Home and Garden

Updates from the homefront

Here are the pictures of the upstairs bedroom that was remodeled a while back and had never gotten blinds and little curtains to make it a little more sleep friendly. I actually had to turn on a light to get this picture. It is the perfect room for company. Far enough away that we don't bother each other and it has a bath of its own. The not so good part is that we have to have an extra window unit for this room so that people don't die of heat exhaustion up there.

See how dark it is! The upside of this is that it is cooler than before, too. I got some very cool kitch at the Garden Ridge while I was there. You know it was calling to me and all. It needed to come home and live in this room that in some weird way is becoming inspired by Diego Rivera. Maybe, it is that game/tv show "Where In the World is Carmen Diego", which would be pretty weird, since I don't know what it is, but this room is taking on a peasant/Mexico feel. Check out the blue vase with the lillies on it. Diego Rivera inspired, I'm telling you.

The curtains and blinds really make it a LOT darker up there. I stopped by Garden Ridge the other day and they had panel curtains for $4.99. I couldn't believe it and they were the perfect color and all. I had gotten mini-blinds at Home Depot for $4.99 each, so it was a good deal and cost about $30 for the window treatment. Here is what they really look like with the flash so you can actually see the silly things. The curtains are a light gold color and go really well with the bedspread and all.

And here is the tiny little curtain for the tiny little window in the bathroom. Melli, these pics are for you, girl. I was standing in the tub taking this picture...that is how small it is. The dimensions were 22" by 23 ".

Updates from the garden

This is that same old pot of flowers we have been dragging around since Easter and it just keeps on growing and getting fuller and more and more beautiful everyday. The bargain bin was a very lucky find the day I picked up a lot of these flowers. The oxalis left over from St. Patrick's Day had been cast aside and is still blooming everyday. The petunias are blooming again and so are the pale pink geraniums. Coleus is in there, too...and some stock. And I just love the thing.

The garden walk to the driveway has begonias on either side and has a hedghog sitting on the bricks beside the flowerbed. Next year I'm going to load both sides up with white begonias and it will be so pretty.

This is the brick walk that goes from the patio to the driveway and is guarded by Spikey Norman, from Monty Python, he is calling Dimsdale out.

He is very small and it is difficult to see much detail because of the light. You never know when the Spikey Norman will appear looking for Dimsdale. Over mountain or building or up from under the roads. The Monty Python Flying Circus was one of my favorite shows.


More Updates from the Garden

Planning has begun for the xeriscape garden.

Bought some new plants for a new project...hubby is underwhelmed with it all....and I guess there will be some digging for me to do on this one. The large gangly one is a red spanish dagger, or something like that. It is too dark to go out to look and that is good enough. It gets a red spike that comes up out of it. The silver grey one with the purple flowers is Texas sage...like you hear about in the movies and books. I like it because, well, it is a hardy plant and is pretty, but it also is a rain indicator. It blooms about two days before rain, but it can be fooled. I just know we all get excited when the sage is blooming. The one in front of that is rosemary. I've got some in the herb garden, but think it will do very well in the rock garden. We will see. The one to the far left is a tri-color sedum and it is a succulent, so it will be fine out there. It, too, is a pretty cactus type plant. There aren't any with real spines, so no prickly pears at all.

Here is a closer up picture of the sage.

You can see the purple blooms better and the silver grey foliage looks so pretty with them.

We still have a grey santolina out there and I'm looking for a green one to fill in.

OH! That reminds me, if you are a clematis fan/freak my cousin found a great place to get really good ones online. She has ordered from her and thinks she is very good and has very good products that come wrapped sensibly and promptly. No goofing around for The Silver Star Vinery lady. Great deals!! And what a cool name! Must be a relative with Star for a last name and all.

And here is himself resting up after a long morning of working getting the summer vegetable garden sorted out, and he has been thinking of me digging all those holes to plant the new xeriscape garden.