A farewell to summer - some summer scenes

I can't believe it's over already, but it seems to be the way it always goes.

I thought I'd share a few highlight pics of summer; despite a lot of rain, it was still a beautiful one.

July 4th fireworks over the river.

Small town, so zero traffic problems and a million great places to watch them from.

Can't really ask for more than that.

Free sunset and symphony concert at the fort.

This is one of my favorite events of summer.

This photo was taken during the concert.

💗

This waterfall is 45 minutes from where I grew up, and I never knew about it until last year!

Next time I'm wearing a bathing suit.

View from the living room window.

I hadn't cleaned it yet, but I still love this pic!

More fireworks, but with drones too!

And over the lake this time...

A lot of summer days with weather like this.

Some stormy days are the most beautiful.

First boat ride where we stayed out after dark.

The city looks beautiful all lit up.

I'm always grateful for the beautiful things I get to see, and I try not to take them for granted.  These pictures are all from the small town where I grew up, and I certainly didn't appreciate it back then as I do now.  And wherever we go, we always try to be near the water!

Summer's over, on to fall!  So much beauty in this season already. 🍁

The best church basement sale!

About a month ago, I was out and about when I stumbled across a flyer for a church basement sale going on across town.  It had been a while since I'd been to a church basement sale, so I thought I'd check it out.

This one was in the basement of an enormous Catholic church, and it seemed like it had a million donors.  Not only was there a lot of great stuff, but it was super cheap!  There was furniture and home decor galore...it made for a fun afternoon!

I ended up carrying two big boxes of stuff to my car; the whole bill was just $47.50.  Not bad!  Here are a few of my favorite things I got:

I've always loved these vintage wooden baskets.  (What a lot of effort went in to making this!)

But I've never seen one for $2 (like this one) before!

I want to line it and use it as a planter.

There was something about the mid-century design of this vase that I just loved.

You can't tell how big it is from the photo; it's very large!

$5.

Did I need it?  No.

Who cares?  It was $5.

I just love these little egg vases; I think they're perfect for spring flowers.

A $5 Fenton hobnail handkerchief vase?  Score!

I love the style of these vases.

Someone didn't know what they were pricing...

I bought a bunch of never burned candles and wax melts for about $6.

 I always pick up games and puzzles for the lake house (or me if I don't' already have them).

These were $1 each and in like-new condition.

What else did I buy?  Well, I got quite a few books for a dollar each (or less).  I scored a bundle of little garden flags - there were about 15, and all in good shape - for $5.  Now I have garden flags for every season, including St. Patrick's Day and Valentine's Day.  (I probably never would have bought those new, but they're nice to have.)

I also got a really nice outdoor flower pot for $2, some never-used, large Pampered Chef cookie stamps (in their original boxes with instructions) for $1 each and a pretty stained glass nativity set for $2.

Such a fun afternoon!  I like to be able to change things around in my house and garden without spending a lot.  I like having new board games and books to read and cookie stamps for a few dollars.  It's nice to have some new things without feeling guilty about spending a lot of money.

Church basement sale, thanks for the good time!  Hope to see you again next summer. 😇