A stunning pink crepe myrtle tree grows on a small farmholding down a country road near me. The tree is an example of why crepe myrtles have been staples in Deep South gardens and yards for generations.  

For over twenty years I have admired the beautiful tree covered in fluffy pink blossoms as I travel from my home to the closest town for shopping. 

Eiffel Tower Telescopes | Elegant French Style

A Moment In France

Remembering Paris in the rain with gold and silver telescopes on the Eiffel Tower offers mental relief from the oppressive August temperatures in Texas and the oppressive confines of no travel during the pandemic in 2020. 

With no physical way to beat the heat by traveling in person, I am beating the heat by leisurely browsing through my photos of my last visit to Paris during a cool month in September. 

As I came upon a group of rainy-day photos, I paused to stare off into the heat-searing whitened blue skies and remembered a visit to the Eiffel Tower with my sister, just the two of us.  

The Eiffel Tower telescopes, dripping with rain under misty, overcast gray skies remind me of our travel schedules developed over the years. Whatever the weather, no outing was canceled. We dressed for the weather and proceeded with our day optimistically, promising ourselves, and any companions, we would have a good time. 

French Prints Shadowbox | Tips for Creating Your Own

 A Paper Series Post 

Create a shadowbox with reproduction watercolor French prints to add an inexpensive French country look to any room in your house. By using prints collected during a trip with family or friends, your shadowbox will also remind you of special memories. 

Read about how I created a blue and white shadowbox to hang in my bedroom and get ideas for your own shadowbox. I have a few tips for finding small prints to use, for how to arrange the prints, and for using special items to add a little pizzazz! 

Reproduction watercolor prints in soft blues, greens, and neutrals go well with most French country decor. 

Home Grown Summer Tomatoes

Nothing tastes better than home grown tomatoes in the summer. Vine-ripened until ruby red are the best tasting of all. Yet, sometimes unripe green ones have to be picked. 

Read about ideas on how to choose which tomatoes to grow, how to decide when to harvest them, how to store them until ready for eating, and how to help tomatoes to ripen when picked while green. 

Start with where do you keep fresh red and green tomatoes until they are ready to eat? Storing fresh tomatoes is a topic for both store bought tomatoes and home grown tomatoes. So, even if you don't grow your own tomatoes in a home garden, you may find this question useful anyway. 

Fading Pink Hydrangeas | Reminders of Mother's Love

The first pink hydrangea blooms of summer are fading, but there are more blooms to come on these Nantucket Blue® hydrangeas. Seeing the profusion of hydrangea blooms reminds me of my mother's love for hydrangeas and of her love for me. 

Nantucket Blue®, a new hydrangea variety on my shady open deck and porch last year, blooms on new growth as well as on old growth. There is the promise of new buds to sprout as summer continues.