Tag Archives: deck

Back Yard Tour

Now that you’ve seen the front yard, let’s go round to the back!

back yard deck

Ta-Da!

Now, close your eyes and imagine the umbrella is up. This scene is more picturesque when the umbrella is up.

Since these photos have been taken, something has eaten several of the plants seen in these containers. I suspect deer. And this means war. So, I’ve moved most of the pots onto the deck for safekeeping. I’m hoping that once the flowers have grown a bit more, I can move them back onto the patio.

window boxes

deck

This is the view from our back door and kitchen table. It’s lovely. And now features even more loveliness since I’ve had to move most of the other containers up here to save them from the d— deer. You may recognize my herb garden and made-over plant stand.

shade plants

We’ve also spruced up the space around our AC unit this year. The small bush is a Boxwood that wasn’t faring so well in our front yard. And the flowers are Torenia (shade lovers and deer resistant!).

That concludes our 2013 yard tour!

Oh wait, I think I forgot to show you the right side of our house… well… there’s not much to see here yet. I planted a few Foxgloves, but they’re not flowering, so just picture some greenery and you got it!

Thanks for touring with us 🙂

Things I’m Putting Off, But Desperately Need To Do

1. Reorganize our pantry.

I got off to a good start at the beginning of the year, hauling home a huge amount of totes and bins from Target, but due to other members of the family not paying attention to my system (Tom, I’m looking at you), it demands a re-do. Our pantry has also become a bit of a catch-all. I don’t there’s anything too unrelated to kitchens / dining in there, but now I’m scared to look.

2. Create a filing system.

Tom and I have had separate filing methods since we got married 5 years ago. He takes care of his, and I take care of mine. And the problems with this are numerous…

– We now have a lot of joint accounts and shared assets, from savings accounts to our mortgage payments.

– We constantly lose W2 forms during tax season because they wind up all over the house.

– I use a pretty simple Banker’s box system; Tom… well, I’m still not really sure what his filing system is. But statements have turned up in some pretty random places around the house, including a drawer of our nightstands.

I have no idea where to start. As soon as I start thinking about this project, I feel completely overwhelmed. I feel like I need to take at least a week of vacation to sort it out and do it properly. Please, oh please, help me find the inspiration, determination and endurance to complete this task!!!

3. Stain the deck

While Tom will probably take the lead on this one, I should probably offer my services. At least to pick out a nice stain color 😉

We’re waiting for the weather to cool down before tackling this one, but then I see college football and Bengals games eating up our weekend afternoons…

4. Seal the driveway

There’s been some debate recently about how important this one is. Do we really need to seal our driveway? I guess it would help it last longer, because the last thing we want to do is pay thousands to have it re-poured in a few years. Thoughts? Any tips on driveway sealing?

What tasks are you putting off? Let’s inspire each other to conquer them!