A FEW THRIFT STORE GOODIES AND A PEEK AT MY NEWEST PROJECT...

Hey y'all.  Sorry so long in getting back into the blogging business. With the onset of summer there has been a LOT of activities keeping me busy on stuff that is not blog worthy or that is taking longer to get finished than planned so I have not yet been able to share.

We have had peewee league baseball taking up about three evenings a week (two practices and one game each week) and a tent revival at church which has taken up quite a lot of time recently.  Not to mention we had ample rain which kept us from getting the yard work completely done. I do have the planting bed done (though the plants are looking quite puny as they have suffered water log and lack of sunlight) and I am almost finished with the sidewalk. I hope to get pictures of everything over the weekend.

In the meantime, I have stolen a few moments to do a little thrift store shopping (while picking up the mail for the office)...shhhhh!!!

Anyway, I found a couple really good deals...

A like new lucite tray for $1.50...perfect for use on the screened porch...

and a super neat teacher's wooden chalkboard compass for $1.00...remember those from Geometry class? Great deal!!! This will definitely come in handy for DIY projects where I need to make a large circle or some DIY art AND I have plans to use it in my decor as well...when I redo the shelves in the living room with Restoration Hardware style "curiosities".

I have also stolen a few minutes here and there to work on my newest project for the screened porch...

Can you tell what it's going to be?

Pay no mind to the markers...they are there to "prop" some of the pieces up until the glue set.  Oh the things we DIYers use...hehe..huh hummmm.

It shouldn't take long to finish it up once I find a little more driftwood. I plan on hunting for some over at the lake this weekend and on our vacation in July.  Yes, this project is one that is taking a LONG time to complete...it's teaching me patience. HA.  However, I am determined that I am going to have the porch Summerized BEFORE summer ends!!! At this point that feels like wishful thinking...hahaha.

Anyway, that's what I have been up to for the past few weeks. What have you been doing this summer?

BIRDS, BISON AND ELK, OH MY...

Well I was hoping that I would be able to share a few photos of my finished planting bed with you this week. You know, the one with the all natural cardboard weed barrier I showed you a few weeks ago. However, it has been cool, cloudy and rainy ever since we got it finished so I have not had a good chance to snap any pictures...or do anything outside for that matter. The bad thing is that some of the plants I planted on the West side of the house are sun loving, warm weather type plants. I'm not sure they are liking the weather any more than I am. I think they will be fine but we are all looking forward to a little sunshine....not the 100 degree temperatures that come with it, just the sunshine. How about you?

Anyway since I can't show you any pictures of the flower bed, I thought I would share THE TON of pictures I took on our day trip to The World Bird Santuary and Lone Elk Park in Valley Park, Missouri a few weeks ago...that's the trip that I found Leo's replacement, which you can read about HERE.

Isn't this hand carved eagle amazing?

The bird sanctuary is just that, a safe, nurturing sanctuary for wounded or elderly birds of all sorts. It's a really neat place to visit and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Can you tell?

Sadly, I didn't write down all the names (types) of birds to go along with the pictures so there are only a few species that I recognize by name but they were all absolutely gorgeous, and some were kind of comical...like this pair of Pelicans who squawked and balked and chased each other around...

They even came up and talked to us...

One of my favorites were the snowy owls....so gorgeous!

Isn't she stunning?

 I guess I shouldn't have said that they were ALL gorgeous...because condors are somewhat ugly...

Turkeys are quite ugly too...pretty feathers, not so pretty face, huh?

A type of Pelican?

How do you like the hairdo on this guy?  Cute isn't he?

 Parrots.

 Another condor type bird...

Hawk? Eagle? Falcon? Pretty isn't he?  Very regal looking!

Another pretty one...

GORGEOUS!!!

Last, but certainly not least, is the most regal, majestic bird of all...our nations icon...The American Bald Eagle...

STRIKING!!!

Right next to the bird sanctuary is a reptile sanctuary (which we did not take the bubs to) and Lone Elk State Park where there is a refuge for bison, elk and deer. We didn't see any deer but we did see a few bison and elk...

Well that's it...I know this was picture overload for you all, but we had a really good time and I just couldn't help myself with the picture taking. There was just so much to take in.

The bird sanctuary, reptile refuge and Lone Elk State Park are all FREE to enjoy. However, they do accept donations.

There are a number of picnic areas located in and around these areas to enjoy as well...all free. So, it's a nice place to spend the day without spending a lot of money.

If you are ever in the St. Louis area and would like to visit these places you can find directions and more information HERE and HERE.

or watch the virtual tour of the Bird Sanctuary below...

Have a fabulous week and make sure to get out and enjoy the summer season.  We are!

I will be back with some pictures of the garden and stuff around the house as soon as the weather clears up.

Ciao,

MONTAUK STATE PARK & A LITTLE COUNTRY CHURCH...

The Memorial Day holiday was filled with all kinds of fun things for our family. We had BBQ's and good times both at church and with family.  We also spent a family day out on Saturday at Montauk State Park where we picnicked and played in the waters of The Current River.

As I mentioned in my post the other day, we live right in the heart of Missouri's Ozark Scenic Riverways, which is in my opinion, some of the most beautiful country there is. We are truly blessed to have a multitude of nice parks and areas of recreation right outside our backdoor in every direction. LITERALLY!  We are surrounded by rivers.  We have the Meramec River, Gasconade River, Current River, Huzzah, Black River, Jacks Fork, Big Piney River, Mississippi River, Missouri River, Niangua River, Bourbeuse River, and on and on and on!

Anyway, today I thought I would share a few pictures of our day at Montauk State Park with you.

The first thing you see besides river upon entering the park is this gorgeous old mill with it's beautiful patina...

I absolutely love things like old mills, cabins and covered bridges so this mill was the highlight of my visit here at the park.  It's too bad it wasn't open so I could have a peek inside.

The kids got a kick out of hand feeding the fish at the trout hatchery they have there...

I thought I took more pictures of that part but I guess not, so no up close pictures of the fish...BOO!

Sis's flip flop broke so she stayed at our picnic area while the bubs and I went for a walk alongside the river where there were lots of people trout fishing.  I think you can tell by this picture that the bubs was just a little too happy that his sis was not going to be able to come play with us...He's so ornery!

One of our favorite parts at this part of the river is the waterfall...

Though it's man made it's still pretty and the bubs was just dying to walk on top of it like the fishermen.

Of course, I said no because I really did not want to have to go swimming when he fell off. hehehe. I know I am SUCH  party pooper!

It was nice that there were lots of little areas to stop off for a rest along our walk...

And some areas that the bubs could get in the water and splash around a little.

Don't it look like they are walking on water?...

Too funny!!

We had such a nice time there and on our way home we got an extra little surprise when we stumbled across this cute old country church.

I'm not sure how old this little church is but what is amazing is that it is still in operation. Yes, they still have mass every Saturday at 3:30 p.m. according to their sign.

The reason we stopped is because it was just so cool and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take pictures of this neat old building (see I told you I love old buildings), the cute little gardens and other areas that someone has so lovingly taken the time to care for.

The entrance...

 I would have loved to have seen the Wisteria growing on the entrance when it was in bloom.  I know it would have been soooooo gorgeous!

 Thank you Jesus for the cross!!!

This is just a few of the gardeny areas they had on the church grounds and the parish grounds were even more gorgeous but we weren't sure if we were trespassing or not so the hubs wouldn't let me go that far or take any pictures there.  Awww!

Anyway, we had the best day. The weather was perfect, not too hot and not too cool, just PERFECT and we overall had a GREAT day spending time in nature with each other. Now isn't that what life is all about...or at least it should be!

If you would like more information on Montauk State Park go HERE, and if you would like to visit the little country church, it is located about 15 miles southwest of Salem, Missouri off Highway 119. YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!

P.S. We missed a baby shower AND a cousin's graduation party that day in order for the hubs and I to spend quality family time with our kiddos. I hope no one is mad at us or offended because of that but we have decided that we are going to spend valuable time with our children every weekend this summer. We rarely get vacation time and we go to church on Sundays so that only leaves Saturdays to spend time together. Please forgive us if you plan an event on a Saturday this year and we don't show up. It's not because we don't like you! It's because life is short (and getting shorter by the minute when you reach our age), time is in short supply and money is tight (sorry we cannot give gifts either) and our kids deserve special time with us too. Thanks for understanding!