Project 365: Day 199 -- Paint Chips

Kelly and Scott went kayaking this morning on the Harpeth River. It was the perfect day--partly cloudy and only 65 degrees--in July! Can you believe it? Has hell frozen over? Is it the next ice age? Well I for one will not complain about a high of 73 at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. It was lovely.

After kayaking, I met Kel and Scott for lunch at Red Tree. Then we headed to Home Depot to look at paint chips. After 15 years, we are having our house painted. To this date, it has remained the sealed natural cedar, which never really suited my taste. It looks almost western-style. Now I plan to turn it into a more cottagy/farmhouse look. Who knew there could be so many varieties of white? I mean, you think white is white, right? Wrong. Well, we finally decided on Picket Fence White, because Portrait White, Edwardian Linen, Washed Down White and Journal White all had too much yellow in them. And Lattice White, Storm Lighting, Wash Basin, and Stucco White all had too much gray. I know--white is supposed to be white, not yellow or gray. Tell that to the people that make paint.

Anyway, we settled on Picket Fence White, with the trim in Moroccan Sky and Palm Leaf. Cole (our painter) pressure washed the house yesterday, and starts the primer tomorrow. He estimates 2 weeks for the job. I can't wait to see it finished. Picking out paint colors is so stressful!

On the way home from Depot, we had to stop for a family of Guineas to cross the street. Just part of living in the country...

Project 365: Day 198 -- Prep Chores and a Hummingbird

In preparation for Cole to start painting the house, we started stripping off the old porch paint. While we were outside, the hummingbird that feeds every night around dusk came by, so I grabbed the camera and tried to capture him. Those little suckers are hard to photograph! They move so fast, and they are so small.

Project 365: Day 197 -- Drunken Bees

Yes, that's right. Drunk bees. Bees get literally drunk on the nectar from these cone flowers. They get so drunk they practically pass out on the flowers. You can pet them they are so out of it. Seriously. Of course, I don't pet them, as I am still terrified of bees no matter how drunk they are. But Kelly pets them. Weird, I know. So here we have a drunk bumble bee, and a drunk honey bee. To be fair, it was happy hour.

Project 365: Day 196 -- From one Extreme to Another...

Today started out so peaceful. This morning I took these photos in the garden--tomatoes growing, baby robin's eggs in their nest...peaceful.Then this afternoon, all hell broke loose. A thunderstorm tore through here, wreaking havoc.
Amazingly, the motorcycle was unscathed. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my X-terra. I now have a big ol' dent in the top of it, and the passenger side mirror was ripped right off. When Kelly returned home from work, we gathered up all the branches and limbs, got out the chain saw, and had a big ol' bonfire.

Project 365: Day 195 -- More Good Things

Wow, packages arriving two days in a row! I just love seeing that Amazon.com logo in my mailbox. I get so excited over new books. One of these days, I think I may have to buy a Kindle, because books are taking over my house. I don't get rid of them after I read them, because I have been know to read them again. And again and again, in some cases. My poor copies of The Thornbirds and Count of Monte Cristo are literally falling apart at the binding from being read so many times. But until I can convince Kelly that I need a Kindle, I will continue to get excited about my little smiley arrow on Amazon boxes.

This one contained books 4-8 of the Dark Hunter series. This shipment should last me about two weeks.

This afternoon, I had the pleasure of photographing one of the specials for Red Tree Coffee. This is Amy's Chilled Penne Pasta combined wonderfully fresh homegrown tomatoes and basil with a hint of garlic, coarse ground black pepper and Parmesan cheese, all tossed with a bit of olive oil. Along with the pasta was a fresh green salad with Amy's own Balsamic Vinaigrette, which has a secret ingredient, and Wheatberry Cheese Toast. The dish was light, fresh, and delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Project 365: Day 194 -- Good Things Come In Packages

I love getting packages in the mail. Even if it's not anything special, it makes me feel special to get a package. Today I received this box from Sephora, filled with Clinique skincare and some free fragrance samples. Nothing exciting, right? But glad to get it as I ran out of cleanser this morning!

Project 365: Day 193 -- Summer Storms

When I was I think 12 years old, we lived in a subdivision in Franklin, TN. We were kind of up on a hill, and could see a lot of the other houses from our house, even several streets over. That summer, we had a lot of thunderstorms, which is typical summer weather in the south. What I remember about this summer is that two of our neighbors' homes were struck by lighting and burned to the ground about a month a part.

Ever since then, I have been terrified of lightning and thunderstorms. Almost as much as tornadoes. But as I still live in the south, these storms are a part of life. Not just in the summer, but all year 'round, since our temperatures can be very unpredictable. Yesterday afternoon, a band of storms came through, and looked pretty scary. The first photo shows the sky about 15-20 minutes before the rain hit. The second photo shows the eerie yellow light that followed the worst of the storm.

We were very fortunate that this band of storms didn't spawn any tornadoes, and as far as I know, no real damage anywhere. But I sure was glad when it was over!

Project 365: Day 192 -- What's In My Bag?

A little play on the Capitol One commercials, What's in your wallet?

I don't wear make-up every day since I stopped working out in the corporate world. But I do wear it if I will be seeing anyone other than my dear husband. So what's in my cosmetic bag?

Lancome Teinte Idole in Ivoire 4
Lancome Dual Finish in Matte Claire II
Lancome Maquicomplet in Ivoire
Lancome Blush Subtil in Mauve Coquette
Lancome Virtuose Mascara in Black Carat
Lancome Color Fever Shine Lip Gloss in Old Flame
Clinque Blush in Breathless Berry
Clinique Blush in Hurry Honey
Clinique Intensive Lip Treatment
Clinique Lipsticks in Toasted Rose & Delovely & Black Honey
Mary Kay Chestnut Brow Liner
Mary Kay Deep Brown Eyeliner
Cover Girl Fruit Spritzer Lip Gloss in Watermelon

Project 365: Day 191 -- A Cold Summer Treat

I had to run a few errands in Kingston Springs today...the post office, the little market, the tanning bed...and since it was so blasted hot out, I stopped at Sonic for a cold treat--I chocolate milkshake! I haven't had one of these in over a year. Oh my gosh was it good!

Project 365: Day 190 -- My Guilty Pleasure

Romance novels. Guilty pleasure. Especially the ones with vampires, Celtic Gods, and other supernatural beings. My latest find? The Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. My good friend, neighbor, and colleague Sherri Reno actually photographed Sherrilyn for the book jackets. There are currently 13 books in the series, and I am finishing up #3. I've read all 3 in the past few days. Man, I could just sit and read all day long...