Ahhhh....

After an early morning of helping a friend with her moving away yard sale, hitting the Waverly farmers market, gardening, and grocery shopping, despite multiple invites to drinks, here's my Saturday night in:

Mmmm... berries for dinner.

(I am wearing shorts, they're just true to their name.)

garden: before

OK, so my back area is one thing I will not be DIY-ing.  Not at first at least.  The way I see it, I need a concrete wall knocked down, break-up current concrete, reinforce with rebar (which I have embarrassingly called rhubarb in public), pour new concrete and add a privacy fence to have a parking pad and private patio/garden and be happy.  Once we get up to the finished fence, I have ideas ideas for making the most of the concrete.

This plan (currently in the picking a contractor phase) is not stopping me from starting my summer garden.  I started with a couple packs of seeds, and have moved my seedlings into increasing larger pots.  Practicing my patience to nurture those seeds...

(Except one day I cheated and bought some berry plants.)

Crappy back area now:

Gross, right?

Greggy is only allowed outside with supervision, so he loves when I'm out gardening.

 (Please ignore the huge styrofoam blocks.  The only part of a giant ceiling fan packaging that can't be recycled.  And the peeling IKEA table that was not meant for the outside.) 

 Close-up of the bigger pots.  Raspberries, strawberries, and a couple tomatoes.

Grow strawberries, grow!

Some deformed raspberries

Today's raspberry harvest. I should start a CSA!

And my topsy-turvy tomato planter:

All these pics are actually a week old, because I even procrastinate on blogging.

Now the little white pots on the table that held cucumbers have been replanted, and some yellow flowers have appeared on my tomato plants.

And the sunflowers and lilies out front are getting closer to their debut.  Pics will come when they decide to show their face.

More projects

My kitchen was recently featured on Better After, so if you came from Lindsey's lovely site, welcome!

Here's another little project involving slapping paint on ugly wood.  I found this little sucker at a yardsale and walked away with it, a teapot, and a paper towel holder for $11.

It needed a few nails to keep the rim on, a good sanding, and some attention.

A lot of sanding.  Looks like an animal used the lower shelf as a chew toy.

Luckily I picked up a handheld power sander. (craigslist <3)

And felt powerful.

Then after a couple of coats of red and white:

And the kitchen miscellany collected quickly.

And because I love surprises...

..I added leftover fabric from one of my first projects to the drawer!

More to come, when I get a free weekend.  I currently have a nighttable and two plaid 70s chairs to makeover in my livingroom.  And a wine cabinet that I've had for almost a year, that I think will be the first wood item I DON'T just paint over.  Actual staining will be attempted!

This weekend is visits from family, neighborhood things, and painting a bedroom and installing a ceiling fan.