Look What We Did: Kitchen Cabinets

I think the one house project I am most proud of would be these cabinets in the kitchen. Mom and I labored over these for months, but I think it was well worth it. I should also tell you that I absolutely couldn't have done this with out her. Thanks, mom!

My kitchen in September of 2003.

My kitchen now, in 2008.
What a difference fresh paint and new hardware can make!

Look here for the full kitchen story.



This post was written for Houseblogs.net as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by True Value.

Behind the Forsythia Mass

We are looking at the small area beside the house, on the factory side. This picture was taken from the sidewalk, facing the front of the house.

The massive shrub is my forsythia. I like it because it is large, established, and has pretty yellow blooms for a brief time in the spring. But. It is also massively overgrown. Again with the neglect of the outdoor things.*

There is a semi shady little spot next to the porch, where I've been meaning to plant some things.
Since there is also a small pine-y shrub there, the soil is acidic and that makes it a good spot for lily-of-the-valley. I love lily-of-the-valley. My grandmother had planted it at the cabin, and like many other things there, it has outgrown its original boundries. But that's okay, 'cause it's pretty. And is smells nice.

Who's that peeking through the branches? After a couple months of smothering the weeds with plastic and heavy objects, I pulled all that off last week, turned the soil over, placed the pavers to form a mini-walkway, and planted some plants.
At the back, on the left is a coleus from last year, that I tried to overwinter on the kitchen porch sill. It didn't do too well, got kinda wood-y, but it was still alive, so I figured I'd stick it in the ground somwhere. After I gave up on it, of course, it has decided to get all bushy, healthy looking and thrive. Go figure.

On the right, at the back, is some lavender from my mom's yard. She dug it up, just to see if it could be divided successfully. We'll see. It looked rather dead when I put it in the ground, but has since perked up a bit.

All along the front are some hostas that mom's friend Janie dug up and divided for me (to replace the ones I killed last year on the other side of the house), only she gave me far more than I knew what to do with. So I stuck the smallest ones in here, all in a row.

The soft, fluffy stuff on the far right front corner is artemesia silver mound. I love this stuff. It is so wonderful to touch. Nothing else quite like it.

And the small green plants in between the front and back rows are my lovely pink lily-of-the-valley that mom bought for me. Last summer. Which I never planted. But they've hung in there, so they should be lovely next spring. I also have some beautiful yellow hyacinth bulbs I want to plant here in the fall. I know it looks a bit rough right now, but it should be pretty in the spring.

And, since the electric meter is on this side of the house, I have been striving to keep this narrow pathway accessible for the guy who comes once a month to take a reading. I hate when they estimate my bill. I work hard at conserving electricity, and I don't like being overcharged. Not even for one month, knowing that they will give me a credit the following month. That also helps me to be aware of how much I am using. So, these pavers are for you, meter-reader-guy. Or gal. Whatever.

*Please forgive the Buffy-speak. I've been watching the series on dvd since Greg at Petch House posted this a few weeks back.

Oli and the Hostas and the Pavers

Last summer I labored many days in the yard to lay this lovely row of pavers. That was my first major attempt to reclaim the yard. We spent the first four years making sure the house didn't fall apart inside, and the outside was neglected a bit.

So, Mom and I reclaimed these cement paving blocks from the cabin, where they used to surround the swimming pool. This reclaiming is an ongoing process. Basically, I think we had the idea that if we just went down there, cleared the brush, brambles, weeds, and other objects, we would just start hauling these things home. Well. Not quite. It is hard work, and we have realized we must do the work early in the spring before things start to grow. Like the wild raspberry brambles. And poison ivy. Learned that the hard way. Also, it has to be warm enough to work, but still cool enough that we can keep long pants and long sleeves on, and too cold to encounter snakes. Ew. So. Early spring. Temps in the 50s. Not raining. Really narrows down the amount of time we can spend on this project.

This year we had a good rhythm down and I think we put in about three solid weekends of work pulling pavers before it got too warm. Hence the no posting in March. I think we brought enough home for my next project (the back yard, near the apple trees, more on that later). John was nice enough to bring a large load in his truck, so they all arrived at once. Sure beats 12 at a time, which is how we brought them home last year. I don't think the VW Golf can handle much more weight than that. So many small trips last year. When I ran out at home, Oli and I would hop in the car, drive to the cabin, load up, and come home. Of course, everything takes longer with Ol along. He will insist on being let out at the cabin. So many good smells in the woods.

Anyway, I snapped these last year when I had finished my first long run. The pavers serve a double purpose: the line where the grass ends and the flowers begin, and they make a good mowing strip.

I was very proud of this flower bed. The hostas were from the POs, and I'm told they are impossible to kill.
But leave it to me. There were five last year, but only two came up this year. That's about all I started with this year. Then we came up with a plan, did the prep work, and planted the seeds. By mid-May, it looked like this.
See, the biggest problem with direct sowing seeds is that it is hard to tell if what is coming up is a plant or a weed. Until it is too late. One of my gardening books has this lovely piece of wisdom:

"If it pulls out easily, it was a valuable plant. If it is tough, it is a weed."

So true. This bed was almost overtaken with stuff that didn't belong. Luckily, it was mostly grass. Some crabgrass, and clover. I really have no problem leaving the clover, once the other stuff is established, but it was smothering the nasturtiums, and the liatris never did come up. As far as I can tell. But the cosmos is pretty hearty, and came up in force.

I didn't take a picture of this bed when it was overtaken with grasses, but trust me, it was, and it looks a lot better now. I promise to try to keep after it now.

Today, it looks like this:

The cosmos are about to bloom. My replacement hosta has perked up.

And the nasturtiums are filling out nicely, with a few blooms aready, too!

an Oliver Before and After

Oliver, sleeping on the bottom step, his first day with us at age 7 weeks and 2 days.

And now, at age 2 years and 3 months, that step is still a favourite spot.