No one ever promised me a rose garden

But I've always wanted one! I had a new garden bed dug in the front yard. This serves two purposes:

1. gives me more room to indulge my plant-buying habit, and;
2. reduces the amount of weedwhacking that I have to do, since despite my Japanese heritage,  I've proven shockingly inept at operating said machine.

This bed is south-facing and safe (mostly) from rampaging collies (though Rex has tried to run through it in a fit of puppy ridiculousness).



What's that?  Why yes, I *did* get a new fence. Thanks for noticing! Everything else was looking so nice, I couldn't have that old, creaky fence bringing the whole yard down.



Let us flash back to October 09 when I first spied this lovely property.



I am very pleased with the yard now. I just wish Bear could have seen it. That dog loved to lounge on the grass - this would have been paradise for him.

Shout out to Bear!


OK, back to the roses. This is a hybrid tea rose called Memorial Day.



And this is a shrub rose called Lavender Meidiland.


A rambling landscaping rose called Glacier Magic.



Also in the garden is something called a Bonica Shrub Rose (which is still in bud and thus not worthy of a photo op), a climbing rose called Brite Eyes (too shadowy to take a pic) and a Crested Moss Rose (planted after pics were taken). There's also a French Lilac, some marigolds, and a bunch of petunias in that bed. Yet there is still lots of room for me to indulge my plant-buying addiction.

The vegetable garden continues to thrive.


The swiss chard and the lettuce are growing at a rate that outpaces consumption. I may start leaving little bags of chard and/or lettuce on the car seats of strangers.


I don't know what possessed me to plant so many cabbages.


So far, I've spied 4 little tomatoes on the plants that I thought for sure would be dead by now.


I've also got a couple teeny-tiny cukes, some peppers, and a few peas. This gardening thing is fun!

On the renovation front, I am just waiting for the tile guys to install the backsplash, and then I'm done! I've really enjoyed the renovation process, and overall I'm really pleased with how it went.

Now about that master bathroom ... :-)

Counter Contentment

The counters are here in all their steely-grey granite glory!


It took almost three slabs of granite for my somewhat oversized kitchen.


There is no shortage of workspace ... or storage.


I think that I can use this little bump-out as a small breakfast bar.


The installation took the better part of a day, and not the least of which because a certain dog convinced the installation guys to play ball with her every frickin' half hour!

If you don't throw the ball, I will haunt your dreams and suck your will to live.


Despite the yucky rainy weather of the last few days, the garden continues to plug along. The strawberries haven't been eaten by the birds yet.


The mint is, as predicted, plotting to take over the world. I think a few pitchers of mojitos should quell its world-domination urges.


I've never attempted to grow potatoes before, but when Susan offered me some seed potatoes, how could I say no?


The cabbage and spinach are plugging along.


The mesclun mix is pretty much ready to pick.


Another week or two and I should have enough Swiss Chard to, um, make something. In the meantime, isn't it pretty?


The shelling peas are taking their time.


Tomorrow, the kitchen faucet, garburator, range hood and dishwasher will be installed, which leaves only the backsplash and some odds and sods on the to-do list. 5 months and an undisclosed amount of money later, my ugly little house is looking pretty slick!