Currently 06.2021

Lovelies, it’s time for the Currently 06.2021 link up.  As always, I am joining my friend Anne at Anne in Residence for this series. But a few days late as I have been out of town again.  June really snuck up on me after the long weekend.  For this edition we are sharing what we are  currently: celebrating, collecting, gifting, thinking, and trying.  If we are new friends, you can read last month’s Currently post, here.

Just a reminder:  Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After occasionally uses affiliate links. This means that if you click or make a purchase from a link provided I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you.  Thank you for your support.

CURRENTLY 06.2021

Celebrating…

being with my mom and introducing her to her namesake and third great granddaughter Camila Jean.  Lauren, Francisco, Lucia, Camila and I were in Kentucky with Mom when Anne’s link up went live.  So my post is a few days late.  We had a wonderful visit and Mom was like a different woman from the one we visited the end of April.  We celebrated being together.  And our liberation from all the year-long Covid restrictions.

Collecting…

all of my red, white and blue decor to set out this week.  Have had my spring-themed things out too long.  With the first day of summer just around the corner, it’s to decorate appropriately.  Think I will do 4th of July decorations the first half of the season and my cactus-themed stuff for the rest of the summer.  Found these festive lantern swags.  On Etsy, of course.  Thinking I need one for the lantern on my front porch bench.  Probably need a new lantern, too.

[source]

Gifting…

a copy of our June read to one lucky winner in my online book club.  What are we reading?  Why, thank you for asking!!  This month the gals voted to read People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry.  It was a close contest between that title and The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave.  Hope to get both read myself.  If you are looking for a low-key, online book club, have I got the perfect one for YOU!!  Check it out, here.

     

Thinking…

about some posts I want to write.  Seems that lately all I do is link ups.  I miss the posts that were a little more me.  A little more like creative writing.  Have several ideas.  Now to get them down on ‘paper’.

Trying…

a couple of the new trends shared in the Get Your Pretty On summer 2021 outfit formulas.  Like these rainbow stripe sandals for under $20.  They will go with everything.  Especially this crisp, white eyelet skirt that is also in the capsule.  You can join me by registering for this season’s capsule wardrobe using my affiliate link.  Not sure what the outfit formulas are like??  Get a free sampling, here.

SPRING 2021 GOALS UPDATE

Revealed my spring 2021 goals in April’s currently post.  Shared my progress last month.  Have about talked ourselves out of achieving goal 3.  Read below to find out why.

• Spring cleaning:  each room from top to bottom, including window washing and blinds, laundering bedding, curtains and drapes, and carpet cleaning.  Not setting the world on fire.  Have cleaned our master bedroom and bath, the kitchen, and now the linen closet.  Started on the upstairs guest bedroom before my trip to Kentucky.  Will carry on there in the coming week.  Have a look at my linen closet, though.  Each little Dollar Tree basket holds a set of sheets and pillowcases.

• Finish mosaic:  my #100DayProject. I have been working on it pretty regularly until the last week.  Finished!!  So proud of myself.  Added the last bit of glass on the last day of the #100DayProject.  For now, I have the mosaic sitting on a wicker patio table in our bedroom.  Not sure it will stay there but I am afraid the summer temps would be hard on the adhesive if I moved it on the patio.  Might loosen the glass.

• Begin side yard work:  in an effort to be more environmentally friendly, we are going to replace the grass on the west side of the house with xeriscaping.  Going to add a flagstone walk with rock landscaping around it.  Something like the one in this pin from Pinterest, meandering around our Texas ash and peach trees and our oleander.  We bought the supplies for reworking the sprinklers on the side yard.  And they are still in the trunk of my car.  In the meantime, the grass has started growing on that side of the house.  Which was the main reason we were going to undertake this project.  So we have put it on hold.  I would still like to have a path built but maybe we can have a path, some rock landscaping and the grass, too?

Hodgepodge

R, W & B

1. Besides the flag, tell us about something red, something white and something blue from your weekend.  Guess I would have to go with the tails of the American Airlines planes we flew on to and from Kentucky.  Oh, and Lucia and Cami’s tee shirts at our Memorial Day BBQ.

Balloon Bouquet

2. June is here and it’s National Give A Bunch of Balloons Month. Who would you give a bunch to if you could? Tell us why.   May I have more than one bunch of balloons to give?  Pretty please with sugar on top?  I would give one to Amy, the director of Cedarhurst of Beaumont, the assisted living community where my mom lives.  Amy has taken a personal interest in my mom and in helping us ensure that Mom gets the very best care.  If I can have another bouquet, may I give it to my brother Kevin’s girlfriend LeeAnn for hosting us for Memorial Day.  It was the first time in YEARS that my mom had been in someone’s home.  We enjoyed a delicious meal, a beautiful afternoon and good company.  If you’ll allow me a third bouquet, I would send it to my sister Valerie for finally finishing up this very unusual and stressful school year.

June in Words

3. What are three adjectives you associate with the month of June? Something you’re looking forward to this month?  Hopeful, restorative, smoldering.  When I was still working, June was always a restorative, hopeful month because it held the first days of summer vacation for this tired librarian.  Smoldering because the summer heat is just beginning.  This month, I look forward to being home, getting my spring cleaning finished, enjoying time in the pool.

Stuck in Second

4. Tell us about a time (besides the obvious Corona answer) when you felt stuck in second gear.  June of 1980.  I graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 12.1979.  Remained in Knoxville working as a substitute teacher until the end of the school year.  Then in June, I moved back home to sticky, humid, hot Memphis.  That summer I felt stuck in second gear living in my parents’ home, driving my unairconditioned MG Midget from job interview to job interview, trying to land my first teaching job.  To no avail.

Remembering May

5. Sum up your May in fifteen words or less.  Began and ended happily tired after visits to Kentucky to be with my mom.

Randomness

6. Insert your own random thought here.   I am so thankful that this last trip to Kentucky was so perfect.  When I left my mom the end of April, I was afraid we were in for a very difficult May.  But Mom has rallied again.  She is amazing!!  And I am so thankful to God that we were able to enjoy a visit with her where she wasn’t sick, or locked up in her apartment or, worse yet, in the hospital.  The weather was cooperative, Lucia and Camila were absolutely delightful.  Mom enjoyed 4 meals out, a BBQ at the home of my brother’s girlfriend, a shopping trip to Target, and a tour of The Kentucky Castle.  Thank God that Covid is behind us, that she was able to finally meet her namesake, Camila Jean.

Your Turn

 
Did you join Anne for Currently 06.2021?  If so, I will try to run by to check out your responses to this month’s prompts.  Thank you for coming by to visit me.

As per usual, I am behind in all things blog related.  I don’t know how everyone else manages!!  I cannot seem to balance living life with blogging about it and reading the blogs about all my friends’ lives, too.  Just not enough hours in the day.  Or I am not managing my 24 hours very well.

Off to PC’s ball game.  Predicted high of 100* today.  Game starts at 1 pm.  It is not yet noon and we are almost to 90*.  Yikes.  Hope you are doing something fun this weekend.

Hugs and kisses,