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!

A DIY day

As inspirational as I find all those DIY shows, I also am huge on instant gratification. But every now and again, I get an urge to build something. And that something generally is from IKEA, which is designed for faux-renovators such as myself.

Today's project: a patio set.

First, size up the job. I can't believe I got that thing into my van!


Commence mise en place. For the purposes of furniture assembly, mise is putting things that look kinda alike together.


First up - the table. Breathtakingly simple, cause it's only six pieces. Win!


And now that I have a table, I can use it for more building. Here's the two-seater bench. That took a little longer, in large part because I made a mistake on step 1 and didn't realize it til step 14.


And the two chairs were a snap. So here's the set!


And just because everything's cuter with collies.


The reason I went to IKEA in the first place is because I had to exchange a too-big microwave for a just-right one at Midland Appliances and they're a tantalizing 2 blocks from IKEA.


In other news, the plumber installed the toilet in the powder room. If a toilet can be cute, this one is kinda cute.


Another cheeky light fixture, this time in the powder room.


And a whimsical pair of sconces will flank the sink.


Tomorrow, the plumber will (hopefully) finish the pedestal sink and maybe hook up the dishwasher and the water line to the fridge. I don't have a firm ETA on the rest, but my first houseguest is coming tomorrow. Nicki, we have booze, ice, and a microwave. I think we can make this work!

I think I am in love with my fridge

It's wrong to be dazzled by shiny stainless steel. I should be better than that. Who cares if it has a kajillion shelves and drawers - it's just an appliance, right? So why do I keep trying to hug my fridge?

I lurve my fridge.



If you look closely, you can see the hug marks I left on my new boyfriend fridge.


The other appliances are here too, and I'm sure I'll be trying to spoon the range, once it's installed. Even with all of the packing film and styrofoam I can tell that it's one sexy range.

I love my new metallic snowball pendant lamp too!


And once I get all the blingy crystals hung on the linear chandelier, I think I'll love it too.


I like how the dining area looks. In fact, I love the whole look of the place. The dark floors, the light cabinets, the shiny stainless - it's like living in Kits, but just a lot father from the beach. :-)


Wick says that I really need to get a life. In lieu of that, I should throw the ball for her.

Cabinets!

Well, the cabinets are mostly in. I can finally envision what the kitchen is going to look like!

This is sort of like a built-in hutch (and booze cabinet):


I've got a lot of storage!




The lighting is being installed Friday. Picture a pretty little pendant lamp over the sink.


The appliances arrive on Monday. Until then, I will have to imagine their stainless steel loveliness:


My favourite part of the kitchen - the open shelving for all my cookbooks!


Tomorrow, the flooring installation starts. It's an engineered oak that should hold up well to dog claws (read: somewhat pre-distressed):


Huh. I think it's going to rain. Poor veggies.


A border collie totem pole. :-)

A gardening update

After a decade of living in condos, I finally have a chance to, um, get my hands dirty. Thank goodness for Lee Valley's nifty nail brush! I am following the garden design methodology of "See it, buy it, plant it". It's a very disciplined way of planning a garden.

One of the gardens in the backyard (graced by Wick):


Rex and some azaleas:


The other garden bed in the backyard:


The front yard garden bed (this needs a lot of work):


Speaking of the front, the door got its first coat of paint. I really like how it's starting to look. A couple more coats and some new hardware and it will look pretty spiffy.


The herb section of the veggie garden:


The middle bed:


The third bed. I'm pretty sure all the things (except for the herbs) have been planted way too early, but it's just so much fun!


The cabinets are about 60% installed. They should finish the job by Monday or Tuesday, and then the flooring guys will do their thing. The first couple coats of paint are done, and the baseboards and casings have been painted (they'll be installed after the floors are laid). Appliances are scheduled to arrive on May 10th. Oh, good gravy, I think it's almost done! Hurrah!