Our New Garden!

Over the years the backyard has become a bit overgrown and rather unloved! Several times we've made attempts to clean it up and "do something" with it, but "something else" always came up to divert our attention! Well, finally Corey came into the crafts room (where I spend most of my time) and said, okay, go find someone like we see on HGTV that fix up a backyard!

So, I went online, found John of New Leaf, and made an appointment. He came over and we looked over the yard and discussed what we wanted! He quoted a price, and a couple of days later I called him and said, okay! Get started!

This is just after the initial tear down! They had to clear all the old shrubbery. We tore down that old, ugly, crumbling wall!


This is what it looked like after that old wall was completely torn down!

We had decided to dig out the old grass and have sod installed. I'm glad we did, because the grass wouldn't have survived the construction.

We'd decided to have a patio installed so we could get some table and chairs to sit outside.

When we first bought our house, we both thought this back corner would make a good place for a waterfall at some point! After 11 years, "some point" finallly arrived!

This is the view I saw when I came home from work to find the building part of the job completed!

John laid out the plants so we could see them before they were planted.

I first saw the bleeding heart plant up north at Filoli. I love this little pink heart-shaped flowers!

It was a little late for daffodils, but I did get some tulips!

We've got Star Jasmine along this wall and Honeysuckle along the other wall. We've also got some Spanish Lavendar!

The honeysuckle plants are blooming already and are very happy where they are! We are fortunate to have a nice sunny yard most of the day!

I just love our new garden! No more "backyard"! But a lovely garden to roam in! We're gong to get a swinging chair and patio table this summer! It is going to be so lovely! It already is! I love just going out and looking at it all! The violas and daisies are doing very well already! I think they all love their new home!

We installed some spotlights! This is a night shot, came out pretty good I thought! I love looking out the office window to see the garden at night! It is truly beautiful!

Finally!

Okay, so this "new and improved" blogger has kept me out all night! Now that I've finally gotten in, it is past my bedtime! Will have to try again tomorrow!
Night all!

The Sun is Out!

It rained all day yesterday! And through the night! But this afternoon the sun is shining and the wet streets are drying up! I know we have needed the rain, but not all in one shot! I do not know if it is supposed to rain some more this weekend or not.

This morning I went to my local bead shop, Chic Beads, and took a soldering class in making s-clasps. I have a couple of bracelet ideas I want to make, and I'd like to make my own clasps for them as well! It was a good chance also to get my torch out and play with fire!

Happy Saturday!

The First Month of the New Year

Time flies when you're having fun - or not looking! Hard to believe that January is already just about a memory! Also, it has been one month since I last sat down and did a little scribbling here! California has been in a drought situation for about the last 3 or so years - cities have rationed water, put down strict restrictions on water usage - etc., but this month we have had some pretty ferocious rains! Our street has flooded a little bit, some areas of Long Beach flooded so badly they were on the news! Last fall we had a lot of fires in some of the canyon and hillside areas - and that is always a worry when rain comes - because mudslides could happen. Luckily, even with all the rain and flooding, there weren't the mudslides that everyone feared would happen. That doesn't mean they won't happen if we get more rain - but holding off disaster is always a good thing! The last week has been sunny and clear, but they are predicting rain again this week.

On the 22nd and 23rd I was able to attend the CHA sponsored Craft SuperShow - I took a few classes and got to see a lot of crafts! It was more than scrapbooking and rubber stamping - welding, painting, a little beading. The stores were there with demostrations and make 'n takes - it was a lot of fun!

Last evening we went to Disneland to meet up with my brother, his wife, my niece and my mom - they surprised her with her own Disneyland Annual Pass! She was thrilled! We got her on It's A Small World, Tiki Room, and Pirates. It was a nice little unplanned adventure.

This morning some tree trimmers are cutting back all those awful branches and yucky trees that have been growing wildly for the past 10 years! The cypress trees aren't even ours! They are actually growing from the yard behind us - and he has let them get out of control on his side - I've been wanting them down for years - they are a mess to live with! So finally they are being cut back away from our side.

So now I need to sit down and make up a little blueprint of what I'd like to see happen to the yard!

I really hate it when I forget to save! I wrote a neat little diddy and I forgot to save! Now it is lost forever in byteland! Oh well! On to the next thing!

One other thing I did this month was to make some bookmarks for a swap I joined last fall. We had a deadline date of 15 February. I actually had them completed early this month, but only got around to mailing them off yesterday! We did a bookmark swap a couple of years ago and it was so awesome! The bookmarks I recieved back from the other swapers are gorgeous! I love to read and it has been so fun trying to "match" the bookmark to the book I'm about to read! Last fall a few of us mentioned how much we enjoyed that swap - and one of the girls in the group offered to be the hostess!

I use embossed metal this time around to make my bookmarks! I hand embossed some of them and one some of them ran them through my Big Shot machine! You get a different look when you do that. It was a lot of fun! I also used my alchaol inks on the metal - very cool! I can't wait to see all the cool designs I get back this time around!