Now look what he's done

 He built a fence at the back alley to keep the deer out.  It used to have white tape above the lower chain link part to keep them from jumping over, but now they just don't have a chance.

 Then he hauled off (oops, hauled in) and got four loads of gravel to fill in his new enlarged driveway.

 You know that I avoid the great outdoors so kept myself busy inside.  For two years I've been waiting for inspiration for a valance on those windows.  I actively dislike mini-blinds, but Al likes them, so I've given up on that battle.  For now.  All the scraps, pockets, waistbands, zippers, etc. were jamming up the sewing table when creativity struck and now they are wrapped around foam insulation boards, at least hiding the mechanism of the hated blinds.   

(This picture was taken before the pillows were cozied in place.)

 Then the heaping basket of leg seams called out to be woven and became a pillow.

Same with the waistbands.

 One of the most annoying sewing tasks (to me) is inserting a zipper on the back to allow for easy access, washing, fluffing.  The pile of zippers jumped right up on the sewing machine and yelled "use me, use me!" Okay, Okay.  Pipe down.

 You can imagine all the chatter in the Patch with supplies yelling for attention.

  I'm now very pleased with myself because this has been one of the most interesting and fun projects I've ever done.  Can you see me taking a bow?  Thank you.  Thank you very much.

The Chain Gang in our Driveway

 This is Tom Dually's bed protector that Al built for hauling all the dirt and gravel as he

 remodels the front lawn.  Are you jealous?  Should he build one for you? Maybe he'll sell you the plans.

 There is going to be a driveway border but we don't think it will keep the deer out.

Here is Rhode Island - where there are now a couple of rhododendrons but soon will be many more.

  With a new border and tons of wood chips.  It smells like a broken Christmas tree around here. 

 

 Shazam!  The border looks pretty good.  What a guy can do with a hammer.

 Thank you, Nicole, for the chocolate sunflower seeds. 

The front walk now has a new border and a jillion more wood chips.  The septic tank lids are under the wooden islands.  It's like we're living in the tropics with all the islands.  I'll be the perfect fat queen.  Just bring me more tapioca pudding. The plan is to have lush plants growing everywhere, but that will obviously take quite a while.  Unless we get a visit from the fairy garden mother with her magic wand and a flock of cartoon animals to do the work while they whistle and sing.  I'll let you know.

 Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas in the basket, a few minutes old.

Straight from the bucket garden.  Ain't that somethin'?

 

So much mundane news

Well, it seems like every day has been lickety-split flying by but in an entertaining way.  Al has taken on the project of removing a ton of grass/sod from the front yard, under the pretext that it will be less to mow.  That requires loads and loads of rock to fill in the spaces that are now just a dirt factory.  Apparently the plan is to eventually get lots of plants but I don't see any trips to the nursery just yet.  Hmmm.  So apparently my job is to vacuum while I wait for the dust to settle.  Or just ignore it.

 He's so pleased with himself.

 Pat and Rhett visited the Chihuly Garden with us, 

Who could ever tire of it?

 We had some great meals,  which included salmon with goat cheese and blueberries.

Then waved good-bye.  No, stay longer!

Should everybody have a farmer like this around the house? 

Have you ever seen a guy prouder of a few peas in a bucket garden?

I have a picture of him in the same overalls in Petaluma, maybe in 1992. 

 Nobody can say Al doesn't get his money's worth from his fashionable wardrobe. 

 Before. 

 During. 

 After. 

 The apples are coming along like gangbusters.  See how the branches had to be propped up to prevent collapse.  These belong to the neighbor but he's a nice guy and we can reach them from our side of the fence.  Oops, one just fell into my hand.

 Here's a huge surprise.  We have a cherry tree that didn't bloom last year, so we didn't even know it was there, but look at it now.  Most of them are too high to reach even with a tall ladder but those we can capture are yummy.  The birds seem to be pleased with the higher crop.  If only we could train them to pick them and drop them in my basket.  They would probably just feed them to the deer.  

Not Every Day

 So there I was, a normal Saturday afternoon, working away at the sewing machine, when I glanced out the window and there were two gorgeous peacocks!  Just wandering through our yard.  By the time I crept (I know, just imagine that) quietly inside to get the camera, they had ventured onto the rarely used front deck, then wandered off next door and to points beyond.  Now where, I ask you, where would two peacocks come from and where are they going?  I just had to share them with you.

What I did this week

 Nice blue denim cushion on one of the sunroom benches that Honeyhubby built, right?

 This is how it looked a couple of hours ago. 

A huge pile of jeans, cut apart and randomly put back together wherever the pieces fit.

                            

 It was impossible, really -  impossible to jam the unwieldy piece of high-density foam into the finished cover so I wrapped it with a garbage bag and fiddled and finagled until it slid in there nicely. 

 Clever, ain't I?  

Oh, so country cute.  

Wouldn't the Grandmas be proud of the upcycling?  

Now for the zippers, pockets, seams, hems, and waistbands.

  

What is bustin' out?

It's June, June, June!  And if I keep gaining weight, I'll be bustin' out of everything.  But we've been having so much fun wining and dining and attending plays, concerts, performances.  It's the season when the high school kids (and others) are eager to show off their accomplishments before they move on so we're taking advantage of their willingness to share all that talent. There are seven events this week - lots of amazing and enthusiastic people on the North Olympic Peninsula.  Whew.

 Teri and Willie came to visit so there was a burger contest.  Both got shiny clean plates.

 The buckets got cleaned and ready for another season,

 The peonies came and went in magnificent style,

 The rose bush continually amazes, 

And I didn't want the leftover whipping cream to sit in the refrigerator for months (like it usually does) so churned butter.   Followed by putting the back to my hand to my forehead and sighing with exhaustion.   Oh, the demands of country life!

May I?

It's been May for an entire week and I'm just noticing.  Maybe I was dazzled by the Blue Star Creeper.  Remember last spring when I whined about laboriously dividing and weeding those teeny wisps of plants?  Look at them now!  Yippee for Mother Nature.

 Even the bees love it. 

 It was time for Sequim to celebrate the Irrigation Festival.  Look it up if you care, but the bottom line is that it doesn't rain enough in this pocket of Paradise for anything to grow so for 120 years there has been a celebration of the system that brings water to the farms.  Complete with flag-waving. 

 And pretty girls on floats.  

 And car shows. 

 Our garden today with my favorite flowers - peony 

and Calla Lily.  I'm a lucky woman because we do nothing but enjoy the foresight and plantings of the previous owners.  Lucky for me that Al enjoys playing in the dirt.