The Back Yard

as it is today. It's been several years since this yard has looked like much. Three years ago, on my birthday, DH and DS removed an old metal shed - one of the best birthday gifts I'd ever received! A few weeks later, we were connected to the city sewer system and left with a dirt pile instead of a yard.


I do have a few small areas around the perimeter of the house that look pretty good, and I've always loved the sloping entry to the back yard - but nature has done the planting there. Years ago I brought home little feverfew plants from a friend's garden and every spring I find new plants growing in unexpected places - it's so delightful!

But on Wednesday, the landscapers will begin regrading this area, removing the old roses and lavendar plant and leaving the little Japanese maple tree. Yay! I'll try to get pictures of the grand event.

Today, though, I spent several hours pulling weeds - behind the fence on the railroad land. Just behind the fence I've done a little messing around over the years and have some flowers growing in a terraced spaced that I "built" from all the rocks that are so prevalent. The weeds had really overtaken everything, as they do every year, and with our recent rains the ground was just right for weed pulling. After lunch I grabbed the twins and they helped me for an hour. Now, as the day is ending, I am really feeling achy! But at least I can see my plants again.

First thing this morning, I had to take my Expedition over to the body shop so it can have a few dents and scrapes repaired. A couple of weeks ago in a storm, a big limb fell out and injured my XP - not the old old van parked next to it, of course. The insurance covers most of the cost of the rental vehicle. What funny people they have over there at Enterprise. I talked with two different guys who explained how much insurance would cover and that I'd probably be getting a Ford Focus or Kia something or other. I said that was perfectly fine, but each expressed concern because I had this big Expedition and was I really sure that a little Ford would suit my needs, lol! So I get over to the shop to meet with the guy from Enterprise and he says that he was really concerned over the size of the rental they had specified, so he brought over a Chevy Trailblazer for me, just a couple dollars more a day. I could have insisted on the slightly cheaper small car, but I don't usually make many waves. So I laughed and took the Chevy. The XP should be done by Thursday.


Well, no real stitching was done over the weekend. Instead we celebrated my dd's birthday and dgs Jaeger's very first birthday on Saturday. Mystie was thrilled with the apron I made. Jaeger was really happy playing with all the packaging from his gifts and his older brother, Hans, was ecstatic over all the new toys that came out of the packaging. A very happy celebration for everyone!