A Texas welcome

into our first spring in our new digs...low and behold, look what greeted me in our very own backyard!

The latest project: Operation Get ready for Summer

One of the things on our to do list is updating and resurfacing the pool. We knew it needed some TLC when we moved in, but had managed to put it off until now. With summer just around the corner, we thought it was time to take the plunge. Here's our progress so far. (Note the special supervision the tile layer received!)


Before:



Tile going in:




As my hubby pointed out, this will be the only time we can see the pool light shining opposite of it's intended direction. Looks kinda neat reflecting off the foliage.

Cultivating Tasty

It's a beautiful day and I am afraid the weeds will have to take over the yard without me today.
In celebration of my mother-in-law's 65th birthday, I created these scrummy black magic cupcakes with raspberry buttercream frosty for tonight's celebratory gathering. I was a bit dismayed that the raspberries added a grainy texture to the buttercream, but it was my first time to add berries to buttercream, so hey, I will chalk it up to a learning curve. While they are not what I envisioned ( ok, my OCD is hung up on my normal super creamy buttercream), I think they will still go over well.

GAH! Invasion of the weeds!

Surprise, surprise. It's my first spring at the new casa and of course, I have put WAY too many projects on my agenda. My brain has already landscaped projects that have gotta be at least a year away ( maybe two depending on how my body and budget hold out), but it sure is fun to think about. In the meantime, I have to concentrate on the ones I have already begun.
I knew the weeds would be a killer this year since I didn't find time to get a pre-emergent out last fall and boy oh boy, overwhelming comes to mind.

I am trying my best to ignore the ones with the cute little purple blooms that are EVERYWHERE



because I know if I can get my grass in a happy state (gotta get that organic fertilizer down soon) that the grass will choke them out, not to mention, they really don't like it when it gets hot. So, my mission is to hunt down the offensive perennial weeds that can make us all miserable such as stinging needles and chickweed.




I also scored big time on some free hardscaping rocks that, while I am not really ready for yet, am taking because free is always good.






I picked up the first of many loads today and am now wondering why I decided to do an upper body workout this morning when I spent quality time lifting and moving heavy rocks this afternoon. Oh well, if I keep going at this rate, maybe my arms will be fab for summer!

Stumbled upon

this neat little poem while reading the plots of another gardener. I don't know what the title is, but I like it!

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples' gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickles for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

by Jenny Joseph

Learning curves via snommagedom style

Well, it's been four long days since we were hit with ice and just when I thought I might have a chance to venture back to work today, we got hit with 4 inches of snow! I know I am bit stir crazy now, I can only imagine how mom's across the metroplex must feel ( ya'll still have some sanity yes?) I know the dogs are definitely tired of laying around and would rather go on a walk, and maybe I will humor them today while the snow is still fluffy, but we will see. The hubby and I have been taking shifts sitting out with the dogs in the backyard while they try and get some energy out. Something we never thought of with a pool ( ok, this weather has had alot of things hit us that we never thought about!), is that when it ices, the ice goes clear up to the edge and then it becomes a game of making sure dogs don't decide to put on the brakes anywhere near the pool and do some polar swimming, because of course, that would mean WE get to do some polar swimming. Thankfully, we have dodged that bullet so far. I managed to retrieve some sand from the shed ( from when our house almost flooded with the hurricane rains last fall) and put down a healthy amount near the pool to help with traction. Shoveling came to mind, but with no sun to melt what I'd shoveled, well, then we are right back to needing sand...Now with fresh snow, for the moment we are okay, but gosh, Tasha is our candidate for ice dipping. She wants to peer into the pool from the very tippy edge and while we are vigilant about keeping her away, it only takes one missed step!
Then, there is the the pool pump...we are still in the land of clueless but learning quickly that when the temperature is below freezing for extended periods of time, if you have not winterized, you could be in trouble. Now to be fair, we are in Texas and there have not been this many cold days in a row in at least 15 years and most Texans don't winterize, but I am rethinking that for next season.
While I am very grateful that the main filter is still running, the backup was not so lucky. It's not only frozen over but has in turn lowered the water level in the pool enough that if it gets much father down, there could be a whole new set of problems. I think we are actually going to get out without too much damage, but we won't know for sure until everything thaws.




We found it very amusing that on one of the hubby's shifts with the dogs, that he left his gingerale out on the bar for about an hour... this is what we found we we remembered to retrieve it. DOH!! Makes me REALLY glad that our main power provider is Texas new Mexico and not Oncor ( who was notorious for several hours of outages at a time)...we did get hit with the rolling blackouts twice, but never for more than 15-30 minutes ...whew, because if a glass of gingerale froze that fast, imagine how fast the pool pump and maybe pipes might have frozen with temps already in the teens. Thank goodness for those kinds of missed opportunities.



The cable has pooped out in the living room, but thankfully, for whatever reason, we still have it in the bedroom so I can obsess over the weather from the comfy bed and we have lost the use of a toilet in the guest bathroom due to goodness know what issues ( we learned it's testy anyways, so maybe it went on strike with the cold weather), but boy howdy, we are grateful once again that the master toilet is working okay!
We've definitely had a few challenges, but so very minor compared to so many. I am so very grateful for a roof over my head, and HEAT, and running water and food in the kitchen and that we still have electricity!! I certainly don't know how the northerner's do this super cold business day in and day out for months at a time. Bring on the 105 degree days anytime over this.
Just think, this time last week I was working in the yard in short sleeves,sunshine and 70 degrees. I am ready for THAT kind of winter weather to come back and visit real soon!
In the meantime, I'll snuggle up with my honey, wear a few extra layers of clothes and wait patiently for that "turn on a dime" Texas weather to thaw us out.

Evil Asian Jasmine and January Spring Fever

As we settle in to our dream home, I find my ADD at it's finest when I go outside these days. So many projects and not enough time in the day. Of course, now that I have some free time again, it is so very nice to be able to go out and putter around the yard when things are quiet. Of course the down side to that is I tend to stay in hermit mode because I have so many things I want to do at home. It feels as though it been a decade since I've really had time to dedicate to my love of gardening ( well, I guess it's been half a decade) and it feels so incredibly wonderful to be back.
Of course my body has let me know that indeed five years have passed and while I am still young, I can't quite pull off what I used to without paying a price. Oh well, nothing some aleve and a heating pad won't fix.
The latest quest has been to remove 20 years worth of asian jasmine ( or as we call it in this house, EVIL asian jasmine) out of a raised bed that has so much potential. I have also added a neighboring bed and have been relocating some of the plants that needed a more well suited home. My goodness, nothing has been thinned out in, well, probably never.
I am so happy that we are having some nice days in January so I can get these projects done so when the spring arrives, I can get to the juicy stuff and start planting my vision!
Here's how the progress is going!

Before:


After: