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Monday Musings – Dogs, Vignettes, and God

May 22, 2017 by Patti 25 Comments

Summer came in earnest on Saturday with the first REAL humidity of the year.  The kind that leaves even heat lovers like us seeking air conditioned spaces.  Then in the night came thunder, and lightening, and a real downpour that my yard gladly drank in.

Spring is my favorite time of year in the South.  The yards are so green and different varieties of flowers are blooming daily.

May seems to be the month for magnolias and gardenias. 

I’m musing today on the complexity of doggie relationships . . .

. . . as I consider why this perfectly behaved ten-year-old dog of ours would suddenly begin leaving nasty little messes in the house.

Oh I know it has something to do with the new puppy entering her world, but I’d like to get in her head and understand her WHY?

Because maybe if we knew the WHY we would know the answer to the problem.

In the meantime, she received a good scolding this morning and I do believe she is smart enough to think twice before trying something so foolish again, especially on the oriental carpet 🙁

I’m musing as well today on why my funny seems to have left me of late.

Hubby and I discussed it a bit this weekend and I came to the conclusion that my funny feeds off of other funny people and I haven’t been around enough of those types lately.

I know, a lot of people say that Mr. OTN is funny.  But he’s funny in a different kinda’ way.  Like the smart guy who acts goofy kinda’ way.

Right now I just might be hoping hubby doesn’t read this post. Click To Tweet

It’s all good honey.  It’s like Disney’s Goofy.  You like him, right?

My kind of funny is more like this: 

At times I'm shocked at the brilliance of my words. Then I try to get out of the car with my seat belt on. Click To Tweet

I think I need time with some of my quick witted friends to get my funny back.  Soon gals, soon. 🙂

Today I’m also musing on the message we heard in church yesterday about how we can be certain to know God’s will when we don’t allow ourselves to be conformed to the world’s views, but are instead, transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2).

  We renew our minds when we spend time in God’s word and in prayer, getting to know Him, and when we deliberately focus on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, and on all things good, excellent and worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8).

It is so important to be careful about the things we allow our minds to settle on isn’t it?The more we fill our minds with toxic thoughts, the less room we have for God. Click To Tweet

And the less room we have for God, the less we know His perfect will for us.

I don’t know about you, but I want to know and walk in God’s will for me, because I know it far surpasses anything I could plan for myself.

As a bonus, and to keep you engaged while listening to my musings, here’s a little Spring vignette I created for my kitchen dining nook.

Thanks for stopping by 😉

Blessings,

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!

Sunday:

TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace

Monday:

IShouldBeMoppingTheFloor, TheDedicatedHouse, Dwellings, ProjectInspired,  InspireMeMonday, BetweenNapsOnThePorch, CelebrateYourStory, Making Your Home Sing Mondays, What Joy is Mine/Monday Musings, Darling Downs Diaries, The Art of Homemaking, SmallWonder, MomentsOfHope, Glimpses, SittingAmongFriends

Tuesday:

TalkOfTheTown, HomeStoriesAtoZ, AStrollThruLife, CoastalCharm, CedarHillFarmhouse, TuesdaysAtOurHome, TheWinthropChronicles,  Rich Faith Rising Unite Linky, Testimony Tuesday,Cheerleaders of Faith,Tell His Story

Wednesday:

SavvySouthernStyle, Posed Perfection, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesdays, ChristianBloggerLinkup, Mom’s Morning Coffee, Women with Intention, Coffee for Your Heart, MessyMarriage, ThreeWordWednesday

Thursday:

ShareYourStyle, ImpartingGrace, EmbracingChange, HaveADailyCupOfMrsOlson, MyRepurposedLife, ADelightsomeLife, KatherinesCorner,  I Choose Joy,   Thought Provoking Thursday, SincerelyPaulas, ThankfulThursdays, ThoughtfulThursday, Tune-inThursday

Friday:

FrenchCountryCottage, TheCharmOfHome, RootedInThyme,  TheDedicatedHouseAnythingBlueFriday, ShabbyliciousFriday, Sweet Inspiration,  Faith’nFriends, Missional Women Faith Filled Fridays, Dance With Jesus FreshMarketFriday

Saturday:

FunkyJunkInteriors, OneMoreTimeEvents,  SaturdaySparks, TheInspirationGallery, Make My Saturday Sweet

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Filed Under: Antiques and Collectibles, Christianity, Dog Love, farmhouse glam, Flowers, Inspiration, My Husband, Rustic Glam, Spring Decorating, Tablescapes, Vintage Tagged With: Antiques and Collectibles, China, Christianity, Dog Love, Farmhouse Glam, Flowers, Inspiration, My Husband, Rustic Glam, Spring Decorating, Tablescapes, Vignettes, Vintage Lace

French Courtyard on a Backyard Deck

April 25, 2016 by Patti 54 Comments

French CourtyardThis is my favorite time of  year here in the South.  The greens are greener, the flowers are brilliant(er), and the weather is perfect for morning coffee out on the deck.

Patio Courtyard 001Last year we didn’t do anything with our deck space.  We hadn’t yet been here a year and we were still tackling a lot of indoor projects as well as adding several plantings to the front yard.

Patio Courtyard 004In talking about what we would do in the backyard we thought about creating a courtyard with pavers, a retaining wall for seating, a water feature, and the addition of a fire pit or fireplace.

Patio Courtyard 029We even paid a designer to draw up a plan.  It was AH-mazing!

Patio Courtyard 026As it turned out, if we were to implement the plan it would cost thousands of dollars and, though a nice feature it wouldn’t pay for itself in resale.  So for now, we decided to work at adding favorite plantings to the yard a little bit at a time and foregoing the fancy fire pit.  To be honest, with the amount of time we spend on our screened porch (our favorite room) I’m not sure how much we would even use it.

Patio Courtyard 035Here is how the idea of creating the feeling of a French Courtyard on our deck began.  A couple of weeks ago we had breakfast with our friends Mark and Leslie and afterwards we wandered through a few stores.  While we were shopping Leslie picked up the crocheted tablecloth you see here.  The round one.  She decided she really didn’t need it so I quickly grabbed it myself and told her it would be perfect for the little table on the deck and that we would have coffee there together.

Patio Courtyard 088Mr. OTN laughed and said it would never happen and that is when I set out to prove him wrong.

Patio Courtyard 051Since then I’ve spray painted the patio set, sewed chair covers and pillows, stenciled the pillows, pulled pots onto the deck, some new and some from different areas of the yard, planted shrubs and flowers, washed the deck, and finally, set about arranging and rearranging everything to get just the look I was going for.

Patio Courtyard 024Getting one’s hands in the dirt is such a joy when the temperatures are in the 70’s,

Patio Courtyard 007and with the warmer weather it seems like within just a matter of days my new plantings have begun to spread and grow. 🙂

Patio Courtyard 012My little boxwoods already need a haircut.

Patio Courtyard 008We bought a conical variegated boxwood and a couple of regular boxwoods, and tucked smaller plants into the pots around them.

Patio Courtyard 014I also added a couple of hanging baskets.

Patio Courtyard 055

Patio Courtyard 011

Patio Courtyard 009

Patio Courtyard 057

 Patio Courtyard 020

Patio Courtyard 086Last week the little patio fountain that hubby purchased locally was delivered.  You see, once I started working my plan he got into the idea himself.  😉

Patio Courtyard 022

The dogs think our new fountain is the best water bowl ever!

Patio Courtyard 023

Patio Courtyard 048

Patio Courtyard 005This shows the yard beyond the deck, which is an area of grass bordered by trees.  The next step of our backyard plan will involve plantings along the edge of the woods to add more color there as well.  Shade lovers such as azaleas and hydrangeas.

Patio Courtyard 025Finally, what would a French Courtyard be without a bit of lavender?  I have a secret for you.  It’s from Hobby Lobby!  Since lavender likes a lot more sun than my yard provides I put several faux lavender sprigs into a cement planter and tucked some moss around the stems.  Even close up people think that it’s real.

Patio Courtyard 032Hubby and I have been spending a lot of time in our little “courtyard” and one day soon Leslie and I will have our coffee here and laugh over what she started by showing me the pretty tablecloth!

Patio Courtyard 033 Morning quiet time here among the songbirds is a time to be treasured.  It is cozy and peaceful, and just what we need to make ourselves slow down from our very busy lives.

Patio Courtyard 087So that’s my French Courtyard.  We shall see how it fares through the hot humid summer.  It will certainly be a test of which plants work best in this location.  Trial and error.  That’s my motto.  Or one of them.  I have a lot of mottos.  LOL!

Oh how I wish I could invite y’all over to share this sweet space with me.  I know that our time together would be simply marvelous!

Blessings to you dear friends,

My Signature

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:

 TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace

Monday:
 IShouldBeMoppingTheFloor, TheDedicatedHouse, Dwellings, ProjectInspired,  InspireMeMonday, BetweenNapsOnThePorch, CelebrateYourStory
Making Your Home Sing Mondays, The Beauty in His Grip What Joy is Mine/Monday Musings, Darling Downs Diaries, The Art of Homemaking
Tuesday:
HomeStoriesAtoZ, AStrollThruLife, Elizabeth&Co, CoastalCharm, CozyLittleHouse,  NaptimeCreations, CedarHillFarmhouse, KatheWithAnE,
VMG206, TuesdaysAtOurHome, TheWinthropChronicles, Dream.Create.Inspire.Link, Rich Faith Rising Unite Linky,Time Warp Wife, Testimony Tuesday,Cheerleaders of Faith,Tell His Story
Wednesday:
SavvySouthernStyle, TheBlissfulBee, Posed Perfection, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesdays, A Little R & R, Whole Hearted Home, Mom’s Morning Coffee, Women with Intention, Coffee for Your Heart
Thursday:
ShareYourStyle, ImpartingGrace, EmbracingChange, HaveADailyCupOfMrsOlson, MyRepurposedLife, FromMyFrontPorchToYours, ADelightsomeLife, AKAWeekendRetreat, ThoughtsOfHomeOnThursday, MakingBrokenBeautiful
KatherinesCorner, PrettyPreppyParty, YourTurnToShine, Serving Joyfully/Thriving Thursdays, The Deliberate Mom/Shine Blog Hop, I Choose Joy,  Live Free Thursday, Thought Provoking Thursday
Friday:
FrenchCountryCottage, TheCharmOfHome, RootedInThyme,  TheDedicatedHouseAnythingBlueFriday,
  ShabbyliciousFriday, Sweet Inspiration,
  Blessing Counters,Missional Women Faith Filled Fridays, Grace & Truth Linkup, Grace&TruthSharingRedemption’sStories, Dance With Jesus
Saturday:
FunkyJunkInteriors, OneMoreTimeEvents,  SaturdaySparks, TheInspirationGallery, Make My Saturday Sweet
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Filed Under: entertaining, Flowers, French Country, Gardening, Hospitality, My Home, Southern Living, Spring, Tablescapes, vintage lace Tagged With: Entertaining, Flowers, French Country, Gardening, Hospitality, My Home, southern living, Spring, Tablescapes, Vintage Lace

OldThingsNew

I am Perfectly Imperfect Patti, daughter of the King, wife to the amazing Mr. OTN, mom to two grown daughters, a great son-in-law, and companion to two spoiled dogs. At Old Things New I share DIY’s, budget friendly home transformations, as well as posts about how God transforms our souls. I myself have been made new and I love to share what I’ve learned through WRITING and SPEAKING. To view a short Vimeo of “Our Story” (Mr. OTN and I) please follow the link at the top of the page.

Disclosure: Old Things New is a participant in the Amazon affiliate advertising program, which is designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com . . . or, in other words, Shopping through my links helps Old Things New keep the lights on!

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