Welcome to the 376th Metamorphosis Monday!
The past couple of weeks have been busy ones. With friends coming to stay for a few days, I threw it into high gear and cleaned all those places that never seem to make it to the top of the cleaning list…things like shutters and molding.
During my cleaning frenzy, even though the pollen siege wasn’t quite over, I wet a tissue (a la Mom) and tried to get that big, yellow, pollen smudge off the face of the screened porch. I think it looked presentable when my guests arrived. Just don’t rub your hand over the top of the ceiling fans, never made it to those. That’s a job that requires breaking out the tall stepladder I keep in the basement.
Last week I bought a pretty red geranium for the chippy chair I keep over by the swing.
I even bought a fluffy Boston fern (couldn’t find my favorite Kimberly Queen Fern that doesn’t shed) and a Peace Lily for the corner by the hutch. I’m not the greatest with indoor plants so we’ll see how the Peace Lily works out. lol
The hutch got a little makeover with my fave porch dishes, Tabletops Unlimited, Ma Maison. (Click those links for a couple of tablescapes with Ma Maison)
A little view through the screen in the evening as the sunlight begin to fade and the porch gets cozy for the night…
The pollen isn’t near as intense as it was a week ago; I think pollen season is almost over. We had a gorgeous spring here this year. In another week the view through those windows will be all green.
Today, I need to hook the gas grill back up. It was disconnected when the decks were cleaned last Thursday. It has a “quick connect” attachment to the gas line, so that should only take a minute.
If you’re interested in adding a screened porch to your home some day, check out this previous post for all the details on what was involved when I replaced my old deck with this porch: Screened in Porches: How Much Do They Cost to Build
I have another job awaiting me today. The new post caps are primed and ready to be painted. I thought about using my paint sprayer to spray them, but I think I’ll just hand-brush them. I want to make sure they each get a couple of good coats of paint. They will need it for all the cleaning they will get over the next few years, a necessity with a backyard full of trees.
What’s on your agenda today? Is the pollen finally slowing down a little in your area, or are you further north where it’s just getting started? It’s worth it for all those gorgeous flowers and leafy trees! 🙂
Looking forward to all the wonderful Before and Afters for this Metamorphosis Monday!
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Thanks for the party, Susan. Pollen season hasn’t even begun here, yet, but it’s coming! We just need the snow to stop. We’ll move from shoveling to sweeping! 😉
Hope it stops soon, Kim! Wishing you lots of sunny, warm days very soon!
Hi Susan, thank you for hosting today… I didn’t know that about the not shedding fern variety! I’ll have to look into that. I love ferns on my front north facing porch, but the shedding mess is a deterrent. Have a nice visit with your company. 🙂
It really did work great and didn’t shed. I need to read that older post I wrote when I bought the last one, to see where I purchased it that year. Kimberly Queen ferns have more of an upright growing habit, don’t drape over as much as a Boston fern, so not sure how great they look in hanging pots…but they work well for regular pots.
Susan, thanks for hosting! We’re just getting into spring here, and I can’t wait. My favorite time of year.
Mine too, Jann. Love the light staying with us longer each day. 🙂
You have been busy as always! I need to start buying flowers for my back porch. I also have a big empty spot where an oleander died. It’s right by the porch so I need something short or airy so I can see through or over it.
What is the soonest they recommend flowers in your area, Jan? Here, they tell us to wait until April 15…so hard to do!
I am in love with your screen in porch! I love porches and always have. Don’t have one, but wish I did. I can see snuggling up with a good book on your porch in the day or evening. I can see lots of good times happen on that porch. I will just have to live through your beautiful and fun porch. lol Hugs, Brenda
Thanks, Brenda. I wish everyone lived close enough to come over and enjoy it anytime they wished. It could be a community porch for all to enjoy. 🙂
While looking at your beautiful porch, I smiled when seeing my lamp sitting on your hutch, and the candle holder on the coffee table! I bought the lamps in Florida and have them in the bedroom, and two candle holders at Micheals. Even though I’m in Ontario, Canada, and your in the south, we still seem to be on the same wavelength!! So enjoying reading your updates!
I love that lamp, Jule. I can’t remember now where I purchased it, probably HomeGoods are Marshalls since those are so close to me.
Hope you guys are warming up there, too! I would love to visit Canada one day…on my bucket list!
I am so excited that spring seems to have arrived and I hope that last cold snap is now over! Your porch looks fabulous as always! Thanks for hosting! Hugs…Debbie
Me, too! It keeps teasing us with the freak warm periods, then back to cold again. Have a great week, Debbie! We need to get together and go antiquing or to A Classy Flea sometime. 🙂
Pollen and screen porches are not made for each other! Thankfully most of it is gone and we can enjoy the porch a bit more. Hope the same is true for you.
lol Well, at least a porch can be washed down. Yep, I think we’re on the waning side of the pollen now, Linda.
I didn’t know that about the fern either. We were just talking about this the other day with friends and we were saying how that’s a deterrent for us to having any. I going to checkout that link.
Thank you for the link up Susan!
It really did work, Doreen…didn’t shed and it was wonderful!
Spring? We had snow on Saturday! What the heck? We never get snow in spring. I was sure all our gorgeous Bradford pear trees would lose their blooms but they held strong. I was feeling deflated, thinking mother nature was going to take away my spring cheer after dreaming of it those last cold weeks of winter. We have an area close to our home that has old growth big forsythias and they border a golf course for a few miles–it is stunning and I am always so thrilled to see it every spring, so I’m glad they didn’t get ruined by our crazy weather. I always love to see your porch, Susan. It is such a cozy place. Sure wish we had one like it!
Your porch looks beautiful! Peace lilies are pretty hard to kill, I bet that one will do just fine. I hope the pollen season is about over, but I’m in far north GA, so ours is still going on a bit longer than yours. Rain every few days helps, though. Happy spring!
Oh Susan, your porch looks so amazing! I know you must be excited with the cleaning, newly painted caps, and being able to accent. We still have the pollen showers to happen, but in my continued miscellaneous musings, today I am cleaning roof pads for my soon to be replaced porch balcony! Not what I was planning to do this morning, but happy the rain held off long enough for contractors to be here – YAY! I have been really busy getting the jump on garden chores too. I need a vacation! Thanks for having us over.
Thanks, Rita! I forgot to tell you how much I like your new shoes in the comment I left on your post. Those are so pretty…glad you bought both! Looking forward to seeing your porch balcony! With houses there is always something to be repaired or repainted or something, it seems.
I always love seeing your porch! I am in coastal Alabama so our pollen season ended about 10 days ago, so not much longer for you. I washed my small screen porch last weekend & I am headed out now to attempt the frontporch cleaning today. Praying my new hose will reach the distance. Time to enjoy our outdoor porches.
Hi Susan! What I wouldn’t give for a porch and a beautiful view like yours. You’ve made it so cozy and elegant.
Aww, thanks Pat. XX
Thanks so much for the party!!
Hugs,
Debbie
Hi Susan! Oh how I always love your beautiful porch – so pretty no matter what the season . Jane
Thanks so much, Jane! XX
I must say that even though all the pictures of this porch are wonderful, they don’t completely capture the essence of your porch. This porch is really beautiful, cozy and serene in real life. While sitting on the Porch you hear a symphony of birds calling to each other. There are Tufted Titmouse, Cardinals, Goldfinch, several varieties of woodpeckers and even a red tailed hawk. And on the lawn next door are 3 Canadian geese…real ones. This is what my aunt and I enjoyed during our visit. It was wonderful. In a few weeks, once the trees are completely leafed out, it will be like sitting in a tree house in the woods. Susan’s porch is wonderful. I wish everyone could see it for real. Can’t wait to see the new post caps installed.
Linda, it was so much fun having you and Diane here. I wish the weather had been a tad warmer. At least we got in a little porch time before it turned chilly. Get that foot all healed up and come back so we can party on the porch! 🙂 I was so tickled that you guys got to see Mr. Pileated stopping by for a visit. He only comes once or twice a day so usually I’m the only one who gets to see him.
Susan, I never heard of Kimberly queen fern….I looked it up on google….they are available to be shipped by Home Depot , 22.00….not to bad. Have a BEAUTIFUL SPRING!!!
Awesome! I didn’t see them in my local store the other day…good to know they can ship them!
The red geranium is so cheerful, and the fern reminds me of a summer day. Looks like spring truly has arrived in your neck of the woods. Thanks for hosting the party!
Your porch has gone through a re-birth!! Everything looks SO FRESH and “together!!” It is SO WINDY here…I can’t believe it! Trust me…if it “stopped”…we would all “fall over!” 🙂 franki
Hi! Please tell me where I can find a white dining table like yours for our porch. I have the wicker chairs, but just can’t find a table that is that pretty and large enough to seat 6. Thanks so much!! (I love your screened porch and deck set-up! In my dreams, I have one just like it! 🙂 )
Thanks so much, Beverly! I got lucky when I found that one. It was in a Pier 1 store back in 2008 when the porch was just being completed. They almost wouldn’t let me buy it. It didn’t have a price tag on it and the associate in the store telephoned the manager who said it wasn’t for sale. He told her it was supposed to have been a “catalog purchase only” item and had been shipped to them in error.
It was exactly what I needed/wanted for the porch so I pleaded with the manager and he relented and they sold it to me. I couldn’t get it home fast enough…was afraid they would change their mind. Not sure why they didn’t want to let it go. I noticed this year, Pier 1 has the same white, outdoor wicker seating group back in that I purchased from them that spring, also. So you may want to go into one of their stores and ask to see their catalog, just in case they have a dining table/chairs you would like. The table and chairs I purchased are not “outdoor” furniture, but they have held up very well. I may need to paint them in a few more years but they’ve done well the 8 years they’ve been out on the porch.
The Peace Lily should do fine, as long as you remember they like a lot more water than most house plants. Here it has gone between warm and summer like to expecting snow again this week. But that is life in the mountains. I need a screened porch so I could glass it in for winter then screens in summer, I just love yours.
Your screen porch is what my little screen porch would like to be when it grows up! Have a lovely week!
🙂 Linda
Enjoy your beautiful porch! We’ve had snow every day for a week here in Michigan so sitting on the deck is still in the distant future. Yours looks wonderful, as usual! Thanks so much for hosting!
love and blessings~
Lynda @ Gates of Crystal
Our little porch is still thick with pollen, but we’re hoping to get out there later this week to tackle things. Maybe the rain tomorrow will wash some of it off the screens for us.
Hi Susan! Thanks again for another great party! Your porch looks so pretty all ready for entertaining and I love the red geraniums you picked up! For some reason only 1 of my 3 links worked (saying I didn’t have a link back which I double checked and do, weird) so I checked the box on linkz for them. Have a wonderful rest of your week and take care, Tara
Love the geranium with your white furniture, and you’ll love the peace lily, that’s the one plant I can keep alive, they are very forgiving! You always make me feel like a slacker when I see all your projects!! Thanks for the party, your porch looks summer ready!
Hi Susan, Our pollen is on the decline, thank goodness, but we’re still taking our Zyrtec everyday *achoo* 🙂 I so love your porch! We just had ours pressure washed and repainted, including the floor which was a chore to move all the furniture but so worth it. Thanks for hosting!
Oh Susan, what a great party. Thanks so much for hosting and so many wonderful posts.
Have a great week and I love your porch, looks terrific.
Mary
Love the porch as always. My favorite spot! Yesterday was 4 inches of snow and sleet, today it made it almost to 60! YEA! This week in the 40 – 50’s and by the weekend maybe to 70! Finally! Life in the north does have it’s challenges!! We won’t be able to plant anything until after Memorial Day to insure no hard frosts, so we’ll enjoy all of your lovely plants. Will keep in mind the Kimberly Queen Fern, she’s a beauty.
Thanks for the tip about the fern. I want one for my front porch this year. I love, LOVE your porch. I have always wanted one but it is not to be. Thanks so much for hosting. I am very late to the party, I was out all day, then dinner, then a meeting. UGH! But had a great day!!!!
PS, don’t overwater the peace lily!!! They can go for a long time without water. I had one for many years.
Thanks for hosting Susan!
We just moved to North Carolina and we’re dealing with the pollen too. Soon enough, though, it will be gone and the warm weather will be here to stay. I always love to see your pretty screened porch, Susan.
Susan, your porch is looking beautiful. As for SPRING; is that something they use to use in the construction of mattresses as the way our weather has been it appears we just might go straight into summer. Last week we had a mini blizzard which is even unusual for us being as far North that I am, but having longer days of sunlight is certainly appreciated. All said; HAPPY SPRING to you! (Don’t work too, too hard.) -Brenda-
A screened porch is something we’ve always wanted to do to our home – maybe this is the year we finally go ahead and do it. Yours looks amazing!
Hi Susan,
Hubby and I are visiting our sons in the Marietta/Powder Springs area the end of April. Any suggestions for some quaint shops to peruse?
Your porch looks absolutely beautiful. Our weather in DC has been crazy! Snowed on Saturday and now it is 75 degrees. Looking forward to spending time on my deck 🙂
I always love seeing your porch! We’ve had some cool temperatures and rain but both are over, for a few days. Thanks for hosting another great party!
Okay, Susan. You officially have another follower who wants to “copy” your screened in porch design. I have found answers to most of my questions by reading your very thorough posts and the FAQ. However, I have not seen this question. Can your kindly provide the dimensions of the 3 screened in openings directly behind the small wicker table (has a lamp on it)? Thanks for your help!
I just measured them and the two end windows/openings are 71 inches wide and the center window/opening is 61 inches wide. I remember my contactor saying they needed to be designed that way due to the placement of the support posts under the porch. The supports for that wall had to line up with the supports underneath…and those were spaced according to the view out of the basement windows, I think. Hard to explain.
Thank-you for so graciously answering all our many questions!!!
I absolutely love your white table and the chairs with the wicker backs. I’m redoing my kitchen and would like to find something similar,, any suggestions
Thanks, Brenda! That set was kind of a miracle find. Just as the porch was nearing completion back in 2008, I began looking for a dining set for that area. I sorta had in mind what I wanted and walked into Pier 1 and it was right by their front entrance. At first they wouldn’t sell it to me. The manager said that it was sent to them in error and was a catalog order only item. I BEGGED and he relented and let me buy it. I’ve never seen it anywhere else, so not sure if anyone else carried it.
I wish I knew where to tell you to look. The best time of year to look for wicker furniture is in the spring because that’s when the stores start getting it in. This set is really made for indoors, but it’s held up well on the porch despite all the big temperature changes it has gone through. I know this isn’t much help. If you can wait until next spring, you’ll have more of a selection as stores starting getting in their wicker furniture.