Hey everybody! I've been a bit busy so I haven't posted much and I haven't been able to get to blogs like I'd like. We have been working in our backyard and patio area. It's been a long time since we gave it a good cleaning and the only landscaping we had back there was wall to wall grass. Literally. We have block walls that surround our property and with dogs and little kids I never thought it was a good idea to do any kind of landscaping until they got older (both the kids and dogs). Well, about two weeks ago we decided we were going to throw an 80
th surprise
bday party for my father and have it here. Well, since then we've been working, working, working and we've still got a long way to go. We planted some queen palms, filled in holes and topped with grass. We've got gardeners coming out tomorrow to level out the right half of our yard. According to the previous owners there used to be an above ground pool that stood there and it compacted the ground and made it very uneven. See where the slide is, you can just make out the "dip".
Here are some "before" shots...
Before...
north & west walls
north wall
West wall...
South & west walls
The first palm dear hubby planted...
Here's what we've done so far. You can see we moved the swing set to the south side of the yard. That swing set really keeps my youngest guys busy! I know it's not an "in your face"
transformation, but keep in mind we've have TONS more to do. I'm going to be planting some geraniums at the base of each tree for some added color. Being that we are closely monitored when it comes to our water consumption, and can only water our lawns two days out of the week, our grass isn't nearly as nice/green as we used to have it.
Don't they seem to be asking
"What's going on?
What are you doing to our yard?"
We also had to wait for this little family to "fly" before we could begin work on our patio. This weekend we'll be power washing the patio cover & patio.
Yay! Yes, that is a retro/vintage patio cover you see. My house was built in the early 50s and this patio cover "fits" with the age of my home. I go back and forth on whether or not I'd like to replace it, but the old aluminum just seems to belong here...Am I weird?
Okay Pink Ladies, gather 'round. Here comes the cake...
With a special candle holder
Happy Birthday to you!
grab a glass, 
Here's to many more
Bunny is looking sharp
For those that don't want Pink Champagne...
A rosey red hatbox and
1950s Coke Cooler
All that's left of an entire dinner set. When the Whittier Narrows quake hit in the 80s, the pitcher took a major tumble and was the only piece damaged. When the Northridge quake hit in the early 90s, the entire set came down and all that survived was this pitcher. Since then it's been through quake after quake and yet it remains. I'd like to think it's s strong testament to what once "was".
My "EAT" letters
Three or more trees
Three or more stairs
Blue, blue and more blue...
Momma's old blue Fireking bowl
A serving bowl from my dinner ware set...
Afternoon sun shining on the Pacific...
Thanks for stopping by and paying a visit. Be sure to let me know you were here! I hope the rest of your day is GREAT!
We're still busy cleaning and trying to get ready for the big party next week. In case you forgot or don't know, we're throwing an "80th" surprise birthday party here at my hone, for my Papa ;0) This past fall/winter we really let the yard "go" and the patio was more of a storage place. We've been spending lots of time on both. Cleaning, landscaping, refreshing and getting it as prepared as we can for next Saturday. Yesterday, after lots of cleaning, weeding and watering we decided to take a little break and cool off. While my hubby and I sat and enjoyed some cool drinks, my youngest fellow enjoyed running in the sprinkler. It was over 90 degrees yesterday! He had a great time as you can tell by his laughing as he got sprayed with the sprinkler. Sorry for the quality. I took this with my iPhone.
Tree #5 located in the northwest 
No big plans
We also had to wait for this little family to "fly" before we could begin work on our patio. This weekend we'll be power washing the patio cover & patio. Yay! Yes, that is a retro/vintage patio cover you see. My house was built in the early 50s and this patio cover "fits" with the age of my home. I go back and forth on whether or not I'd like to replace it, but the old aluminum just seems to belong here...Am I weird?
