Little Ditties

Wednesday was jam-packed full! We spent most of the day in the sun, working hard, for which I was rewarded with quite the sunburn on my back. Had I taken the few minutes to ask Jeff to rub in some sunscreen, I wouldn't have had to ask him repeatedly to rub in the aloe vera and place the vinegar compresses later that night! It was one of the worst burns I've had (second only to that teenage experience back in Texas in a swimsuit by the lake for about eight hours with no shade), but definitely the most painful. I had hours of burning, prickling, stabbing sensations that just shot across the skin of my upper back and made sleep impossible. Jeff was wonderful through the whole thing, though, and I survived, redder but wiser.

Since that pain didn't really hit until about seven or eight PM, we had plenty of time earlier in the day for good experiences! We cleaned out the little pump house; sorted, re-arranged, and stored all the storm windows; made plans for a "painting tent" in the shop where I can utilize the paint sprayer to my heart's content; removed the old propane wall heaters in the house; photographed and detailed items for Craigslist postings; made a little portable "playpen" for the baby chicks (who are more like adolescents now!); and mowed, trimmed, and pulled weeds around the property. Oh, and we enjoyed $1 cheeseburgers at our favorite wine bar/restaurant as a little dinner reward. What a day!

Happy chicks in the grass

Jeff got a kick out of Flash's dirt mustache; look carefully at his lower lip!

Flowering Threadlead Coreopsis in front of blossoming Hyacinth Runner Bean; pale yellow and lavender together make me happy!

Mantel Makeover! Hearth when we bought the house

Hearth now

We hope to open up the firebox and install gas logs this fall or winter, but we're happy with one day's little improvement for now!

Full of Hot Air

This weekend was the annual hot air balloon festival in Decatur. We weren't able to attend, but we saw several of the balloons from our backyard Saturday evening, and from the road while driving early Sunday morning. There is something so fascinating about those colorful orbs drifting silently through the blue sky!

 

Failure

We had an energy audit done Wednesday. It's part of a rebate program, so we knew we would be receiving money back for the efficient HVAC equipment we had already installed. We also knew a blower door test would be part of the package, which we were very interested in. Basically, all the doors and windows are shut and the central heat/air is turned off. A seal is erected around one main door with a large, powerful fan inserted that blows out. It creates a vacuum and allows you to feel any drafty areas in the house where air is rushing in, either from the outside or from unconditioned spaces, like the basement or attic.

Our poor old lady of a house failed on a massive level! The technician said he had never had such a low reading before. A decent house can attain 50 psi, a bad one maybe only 15-20 psi. He said he'd seen a 10 once before. Ours barely registered a 6 or 7! Now, in her excuse, several of the really bad places are still under construction. We have exposed lath in the kitchen where I'm finishing the backsplash, missing shoe base molding where the floors are still being trimmed out, holes cut in the walls by previous residents that lead straight to crawl space, an understairs closet with only a partial wall to the basement, a gaping vent in an unused chimney that is open to the attic, etc., etc., etc.

It was certainly helpful to see how large of an infiltration results from these "wounds". There were also some surprises, like the gust of wind from beneath the window trim. We might as well purchase some stock in Lowes or Home Depot, as I imagine we will be buying unending quantities of caulk, spray foam, weather stripping, and insulation in the next few months.

In spite of our disastrous grade on the audit, I can say we probably made our inspector's day. We had the windows wide open at one point, and our inspector thought he saw a cat on the windowsill. Turned out it was Atomic Cluck, checking out the dining room with her head and neck protruding in. He got a real kick out of a pet chicken. Then when he was setting up the blower door test and had the front door open, she kept trying to wander in through the hole for the fan. He stopped what he was doing and took several pictures, declaring that he thought he had seen everything and this was going on his Facebook page. So our nosy girl is probably famous somewhere out there on the worldwide web!

Floral Fever

Who knew the discount grocery chain Aldi carried cut flowers? Ours probably always has, but by the time I get to the last aisle and pick out my frozen goods, I'm in a hurry to find the shortest check-out line. So I've never noticed the small floral stand just past the frozen juice and ice cream section. But since I am on for flowers at church this weekend, I guess I had petals on the brain. The lovely mauve stem roses they put out this morning caught my eye and inspired this fresh floral arrangement.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

The pot of gold must be in downtown Huntsville!

Raised (not Razed)

We have several of the new beds built up. It may take a bit more amending after this first load settles, but we seem to be getting there. I'm thinking impatiens, hellebores, hostas, caladium, maybe some foxglove. It will be nice to play with some shade/part sun plantings here, since my main beds are on the south and west. 

Before

Present

The front walkway beds are coming along, as well. They still need a bit more soil and a top dressing of hardwood mulch to make them uniform, but I'm loving the look. It is a little daunting to think of planting and maintaining all that raised area now, though. But the beds looks so tidy and attractive as is, I don't feel any rush to cram them with plant material. A few annuals and perennials each spring and fall and I think it will slowly take shape. 

Before

During

Present

We hope to one day reinstall the original curved drive that traversed the front yard (right about where those buddleia bushes are sitting), making that central walkway relevant again. But it's already getting hot, so all that digging, leveling, and earthwork might be a good project for fall weather!

Designing Dinner

Jeff has wanted to have a get-together with a few of his graduate students for quite some time now, but schedules, house projects, and unexpected events kept getting in the way. We finally just set a date and went for it. We started small, with just four of his most active research group members, but it was nice size dinner party.

It was a casual gathering with a pleasant, outdoor setting. Incorporating vegetarian and gluten-free dietary needs into the meal planning was a bit of a challenge. But with homemade barbecue sauce, grilled chicken and veggie burgers, various types of buns, vegetarian baked beans, and several ingredients served as optional side items to the potato salad, it worked out. Dessert had me stressed for a moment, until I found an old recipe for flourless chocolate torte served with whipped cream and fresh berries. I'm just glad no one was vegan or lactose intolerant!

Hang 'em High

With the purchase of a few random cabinets on Craigslist, three coats of paint, and more measuring, finagling, discussion, and planning than you would think necessary, we finally have some storage in the mudroom.

Mudroom last July

My CL cabinets before

Mudroom now, in progress

I'll eventually build two custom narrow cubbies to fill out the upper run and trim the cabinets to the ceiling, but that is a project for another day! So is the meticulous painting of the multi-pane glass door that goes on that center cabinet. Please use your imagination and pretend you can see into the cabinet. Oh wait; you can!

The mudroom was simply the back porch in another life, before being closed in. The concrete floor, therefore, was thoughtfully designed to shed water with a very definite pitch towards the rear. Great for floods, but not so good for interior design. I will soon replace the large white bottom cabinet with a narrow drawer base at the end run, topping the whole length with a countertop to form a large work surface and desk area. But said drawer base will have to be jacked up a bit, in order to form a level line with the upper cabinets.

My Habi Restore find, a 15" drawer base, mid sanding and prepping.

We'll be hitching that puppy more than two inches off the floor to achieve parallel with the new counter. So with that in mind, we had to hang the uppers higher than normal to maintain a decent distance between countertop and cabinets. At 5'2", I already have to stretch on tippy toe for the third shelf; now I think I'll just resign that space for Jeff's things. When I told Jeff that, he asked what things were his!

Scriptural Chicken

I love the rich color and flavor of our free-range chicken eggs.



I'm thinking of incorporating a little chicken humor into our future egg carton labels ('cause when we have seven layers, we'll be giving away or selling a fair number of eggs)! Maybe something like:

Bed Head

Jeffrey made the bed! Well, he actually made five or six. Landscape beds, that is. (But he's actually really helpful with the mattress kind, too!)

We've had edging our landscaping on the brain lately, so we rented a bed edger last Wednesday from a local equipment rental facility and got busy. Jeff practiced first on a few less critical areas in the backyard, like a new kidney shaped shade garden I wanted to experiment with under the tulip magnolia.

We really dig it! It works like a trencher, carving out a two to four inch deep channel, but it has a curved edge on one side to pile the soil neatly up and away into the bed. It makes those perfect "golf course" edges you see and love.

Thursday began the edging in earnest, with the reworking of our foundation beds to include the new walkway beds and incorporate the giant gardenia.

Just for the record, if you decide to try this yourself, have plenty of marking paint on hand! I had a partial can and bought a second just in case, and we ended up running through all of it and spray-painting the grass with gloss white, flat black, primer, and whatever else I had hanging around the garage! 

After Jeff trenched, I shaped the existing soil into a sloped profile. Our next step will be trucking in additional top soil and compost to raise the beds (for aesthetics as well as drainage and soil amendment purposes). And then of course the planting of more shrubs, annuals, and perennials. Back breaking work, but we think it will be worth the effort. 

To all the moms out there...

Happy Chicken

The baby chicks are growing fast, and we hope it won't be long until they are out enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. They'll have a perfect leader to teach them how, as Atomic Cluck has mastered the after-lunch nap. We came upon her in the middle of her little respite, leg and wing stretched out as if sunning herself, eyes closed, basking in the cool, moist mulch under the cannas. Could there be a happier chicken?

Master Gardener Grad

Our Master Gardener class had graduation today. We started the program nearly a year and a half ago, back in January of 2011. It was four months of classes and 50 volunteer hours to completion. I am proud to say that our class was the first in the tri-county area to have all the students complete the entire program. Many do the classes but don't get their hours in, or some have to drop out of the class. Our group survived a "freak" snow and ice storm (for Alabama, anyway), major tornadoes, our extension agent/main lecturer breaking multiple ribs, and several other minor catastrophes. But we stuck together and have become a tight-knit group.

Graduation was a fun evening shared with spouses and loved ones, all gathered to enjoy a catered BBQ chicken meal and the presentation of certificates and official name badges. I already have plans with some MG friends for fieldtrips and outings, so the fun continues!

In a class of almost 30, I was one of the youngest!

Surrounded by good friends and fellow gardening enthusiasts

Receiving my certificate and name badge

Pretty Planters

I have been desiring some nice planters for the front steps. The concrete caps are just begging for some green, growing things on top. But attractive planters of a decent size can be expensive, especially once you add in the potting soil and all the plants. So I was thrilled when I found some nicely shaped and sized pots at a local closeout store.

No matter that they were an unattractive beige-y color! I have my favorite "stick to everything" primer always on hand, and I even had sample cans of the perfect paint color right in the shop (the same blue-gray-green as the clapboard siding on the upper story of the house). I bought two sizes of each planter and have been priming, painting, and poly-ing the last few days. I'm quite happy with the frugal result! With some more clearance plants and gifted freebies, the four planters should be full by tomorrow.

Does she, or doesn't she?

In honor of the Kentucky Derby this past weekend, I thought I would post my favorite moment ever from the track. It's from a real horserace back in August 2010. What are the chances of two mounts with names like "My Wife Knows Everything" and "The Wife Doesn't Know" ending up in the same heat neck-and-neck?!

In the spring...

...a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. Or so the Tennyson poem says. I think it holds true for us, as Jeff proposed on May 6th, 2001, exactly 11 years ago today. It was a lovely spring morning and he orchestrated the whole thing so well. We've talked of planning a visit back up to New England to see some of our old friends and stomping grounds, and to check in on the peaceful park where he proposed by the pond in poem over a decade ago.

Blooms Everywhere

After a refreshing and cooling rain Wednesday night into Thursday, all the plants are looking plump and perky. We found old fashioned pink climbing roses over in the "jungle" (the as-yet unlandscaped overgrown corner of the yard).

Then there is the giant Gardenia bush blooming in the morning sun.

Last, but not least, Jeff's favorite olfactory treat is the wild honeysuckle (he's so easy to please)!

The chicken joined us as we were weeding around the beds. All the rain brought out the worms and other crawling delicacies she so vigorously hunts for. I'm glad, because otherwise she has to dig pretty deep and has been kicking the mulch out and unrooting new planting. I'm just thankful she hasn't gotten curious about the recent windowboxes and jumped up there to check them out.

Saving for a Rainy Day

Jeff came with me to make a rain barrel yesterday. I've been planning to take one of the classes the Extension Service offers on rain barrels, but so far most have been offered in other counties. This one came up a few weeks ago, and since Jeff would be done teaching classes, he offered to accompany me.

It was a simple hour lecture and demo, and then we were set free to pick our barrels and use the available tools. It's quite simple, but I'm glad we attended the class, because we had access to much nicer barrels than I could have found on Craigslist or something. These are 60 gallon terracotta-colored olive barrels from Greece with threaded lids, which makes adding the debris screen on top much easier. Jeff likes the Greek emblem and lettering on the side, and even enjoys the odor of Mediterranean food evoked by the empty barrels. We each made one rain barrel, but we got the contact info in case we decide we would like more matching barrels.

Waiting my turn for the pipe-threading tap