Is It Monday Again? Porch Love

It's good to be home.


I've been catching up, still not there, but I'll get there.
I miss my grandson, his little noises and cuddles and, oh yes, my daughter and her husband...
but I've been home a week now.

And since the spring has gone since I left and turned into summer-ness,
and the plowing and planting that goes on all around us is done,
and the giant tree has shed:
first, its leaf covers,
next its millions of seeds,
and the busy mama birds have built their nests and
the eggs have hatched,
and the resulting poo
has landed...
SPLAT!
(everywhere!!)
and spider webs were making the house look haunted!

Honey,
it was time to clean the porch.

The bonus?
It was HOT.
We put on old clothes with the intention of getting a little wet.
And that felt GoooooooooooD.

So...this weekend, since we were both here, we embarked on a power-washing adventure.
Not without a hitch or two.
I swept it down, and broomed the cobwebs.
Luke and I decluttered the porch and moved all the furniture off it.

Hubby made a trip to the hardware, sweated and worked hours to get the gas-powered washer running and got it going,
and it lasted about halfway through the job.

Then it died!

Stupid power washer!

So...we did what any respectable person would have done before the advent of the power washer.

We dragged out buckets, brushes, brooms, soap, and rags and used the sprayer on the garden hose, as well as a ladder and lots of elbow grease to get the place clean again.
(The Magic Eraser was great for the stubborn spots of poo.)

This place is our little respite, our little vacation,
beckoning just outside the front door.

I wish you were here to enjoy it, too.

We could kick off our flip-flops and rock and visit quietly, while we sip our lemonade...

And, of course, listen to the critters --


as they laugh at us for "cleaning" their habitat.

This season,
and its SIMPLE PLEASURES
last just a short while....