...

On the actual 4th, we attended Sunday School and Church, had a light lunch and then Chris and I headed out on a bike ride on a local trail! We workout together in some way or another every Sunday afternoon! 

So that's just a wee update of life lately. Truly....tons has been going on....so much I can share. I will try to come back and share soon. This week is super busy but I wanted to pop on really quick and say hello! 

Thanks so much for stopping by and hopefully I will be back soon with more of what's been going on here! 

Warmly,

Katy