Clearing Out

Drama. Of course there is drama. Someone called the city and complained about the trees being cut down and the city came by to inspect and ask if we had permits. Contractor had been told no permits were needed... it went around and around and I'm not sure where that stands. What a headache. All the lumber from the sick trees in the back yard has been removed and some of the logs left today. The sun has been shining ever since they were cut down and I'm so thrilled by the light. It's still all good. And will only get better and better. Stump grinding, new top soil, then the fun part - planning and planting.

What were we thinking?

Twelve trees in front, a dead one on the side, a split and dangerous one out back and a grove of dying dogwoods... seemed like a good idea at the time. In progress though... oh, what were we thinking? My poor yard. My poor ears.

Getting the Boy's Room Ready for Homework

Mad rush to get everything done that needs doing before back-to-school and back-to-work starts. Of course, it's crazy, the tree people are here cutting all our trees down (pictures later) and so Luke and I were stuck here in case they had questions or needed something. Good thing we had a project and half - I bought a desk for him yesterday to replace his little blue toddler table and chairs (he loved them so much but is finally outgrowing them and agrees it's time for them to go). So we got that in his room, took down his baby art and put up a surfer poster and a world map and now his room is looking very grown up with lots of space to do homework and stuff. Because we hear, 2nd grade has a LOT of homework. I put a cork board behind the desk hutch too - I think that was very smart of me, don't you? Hah.

Mmmnnn... Grilled Pizza!

This turned out way better than I thought! Wolfgang Puck's Pizza Dough, grill on one side, flip, add your toppings and let melt and bubble. Yum! Next time fresh basil, goat cheese and caramelized onions.

Summer in the Garden

Grow Tall, Clematis

I had this extra piece of trellis from the studio and decided it would be a good thing for my clematis to grow up on. It will look great once the plant fills up and out and is covered with purple blooms.



Here are some things that are blooming now..







And lots of these:

My Garden

It's amazing what just a couple of days of sunshine can do.

Skirt

I made this skirt today to go around this old shelving unit - it hides the ugly dog food and telephone books. Happy, even though it's just a "making-do" kind of thing - I have not been able to find a tiny little hutch to fit the spot yet, not that I spent all that much time looking before I gave up.