Second Oldest Daughter Graduating and where does the time go?

 Sabrina is graduating High School on Saturday.

 She wore this hot dog hat most of our vacation. Fearless girl.

 This was the first day of 4th grade for Sabrina and the first year that we all lived in the same house. Samantha the oldest pictured here in 7th grade is my daughter. Sabrina and Kaleb are Joe's children who we have had the pleasure of having custody of and raising for the last 10 years.

Here are all of our girls. Miss Sophie hating the hat her sisters put on her. She was never one for photos.

Wishing Sabrina wings so that she may soar.

 Where does the time go?

I feel like running away to the beach

Today, I feel like packing a bag, grabbing Joe and running away to the beach. We live in the northern  Idaho, surrounded by mountains and trees. I am craving the vastness of the ocean.

I want to feel the sand between my toes.

I want to feel the ocean breeze.

And see sunsets that take my breath away.

I want to feel like these folks, completely relaxed and free.

But it's Monday and I have work to do and a family that needs me. So I will keep these photos in my mind as I grab my to-do list and get to work.

It's going to be a good day!

Our Garden Patio

If you walk through our garden gate you will see my potting bench on the right.

My Hosta patch and old rusty bed frame on the left. Clematis grows up the lattuce in the middle. I can't wait to see it's purple blooms.

Next to my Hosta patch, under the cherry tree sits this little table and chairs. My favorite spot to bring a book or my laptop.

My Lilac tree is growing right over the shop door. It smells so good.

 Lilacs are my favorite flowers. The dark purple ones are from the Lilac tree shown in this garden, the white and light purple ones grow in the front yard. The bottles I found while hiking at the Sunshine Cabin.

These boards were once our basement stairs. We replaced them and placed them here 3 years ago.They have aged so well. I just love them.

This is my little potting bench. Joe made it for me years ago. I am going to put that sink in it, I think. I could hook the hose up and just let it drain to the ground. It will be great for a quick clean up after working in the garden. Read about the junk on my potting bench HERE.

I am working on lighting for this area that I  can't wait to share with you.

Linking up with:

What is that JUNK? On the potting bench

 This is my potting bench. My handy husband Joe made me 4 years ago out of scrap pallet wood. Love it, oh, and him too!  Over the years, I have covered the top of it with various objects d' art... well, at least they are art according to me. "What the heck is all that JUNK," you might ask?

Well....

 This is "Mr. Happy" and "Mr. Grumpy". I know that Mr. Happy was once the bracket that held together some old saw horses, because I have 4 of them and personally took part in the dismantling and subsequent kidnapping of them. Mr. Grumpy, however, came from the woods. In a pile of old rusty things, he was looking up at me. His blue teeth all bared. I just had to bring him home. I have no idea what he originally was. Any ideas??

The lower portion of my potting bench is more practical, old shovel, sprinkler, handleless rake, old bottles... all the usual stuff... roller skate, bird nest. It does work well for potting plants, the dirt just falls between the wood slats to the plastic bin of soil below.

"Wait... roller skate?"

Yep, this old roller skate use to be mine as a child, it hung on my Dad's garage wall for years.

This huge fan was once part of a car, I think. I found it in the woods too. The things you find while huckleberry picking in Idaho are astounding, really. This Folgers Coffee can was with it. Treasure to me, trash to others. (Huge push for recycling here, this can is at least 30 years old and you can still read it. NOT biodegradable.Tin is recyclable. OK, off my soap box....)

 Last summer a robin made this lovely nest in our carport. She didn't come back this year so I moved the nest here. Talk about ART!

For more fun and Funky Junk hop on over to the Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors.

Sunshine Cabin

This little abandon cabin is located on the Sunshine road. It is a shot gun style shack, you can see straight through from the front door to the back. It has the same facade on both ends, not sure which is which actually.

The back, I think.

The front. The best thing about this little baby besides is obvious rusty charm is....

This is on the property. River and bridge... Wouldn't this make a fantastic weekend get-away?  If it was for sale, I'd be writing to you about how it's MINE... ALL MINE. {In my dreams...}

I fell in love with this crooked little bridge.

It just invites you to cross and walk into the wilderness on the other side.

Joe bravely walked out onto a rock that is in this freezing cold creek and took this photo. {He's the best!}

This is the cabin's closest neighbor for miles and miles...

This is the view from the bridge.

I got brave and walked out on the bridge a few feet. Until Joe told me, "That's far enough." {Sounded like my Dad. LOL!} Hope you are having fantastic week.

This will probably be my only post this month. My daughter, Samantha, is a senior and I have been running around like a mad woman helping with the senior mothers stuff as well as helping her get all her grades up and credits in line. Amazing how they think they can slack when they are seniors, just when it gets really, really hard. So until next time, my friends.

Barns, Shacks and Outbuildings, Oh My....

On our way home from Seattle, we stopped at the Thorp, WA Fruit Stand. If you are ever out that direction, just outside of Elllensburg, WA, this is a must see. It is 3 stories of antiques and farm fresh fruits and veggies. {Sorry I didn't get a photo of it.Check out their website HERE.} After leaving the Fruit Stand, I spied this old barn across the freeway and headed over to snap a few photos. {Drove my teenagers nuts, but I told them it was the barn they were born in so they'd better pay attention. That confused them enough to buy me some time there. LOL!}

This massive barn must be 3 stories tall. It has seen better days but still seems to house some cows and farm equipment.

From this moment on, my husband and I had a plan. Photograph every barn, shack and outbuilding that caught our eye on the way home. It was an adventure that the kids eventually joined in on. It's a 5 hour drive so they were desperate for something to do after a while. Keep in mind we were in a moving car most of the time while shooting these pics. You can see the photos better if you click on them to enlarge.

 This tiny vintage barn sits in the middle of a field. There is nothing but plowed fields around it for what appeared miles. No home in sight, just this little old barn. If I had the time, I would have hiked out to it.

I wish I had a good zoom lense, I want to see this little beauty up close.

Fields as far as the eye can see... all soon to be fields of green. Look at those clouds! We were headed right towards that rain storm.

Rusty grain silo is a thing of beauty...

This old farm house and out buildings look heavenly to me...

This old Dairy is in our hometown. My husband works with it's owner and asked if I could take a tour and photograph it and the owner said yes! That's how we are spending our day on Friday! I can't wait! It's pealing brick exterior and old rusty parts are just beautiful to me. I can't wait to get inside.

Linking To:

The Shabby Chic Cottage

Vintage Thingy Thursday at The Colorado Lady

Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special

Barn Charm