I can see clearly now the SMOKE is gone...

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I can see clearly now

 the SMOKE is gone...

I can see all obstacles in my way

Gone are the smoke/heat fogs that had me blind

It's a bright, bright, Sun-shiny Day!

(snitched from Johnny Nash's...Sun Shiny Day)

I really have to get back to blogging. I've been hunkering down in our sealed tomb of a home from the Chicagoland heat/smoke/hideous news has really had a hold of me, my mind, my attitude, I've been just UGH!

But, Today, the air cleared it's a brisk 65 degrees at 9:30 am, and I ran around half naked, and opened ALL the windows, doors, blinds, curtains...and OH MY! 

First thing that came to my mind was that song...

So you can thank me for the ear worm and have a Wonderful Sun Shiny Day! 

So far this week, I did quite a bit of gardening. Last night I made Overnite Refrigerator DILLS...the best homemade pickles. I even had fresh dill from the garden I hve stuck in semi-shade to keep it cooler. (Dill doesn't like hot temps when starting)

The Weeds have been horrid with the heat and rain Chicagoland got earlier just made them crazy. Again this year we have a flock of new weeds, I've never seen before. Our gardening zone is 5b at the moment (-5 to -10), but I'm thinking that is really not representational of what it really has been the last few years. I'm sure that weather cycles are just that, cycles, and suddenly we will have -30 winters right around the corner again.

I picked LOTS of cucumbers, dill, pearl onions, lettuce, tomatoes (small ones), a huge turnip-only one), long sweet yellow peppers and green beans. We have enough for this week's fresh produce needs. 

I always pick a few flowers...I'm having Poor Woman's bouquets all the time now. 

Colors are phenomenal...these are early morning photos without editing except for size and being crooked. The flower colors are real...and vivid. The PHLOX are phenomenal as well as the Dahlias and Day Lilies.

I'm not an Affirmation Person...except maybe snarky ones. But a prompt for my Mather class was for an affirmation. 

Here's my 20 minute scribble.

"Even Ditch Lilies Bloom...no matter What!"

I really think LIFE gives you no excuses...you just have to live it, like the panned, dreaded Ditch Lilies that we snub our noses at. 

When we moved here in 1984, there was very little landscaping on a bit over a quarter of an acre. We ordered fifty cheap assorted twig bushes from Michigan Bulb and 12 Day Lilies. That was what we could afford. I planted one packet of Sweet Peas for 59 cents and some marigold seeds. That was it for that year.

Our Sweet Peas are still going strong, the bushes are ringing the property and provide homes for all the birds and bunnies.  I still plant Marigolds from seed because they are kill and weather proof and the bees love them. 

June and May were so cold, we didn't use the porch. I finally got it ready for July 4th, and then it was so beastly, no one would go out there.

This morning I reveled in the lovely temp, opened the windows on the porch and his sink's finally hooked up to drain and get water again...long story on that one.

Ready for company and ME to play on the table with paints, and enjoy the birds from one of our rocking chairs. The furniture is mostly my great-grandmother's, and my dad made the table I painted for my art/craft shows.

I'm hoping the weather holds, I have a 5-6 hours in the car today, but am looking forward to enjoying the porch and having the car windows open! 

See you Soon!

Thanks always for visiting, 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question. 

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Thank you for your cooperation, 
Sandi 

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