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Monday, June 1, 2015

Spring Round-Up

I love spring with all the plants coming alive and reasonable temperatures. The arrival of June around here generally mean the crazy heat and humidity of summer is settling in for the season. But before that happens I wanted to take a look back at the beautiful spring we just enjoyed.

Spring Favorites 

I don't generally wear much make up and never wear any foundation. However, as I get older the more uneven my skin tone becomes. This got me thinking that it would be nice to have a foundation that I can wear for special occasions, just to look a little more put together. I finally went in search of the perfect foundation for me, something light, easy to apply and fool proof as I am not skilled in this area. Thankfully I found it.

I've only used it twice but I just love it.


Spring Successes 

Spring started with me beginning the massive task of painting our main living space. First I painted a front hallway and the rabbit's nook as these are both spaces I could manage on my own because the ceilings are low.

This is not a hallway that photographs well but you get the idea.
The rabbit nook is full of angles and shadows  but it's actually the same color as the front hallway. 
I then moved onto the spare bathroom. I had a really tough time picking out the color. In the end it came down to a burnt orange and a deep green. Hubby voted for the green so that's what I went with. I'm not certain it was the right decision but it turned out pretty good. In addition to painting the space I installed a curved shower curtain rod, floating shelves, towel holders and relocated the toilet paper holder. I wanted the space to have a global feel and, while it isn't entirely finished, it's pretty close.

I haven't really had a chance to style the shelves yet.


Just a couple weeks ago hubby and I started working on vaulted walls and ceiling. So far the ceiling has been painted.


Along with the front entryway. This area was a good introduction to painting on the ladder as it doesn't reach the full height. Let me just say, I'm not a fan of being high on the ladder and trying to carefully paint along the ceiling. Not looking forward to going higher in the weeks and months ahead.



We've also done a few big projects outside. This was important to get done because neither of us function well in summer weather. First, we discovered the ground under our front steps had sunk leaving all the cement floating. We attempted to fill in as much of the empty space as possible but it was nearly impossible to shore it up properly. We've accepted that it will probably fall apart one day and we'll need to replace it.

Then we created a row of plantings along the side of our garage.  We planted Knock Out Rose bushes and some fun twisty ornamental grass.




I keep saying ":we" but really hubby did all of the heavy lifting and there was a lot of heavy lifting to be done. Obviously, I have no business digging large holes and ripping up grass. I was sort of the project manager, doing all the planning, organizing and helping out with easier tasks like spreading dirt and mulch. With hubby working full time and taking online classes he doesn't have the time to think about such things. This way he just has to show up, do some work and move on. We're a good team.

I also put together some container plantings. I did some veggies and marigolds out back.

Marigolds are supposed to be good companion plants with herbs and veggies as it keeps bugs and critters away.
So far so good.

The lemongrass also does the same thing as marigolds.


Spring Failures 

Ufda, it has been one busy spring for this migrainista! I've blogged about it a few times already. Even with hubby doing the heavy lifting, the high volume of projects have taken up a great deal of time and energy. I've been deeply, thoroughly exhausted for more than a month now. My brain is mush, my whole body hurts, I'm not sleeping well. Of course, none of this is new but it has been more pronounced as of late because of this extra activity.

As a result, I haven't been able to blog as frequently as usual and that has been a real bummer. I've actually been looking forward to slowing down this summer. Hubby and I will still need to work on the painting but that will be the only project I have going and it will be done in slowly over time in small sections with lots of help.

Highlights 

The real highlight of this spring has been the fire pits. With plenty of nice cool evenings to choose from, hubby and I managed to have 4 or 5 fires. I absolutely love escaping to our back patio, relaxing and talking with hubby in front of the fire. It's so quiet, so peaceful, so fun. I can actually feel the tension melting away as soon as I sit down.


Lowlights 

For me the real lowlight has been coming full circle with our ceiling problems. The drywall guys did a really poor job of installing the ceilings. Basically we could see every seam. This problem was most prominent along the vault and in the kitchen. We actually put a straight edge on the ceiling and it would rock back and forth because the seam protruded that much. It created shadows and just wasn't right. This was all supposed to be guaranteed so the drywall guys came back to fix the problem. They admitted they were unsure what had caused this problem but said putting a layer of mud over the seams would fix it.

They spent 2 days here last fall mudding and sanding the ceiling. Then we were left to paint. Since it was just before the holidays we decided to wait until the spring to paint. Now that it has all been painted, it's pretty obvious that the mud not only didn't fix the problem (I didn't think it would) but it actually made the problem a little worse. All the time, hassle and money, all wasted.

I'm frustrated about the whole thing. I HATE OUR BUILDER!

What I'm Reading 

I'm not. After finishing my last book I decided to wait until things calmed down a bit before trying to start something new.

2 comments:

  1. You've accomplished a lot! The role of supervisor is an important one. I'm sure you & your husband will get lots of joy in the summertime, enjoying the fruits of your labours. Good job! Linda
    (Also... I love the green bathroom, especially the floating shelves.)

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