full weekend

Ever hear anyone say they were glad it was Monday? Probably not, but that's how I'm feeling today. Granted, I have a busy week ahead of me, but I'm almost glad to be back to my regular routine.

I thought Friday was going to be a good day. We had tree trimmers coming out here to trim our neighbor's trees that overhang both sides of our property. I don't want to get into too many specifics because I don't like to dwell on negative crap, but basically our nasty neighbor to our south had a conniption fit and was threatening both me and the tree trimmers. (We had even sent her a certified letter ahead of time, letting her know what was going to be done - back to her property line. And she signed for the letter, so she knew what was coming.) After the tree trimmers left, I went to the police station and talked to an officer about what was going on, though he said it becomes a civil matter. The whole thing was very stressful.

Enough of that...onto a much better day: Saturday. Brian and I decided to "get the hell out of Dodge" and headed to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. 

We spent a few hours walking around, going in and out of shops, and stopping for lunch. It was cool and windy by the lake in the morning (as evidenced by the waves above and my hair below), but the winds calmed down and the sun came out in the afternoon.

If you walk around on the side streets of the shopping district, you'll find most shops are in beautiful old homes, like this one.

This house wasn't a store - it belongs to the historical society - but I love its cottagey charm.

Look at that porch! I told Brian I want a house in the country like this. 

No. Close. Neighbors. ;-)

We found a new shop where the chalkboard sign outside said, "Like a live etsy shop!" Sounded interesting enough to draw us in. Inside, there were a bunch of different consigned booths. Everything from home decor...

to pottery...

to custom jewelry.

We also wandered into a few antique shops, but most of the stuff was over-priced. We weren't surprised - Lake Geneva is an expensive, touristy town.

I loved this old, hand-stitched double quilt. It was in immaculate condition. The shop owner was kind enough to unfold it for me and let me take photos.

It actually wasn't priced too bad - $145. But I have nowhere to put it. Look at that detail on the underside!

The one thing I ended up purchasing was this hand-crocheted runner. I'll show you the whole thing another time. This is just a teaser photo. Isn't it lovely? The shop was running a 15% off Mother's Day deal, so I got a great price on it.

One of our favorite stores in Lake Geneva was this bookstore - The Breadloaf Bookshop. It used to be in a beautiful old white house on a corner across from the lake. We thought it had gone out of business several years ago, as when we were up there one time, the shop was gone. Imagine our delight when we were walking around and spied this door on the side of a used-to-be church building!

It was smaller than the old store, but still interesting to look around. Though we didn't get much of a chance because the shop owner was way too chatty. Perhaps that's why we were the only ones in there! 

I bought a book just to get the shop owner occupied with a transaction instead of nonstop chatter, though I do like supporting independent bookshops. We were then able to make our hasty exit.

When we'd had enough of Lake Geneva, we got in the car and headed a little further north to check out The Elegant Farmer.

Inside the store, we ended up getting some food items and then we checked out the greenhouse. I wasn't ready to purchase annuals just yet, but we did get some herbs for our herb garden, tomato plants and Kentucky pole bean plants.

Sunday was a gorgeous day. My wonderful husband worked out in the yard for eight hours. He dug out more garden space, dug out invasive plants, dug out weeds, trimmed bushes, and planted a peony bush, Bluebells, and the Celadine Poppy and Bishop's Cap plants I got at the native plant sale last week. Tim weeded the herb garden and planted sage, oregano and parsley. Good thing I have my guys - I still can't crouch all the way down nor kneel just yet. (Still healing from meniscus surgery.)

You can see the peony plant in the foreground; then my clematis (which is so healthy and growing like crazy!) and the newly dug garden space. We'll plant the tomatoes and pole beans there.

Brian got the ladder out of the garage and set it up in its usual spot; then I planted basil and dill in pots and put them on the ladder, along with a pot of pansies and the vintage metal carrier that I got at the antique shop last week.

This isn't the complete look with the ladder, but it's a start.

Bishop's Cap...

Celadine Poppy...

We had a pretty little visitor on the patio, too.

Of course, it was also Mother's Day - one of those holidays I have mixed emotions about, especially with the loss of Phil even more apparent. For dinner,  Brian barbequed bratwurst that we had gotten in Wisconsin, plus a grill basket of mixed veggies. This gift was in the card from Tim. Isn't that great? I can't wait to work with him on a header design for my blog.

The one mishap during the day was when I slammed my pinky toe into the leg of a nightstand. I can't tell you how many times I've smashed my toes on furniture, but this time was different...soon after my klutzy encounter, I noticed the toe was really swollen. I iced it, but a few hours later, it started turning purple on the inside and outside of the toe. I have a feeling I fractured it. 

Happy Monday, indeed!