Monday, July 27, 2020

Odds and Ends


I am starting to feel at home. I wanted to show you my flowers that I have babied since I moved in. The lady who previously lived here had these giant pots of petunias. Between her trying to move and us moving in the poor petunias were pretty much forgotten. I really didn't think they would come back like they have, but I started watering them and they came back. I have four pots and two of them look pretty good, the other two, I think I am going to plant something in them. I found my seeds finally so maybe some of those. We have such a long growing season here.



 We had to run to Home Depot Saturday for things like towel bars, and dryer hose and stuff that you never realize you need. Of course, we had to go through the garden department on our way to the rest of the store. As I have sat and stared at this tiny back yard, one thing that bothers me is there is no food growing. Just bushes that just sit there taking up space and water. We bought a New Improved Meyer Lemon and a Key Lime. I plan on buying another blood orange. That is about all the room I have for trees. Unless I take out the gardenia trees. Which is always a possibility.


This is all the room I have for a garden bed. The soil is so sick that weeds don't even grow. Ron said that when it gets cooler he is going to buy bags of soil amend and just fill the beds with it then in the spring start working it in and making it all healthy.

We of course have this waste of space.


Can you see it there? A hot tub. A broken hot tub. I told Ron I should just fill it with dirt and use it for a raised bed. We will get it fixed I suppose. I can tell you in my whole life, I have never wanted a hot tub. Never! When we were looking at this house, that was almost the deal breaker. Except we had to find a house, and there just weren't any on the market then, or they were selling in one day. Even this one had sold and fell through and we bought it the day it came back on the market. The yard will be pretty once we get started on it. Its such a blank slate.  

Here is some pictures of my lovely sewing/office/library. Its such a nice place to work in, I feel so happy and calm. Ron hung pictures of all of the past things I have made. Except of course rugs.




At my other house, all of my things were scattered all over the house. To have them all in one place is so nice. I still can't find anything yet, but now I know the place it might be. Today I get my first order from Dorr Wool. I think it has been 2/12 years. I do like to dye my own wool, but I can never get good reds or blacks. With Ron working from home until possibly 2021 I don't think I will be dyeing much wool. He just hates the smell. All the men in my family did and the women didn't. I always thought that was interesting. 

One of my last sunflowers before I left.


There are so many nice things about this house. No road noise. My clothes dryer works like a dream. I have a gas stove top. We have so much solar on the roof, the electrical company owes us money. Water is 40 dollars this month. I just have to tell you this our last water bill from the old place was 583.00!! That wasn't even a high one. No, I am very, very happy with our situation. I keep trying to shake the feeling, that the people who bought our old house might try to give it back. Ron told me that was why we signed all of those papers for weeks, because it means, " No Backsies!" Still weird things come into my mind. I haven't found a single tumbleweed. Its the end of July, and I don't have a hula-hoe welded to my hand. I think I could get used to this really fast. I wake up in the morning feeling like I am on vacation, with all of my stuff. Its very nice. Not to mention, I can see the blue sky. There are still lots of birds so all is not lost. I can take Sasha out at 2: 00 A.M. and No skunks! 

So it hasn't been like I thought it would be, Ron isn't smoking cigars and I am not grumpy. I was so afraid, it was going to be Ma and Pa Kettle go to town. :) Its a new week and I am so very thankful to be on this side of the move. Only one more thing I have to get done. Go to the DMV. I have to get a new drivers licence. They aren't taking appointments so I anticipate hours of standing in line. I always want to ask,
"And you want the government in charge of health care?"

Have a great week,
~Kim~



The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone.     

Natalie Babbitt

11 comments:

Nellie said...

Lovely petunias! Mine haven’t lasted very nicely! You will have your new place shaped up in no time....I’m confident of that!

Julia said...

Hi Kim. I can understand how you would miss your gardens from California. I wonder if the new owners are managing to keep the weeds out of the gardens. I'm so glad that you are loving your new home.

Wow on that water bill... That is unbelievable. You haven't been there long so your first water bill is very low. It might be higher on the next one.

I love gardenias. They are so fragrant.
So this large expanse of grass is your front yard?

Today I picked some fresh potatoes, yellow beans, cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, kale, onions, basil, and parsley. It feels nice eating organically grown produce. Next year you will have a lovely garden. The deers have damaged a lot of my veggies and flowers this year. Last night I shredded a bar of Irish Spring soap all around the vegetable garden and flowers. They have stayed away but the damage is already done.

Kessie said...

I'm so glad you're settling in! And you even have some flowers! When you said "look at this waste of space", I looked at the lawn and went ... whoa ... are you one of those entire yard is food people?? :-D :-D

acorn hollow said...

You are loving your new home for sure! that was some water bill!! we are on a well so we do not pay for water but we own the pump etc that does the job so I guess we pay in a round about way but I am sure not that much.
You den is wonderful you are all tucked in. I am with you about the hot tub never could see why everyone wanted one. But I am sure they are nice for private use. Enjoy the rest of your week and good luck with DMV
Cathy

JustGail said...

If you can reach the center of the hot tub, absolutely fill it with soil. It doesn't surprise me about the soil not growing weeds. It's so common for developers to scrap of whatever top soil there is and only put back a couple of inches, if that, after the building is done. Then they sell what wasn't put back. It doesn't help if prior owners were not big on gardening either. Glad you're getting settled in, and not like you thought it would be. Love the library wall!

TheCrankyCrow said...

Happy Tuesday Sweet Friend ~ Seeing a post from you pop up on my reading list brought a smile to my day. So very glad to read/see that you are making things "home." Your sewing room/den is so cozy and welcoming. It reminds me of the space I am trying to "forge" in a room in our basement, but I fear by the time that actually happens, my knees may not handle the steps to get to it LOL. I always say it will be my rainy days project or my winter project...but many rainy days and winters have come and gone and still it is a complete mess. I'm not a hot tub fan either....we had one for a year or two and the electric bill it took to keep in warm in Nod was crazy...not as crazy as your water bill though. Ouch! I can't imagine having to pay for water. What an odd thing that must be. Lemons and limes...and oranges!! Oh my!!! How nice it would be to walk out and pick one right off the tree!! And thanks for the (unpleasant) reminder that I have to go to the DMV too to get a new license. Our street address changed a year ago already as a result of a uniform addressing initiative in our county. (One of the more ridiculous things the county has come up with.) Looking forward to seeing more of your new home as you continue to put your personal stamp on it. I can almost imagine how you will transform that yard! You're right....a blank slate! ~Robin~ (PS...you share the best quotes!! The one with this post is so perceptively brilliant and poignantly beautiful!)

Rugs and Pugs said...

I can't believe how quickly you have settled in and are making it your home. Your sewing/office/library looks very inviting.
How funny about the smell of dyeing wool. I guess I never realized there was one.
Keep sharing more of your home! Inquiring minds want to know.

Kerin said...

It's so nice that you are already getting citrus planted and growing!
Good on you!!
I know that you guys will have that yard looking fantastic, in no time at all, and I know that you will carve out some lovely gardening spaces as well.

I'm so happy for you to have a place where you can have all of your creative supplies and enjoy working on your projects...that's wonderful!!

Looking forward to seeing all of the sweet nesting things that you'll be doing to make that house into your home :)

~K.

Gretchen Joanna said...

Does Ron want the hot tub? Maybe he sees that as necessary if he's working at home so much? Otherwise, why not just phone someone tomorrow to come and haul it off?

Now the lawn, I can see the grandchildren running and playing on that!! Come to think of it, my grandchildren love playing in their *other* grandma's hot tub!!

Debbie said...

oh kim, so happy to see you today!! the house looks great...i'm sure it feels good to be getting settled!!

pretty flowers coming...i would not even go near dmv, that could be very difficult!!

Sara said...

Hello Kim! Glad you are starting to feel at home in your new place. You probably told us but I don't remember . . . are you still in the same general vicinity? Isn't it lovely to have a room of one's own for all the projects and other interests, that you can do anything with you feel like? That's a comfortably sized back yard. I never had any interest in a hot tub either. That cement slab calls for a nice arbor to be built over it and planted with a wisteria or a grape vine for privacy from the neighbors, put some patio furniture underneath and get rid of the hot tub!! It could make a lovely green retreat. (sorry, I shouldn't be telling you what to do, please forgive me . . . just imagining what I'd like to do with the space). Never mind, I'm just glad you are settling in and looking forward to all the wonderful things you will be able to create and grow in your new home. God bless all your efforts!