It's The Little Things!

June has been a busy month so far...and after being homebound for the last two years, that's a good thing.

Sharing some little things I have found or purchased that made a BIG difference for me - 

First up is a trick I learned from Kathryn at Do It On A Dime

I really enjoy all of her tips on shopping at Dollar Tree, Walmart, and other stores.  This tip helps your grommet drapery look great.

We have some grommet drapes on our screen porch to provide shade from the sun in the late afternoon...and to give us a little privacy, too. I also love the "look" they give to our screen porch. But, they never looked even at the top.  If I moved the drapes all close together and a windy day came along they would look all messy and not evenly spaced.  Kathryn shared this trick - 

This is how the drapes looked before I started....

Don't throw out the paper cylinders from your toilet paper...I did not have enough tp rolls, but I had some paper towel cardboard that I used as well.

Cut the paper roll in half on the long side...

and open up the roll.

Since I did not have enough to do the entire projects with tp rolls, I cut the paper towel rolls to the same size.

Next, take the cardboard roll and insert in around the rod in between the grommets..

Repeat as necessary...I did not put one on the end as I like the drape to be right up against the side of the porch - this keeps more sunshine out. But....I just LOVE the way all the folds look so nice and even!

You can see here how finished the drapes look now....a contrast from before.  Note:  Over a few weeks with very windy, stormy weather I found one or two of the rolls turned around and fell off.  I just put them back on and tacked them together with masking tape  - that way even if the wind gets very strong and the rolls turn around they won't fall off.   OK...it is a little thing - but now every time I step out on our porch I think " I love that way that looks".  Easy, peasy, and no cost.  Thank you , Kathryn!  Check out her blog and YouTube channel...she has some amazing ideas.

Have you tried frozen avocados ?  I spied these in Wegmans and gave them a try - we love avocado toast, avocados on our salads, etc.   But...I found that I rarely got a great avocado.  Not yet ripe, wait a bit...oh no, now overripe, and not ready when I want them   So I gave these a try - I think they are meant to be used in smoothies, but I just take some out of the freezer bag and let them thaw for a few minutes ( I might have even zapped them in the microwave!) and they are perfect on salads, tacos, and mash up great for toast.  I will definitely be stocking up on these!

Not much else is new at Our New Vista...we had a busy week last week when we drove to Kentucky to visit friends - 

We drove as far as the Flight 93 Memorial and spent about two hours there.  It is so sad and so moving to be in that space.  We got there in time for the Park Ranger talk and he was wonderful.  

The Tower of Voices was such and unusual and moving site.

So glad we made the trip and gave our respects to the victims who fought and perished there.

Our dear friends invited us to see Hamilton at the Kentucky Center for the Arts and it was amazing.  We had a great couple of days catching up with our friends...then headed home for a very special event at our church.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry visited our church to bless and dedicate a Black History marker  - our church was founded in 1744 and has many historical graves and markers from the Revolution       (including some signers of the Declaration of Independence and soldiers).  Recently the churchyard was renovated and new signage was erected...including signs about Black History.  There was a wonderful reception, the Bishop gave a great talk, and then attended Compline...an evening prayer service.  I was able to meet Bishop Curry and shake his hand...and was impressed by the feeling of joy, peace, love and acceptance that radiates from him.

We finished the week off  with a date night for dinner and Man of La Mancha at our local, wonderful Fulton Theater.

It was a wonderful show and the voices of the lead players were amazing!

That's it...I am pooped.  Ready for a lazy, hazy summer day on our porch with a good book!

Hope you are enjoying the summer - thanks SO much for stopping by Our New Vista.  I would love to hear from you  - please leave a comment below...and have a great week!