Fleur Cottage

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

New Picket Fence At Fleur Cottage

We live along side of a busy state road with lots of traffic. When we moved here, the yard went all the way to the edge of the road and I felt very vulnerable when I mowed the grass. I quickly decided the yard needed a buffer and planted knockout roses in a fifteen foot wide bed. As time went on, the roses became neglected, untrimmed and unmanagable, getting very BIG but gorgeous when in bloom. It was a tad dangerous to pull out onto a busy road as well. We took the roses out and turned this fifteen foot buffer into more parking space and added a picket fence. I'm very pleased with the finished results.

This project was started back in March by SIL W and grandsons P and J, (unfortunately those pics got lost) and was completed this week...thanks to our children and grandchildren! They did the hard work so I could do the fun stuff...like designing, mulching and planting.

Grandson A moving the stones so the wall could be started - this was a huge help to me!

Son L and SIL W pushed the dirt around and seeded the grass, a job well done!

The watchers. :)

Then came the picket fence. Son L along with grandson S did this beautifully!

First fence post hole!

How many workers does it take? One son and three grandsons! They all knew what needed to be done.

Now my work begins.

Mulched and fourteen Provence lavender plants and creeping thyme planted. In a few years they will grow into large , shrub-like plants and I'll be cutting and drying bouquets!

Road side.

Yard side.

Before.

Job well done - thanks, family!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Week End Musings

We spent the week end at Penn Valley, a retreat in central PA, enjoying a family reunion. The weather was cloudy and a tad cool, so we did a lot of this...

The little boys spent their time on wheels.

We cooked our own breakfasts and R is multi-tasking!

The men do the chicken...

...headed up by brother R and E standing by the grill.

The food is super-licious!

We have a three generations attendance.

We go green by re-using our cups!

J (left) is facing a five week radiation treatment and is supported by sister L.

She did a night time walk to raise funds with this support group.

And we had an auction to raise funds for the next year.

A fun, fun and relaxing week end!

(except the beds were HARD and LUMPY!)

A thought gleaned from the week end.

"It's better to BE rather than DO and what I DO is who I AM.'

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The Glory Hour from our back yard this morning - unedited!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Farm Table(s)

Last fall Hubs and I were at our local GW and in the bargain room was a square outdoor table with tile overlay that could seat eight. It was new but wobbly with a very reasonable price. Wondering where I would use another table outdoors, I left it there...YES - I LEFT IT THERE! Several days later, I knew exactly where it could be used - in the pergola! When we serve a meal there, we always drag our big, heavy, round table in and out and this was the PERFECT place for it. But...you guessed it - making a special trip several days later, it was gone. I ~~mourned~~ thought of that table all. winter. long! Then my mind began spinning.

I saw pictures of farm tables in blog land constantly and loved the simplicity of them and how easy it would be to make one. Suddenly, it all clicked! Hubs has woodworking tools and is skilled in making things as long as I don't overwhelm him with descriptive words but show him pictures of the finished project and we were good to go! He made me, not one but two tables - both 3x6 ft. I can use them as a square that seats eight or butt them end to end that serves twelve - more if there's kids.

Glory!

Last evening we put them to good use for the first time, celebrating son L's birthday. It worked beautifully! We each grabbed a dinning room chair, which, by the way, will be my next 'something-to-look-for' yard sale - outdoor chairs!

- the birthday man -

When we celebrate birthdays, the birthday guy/gal gets this 'YOU ARE SPECIAL' plate, a thrift shop find. I used drop cloth from HD for the tablecloth...what would we do without that wonderful, cheap fabric?! It's perfect for my 6ft. square farm table!