Our weekend started with a blank dirt slate.

After a bit of muscle flexing by Ross, the fence-post cement was excavated.

While it wasn’t easy, it did take less then time than we anticipated. This was the only event that took less time than anticipated.

After a trip to Lowes and Western Gardens, our second veggie plot is ready to grow.

The poles are for the beans. I know it’s a wimpy structure. I was trying to use what I had on hand. Next year, I’ll build something stronger. The plans are already brewing in my head. I just need to write them down in my idea notebook.

Lesson learned: Vermiculite is less expensive at Western Gardens than Lowes. Who would have thought?

We have this odd cement square in the middle of our grass. Ross decide to make it a mint garden with spearmint and chocolate mint.

The cement hole is about two feet deep, which should help control the growth. Otherwise, Ross plans on trimming it with the weed eater. I hope it works out for the mint and Ross.

Also, here a week two picture of veggie plot #1.

The plants are growing. It has been a rough two weeks for these plants. It has rained a lot. The nights have been cold. One day it snowed. Miraculously, the plants have flourished. A few tomato plants got a bit of frost bite. We did lose a few plants, but not to the weather. We think a bird came and pulled out a few plants. Since one plant was an anaheim pepper, we hope the bird learned it’s lesson. If not, our cat, Calypso, is totally willing to put the bird population in its place. She asks to go outside everyday.

And one last photo for this post.

This is our honeysuckle. Last  year, we built the trellis. The honeysuckle really didn’t take to it. However, this year looks like a winner. It is growing right up the trellis. I can’t wait to see the blossoms.

Last fall, I planted tulip bulbs in the front yard. They have been growing for over a month. Yesterday, they finally opened their blossoms. I’m not disappointed. I love spring.

Photo was taken from my phone. I hope to capture a better picture soon. Hopefully, the storm will be kind.

This year we decided to tackle the backyard. While it doesn’t look horrible, portions of the yard haven’t really been touched in decades. Anything that is growing survived years of neglect.

Here’s the short list of activities:

• Cut down garbage trees and dead trees
• Weed large flower bed
• Fill trailer with old wood bins, picket fence, and other debris
• Trim crabapple tree
• Plant lots of plants in the front yard

My nemesis, our neighbors dead pine tree, is schedule to be cut down in a few weeks. Then we’ll have a new set of projects:

• Tear down shed
• Remove old fence
• Build new fence
• Build raised beds for vegetables (the vegetables probably won’t be planted until next year)

It’s fun to see our yard transform into a place we love.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

• Empty room
• Remove wall lights that were way too high
• Make junction box covers for electrical wires
• Plaster over the holes

Thursday, January 1, 2009

• Sand plaster
• Wait for plaster to dry
• Turn up the heat to help the plaster dry
• Put Christmas decorations away
• Sand more plaster
• Finally paint the ceiling with two coats of paint
• Crash sometime after 1 am

Friday, January 2, 2009

• Paint wall with two coats of paint

Saturday, January 3, 2009

• Clean up paint on the ceiling
• Paint trim on windows
• Put the bedroom back together

This list of my daily activities makes it sound so simple. Yet the experience exhausted me. I still need to paint the closets. Before this happens I need a plan for closet organizers. Any affordable ideas that don’t involved wire shelves?

Even with our old bedspread and mismatched furniture, the room feels better. I have my eye on a new bed and sidetables. I just need to save my pennies. For the timing being I’m just enjoying the fact that I started and finished a project.

As for the contest between my sister and I, she won. In fact, she wrapped up bedroom on January 1. By that point I think I managed to paint my ceilings.

Today I got my start. I bought some paint samples and plaster stuff to repair a few spots of plaster.

As you can tell we’re going for a stunning beige.

Our new quilt has plenty of color, and I don’t want the walls to compete with my work of art. I prefer the beige on the right. Ross prefers the beige on the left. Unfortunately it reminds me of really ugly foundation makeup. So it probably won’t happen. Sorry, Ross. Right now I think I’m going to go with one shade lighter of the beige on the right. The current color matches the carpet a little too closely. I need a little contrast in value between the walls and the carpet. Oh, I hate choosing paint colors. At least the ceiling will be easy, Ultra White.

Since Thursday, I’ve been spending my time prepping the wall for paint. I had my work cut out for me. First I had to repair a few holes that the electrician made. Ugh! Then I had to fix previous damage. Quite frankly, I should probably do more repairs. The original wall board work isn’t the best. So I fixed what I had the patience to fix.

Today, I spent a lot of time prepping everything else for paint. That means lots of blue tape and clean walls. Tomorrow is all about paint.

Recently, I realized that the Pottery Barn style probably wouldn’t work for our new house. I think of Pottery Barn as modern farm house. Our house is a craftsman bungalow. While the styles aren’t radically different, they don’t blend very well. Furniture and home furnishing with clean simple lines look best in our house. Where am I going with this thought?

I received the latest Pottery Barn catalog this week. Of course I looked through it even though it really isn’t the inspiration that I’m looking for. Lucky for me this catalog had a surprise for me. These pillow covers:

They are so Scandinavian.  This is a departure for Pottery Barn. These pillows and others have inspired me to make some throw pillows for the holidays. Now I just need to find the perfect fabric.