It’s been a crazy few weeks around here.The house is almost done. Just waiting on gutters and new storm windows. But here’s what we got so far.
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It’s starting!
Materials are here and ready to go. Dumpster is in the driveway. They’re just finishing up across the street and then they’ll be over here.
How time flies…
I can’t believe how long it’s been since my last post. Okay that’s a lie. I can totally believe how long it’s been. I knew blogging wouldn’t be my thing, but I am glad I did it and wish I had stuck with it (There’s 2 years missing!). Looking back at how our house and lot have changed (and how quickly those boys grew up) is very eye opening. I’ve been feeling like things aren’t happening fast enough but then looking at those photos from the first years in the house and I’m reminded of just how far we’ve come. Slow and steady wins the race? My vegetable gardens were far better in those first two years. This year and last were unruly.
A few big changes are happening to the house in the next couple weeks. We are getting new siding and a new roof. The house is going to look VERY different. We’re basically inverting the color scheme. Instead of a white house with black trim, it will be very dark grey with white trim. As a precaution, I’m having to move all plantings within 10 feet of the perimeter. I’ll keep you updated on all the fun as it happens. 
As for the yard, we commandeered a fence from my parents. They are replacing theirs and what’s better than reusing and free? Reduce, reuse, recycle! There’s just one more panel and a gate that needs to go in and then it’s done! Some privacy at last!
garden update in photos
And actually it’s an inaccurate update, because the photos are all from July 21. Except the last one. That’s from today. The garden is much wilder and overgrown these days.
WARNING! This post contains gushy romantic stuff!
We just celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary! It was an amazing day. I got to sleep in and then I got myself all dolled up with my wedding jewelry and a fancy sundress. Kit #1 said I looked so pretty and asked if it was a wedding dress. I said no, but would you like to see my wedding dress? So I put my wedding dress on for the first time since my wedding and when the boys saw me in it their jaws dropped and Kit #2 asked “Are you a princess?” I said, why? do I look like a princess? “Yes, you look like a princess!” Aww! I love my boys!
We took our time getting ready and headed to Como Zoo. It was insanely crowded and I feared we wouldn’t be able to find parking and may need to change our plans. Then when all hope seemed lost a gentleman walking to his vehicle stopped us and said, follow me, I have a spot for you. What?! If you have ever been to Como, when you see this next picture you will understand just how fortuitous this was! Thank you kind stranger! You just made my day!
What is that white structure in the background you ask? Oh, why that’s where we got married! So we took a stroll on over there before heading in to the zoo. We sat on the bench and took in the view. Then Mister Fox turned and looked at me and said “Happy anniversary. If I had it to do all over, I would marry you again. Would you marry me again?” And he pulled out the most gorgeous rings and slipped them on my finger.
Thank you Kit #1 for this amazing shot!
<swoon!> I feel like a fairytale princess!
Then we walked around the zoo and enjoyed the beautiful day.
I just love the tigers!
And then something to cool us down. Mmm malts!
I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!
I sowed an edible tapestry
The last time I posted it was snowing?! Oh man. Well there is some white fluffy stuff floating through the air at the moment. The neighbors have a giant cottonwood tree that is fornicating. It’s strangely quite lovely. It reminds me of the forests in the movie Avatar. It’s sort of dreamy. Almost like we’re under water. Anywho, y’all seem interested in seeing how the garden is doing, so here ya go. I cannot wait for it to all fill in to truly appreciate the shapes and designs!
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- My mother’s day gift from all my boys! Raised beds!
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- beans
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- cukes and nasturtium
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- peas
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- cucumber
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- pepper
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- tomato
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- Kit #1’s garden
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- loose leaf lettuces
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- little head lettuce
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- carrots
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- I ripped out the back hill much to Mister Fox’s dismay and put in my own version of the 3 sisters. Sunflowers, beans, watermelons and morning glories.
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- blueberries
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- The old grape vine that we hacked to the ground and attempted to rip out to no avail is back and producing fruit! It must have enjoyed the hard pruning
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- One of the peonies out front actually bloomed this year!
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- petunia
part of the master plan
Hey kids. Guess what? It’s snowing…so I’m inside cuddled on my couch writing a long overdue blog post trying to ignore the lovely snow globe effect going on outside my window. I’ve spent the last several months drawing and redrawing the master garden plan on grid paper. The redrawing part is mostly because every time I leave the room for a second I come back to my paper scribbled all over. Apparently kit #2 wanted to add his own ideas. At least a dozen versions later and I finally have one without “tornadoes” all over it. It is far from finished but here is what I have so far.
A hexagon (of course) broken into 6 triangles. Each square on the grid represents a square foot. The dark green will be a low boxwood hedge and the purple inside that will be lupine. Inside the other spaces will be veggies. The bottom triangle will be the patio. This year we are starting with the top three triangles closest to the house. The top middle will eventually be creeping thyme edged in river rock when we put a patio door in, but for this year it will serve as a veggie garden. Along the east fence (far right) I’d like to do a viburnum hedge with a few service berry accents. I’d love to do an apple tunnel along the west fence. Rain chains and barrels, espaliered fruit trees, a tree house, stairs to the alley, spring blooming bulbs, patio and pergola are all on the wish list. The possibilities are overwhelming. What would you do with a blank canvas?
Failsauce
I officially suck at blogging. It’s hard to be motivated when on March 18th it’s still snowing…wtf. I mean this time last year I was cutting down unruly shrubbery and kit #2 was running around on green grass in a t-shirt. I’ve started a few flats of seeds but I felt a bit masochistic doing so when there is no sign of spring in sight. I have got cabin fever something fierce and it is making me super crabby. I just wanna go outside and play in the dirt already! To add to the wintery misery, while Mister Fox was out shoveling the sidewalk he discovered a big section of fascia had fallen off. Underneath where the fascia had been was a couple wasp nests attached to some rather worn wood. I guess that’s the only advantage to the cold at this point, we can get rid of the nests without worrying about getting stung.
I became official ladder holder in 20 degree weather with bitter wind blowing snow in my face. Ah, the joys of being a homeowner. I’m just glad he was the one on the ladder and not me.
I couldn’t watch. I just stared at my boots and hugged onto the ladder for dear life. Well, except for this brief moment where I snapped a picture.
And done. I even got a high five for helping!
I’m alive!
Yes, yes, I’m sure there were some of you that thought I’d croaked (since my last post was in early October). November and December were not kind to me. I don’t think I’ve been so sick for so long in all my life. I’m finally recovering, I think. So not much is new with our home. I’ve been sorting through stuff to get rid of or re-purpose. For example, this lovely shot glass holder.
I don’t think I’ve ever used this or the shot glasses that fit inside it. The shot glasses I may re-purpose as bud vases. They are tall and narrow and an assortment of colors. The boys got a ton of markers for Christmas (as you can see) and this works lovely on the dining room table which is where they color anyway.
a chill in the air
We’ve reached the end of the growing season. Luckily I harvested all the rest of the veggies before the frost hit. But what am I going to do with 10 cucumbers?
Then I’ve been trimming things down and ripping things out getting the gardens ready for winter. In doing so, I saved all the flower heads from the zinnias first. Since zinnias are in the sunflower family, the whole center is packed with seeds. We are going to have TONS of zinnias next year.
The hibiscus has joined me in the kitchen. It seems happy so far. Though I think a dwarf Meyer lemon tree might be nice to keep it company.
We haven’t seen the chipmunk lately. I was starting to worry and then kit #1 noticed his hole was gone. Well, not gone, he just couldn’t see into it. Looks like chippy is all tucked in for winter.
Sometimes I wish I could bury myself in a mountain of blankets and hibernate for the winter too. Curse responsibilities.
red fox den 