landscaping update

So here I sit in the land of sickening irony... and governing it all is my friend Murphy.

I had this fabulous post all planned out, showing you my landscaping progress.  How I went from this...

to this..

I was going to show you my before pictures....

And talk about all the in-between pictures...

But then THIS happened.... 

Some storms came through North Carolina on Saturday...not big ones, really.  We've had much worse.  A "watch" popped up on my weather radio and I checked the radar.  A wall was moving towards us, but no warnings.  We were going about our business.  No thunder, no lightning.  Then "BAM!!".   So loud that my husband ran in and shouted, "I'm OK, I'm OK!!" because he knew I'd be freaked out.  He had been outside watching the trees and had to duck for cover.

Twenty minutes later, the warnings came out - for counties to the east.   At least they had warning.

The limb hit the corner of our roof and slid down the side of the house - knocking things off my son's wall, while he was in the room.  (Yeah - this mamma's still a little freaked about that one.)

The damage to the house appears fairly minimal, which we are very thankful for.  One of our neighbors had a chainsaw out yesterday cleaning up a limb in his yard.  Lots of old trees in this neighborhood.  Fortunately, his was only in the yard and did not his his house.

Of course, we're also super thankful that Matt and Trenton made it inside (they were both outside) and Tanner wasn't hurt given the tree just missed his bedroom window. (I was in the basement sewing, of course....LOL!)

My plants on the other hand, didn't fare as well.  This is what it looked like after Matt moved the limb.

I had planted three peonies.  One came out unscathed.  This one was hit, but probably will make it.  Just the outer stems snapped.

This little guy, though... not much hope.  All stems were snapped right at the base.  I left it planted; maybe the roots will shoot up new stems. 

Not really sure how the two below will turn out.  It's upsetting, too, because they were the ones showing the most growth.  I've cut the broken stems off now, and they are about half their original size.   *sigh*

Again, though, it could have been much worse, so I'm just frustrated more than upset.    We try to make our yards look better, but nature comes and knocks us back.  All four of us got out and cleaned up things yesterday (I have the best family EVER!) and it looks good again.  All the stray sticks and leaves are now in the burn pile.  :)

So, here's to some healthy rains and warm sun - maybe my plants will make a comeback afterall. And here's to a safe, in-the-basement, sewing room, where I can hang out and pretend that storms don't exist.  :)

WIP Wednesday

I've missed out on a few of these Wednesday reports, but don't worry - I have plenty of WIP's to share!

The first, which you also saw yesterday, is Matt's coffee quilt.

I ran out of brown thread last night [insert mild expletive].  The good news is that it's a color I can also use on Trenton's Guitar Quilt, and probably even a couple of others.  So I can buy plenty without feeling too guilty about it.


Next up, Jane's Black and White quilt...all blocks are done!!

Next step is to trim them up and start attaching them.  I actually started joining them before my trip in May, only to realize that they weren't trimmed.  Quite frustrating to think you are at Point D in a project only to find yourself still at Point C.  Getting there.

My big audacious goal... to have both of these ready to bind before I go on vacation.  Matt has banned my sewing machine, so having something to bind makes me feel like I'm still getting stuff done.  Less than two weeks to get that done.


Of course, I have plenty more WIPs in various stages; but I haven't worked on these in the last week or so.

• Quilt top done and ready to be basted/quilted: 
• Trenton's Guitar quilt
• AAF's Quilt Along quilt (for Molly)

•  Blocks done, ready to assemble top:
• Odyssea quilt
• Mexican Star

•  Fabric cut, ready to make blocks:
• Flipside quilt
• Sierra's Berries quilt

And, because I have nothing else to do, I've started a Bethlehem Star class with my quilt group at church.  Can you say A-D-D?  Yeah, it's bad. 

I desperately want to join in on the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along, but I think it would push me over the edge.  Since it's a year-long project, I'm thinking maybe I can join in later after I tackle some of these others.  Maybe.  Sometimes blog-land is just too tempting!

So - gimme the scoop!!  What are you working on???  Do you have as many WIPs as I do... more???  I'd love to know!  And don't forget to link up over at Freshly Pieced, too!

landscaping - the quest begins

I love a beautiful yard. I love everything about it.

But I hate, hate, hate the work that goes into it.  Therefore, since I'm not independently wealthy, either my desire has to go or I have to cowgirl-up and do the work.

Hence yesterday.

I'm almost too embarrassed to put this out here. It's hideous, it's shameful, it is the product of my laziness. It's the walkway to my front door.

We had sprayed Round-Up (as can be seen by the dying vegetation), but the ongoing problem is that we have no plants there. Well, no "real" plants. So in a surprisingly successful bout of afternoon spontaneity, we decided to shape up this area during a visit to Home Depot yesterday.

Here's how it looked as the sun went down.

Already a kabillion times better. Sore back included.

I probably over-did it with the little green stakes, but just like in quilting, pins are my friends. The only thing I hate as much as a weed-infested garden is little flaps of black fabric (or worse, plastic!) waving at me from between the plants.  Yuck.

All in all, we bought nearly $200 worth of perennials (remember the laziness comment?) and I'm likely headed back soon as they are on sale here, 3 for $10. Not bad for plants that will keep coming back. I see it as an investment, really.  :)

Oh, and for the record - beyond the overgrown forsythia in the top left corner is a neat little shade garden that I planted a few years ago.  So, I know I can do this, I have proof.  It's just a matter of willpower and persistence...things that often run as low as my patience.

Hubby is helping a great deal, and between the two of us, I think we have a good chance of getting this job done by the end of the week. Stay tuned for more pics.