Our lovely cool days finally came to an end as summer has officially arrived with temps in the 80s to 90s. Honestly, I’d rather not and just remain in the 70s all summer long. But alas it is what it is and one must adjust. This means walks in the early morning and more indoor activities. I just do not do the hot weather at all!

With the heat, I was hoping for a nice haul of cherries to can. Out to the produce stands to find just bits of scraggly cherries here and there and at exorbitant prices. And not even local to boot! It just so happened I was doing my grocery shopping and found gorgeous sweet cherries from Hood River for waaaay less than the fruit stand pickings. So I just grabbed quite a few pounds and canned them up. When I lived in eastern Washington I got so spoiled by all the local farms that sold their home grown goods. I am finding that here it is just stands that sell others goods and often not even local. I’m not giving up yet as I am sure there are some actual local farms that sell their produce, I’ll just keep looking..

Hopefully I can get at least a few dozen…

Still busy painting, sorting, organizing, moving things around and all. I finally finished the table and chairs and am just so happy with them. Such a huge improvement! When your house is dark, you need to bring in all the light that you can!

I do certainly need some window treatments, I have just never bothered as I rarely have the shades closed. I like as much light as possible!

While the painting bug was biting, I also painted this cute stand. I like it so much better!

I also moved it to a different location and added a few more of my little Auntie Lena collection. One of my favorite things is this darling little cast iron stove! It was my grandma’s and I think it is just the cutest thing ever. The little black hearth is made from Welsh coal. I picked it up on the great European tour I took with my girls when they were younger.

I also painted this sweet little sewing box that I recently found on FB marketplace. It is just perfect for my knitting projects.

All this time being inside just got me into the mood to move everything around. I had already completed the family room (as I posted last time) and I love it so much more. It is just so much cozier and inviting! This time I tackled the front room. I had been thinking of moving (or even eventually eliminating my desk). This room is most certainly the most cluttered looking in my house as it is where most of my favorite treasures and collections reside. I will live with the clutter, as I enjoy the lovely pieces that I have inherited and collected over the years.

I am much happier with it all. I have been contemplating painting my desk. But with that gold metal trim on each side, I am just hesitant to try it. Perhaps I will just pass it on to one of the girls. It is a lovely vintage Drexel Heritage piece.

I also moved a few of the art pieces around a bit more.

I did find a few treasures the last few weeks. Many will be finding homes in my daughters homes. I love the hunt, but with wanting to downsize, I can now find the lovely items to decorate their homes. They get amazing items and I get the joy of the hunt…win/win.

I actually got two jade plants. One will go to another home. That is the result of my treasure hunt for the past few weeks. All lovely items and at amazing prices.

However my favorite new gift to myself is this:

My Sunny spin bike! It just arrived and we sat it up today and I immediately joined a YouTube spin class. It runs like a dream….oh the joy of having a gym quality spin cycle in my own home! I love cycling, absolutely love it. But since moving to Salem my poor Blue Bliss Giant road bike has been stored in the garage. The traffic and drivers here are just too dangerous to even want to go out and try to share the roads with them! When I happened across an article on home spin type bikes, I was smitten. I did a lot of research and the Sunny products are always in the top 2-3 bikes in the ratings. Which is awesome given that they start at $200! This is just like what I am used to in spin classes at the gym, it is such a smooth ride, is totally adjustable, and offers a great range of resistance. And….YouTube is full of spin classes that you can just tune right into and it is just like being in a class….LOVE IT!!

The outside is still growing up a storm and everything is looking so beautiful. I am doing a bit of harvesting here and there with peas, zucchini, tomatoes, berries, and lots of herbs. But with the heat, I must turn my attention to indoors. And now I must off to see to some bag sewing.

Happy Summer!

Patricia