After the House Tour

The house tour was a great success and the neighborhood raised a good sum toward our many projects. The house has never looked better.   Of course I can't find anything now that I'm all organized.

Squandering my Retirement

I have decided that I may not be around to enjoy my retirement so I am going to enjoy my present.  I watched my parents postpone so many things for a future that never came.

Since my house is on the neighborhood home tour I have been spending money like I had it.  I have not added any debt, but the proceeds from the sale of the Boston condo are pretty well burned through.  

I have hired professional help to finish some of the house projects, so now I have a working shower in the downstairs bath (yea!!!) that is really nice, and tile in the laundry/mud room area, and cleaned and organized the laundry area, and had the upstairs bath tile finished.  

The contractor added beadboard to the front of the tub area to finally finish it off, and I hope to get the touch-up painting done next week.  I am even having professionally made curtains done for the downstairs.

I have some wonderful new paintings hung too, and that really brightens things up.   

Lots of new plants in the garden in front and down the side.  The hollyhocks are budding, and the roses, and the first of the wildflowers in front.   There will be lots of sunflowers this summer, and in front there are astilbe, lilies, lenten rose, lilly of the valley, bleeding heart, columbine, and iris.   In the meadow there are milkweed, coneflowers, russian sage, ornamental corn, and lots of things I don't know the names of.   On the side there are delphinium, lots of strawberries, poppies, foxgloves, more lilies, and of course sunflowers and hollyhocks.  Oh, and clematis, and lavender, and peonies.

I have actually signed the contract for the landscapers to do the back yard, with patio and plants and walls with phlox spilling over, and a fountain.    It is amazing what there is room for if you get rid of the grass.  And I have rainbarrel, and birdfeeders and a little birdbath to keep the wildlife happy.

Spring at last

It was the most perfect spring day yesterday. My jonquils burst into bloom, my little redbud tree is covered in buds ready to open, and as I raked away the dead leaves in the gardens there were all sorts of little plants reaching for the light.

I planted lots of sunflowers, about 6 different kinds, and some stock, globe amaranth, and some seedlings that I don't remember the names of. I am really really sore now.

Took a workshop up at Ball State U with Linda Christianson, who is a wonderful potter. It was most inspiring. Her work is so warm and lively and inviting.


I really want to get into the studio now. Meeting with Steve the contractor on Thursday to see what he might do to get the building into better shape. And maybe a few things on the house to get ready for the home tour next month.

Winter nesting

This is Mr Fish and his amigarumi friends. The crazy little lady and her doragon came from Wawaya on Etsy.com. I love them. Mr Fish's bowl rests on a heating pad to keep him thinking he is in the topics.

El Guapo likes to visit Mr Fish and drink his water. He never actually bothers the fish, and I am not sure why the fish water is more appealing than the fresh cool water in the the cats' bowl. There's just no figuring the critters.

January

Here is is, early January and I have been sleeping with the windows open. Which is nice, and makes the cats happy because they climb out onto the porch roof and survey their kingdom from on high. But at this rate the spring flowers could get very confused and lured into a doomed early bloom. Hope not.