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Cleaning House
I guess there is something about spring that makes you want to freshen everything up, make stuff feel new and clean and appreciated. I am also probably “nesting” etc.
Friday evening I went all crazy and went through our closet and took out 5 bags of clothing to give to good will, some of it was 10 years old! I also have 3 bags for my dear friend Laurel who is coming to visit in April. She gets all the good stuff, any Anne Taylor, Gap and Limited stuff I had that I know I can’t fit into again. The size 2 pants, well I think that’s a dream long lost but she’s tiny so I know she can wear some of them. Lots of stuff pre-BG that didn’t fit after 1 year and probably wouldn’t ever fit again. It’s a good time to purge clothing because I am pregnant so it’s not like I feel the urge to go out and buy a new wardrobe.
Then there is our backyard, Friday morning some guys came out to give us an estimate on digging out a trench along our entire hill base, because the pine straw keeps creeping down and covering/killing the grass, same with the 1 large bed out front, then of course we needed the pine-straw extravaganza (we need like 40-50 bales for our steep hill and then beds) so we don’t get fined by our neighborhood (we’ve gotten the warning letter already!)
We had family over saturday and spent a lot of time outside, and the worker men came to work on building the trench, and then a special treat for myself and BG, 2 giant flower beds. 1 foot tall to keep the babies out, and plenty high for me to easily plant stuff in, but the best part is no grass or weeds because it’s separated, and we left 6″ from the frame to the house behind to keep the house base clean and clear of bugs, nothing to hide in means less spiders in our house. We get a decent amount in the house, and we’ve noticed sense we change some things outside its made a big difference inside, we removed the beds on the side last summer, and just have grass now up to the brick and it made a very large difference in the amount of spiders in the house. We have a slab so it’s different then a house that’s raised a foot or so.
The yard guys are the same ones who put down our sod last summer, and at the time we could not afford to do EVERYTHING that needed to be done, nor could I even this time but we had some essential work done, the pine straw, the trench, major pruning of all our big front tree’s (something we’ve never done, needed a chain saw) and then the addition of a “rock bed” in the bad corner of the yard. It’s a corner that the water is supposed to flow out of but then previous owners, and then ourselves didn’t know this and tried to plant stuff there, I think I’ve solved that issue for ourselves and future owners.
It was the guys idea when I spoke about the issues we have there, and then as an aside I mentioned to him I take photos in my backyard for my knitting patterns (he didn’t even blink!) and there is an area near the butterfly bush that BG always tries to crawl behind and get up the hill and a lot of stuff piles up there in the fall. So he had the suggestions of a big boulder to sit on or in front of, climb etc, and 3 “knock-out” rose bushes which are super hardy and don’t need much help out here in Georgia.
Look careful and you can see the 3 bushes which he says will grow much bushier, 3-4 feet tall and wide! I can’t wait! It’s going to be so pretty for photo ops, and is a write-off! You can also see the new trench in this photo. They still have to lay the pine-straw, then it will be all pretty, and a few weeks later when the grass turns green it will be such a lovely site all around the yard.
So back to those flower beds I am so excited about, there was room to build 3 but we couldn’t afford it, which is just as well as I’ve always had an interest in gardening but not much attention span for it. I went to Home Depot and picked up a few things to give it a try with. I got really crazy and bought two blueberry trees (they look like tree’s anyway) and then a bunch of rosemary and some pretty bulbs to plant. I adore rosemary and it’s supposed to be hearty too like the roses. There was also two cute little start kits for tomato’s and strawberries, if I can handle it on the small scale maybe I can plant a bunch more some other place in the yard later, there is plenty of room for sure. I am so lucky to have such a gorgeous back yard, it’s one of the reasons I love this house so much. I am not exactly worthy of it as I don’t know much about plants, but I learned a lot about prunning by reading so maybe I can do it justice!
I am knitting up a really cute tank top pattern but I am going to resist the urge to show it until it’s done, I am hoping the grass will turn green soon so I can get a good photo-shoot. I’m nearly half-done knitting it 
I am totally insane but I was hoping to have it done by Stitches South as a cute summer pattern to sell, and I don’t even know if my tech editor would have availability but I am just going to go for it for now because it’s making me happy to knit it, then I have to get back to my Stitches South samples. Those are technically due NOW but I know I’m not too far from being done.
I am totally insane but I was hoping to have it done by Stitches South as a cute summer pattern to sell, and I don’t even know if my tech editor would have availability but I am just going to go for it for now because it’s making me happy to knit it, then I have to get back to my Stitches South samples. Those are technically due NOW but I know I’m not too far from being done.This entry was posted on Sunday, March 22nd, 2009 at 6:14 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
March 23rd, 2009 at 9:40 am
The yard is going to look great. I love the large rock I have one in my front yard that I just love. Congrats on the baby girl! I can’t wait to see BG’s room!
March 23rd, 2009 at 10:26 am
What a beautiful yard you have. All your efforts are really showing off. I love the rock!
March 23rd, 2009 at 10:29 am
You have a great backyard! I’m jealous. I can’t wait until we get started on our planting (3 weeks in N.C., so we miss any chance of frost).
March 26th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Wow I just clicked through to your blog vs. reading it on my reader! Nice new layout!
I can’t wait to see your yard finished. I’m still finishing our garden (digging myself) but the weather isn’t cooperating! I really love your fence! I wish we could fence our entire 2 acres with it!
March 30th, 2009 at 12:29 am
Your garden’s looking great! Love that you have that hill, it’s such a nice feature rather than having a wall or fence and looking over a back neighbour’s yard.
then only home for one, but we have our plants on auto sprinkler and when we get home they’re HEAPS bigger than before!
You can learn gardening skill super easily! Just start playing outside with planting and watering and getting your hands dirty – it’s such a magical feeling to see your little plants grow bit by bit. I don’t have much chance to do that since I work away for four week
Good luck and enjoy! Ooh and I can hardly wait for your next pattern!