We have had a busy few days. After working on the lawn mower and FINALLY getting it running Saturday morning, we left to go visit our son and his wife. He called when we were about half way there and said did we want ribs? No brainer!

When we arrived, we walked around camp a little bit and saw the latest improvements. They are in the process of building this pergola and restoring the old Library building. They closed up the old doorway and built a new one under the pergola.

The inside of the building is getting new siding and will eventually become a conference room. It will be a good place for meetings, such as for the Bishop and Cabinet. What is really special is that the cedars used to build the structure are from camp. Camp has a good green initiative and tries to use as much of its own products as possible, not to mention it is cheaper to do it that way. I can’t wait to see it completed and finished out with plants and greenery.

We always enjoy looking at the koi pond, and Wendell managed to stay out of it. Actually, he stayed out of it because his daddy was right there. Russell said that when he and/or Callie aren’t around, it only takes a little urging from campers to get him to go in.

It is really hard to get a good picture of him, but here is one of my tries. He does not stay still much. Then we sat out on their deck while the meat cooked.

They had been working in their yard before we got there, and they had just hung the hummingbird feeders. I made several attempts to get pictures of the hummingbirds, but just couldn’t do them justice.

I hate it because they were really fun to watch, and we enjoyed seeing them.

Russell had also smoked a pork butt, and we enjoyed watching Wendell hanging around waiting for Russell to drop some of it as he pulled the meat apart. Their kitchen is pretty small, but I guess that they are used to his being in it. You can tell that he hangs around under their feet in the kitchen a lot.

Russell is pretty strict about table scraps, and I don’t think he ever dropped any. I did (with Russell’s permission, of course), give him a rib bone later. Russell said that one was all that he was allowed. We had a wonderful meal: pork butt, ribs, two types of potato salad, and cole slaw. It was great, and we were stuffed.

Also this weekend, I hit a couple of yard sales. I found the above brass candelabra for $2. It needs a little repair, but I think that I can do it. I actually intended this one for myself and not the booth, but I can always sell it if I decide that I don’t want it.

Then I saw two of these candlesticks. I knew that they were either Boopie or Candlewick and would probably interest collectors. I thought that I had looked them over, but when I got home noticed that one of them had part of one of the beads broken off. It was not a problem to toss it since I got both of them so cheaply that I should be able to make a good profit on just one of them. I also looked it up, and it is Candlewick. The beads on Candlewick are separated, while the beads on Boopie touch each other.

I also purchased a couple of soup mugs at another yard sale. I figure that they will sell in the fall/winter season, and I think that they are really cute.

However, when I turned them over to put in the dishwasher, this is what I found. In lovely script handwriting, someone had written in black Sharpie Chaplain, 1994-’95, Annice & Earl.

The other one says Warder, 1994-’95, Annice & Earl. Given what the other one says, I wonder if warder should actually be warden. Anyway, my daddy went with me to the church sale where I purchased these. Today he called his friend who attends that church, and she had no idea who or what these refer to. Well, obviously, someone didn’t want them. So I stuck them in the dishwasher this morning, and I doubt that the writing will be very visible afterwards.

This morning I was so excited to finally begin my spring yard work. Between the weather and the Passion Play, I had not had time to do anything until now. I decided to start with my front pots. I usually plant basil in this long one, so I just ignore it during the winter and let the leaves and clover have it.

I cleaned all of that out and decided to do something different this year. Callie had planted arugula in one of her pots, and she gave me some of her seeds. I am anxious to see if I can grow that as well. Here it is all cleaned out, seeds planted, and fresh potting soil layered in it.

I planted thyme, chives, rosemary, and lemon balm in the rest of the front pots several years ago. So far, they have kept coming back every year. Actually, I also have rosemary and thyme all year round since it never dies back. The thyme in the above pot was very overgrown and beginning to bloom. Blooms take away from the flavor of thyme, so I needed to prune it as well as clean out all the leaves, acorns, and other stuff that landed there over the winter.

I ended up cutting the thyme way back. I had not done that ever, and it had really grown into a big tangle. Here is the nice pot cleaned out with some fresh potting soil. Looks great, doesn’t it?

The lemon balm had already begun to come back out, so I did not prune.

I just cleaned out the leaves and acorns and put a little more soil where needed. I just love the smell of lemon balm!

The rosemary also did not need much cutting back, just some trimming up and cleaning the pot.

I did that, added a little bit of potting soil, and it looked great. I love having fresh rosemary all the time. We like it on chicken, roasted vegetables, and almost anything else.

I actually had cut the chives all the way back on Easter (that’s it right below the thyme pot-sorry, don’t know why I didn’t get a better before picture). I needed them for my loaded baked potatoes and knew that I was planning to cut them back soon anyway. I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of new growth and some buds.

All I had to do to the chives was clean out the pot and add a little fresh potting soil. After getting all of the pots ready for the season, I raked the front yard, picked up the sticks, sprayed Round Up on some weeds, and tried to sweep the pollen off the porch and sidewalk-didn’t get very far on that one! Anyway, I was in the yard about 3 hours, and I really got a lot done! It was pretty hot, the temp later got up to about 82, but I enjoyed the warm weather and getting out. It felt good to at least have the part of the yard that is seen from the street looking good. I have a lot more left to do, but I’ll get to it when I can.

Then I came in and rested for a little while. I like to do a kitchen tablescape at the beginning of the week if I can, so I was wanting to tackle that next. But I was so tired that my creativity just went out the window! So I decided just to go with it and keep it simple.

I love my Lenox Fancy Free dishes (wedding china), but I don’t use it on tablescapes very often. Today was the perfect day to use it since I didn’t feel like getting out anything different.

I used taupe placemats, then the dinner plate. I topped the dinner plate with this small yellow plate. My mother-in-law had picked up a box deal on plates at a garage sale for me, and these were in the box. The color is perfect for the yellow in the Fancy Free plates.

I topped the yellow plate with the small Fancy Free plate and used my Chateau flatware.

To further bring out the blue and yellow in the plates, I used these paisley napkins. Since I have spring flowers on my mind, I folded them into a fan shape and used my flower napkin rings.

I like the way they ended up looking. They really add a lot to the place setting.

How do you like these glasses? Of course, you have seen the blue Dollar Tree ones a lot, and they were perfect to bring out the blues in this tablescape. The small retro ones are some that I purchased from a garage sale over a year ago when I first started tablescaping. I have never used them in a tablescape til now, but David loves the size of the glass and uses one every day for his juice or milk. I thought that the yellow flowers were good with the dishes and that the browns and tans were good with the taupe placemats and off white plate background.

For my vignette, I decided to look through my vintage pottery collection. With yellow and blue on my mind, I chose these 3 vases. I have looked up the blue one in the past, and I think I remember that it is Shawnee. The yellow vases have Japan on the bottom; other than that, I know nothing about them.

I put a pillar candle in variegated blues in the center, and I was done. I am happy with the final look, especially considering how tired I was and that my creative juices just weren’t kicking in!

For my bargain report, CVS had 2 liter drinks on sale this week. I also had a 20% off coupon on any full-price item, and David needed razor blades. At Wal-Mart, I had received a $5 shopping card last week as a customer reward and used it this week. Finally, I saved ten cents a gallon on gas last week with my customer reward card. So overall, I have done well with savings the last few days.

Hope everyone has a good spring and enjoys the nice spring day the way I have today!

I am joining: A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday (vignettes, tabletops, tablescapes), Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life (decorating, gardening, recipes, collecting), Vintage Thingie Thursday at Colorado Lady,   Sunny Simple Life (decorating, projects), Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday (tablescapes) and Metamorphosis Monday, Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage (crafts, home decor, thrifty finds),  Cozy Little House for Tweak it Tuesday (deocrating, garden, projects),  Under the Table and Dreaming for Sunday Showcase (any project or idea made by you this week), Gratitude Sunday at A La Carte, The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home (home & garden), Cuisine Kathleen for Let’s Dish (tablescapes), Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch to Yours,  Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill (home decor, projects, recipes), Cottage Style at Lavender Garden,   The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday (tablescapes),The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday (thrifty decorating, tablescapes), What’s It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants; Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now (recipes, crafts, home décor), Meet Me Monday at You Are Talking Too Much (projects, decorating, recipes),  Spotlight Saturday at Classy Clutter (recipes, crafts, home décor), Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage (decorating, crafts), Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous, Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound (anything pink),You’re Gonna Love It Tuesdays at Kathe with an E (recipes, crafts, home décor), Mop it Up Monday at I Should Be Mopping the Floor (projects, decor, recipes), Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style (recipes, crafts, home décor),  Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House (decor, projects),Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style,  Farmhouse Style at Green Eggs & Goats,  Creative Things at The Vintage Farmhouse,  Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring (decor, projects, recipes),  Tuesday’s Treasures at Uncommon Suburbia (projects, decorating, recipes),  Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life (home decor, projects), Centerpiece Wednesday at The Style Sisters (centerpieces),Open House Party at No Minimalist Here (crafts, home décor), Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage (memories, projects), Tips and Tidbits at The Stone Gable(projects, home décor, recipes),Thursday Favorite Things at Katherine’s Corner (projects, home décor, recipes), Sizzle into Summer at DIY by Design (home décor, projects)