It's Been A Rough Summer - Life is Getting Better

Practically everywhere I turn I hear similar comments.  First of all, "where did our summer go .... kids back in school and I can't remember what happened."   Summer was rough at our house.   It started with Ken getting sick in April.  All attention was on the Pops getting well.  And getting well he is indeed.  Still, our lives and our surroundings show some battle scars.   Not that it was horrible, just rough.
April and her family have been right there beside us helping, and we are so grateful.  Yet even with all the help in the most important matters, the early spring fescue seeding, the fertilizing, weeding, loving touches had to be put on hold and now, like Ken is mending, so is our home and little gardens.

The front porch and yard are so important to Ken and they probably have never faired so poorly with all the 100 degrees plus Oklahoma heat and a broken sprinkling system which leaked the water down the street instead of on the yard and flowers.  (If you saw our water bill you would know what I mean.)

But now the sprinkler system has been repaired and Dave is painting the house and there is hope for recovery for the entry way as well as the lawn.

Rosie Sanding

Lily scrapping

So with Rosie's sanding and Lily's wire brushing the wrought  iron furniture, and with Elijah and Dave helping to clean up the front deck, the situation is looking very promising.

Even the wax begonias which should have been very tall and full of flowers and totally filling in the flowerbed, are sickly and sad to behold.

And the Mexican Petunias from Millie which bloomed last year have just now begun to show a flower maybe once every week.  They are a stubborn wild plant which goes underground and pops up where least expected.   But it gives a token blossom just often enough to keep me from totally cutting it to the ground this year.  I already know it will come back up next  year. 

Then those impostors that came up with the lovely Cone Flowers.  They looked like the Coneflower stalks.  I let them grow not realizing they were counterfeits until they did not bloom.  I advertised on Facebook asking what they were but not one answer other than they look like weeds.  Because curosity got  the best of me, I left them to identified them later as Goldenrod's -- yellow flowers that grow along the highway.  Then Dave pulled them out for me yesterday.  Wonder if they will be back next year and I won't be able to know which is Goldenrod and which is my beautiful Coneflower.

So all the signs of hope are there --- though we were mostly dead, yet shall me live again.

And with all the hard work that Dave is doing with our home, it is looking good again.

Thank  you God for all your bountiful blessings.  And thank you for family that cares when there is a need.

Here is the front door today --  and in a couple more days, it will be masterfully beautiful again.

And our Papa is a Very Happy Man!

The tinyest of all, Babe who almost got given away during those rough weeks of illness and summer heat, managed to make it to her first birthday with Papa's love for her renewed .  Here she is with her First Birthday Grooming.  Her Master regards Babe as his little pride and joy all over again, hardly remembering those annoying weeks of disobedience and yapping.

Dallas Got It Too This Time

I saw on the news that for the first time in all recorded history, there is snow in all 50 states of the USA.  http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/02/snow_on_ground_in_all_50_state.html

Joel and Jennifer, Sydney and Blakely just moved into a new house.  And guess what, it even snows in Dallas.     We have not seen the home yet, but here is the front and the back swimming pool.  Don't guess they are going to get to try out the pool just yet!     We are going to be visiting the Texas Scrivs in a week or so.

Out Goes the Bad -- In Comes The New

That Deck Is Still Not Done

I love flowers. I have to tell you, I love them a lot. So among the mess on our back deck there is still beauty to behold .... Yes, I planted these, but God made them to grow.

Thank you God for caring so much about us that you allow us to enjoy the beauty of your creation.

But there is still beauty on our back deck.

Some of the carpentry work was not perfect, so Ken made them rip it up and do it again. Oh Dear!

The side deck is disappearing but there will be a new one soon.

We put the bromeliad out on the back deck and it bloomed this year. It makes us long for Hawaii. That is where we first saw these blooming in the Rain Forrest. I feel ready to take off right now. ....... Oh, did someone say that now that we are investing in home improvements, I have to stay here and work?

So there you have it, instead of a trip to Hawaii this year, we get a deck. So I will sit on my deck and close my eyes and dream of the vivid blue ocean, the soft warm breezes, I hear the birds chirping, the waves gently splashing as the tide comes in and goes out. Hawaii is wonderful on my restored new deck.

Yes, We Are Having the Redwood Deck Repaired

I had asked if anyone wanted to guess what was about to happen at our house.





OK, I get it, no one is really into guessing games right now so I will tell you anyway. Some of those wonderful redwood boards from back in the 70's have given up the ghost. And since I'm told we can not mix and match, we are replacing all of them with treated pine. Redwood is less available and very expensive so it is time to say goodbye.


Then once the deck boards were pulled up, there is a lot more work and expense than we dreamed. The clock is ticking and the cash register is pinging $$$$$ at Lowes as we go back for more supplies. Oh well, we don't want anyone tripping and falling on our deck.
Anybody want any of the good redwood boards for small projects? Some of them are still in fine condition.









A good thing happened. They were able to level our hot tub. The block it was sitting on had begun to settle and there was a two inch difference in how it set. Now it is level again.


Even though the deck is not finished, we can get in the hot tub again. Love it!


Anyone want to guess what is about to happen at our house

This is our initial purchase of wood supplies. Later we learned it needed to be doubled. Eeeeekkk.