Had a little break from working on the house because we had some family weekends planned. One weekend we went back to NY, then last weekend it was down to CT. Alex got to play with all her cousins at various times and had a blast with Jason and baby Maddy both weekends. This weekend we came home Saturday night so we had Sunday at home and I had a little project planned that I wanted to do. I had some loam delivered Sunday morning so after we went to breakfast I raked the yard. Then when Alex went down for a nap Ryan and I put some of the loam down in the low spots/uneven spots of the yard. Then seeded it and watered it. Now I just have to water it twice a day and hope grass actually grows and I haven’t ruined our lawn 🙂
This is what my backyard looks like …. patches of dirt.
I also have to keep Fitz off of it which means he’s going to need to actually be walked now and I can’t just put him out on the lead for the day. Going to be a long couple of weeks 🙂
Well spring is most certainly in the air (let’s hope there aren’t any future frosts waiting to kill the plants that have sprouted early now!).
And success – my tulip (and other) bulbs are popping up! Besides the crocus’ which I planted throughout the yard, I planted the larger bulbs in 3 locations – my rose garden (in front), and 2 spots at the front of the house. They’re popping up in all 3 spots! I’m very excited to see these comes to life in the next few weeks!
Bulbs popping up!
And with spring we get closer and closer to the arrival of our little one! 6 weeks to go (or there abouts):
34 weeks along!
Of course she was scaring me this morning (that she would come sooner than 6 weeks from now), my braxton hicks contractions were not only stronger than usual, I usually don’t get so many in the morning (usually at night) – not sure what was going on but they have finally calmed down thank goodness!
Look at the crocus'. I'm assuming these are some of the ones I planted this fall (from mom's extra) - but we always got a few of these so it may just be the normal ones we get.These are definitely from mom's batch. Although I thought they were supposed to be green - maybe the green ones aren't up yet and we also planted yellow?
Of course Fitz has already killed a few of these 🙂 But they are sprouting up nicely in the backyard, hopefully they sprout in the front/side yards too where there’s less sun. And I’m finding ‘holes’ in the yard where i’m sure the squirrels have figured out they could find some easy food – stupid squirrels!
Anyhow. This weekend was a mixup of projects. Saturday we started with 3 runs to the dump to get rid of all the wood and start getting rid of the pile of plaster (in bags). Once that was done we worked on the nursery – finishing up any demo (all in preparation for insulation). We also had to clean up the walls of the master bathroom which is also getting insulation – and move stuff around so walls can be reached in there and in the basement.
Another project was running the vent from the downstairs bathroom so it later can be hooked up to the other bathrooms. It took some work to drill through the header with a 2″ hole (poor Ryan – the hole saw was not working at all so he did it with multiple 3/4 inch holes but got the job done). Then we pieced the PVC pipe and it’s all ready to go.
Next up we ran the outlet feed on the exterior wall, getting it secured so the insulation doesn’t push the wires out and they get cut (lesson learned from the first time).
Vent pipe connected up (where the magic vent used to be) and running up through the header.Pipe extends into the ceiling of the hallway.Outlets on exterior wall
We ended with a little more demolition and cleanup in the closet (it also has exterior walls) – so the closet is all ready for insulation as well.
Closet exterior wall.
On Sunday we did some shopping (we bought the bedroom set for the nursery! It should arrive on April 13th) – not that the nursery will be ready but I will need dressers for baby clothes so we’ll set the dressers up in the hallway outside the nursery at the very least. I’m very excited. The bedroom set was actually in the outlet section of jordon’s and that explains why it was much cheaper than their regular furniture – bonus! We also tested out sectional couches because once the tvroom is done we’ll be ordering one of those!
Once shopping was done Ryan had to get work done (he got multiple calls this weekend asking him if he could work). So while he did that I did some miscellaneous projects. First I used duct tape to seal up all the cracks/holes in the exterior wall of the nursery so the spray foam insulation doesn’t push out and affect the siding later. You can’t see the tape in the pictures probably because I used black tape.
Then I continued wiring the outlets on the second wall of the nursery. I left the third wall because we have to put a corner nailer in first. Next I finished vacuuming the ceiling of the nursery really well. And finally started the process of putting the light circuit in the nursery (we have some holes in the joists from the knob and tube that I could use). It’s not done because I need 4 holes drilled in order to finish but it’s close!
You can kind of see the outlet circuit (just have to nail the wires down) and the box for the light.And the nice clean ceiling and fan box (ignore the existing light bulb - that will be removed once the new circuit is hooked up).
Of course Ryan reminded me that we need to run cable/ethernet to this room still – luckily it’s on interior walls. And so I started mapping that out. I’ll need more holes drilled (there will be 2 drops in this room) but hopefully some night this week (tonight?) I can get started on those. I also need to wire the closet light (need holes drilled) and the smoke detector.
The one big project that’s left is screwing in all the firring strips in the ceiling – with ryan’s work load this won’t happen until the weekend. Probably while Dad and I finish up electrical, Ryan will do that. Then we’ll do the drywall!
Insulation comes on Wednesday! We have 2 large things to move out of the way and a radiator to move. Other than that we’re all ready to go!
Well the veggie garden was miniscule this year and I completely forgot about my carrots! Although they were still doing just fine, I finally pulled them up this morning and this was what I got:
Baby Carrots?
Hehe, I don’t think the carrots liked the raised bed, probably would do better in the regular garden where they could grow deeper. All well, i’ll give these a try for lunch and see how they came out.
Looking forward to cleaning up branches and the yard this weekend if the weather is still good and maybe getting those last 3 windows painted!
This weekend the weather was gorgeous and Ryan really took advantage. It was a little on the cool side at night but Saturday he got the first coat of paint on the diningroom window panels. While he painted I mowed the lawn, did the first round of leaf cleanup and then visited with Mom and Faye who came up for the Indigo Girls concert.
The concert was great, and tiring (I’m not used to staying up so late and it was only a 10 minute drive home – i’m such a baby) 🙂 Sunday we relaxed for most of the day, finally getting going in the afternoon and while Ryan started the second coat of paint on the panels I planted the bulbs mom gave me!
2 coats of paint on diningroom panels! Ready for winter!
When I finished with the bulbs I helped finish the painting and we also got a second coat on the one cupola window panel section that’s more exposed before it got too cold out to paint. For reference next year I’ll show the bulb placements….
I planted the dafodils in this corner that should get some good sun in the spring, it's also out of the way of mowing so they can stay as long as they need.This little front corner of the house is going to be a mixture of hyacinths. Eventually we'll have gardens all along the front so this is a nice little start and should get some evening sun in the spring.Along the front walk I planted the black (dark maroon?) tulips and white tulips, I think they'll be striking in the front and get a bit of evening sun in spring.In the 'rose' garden I planted the rest of the tulips, some leftover hyacinths, the black and whites leftover and the colored ones. This will definitely get sun in spring and be a wonderful splash of color to enjoy when i am in the driveway every day or walking the dog.
There were a ton of crocus bulbs too which I planted throughout the lawn, the blue ones and the colorful mix I planted in the back yard. I planted the green and maroon ones I in the front lawn and on our hill a bit. I can’t wait to see those. We get a few in our yard now in the spring and I love them! I can’t wait for spring and winter hasn’t even started yet 🙂
That was it for weekend work on the house. Now i’m just waiting for the rest of the leaves to fall and we have a little more painting we can do on the cupola if the weather is warmer again next weekend. We also plan to install the copper on the diningroom windows next weekend to button those up!
We had a wonderful long weekend with family. We drove out to Lake Pleasant Friday, getting there in time for a quick boat ride and a late dinner. Saturday the rest of Ryan’s family showed up and we spent the day on the boat, it was very relaxing. Sunday it rained on and off all day so we mostly stayed inside and Monday we drove home. It was a great weekend and since I took Tuesday off to get stuff done around the house it felt productive too.
Tuesday I got the cars vacuumed, the laundry finished up, the dog cleaned up and the front of the house painted!
First coat on!
I also got to enjoy the gardens quite a bit…
Red roses in bloom!
Raspberries and Lilies!
Daisies!
I have two different clumps of daisies that sprang up from last year, they are blooming now, the ones I bought this year were earlier bloomers and are already gone but these yellow ones are quite a treat too!
It’s been a crazy couple days but finally I can post with some pictures from this weekend. Friday night Ryan sanded and caulked the exterior window panels around the diningroom windows that have been half finished since last fall. Once the caulk was dry I primed them so they are more protected. At some point we need to actually finish them still …
Window panels primed.
Saturday we went down to my sister’s house to visit with family for the weekend. I got to see my little nephew again – he’s still in the NICU but he’s growing steadily! Sunday we had a BBQ with all the family coming down and it was very relaxing. We had a great time.
Monday we spent the day around the house, ryan’s back was bothering him so he relaxed but I worked in the gardens. I finally got them cleaned up, planted my veggies I started from seed 6 weeks ago and planted a few new plants I got before mulching. Every year the plants look more robust, the ones my mom gave me 2 years ago are really full now.
Annual under the front tree (impatiens and coleus)Mint (from mom) and baloon flower along the driveway, hoping the mint will spread to fill this area in the future.Veg garden from last year still has the original oregano, I planted sweet basil (on the right) and the rest is carrots this year.The rest of the veggies got planted in front of the roses this year, squash, cucumber, beans and pees.The lilies were getting overwhelmed by the raspberries so I moved them over to the side and the blueberry pushes were planted in front of them.Perrenial garden is really doign great, new additions include daisies on the right and some smaller colored daisy like plant to the left of them.The mountain bluet, chives and dark geranium are all flowering beautifully! (All from mom 2 years ago)
We’re home this coming weekend, hoping to work on the house, unfortunately Ryan’s back is still bothering him so he’s got to take it easy. I hope to get some stuff done myself though even if he’s not up for it. I’m feeling overwhelmed by the passing spring, need to get more of the summer projects started already 🙂
Well it’s the official start to our anniversary vacation and I’m going to spend the day quilting and relaxing to start off right! I actually started that last night 🙂
I walked around the garden (took 2 seconds) this morning and noticed my pepper is almost ready to pick! It turned orange!
Orange Pepper almost ripe
Looks like i’ll be enjoying this pepper very soon! Much better than the tomatoes I don’t eat we’ve picked so far!
And since I got a start last night on quilting I’m all ready to go start cutting the fabric. Last night I ironed all the fabric for Emily’s quilt and finished piecing the blocks from my herb quilt (pictures later). We’ll see how far I can get on Emily’s quilt while listening to the end of Anne of the Island (Anne of Greengables book 3).
My little veggie garden experiment is in full swing. I planted only 3 vegetable plants just to see how I did with keeping them alive (I’m not very good at watering plants). The Roma tomatoes are doing great, one little plant has a ton of tomatoes and even some turning red! The Patio tomato has only one tomato but it looks good and the pepper plant has one little pepper.
Green Pepper (it should turn orange eventually)Patio tomatoRoma tomatoes
The rest of my gardens really need some maintenance. Some weeding and trimming are definitely in order, maybe one night this week I can get to it. Our poor lawn is brown and crunchy too, and starting to get scraggly because we haven’t mowed.
I’ve been a little busy lately and completely missed the fact that my daisies are blooming!!! I was jumping up and down when I noticed finally. I grabbed a few cell phone pictures on the way to work since it’s my only daylight time in the garden.
Daisies and Valerium blooming (mystery plants solved!)
It turns out it was actually 3 plants! The Becky Daisies and the Valerium are the two noticeable ones. But coming up out of the valerium is this plant – is it a Rudbeckia/Black Eyed Susan – I don’t think so?? Another mystery plant
And finally a sneak peak of one of the treats we’ve been enjoying – our raspberries are very plentiful. We can’t keep up and I’m not home enough in the evenings to pick what’s ripe so a lot of them are overripe now. The mulberry tree is also plentiful and we’ve been really enjoying those as well! Raspberries!
Plans next year to have more time and use the berries for preserves or something!
