~ veranda stories ~ celebrating Earth day...

hello : )

happy Monday and thank you all oh so very dearly for your charming comments 

on the {previous post}! 

...am almost sure that the photographer (secretly reading at some point of the day) is equally happy with me for your kind words about his photography. One thing is certain: he knows his subject well ;)

...now off to share some Veranda Stories with you!

...they took place all day long yesterday and this morning...and as I' ve just returned from an afternoon swim in magical waters 

{just about a 7' min drive from where I'm staying at  Apart 44}, 

writing a blog post seems the right thing to do....with a full cup of {light} Greek coffee in hand and a bunch of freshly baked cookies with raisins & nuts by my side, soon about to disappear

...was wondering...have you by any chance noticed or remembered that yesterday {05.06} was the World Environment Day?

I might have not run out to clean Greek beaches, stillI tried my best to give some meaning to this day.

...to begin with, I gave Chloe {my car} a rest and stayed at home. Neither did I use any other method of transport at all. The basic reason though was to avoid the heavy traffic that takes place on sunny, summer Sundays, like yesterday.

...the whole day was spent at the veranda instead, engaging in a number of projects.

Gardening was one of them. Three baby Aloe Veras were withdrawn from the big mama {seen below}

and got prepared to be planted in pots, or else, the decoration to be of the new table I'm in the process of making.

I love Aloe plants and they grow incredibly fast! The one seen below started a couple of years ago, being so small like the ones above. It already has provided us with a another plant exactly its size and soon three new, smaller plants.

For the time being one of the little baby Aloes is planted in a spare, square ceramic pot in dark grey {matching the floor tiles} and the other two are resting in re-purposed Bonne Maman jars, until a proper, stylish & economic way of planting them is found.

...above you can see the square pot mentioned. It will be finished with a  layer of white pebbles on top, which is used to cover the top of all pots in the veranda.

...let me give you some basic info about the veranda....

Furniture wise:

1. white chairs ~> URBAN Ikea 

2. double sitter sofa with wooden frame {painted white}~> Ikea Lillberg {quite possibly no longer available}

3. plastic white planters ~> IKEA PS FEJÖ

4. table ~>

base: a simple design I made, drew, gave to a local craftsman and had it made.

It is currently under construction as I have just painted it with a weather-shield base. Matt water colour in the same grey hue will be coated, two times most possibly.

surface: four pieces of  the painted wooden floor used to cover all the living areas of the apartment, plus the kitchen.

Floor tiles: > dark grey mat finish found in local {kinda secret} suppliers ; )

Decoration items: 

~ jars: bonne maman + other

~ flowers from the garden

~ grey pebbles collected during these lovely, recent relaxing days

~ pretty paper in earthy tones  & cotton rope for new projects that I have undertaken

{will keep you posted!}

...in the L shaped veranda, measuring 20 sm altogether, there are three of these plastic, white Ikea planters, two of which are carrying Aloe Vera plants & one a little but mighty olive tree! 

{the little bubble in the left corner}

...above & below you can see some temporary decorating attempts made, using only what already exists; was actually quite happy to have discovered these colourful little ceramic plates in a cupboard.

Love the fresh green, turquoise, aubergine purple & of white colours they have!

...and below are a few shots of the temporary arrangement and a close look at the table's surface, which is actually a floor, an idea that grows to me more and more... matching wonderfully with the sand beige colour of the veranda's textured walls and most important of all, not costing a cent.

I still need to fix it stably on the base though; but this, after I finish coating the matt grey paint.

...to finish this post, how about some thoughts related to World Environment day?

...the best part would be to actually turn them into "dos" every day of the year I guess...

~ cherish plants & nature

~ take care of plants at home

~ enjoy walks in the woods, at parks, by the river, lake or sea

~ use public transport as often as possible

~ if owning a big car, let's keep it for our long distance car trips as often as possible

~ walk, ride bicycles, take the tram, bus or metro instead

~ avoid driving in the centre of cities by car

{there is enough carbon dioxide already}

~ always carry a reusable shopping bag 

{this light grey one with the polka dots, seen laying on the white chair in the middle of the post, is washable, folds in a tiny package and can be found in many stores and pretty designs for as little as 2 euros per piece. Not to mention that it ensures being stylish even when carrying groceries or unexpected finds!}

~ recycle ~ repurpose ~ reuse ~ get informed

~ recycling & taking care of the environment (our planet = our home) 

is a  necessity , perhaps a trend as well, still this is rather a positive "fire starter" and not the essential.

....this post has been taking forever!....and have not yet asked you, how you are....how has the weekend been and actually how has the new week begun... probably you missed Environment day, but there should be no worries over the matter...it isn't but a symbolic reminder, isn't it?...every day  is a perfect chance to do something meaningful for ourselves & the environment...

Hope you are well & c u around here soon : )