Life, uh, finds a way.

The entire west side of the property is under construction and the plants left behind (I did save a bunch) are not expected to survive.

This freesia has other ideas!

A bloom amidst the rubble.

We tried to get started on the project of changing the rotting retaining wall out ourselves, but eventually admitted that with Ryan's job schedule keeping him away plus my full-time toddler wrangling, we just weren't going to be able to tackle the project before summer.  Or even next summer.  Unfortunately the wall was falling down in too many places, and it had become a danger to toddlers. 

So we hired a landscaper!  

The company is in the process of...
- tearing down the wood retaining wall
- replacing retaining wall with large stone bricks
- paving the northwest corner
- adding LED lighting along the wall and paved area
- topping the retaining wall along the paved area to make a bench (this has been extended along the pool side too!)
- putting in a drip system
- redoing the retaining wall in the front yard, and giving us extra planting space
- putting a fence around the tangled mass of pool equipment
- digging out the area next to the west side of the house and putting in decomposed granite, leaving only the wine grape vines behind

It's going to be up to us to...
- sell the trailer (we decided that the extra backyard space is more important for this life stage)
- replant along the whole length of the west fence, front and back
- purchase a gas fire pit, for the paved area
- find outdoor furniture for the paved area
- find a decorative planter for the spot next to the pool equipment
- train the grape vines back up the side of the house again... we love the look, but tried to get them to grow on a trellis instead (to keep moisture away from the house) and it didn't work!  Instead, we will tear them down every 3 years to repaint the side of the house, as the previous owners did. 

Whew!  So much to do.  So much transformation.  So many backyard safety features.  So long, tax return. 

I can't wait to use the area this summer!

Green "Thumb"

It must be spring!

I have no idea where that oak leaf on the porch came from...

What better way to get back to blogging than to share the joy of discovering that my new nail polish perfectly matches the green growth of spring in sunlight?  I was just trying to find a color* that matched a skirt for a special event.

Bear with the paint job, it's been 5 or 6 years since I did anything besides buff my nails.  I don't even have nail polish remover in the house!


Where have I been?!

It's been a long time since I posted here.  I've just been drained for the past year.  Let's break it down.

• Lost the last 4 grandparents, so it feels like the Grim Reaper just swung his scythe and felled an entire generation at once... I feel older now.  It still doesn't seem quite real.  I'm glad Torin got to meet them all, but it's an especially weird punch to the gut that he won't grow up knowing my grandpa the outdoorsman.  I'm going to be the one teaching Torin to fish and find edible plants instead, but my knowledge is not nearly as vast and hands-on as grandpa's... I suppose that's the natural progression of things. 
• Torin and I were both alternately sick with colds/etc for 3 months straight, and it made me super aware of how hard and draining it is to single-mom it half the week.  I'm hyper-aware of it now, and have probably been needlessly bitchy... I'm a major introvert, and extracting time for myself has been like squeezing water from a stone. 
• Toddlerhood has been unbelievably awesome and time/energy-consuming, and I love watching Torin become his own person, but I'm also feeling a sense of loss because we're nearly finished weaning (for fertility reasons) even though we both really don't want to wean.  But if he wants a sibling, it's gotta happen soon.
• Braces have been an unending pain in the jaw, that affects everything from socializing (I still talk/smile weird and it makes me self-conscious) to eating (I get so little braces-free time that I stuff my face to keep from feeling like I'm starving) to romance (mouth pain and wiggly teeth are NOT sexy).  It should have been over by last month, but one tooth didn't move, and after a few months of telling the dentist that it wasn't moving and that it was very painful to wear braces that didn't fit, they finally admitted it didn't work.  So I'm basically starting almost from scratch with a new set.  I've already paid for the braces through them (and these revisions are "free," only paid for with time and frustration), so I can't leave this dentist... but will as soon as I can. 
• Self-improvement and house stuff and personal/craft projects have been totally abandoned in the meantime, and I've been feeling pretty unhealthy and uninspired. 

New stuff is around the corner!

But I want to share a TON of fun and inspiring stuff that's on the brink of happening... it's time for planting, the back yard is currently under some much-needed professional construction, the sun is coming out after the wettest winter I can remember... and yesterday was the last risk of frost in the garden!!  My plan for this season is to have much simpler, shorter posts, always with a photo, not worrying about having "quality" posts... lower expectations for myself, basically.

Perfection is the enemy of progress, right?


*Sally Hansen #369 Green Thumb