Stuff I've Learned Lately

1. "Christmas vacation" means something different to kids who are out of school than it does to parents who are working. (I actually already knew this; I just manage to forget it every year until I am once again forcefully reminded.)

2. The parent who works at home totally gets the short end of the stick when the kids are out of school. Fortunately, that's not me this year.

3. A 13-year-old boy has a very loose understanding of what constitutes adequate vacuuming.

4. My dogs don't like to go outside to pee when it's raining.

5. Dog pee smells really, really bad if you don't notice it for a couple of days.

6. Waiting until Christmas week to do the Christmas shopping is probably not a good idea.

7. Amazon Prime is worth the price.

8. Credit cards can actually smoke if you use them too much. (This isn't true, but certainly seems like it should be.)

9. Judges make mistakes.

10. Pointing out the judge's mistake may not lead to the result you are hoping for.

11. Even good bosses are not always right, but you don't necessarily want to point out their errors, either.

12. Not getting paid for your work does not make you any less responsible for doing a good job, numbers 9, 10, and 11 notwithstanding.

13. It is entirely possible to work full time and still run a home. All you have to do is warp the space-time continuum. (I'll let you know when I get that figured out.)

Little Changes...

...make a big difference.

Last year, my best friend gave me her old outdoor dining set. She had recently moved, and it didn't work with her new yard. The original marble top had been broken in the move, so I bought a round of plywood and had a hole cut in the middle for a drop-in propane fire pit. After a couple coats of paint, it made a nice tabletop. The chairs are an odd shape, so they have custom cushioned seats. The seats were sturdy enough, but the fabric was several years old and pretty drab and stained.

I didn't do anything with them last summer, because between caring for the puppies, getting the pool remodeled, building the deck, replanting the yard, and refurbishing the table, I just ran out of steam. But last week I brought the chair cushions in before a storm and decided I couldn't live with them anymore. A few minutes and a little online clicking later, I had new fabric on its way, and this morning I recovered the chairs.

An hour and a half and $14 later, they went from this:


To this:

I love the fabric. It is a Waverly outdoor fabric which is supposed to be resistant to water, sun, mildew, etc. Red is my favorite color, and I use this particular dark red as my main accent color in the garden. The beige tones match my umbrellas and the cushions on my lounge chairs.

On the off chance you've never done it, recovering seats is super easy. You just cut a piece of fabric large enough to wrap around the seat and use a staple gun to fasten the fabric to the wooden seat bottom, sides first, then ease the corners, like wrapping a package, and staple them. Cut off any excess fabric, and you're done!

And check this out:

Huge difference for my outdoor dining area!

One Thing Leads To Another

It all started with the puppies.

When we offered to take them in, we didn't really think through the practicality of the situation. We didn't really have time. Had we thought about it...well, I'm not sure we would have done anything differently.

The thing is, puppies are destructive. Really, really destructive. Those of you have had a puppy know what I'm talking about. Those who haven't...do you remember the Tasmanian Devil from Saturday morning cartoons? About like that.

Eight puppies is so much worse than you can imagine.

I am a gardener. I would even say I am an avid gardener. I collect plants like I collect yarn--the only difference being that plants sometimes die, and so my plant "stash" does not multiply at quite the same rate as my yarn stash. Nonetheless, I have a lot of plants, both in my garden and in my house, and I treasure them.

The puppies didn't feel the same. They ate everything. Virtually every plant in reach of the lawn, where I let them out to exercise, has been chewed to a nub. And the lawn itself? Eleven dogs. Enough said.

So it sort of became evident halfway through this little adventure that some significant garden repair work would be in order after the puppies left. A couple of good months in the law practice freed up some unexpected funds. And the state of the economy means that there are good deals to be had for contract work.

Naturally, we started with the pool. ????? I'm not sure what that had to do with the puppies, actually, but it is something we've wanted to do since we moved in ten years ago, and the 30-year-old cracked tile and crumbling plaster had reached the critical stage. Fortunately, this is not a job I can do myself, so we didn't hesitate to hire it out.

Here's the "before":


As you can see, both tile and plaster have seen better days. And that 1970's brown and tan mosaic? Yum.

Like most things, a pool remodel gets worse before it gets better. Here's what it looked like "during":

Pretty scary, huh? Hard to imagine that could ever turn out well. But, of course, it did.

Here's the "after":

Woo hoo! We are thrilled. Couldn't be happier. Umm...or maybe we could...

This is our lawn, post-puppies. And this is what's happening to our lawn today:

Yes, folks, that's going to be one big-*** deck!

Note the number of boys gleefully pounding away. This is the advantage of having boys. The sound of hammers brought every boy in the neighborhood running, and the men promptly put them to work. (That good-looking redhead is my big brother, who generously agreed to help with the construction in exchange for dinner.)

And, naturally, every project needs a foreman...

Love that toolbelt!

Once they're all out of the way, I can do something about the demolished plants. I can hardly wait!