House & Garden

My Weekend Summarized Into Two Sentences

/ Ally Bean / 18 Comments

√  When asked what color they stained their deck, she replied:

“It’s a color called– NOT THE ONE I PICKED OUT.”

√  While in the process of staining the deck when asked by her husband where she was going, she replied:

“I’ll be back.  I just need to change my clothes– BECAUSE I HAVE TOO MANY SPLINTERS IN MY BUTT.” 

… So how was everyone else’s weekend.  Did we have fun?

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{Photos added 05.22.12 for Margaret… because she asked.}

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{Please Note: the deck color that you see here is a warm pearl gray instead of a light golden oak as originally planned.  Fortunately our bricks have a gray undertone in them + our siding is SW Agreeable Gray so this “NOT THE ONE I PICKED OUT” color coordinates just fine.  No harm done, really.  In fact, Z-D really likes it so maybe it was meant to be.}

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Hope Springeth Eternal In A Garden

/ Ally Bean / 15 Comments

The dianthus & salvia are in full bloom now.  After last autumn’s heavy rains that turned this planting bed into a mud pit, I didn’t know what to expect this spring.  But obviously the combo of rain + mild winter temperatures made for healthy plants with particularly intense colors.

Funny how things can work out for the best in a garden.

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We planted this false blue indigo last summer but it didn’t thrive.  In the fall I was ready to pull it out because I thought that it was dead.  That’s how pathetic it looked.  But Zen-Den, who has much more patience with gardening than I do, said “let it be.”  He was right because look how vibrant this plant is now, and it’s not even in full bloom yet.

I just love being wrong about things like this.

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I adore zinnias but have never had much success growing them from seed.  In fact a few years ago in a fit of frustration I said that I’d never try to grow them again.  But then I saw these starts at a garden center for a whooping $1.29 each, and I figured at that bargain price I had little to lose by trying once again to grow zinnias.

Wish me luck.  It could happen, right?

The State Of Our “To Do” List

/ Ally Bean / 16 Comments

I am glad that it’s the beginning of a new week.  All our doing last week just about did me in.  It was stressful.

On the upside, we finished 3 projects.  The mail box post, which we repaired & painted, is now sporting a new shiny black mailbox.  The inside molding around the new [non-leaky] window in the bathroom is caulked & painted.  And the dingy old sheer panels on the home study’s French doors are tea-dyed a lovely shade of tan, ironed & back in place.

On the other hand, we started about a dozen more projects that for one reason or another we couldn’t finish.  I really wanted to have more projects completed by now, but everywhere we turned we encountered obstacles.  Weather.  Indecisiveness.  Lack of supplies.  Whatever we wanted not available.  No-shows by tradesmen.  Hours spent online trying to find furniture/accessories that will fit into our small room dimensions.  And on & on it went.

Four years ago when we decided to stay in this house & remodel/update it, I had no idea that we’d still be working on it today.  I thought that 1 year– maybe 2 years, tops— would be all the time that we’d need to re-do the house.  Not that I thought that everything in the house would be completely finished, mind you;  I just figured that we’d be where we should be for people living in a thirteen year old house.

However, despite my above grumbling, I will say that the progress we made last week is wonderful & encouraging.  I’d even venture to say that with one more week like this last one, we’ll have all the bones of our house in place.  Then there will be photos for you, my gentle readers– & a long-awaited sense of completion & belonging for me.

Until then, ever onward go I.

{An observation: this situation reminds me of when I got my Master’s degree.  I planned for it to take me 3 years, but for one reason or another it took my 6 1/2 years to complete.  Near the end of my studies, I didn’t care what courses I took.  I just wanted the whole process finished so I could move on with my life.  Same feeling here & now.}

Life, Vacation Days & The Pursuit of Home-i-ness

/ Ally Bean / 12 Comments

Here’s the deal.

Zen-Den, who is usually a very organized sort of fellow, forgot to take one week of his vacation last year.  Well, to be fair, he didn’t exactly forget;  he wasn’t aware that he had another week of vacation until the last week of December when HR told him that he did.

Therefore, as per the rules of the company, Z-D is permitted [required?] to take his extra week of vacation this year.  Kind of nice that his workplace wants him to take all of his vacation days, isn’t it?  Even nicer that said workplace makes allowances for a clueless goof hardworking individual, such as Mr. Bean, to use his vacation days later… once he knows that he has them.

 

The upshot of all this is that this week we’ve decided to stay home and get some projects completed.

And man-oh-man do we have a doozy of a list of things to do around the house. Which means that when we’re not gardening, refinishing, hanging up things, caulking holes, painting trim {et cetera, et cetera}, we’ll be going for walks [maybe in city parks?] &/or just plain lollygagging on the screened-in porch [white wine spritzers, anyone?].


But here’s the thing.

There’s a very good chance that this is going to be the only blog post that I’ll write this week.  I actually have a few other topics to discuss with you, but I don’t see myself as having the time & energy & quietness that I need to put real words to virtual paper.  [I’m a very slow and deliberate writer.]

So now, having shared the who/what/when/where/why/& how of my upcoming week, I’m going to wander off, find Zen-Den and start. being. productive.  Later, kids– projects await me.

[As always, click on photos to embiggen.]