Weekend in Review: Hi's and Lows

First, I would just like to say that whatever caused these beautiful days to linger, I am thrilled!  Saturday and Sunday were amazing!

Such a lovely spot, and one we occupied intermittently throughout the weekend

The rain earlier in the week followed by the lovely sunshine greened up the grass almost everywhere overnight.  Our tulips bloomed this week, but are almost done.  They were surprises since we didn't plant them, and all but one plant had red flowers--the other was purple.  The creeping phlox blooms were white, so when we have to pull them out to rework the bed, I won't feel bad if they don't survive.  I really like the pink and periwinkle colored flowers the best on those, although I do plan to attempt to save them.  Unfortunately, it seems I have the best luck keeping the white plants alive. Figures.

We all slept in on Saturday morning, and ended up rushing around a bit so we could get breakfast and go garage sale shopping.  I did a search on Craigslist for sales in our town (as opposed to going into Tulsa or other surrounding areas) and programmed Naggie (GPS) with the addresses.  We stopped by our usual breakfast spot to dine and were on the road to the first sale by 8:45.  I think we hit about 9 sales and found nothing I really couldn't have done without, but I did score a few fun things like a very small display case, some old CD's for $1 each, cheesy jewelry I will dismantle to use for art projects, and a like-new Richard Scarry book for the grands.

After scouring Craigslist for several weeks, Ornery finally found a router table he thought he could make work at ReTool. Unfortunately, the little router he bought to go with it doesn't really work, but his old one will.  ReTool does not give refunds.  Bummer.  Since we spent the morning at garage sales, we missed the lumber yard to buy the corner molding for the bathroom, so we'll have to go next week.  I really did mean to do that before the weekend, but it slipped my mind.

He worked a little while on the bathroom, trying to figure out how to finish off the edge of the carpet.  It has been a bit confounding to him since he has never done it before nor seen anyone else do it.  We also worked together to pull all the (hundreds) nails from the first loom he and Elizabeth built.  We saved the wood, even though it was just a 2X4 split in half.  I am pretty sure we will find some use for it.

I am amazed at how well the background of the tile my sister painted matches the wall color. 

We had to make a trip to Lowe's for some screws for the new table and bought some top soil to raise a low spot in the back yard.  I am sure we didn't buy enough soil, but hopefully we can get it a little more level by the end of the summer. I don't really like puddles of standing water hanging around--they make great mosquito breeding grounds!

You can see where we added cotton seed hulls and top soil to help raise the low area just beyond the pergola.  I figure in a month you won't be able to distinguish it from the rest of the lawn.  Gotta love Bermuda grass!

While we were out in the yard, we struck up a conversation with our neighbor.  She came over and toured the house (although they have lived here for 10 years she had never been inside!) and we visited on the drive for a while.  Then I wandered into the studio for a little session with my art journal and twinks.

Elizabeth traveled with us in the morning, but spent the afternoon and evening out gallivanting with a friend.  She came home pink and rested.

Sunday morning Elizabeth finished her first essay for one of the classes she is taking, then we invited a friend for lunch al fresco and the two of them went to Redbud Valley nature preserve.  She was even more pink when she returned from that outing, as she was out in the sun longer. It doesn't look to be a bad burn, however, so hopefully it will turn to tan instead of peeling.

The carpet is not as tight as he would like, but the last of the floor is laid, the tack strip attached and the carpet edge no longer presents a tripping hazard. :)

Ornery spent the day working on the bathroom floor and finally finished everything except replacing the baseboards. That should take an evening or two this week, then I think he plans to make some Mason Bee houses and begin building a table for our entry hall.  Not one to jump into any new project too quickly, he has been gathering plans and doing research for months in preparation for this table.  I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with!

I spent a little more time in my studio with my journal, read for a while, swept off the back porch and did a spot of cleaning.  We opened up the windows to enjoy the lovely day and it has been so pleasant to have the fresh air flowing through.  We drove to a town nearby to buy a few flower pots from a guy we found on Craigslist then scavenged a chair from the neighbor's curb to use on the porch for plants.  Ornery commented that it was starting to take on the look of a jungle out there.  I smiled.

A view of the pergola/patio facing the other direction... 

Meet Freddie Fernhead.  I bought him last summer and managed to keep him alive not only through the summer but the winter as well.  It isn't quite as full after losing much of its foliage when I first took it in the house, but it is coming back with a vengeance!  I am quite impressed with myself! 

This week I have a massive list of things I hope to accomplish.  My dream of using April as a month of non-stop art seems to have driven me to new heights of industriousness as I try to get all the little niggling projects wrapped up so I have nothing hanging over my head.  I was up at 3:30 this morning and got busy right away to finish editing the sixth message.  It is just now 8:00 and I have already finished it and loaded the next one into the document.  Now I am off to cross things off the list.