What's been going on?!

Gee; I didn't realize it has been so long since my last blog entry! I have been tied up with the blog I created to help with the Relay for Life team. Well lets see, working in the garden has been a big part of my free time; the flowers are doing great! I also started this project on a brick patio.

We love our home, but the backyard is a bit difficult. It was neglected for 2 years when the owner had to move into a care facility, so not much was living when we bought the place (okay, the weeds were doing great). We have 3 fifty foot Spruce trees and 2 apple trees in the backyard, so there isn't much that gets sunlight. This of course along with the acidity (from the Spruces) makes growing grass around the trees a challenge. One that I have finally given up on. I don't care what they say about 'patch perfect' or grows in 'shade', I have a blank spot that even the weeds think twice about growing in! The only thing that sits there are the spruce needles.



So when a friend of ours started knocking down walls of their 1890 house to add on a room, they asked if I wanted some bricks! That gave me the idea of putting in a small brick patio, under the spruce to cover that blank spot. Dave is planning on building a deck in the back yard, so I designed the patio to come up right to the edge of the wood deck. So our friend delivered us a trailer full of old bricks and I set to work. I have never worked with bricks before, but I remember all of these DIY's where they talk about making sure the area is even and level, blah, blah, blah....That doesn't work with bricks that were hand made in forms. Each brick is a little bit different in size and thickness. So each one has to be individually set based on it's sitting next to the previously set one...Each brick also has to have the mortar chipped off, but it's a small price to pay for free bricks. Of course I got overzealous in my plans and now don't have enough bricks; so talking to another friend of mine who has some spare sandstone slabs (from their patio build on), I decided to make the center the sandstone and surround it with bricks. I think it will look good when done.
Of course I forgot to take pictures of the area before my meddling, but the picture below gives you an idea of the 'bald' spot in our yard.


The tomato's are doing great, they have lots of flowers, no tomato's yet though....The apple trees are full of apples; if we can just get to them before the squirrels eat them all....I lost the first crop of lettuce, but have started another one which seems to be doing well...Maybe too well, it looks like I am going to have to do a lot of thinning.


4th of July weekend is upon us. Dave put up the flag mount on the front porch so we can hang our American flag. Want to try and get the front and back doors painted this weekend, I also have shades and a valance I am sewing for the kitchen; they are cut out so all I have to do is finish them up. Let's see what else....We are going up to Creede on Saturday for a few hours to the 4th celebration picnic up there. We are also going to go bicycling this weekend...Also need to finish tearing out the paneling and firring strips in the family room and get the holes patched so I can paint and get that room done.......Pretty ambitious, we'll see what gets done.

Till later; Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July. (oh yeah, we have fireworks for friday night too!)...