Pumpkinabra

Ever since I found this candelabra, I've wanted to do this with it!

Now, if I could just find some bittersweet vine to twine through it.

 



 

What greets our guests.

Poor Keith.  The leaves fall just as fast as he can gather them!  I'm loving the look of it, though!

Front Yard

This is what our front yard looked like last October when we moved in. Not horrible, but too messy for Keith's standards. Doesn't our house look itty, bitty from this view? You can't see the daylight basement that adds that much more.

Pavers laid, block wall installed on right for seating/raised flower beds. . . . . The house and shop will get a whole new, matching coat of paint this summer.

New white picket fence to be painted this summer. I keep thinking of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn when I think of my kids whitewashing it this summer. Speaking of Huck Finn, Keith left a couple of Huckleberry's by the fence and trimmed them back. Saturday, we went plant shopping. We decided to go with a monochromatic scheme - whites.

A Contorted Filbert. Love the curly branches. I think it adds fun character.

Keith built an arbor that has a darling little picket gate. We planted a white jasmine and a white (of course) clematis to go up the arbor. There are a variety of green mosses, a variegated holly, a creamy white heather, lily-of-the-valley (May's flower for my twin and I) and ummmm..... I can't remember. . .Keith??? I need to pick his brain again. . . .

He added a block wall on the right side of the little shop where we store our garbage cans out of sight. There's a sloping gravel pathway where we can easily wheel the cans out to the lane for pick up.

The kids and I did all the digging and planting Saturday while Keith shoveled the bark and then the kids and I raked it out. There was a little reluctance on the teenager's part because it was raining, but once we all got out there together, we had a great time - mud and all!

In the picture below, you can possibly see that it was absolutely pouring rain! It hadn't been raining that hard, but after the kids and I had finished up and Keith was putting the finishing touches on the arbor, it came hard and fast. He climbed down and ran under the cover of the shop's porch. It'd subside and he'd climb back up the ladder. As soon as he got up there, it'd start pouring hard again. He went up and down a few times and finally, on the third time, he gave up and just kept with it.

In the raised, rounded area, we'll add lots of pretty white flowers next month when it's not so cold out for them. I'm thinking a really large, old barn wood bird condo would look cute on the big stump or a pretty birdbath. I'm on the lookout for a pretty cast iron/metal one.

As a reward for finishing early with every body's help, Keith decided to head out to go fishing for a couple of hours in the light rain. The rest of us had come in and gotten dry. Unfortunately, the next day Keith came down with a fever and chills. Must have been from being soaked to the bone for so long. We're glad to report that he's better now!

A picture the next day with the front of the shop cleaned up. When Keith built it, he made the sliding door out of old barn wood and the window is a really old one from one of our previous homes. I think it even has the original wavy glass in it.

As I type this post, Keith is out in the shop making me a fun little potting bench to go where the chair is on the porch. Can't wait to see it! We'll hang the life vests somewhere else. We're also going to add hanging baskets to the posts in front of the shop. We'll show more pics of the yard as the mosses and flowers start filling in. So handy-dandy being married to a landscaper! What do you think?

Growth

Click on the house picture to see how our flower beds have changed!

Edited to add: I've changed my other blog to invited readers only ('cause I'm not updating it anymore), so if you're still interested in seeing the change, just email us and I'll give you a password. Thanks!

Signs of Spring

Usually, I seem to prefer a palette of just one or two colors with flower groupings, but this year I am enjoying the showy, mixed colors. I have a whole new appreciation for them and am loving each sign of spring!

Faithful primroses
Sunny daffodils Keith brought home last night. They were closed, and the kids and I have enjoyed watching them open up one by one.

I'm thinking it'd be fun to attend the Daffodil Parade and Festival. I'm also looking forward to visiting some tulip fields here and here in the next few weeks. I'd love to see them some day in the Netherlands. Nothing like getting in the mood for spring!

“The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of it’s scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness." ~Therese of Lisieux

Fabulous Fourth

We decided to host a potluck this year with family and friends on the Fourth of July. There were 58 people that showed up this year (including the five of us)! We had a blast (literally) doing it and would like to possibly start an annual tradition. Wouldn't that be fun? Special thanks to everyone who came and made it happen!!! We couldn't have done it without you!

The invite said to come for Flags, Food & Fun and we believe that's exactly what it was!! We provided the burgers and hot dogs and everyone else pitched in with side dishes and desserts. As usual, there was plenty and then some!

You can see the hubby manning the BBQ. The ladies in their patriotic colors and my father-in-law with his fun parade hat!
As you can see, we had people of all ages.
A sitting area.
A flag centerpiece.
Everyone enjoying each others company and dishing up the yummy food.


Jordan looking forward to devouring his burger.

Now why did we get lots of pics of the dessert table? Hmmm...
Isn't it all so pretty, though?

And I was so busy that I didn't even taste more than one or two things.

That's why we have to do it again next year!

Isn't the hanging basket pretty?
Keith picked out our flowers this year and I'm so glad we went with the
red, white, and blue theme.
Hi Joyce!!!
A grandma and her sweet granddaughter. Love their patriotic outfits!

Braxton doing what boys do best!
Isn't he a cutie? That's his sweet sis above.
Wish I'd gotten a picture of them together in their cute outfits!

Darling Sara! Isn't she photogenic? Her husband is a professional photographer.

Isn't he lucky to have such a beautiful practice subject?

The die-hard Rook players...
Hi again, Joyce!!
Some of the ladies playing dominos.
One of many volleyball games they played.

Some of the children - a mini cheer team.

A horseshoe game in progress...
Our wild daisy bouquets in canning jars.

Keith and the kids got up early to go pick these by the side of the road.

More of the domino game.

See our garden? You can see the horseshoe pits in the background, too.

Derek - nephew of the photographer. Doesn't he have gorgeous eyes?

Everyone pretty much left around 4:30 or so to go do what they wanted for fireworks.

We decided to do our own show for the first time. It's been one of the only times that Jordan has actually been with us on the 4th and not in AZ where having your own fireworks is illegal. We had fun watching him enjoy himself.

The kids lighting sparklers.

We also took the opportunity to enjoy our neighbor's fireworks.

The kid's easel came in really handy when we tried thinking of something that would be highly visible on the side of the road to show newcomers where we live! We tied some patriotic balloons to it and were able to write on both sides of the easel so traffic from either side could read it. Kids toys ARE useful for something!!
Our lovely flowers.


We hope your 4th was fabulous!