Got the first overhang put up. I think it will look pretty good once I get the drip edge, shingles, etc. attached; these things hide a multitude of sins. For all that it looks a bit... haphazard... in its unfinished state, it also looks "right" for the house ( Read more... )

The clematis is still blooming. It had one half-open bud that was only waiting for last weekend's warmth, at which point it opened into a full, perfect flower; a much deeper, richer color than earlier blooms. And there's a couple more buds that look to have ambitions if they get just a fraction higher temperatures ( Read more... )

Not really, sigh. But I knew last night that this was going to be a low-ambition day, and this morning did nothing but confirm it. I slept late, and got up not because I felt well-rested, but because I couldn't make myself sleep any more. No Y for me today, and probably not much else, either. I'm exhausted, my knee hurts, and I think I sprained ( Read more... )

Yesterday, despite lack of ambition, I finally managed to plant the remaining sedum, complete with landscape fabric & mulch. They look a little scrawny just now, but if they fill out like the others did, that little bed that juts out into the driveway will actually look like a feature. Thanks again, otterwort, for ground-clearing and plant assistance ( Read more... )

...only two sedums, otterwort. Only two ( Read more... )

Woke up with a splitting headache yesterday, the kind that makes both getting to the ibuprofen and keeping it down a challenge. Not sure if I should blame Monday's workout (for knotting up the neck muscles) or the fact that I sat on the chaise portion of couch for a couple of hours, which just wrecks my back. Whichever, I wasn't good for much ( Read more... )

Saturday, I finally got around to cleaning the downspouts. Not a fun task at the best of times, and not made better by the fact that I still can't lift my left arm to the side past about 45 degrees. Guess what position most of the work required? The center downspout was actually clear; the blockage is up at the gutter (again -- really regret ( Read more... )

I finally remembered to get back to the local grocery store to see if they still had the bamboo windchime I wanted. They had one left of the version I liked; it's not perfect for the pseudo-Japanese bit of the bed by the corner of the house, but it's by far the closest I've seen, and it was only ten bucks. Score ( Read more... )

It seems the hyacinth is not dead after all. A distinctly hyacinth-like sprout showed up a while ago, next to the dry stalks from last year; it's plugging right along, and has now been joined by a second sprout. Yay, for I quite liked that flower ( Read more... )

Continued with the errand-running on Sunday. Bought a lawnmower. It's not perfect, but it seems to be tall enough (a real problem, for me) and seems to have avoided the more egregiously annoying issues; also, it was among the cheaper of the ones we looked at, which never hurts ( Read more... )