Ch ch ch ch changes!

Aha! It's only been about two months, so I guess I'm doing better on the blogging thing.  There have been a lot of changes since I wrote last. I no longer live in an apartment, and the house I now own is no longer a "grandma house" with nicotine-stained walls.

I have cleaned and evicted the crowds of spiders, squirrels, rodents, and ants that had taken up residence in the house since there were no people to drive them away.  Everything smells fresh and clean and waddya know? It IS clean!

The move has been completed and the furniture is (mostly) arranged in proper rooms.  The cats have claimed their respective places and the dog would like to stay in the backyard forEVER.  My mom finished her move about the time I got my stuff put away and she sent a garage-load of new stuff to me, so now I'm redecorating and rearranging furniture again. I know the house is a project that will never be completed, but I kind of hoped I'd get a small break after moving in. Mr. Man and I busted our you-know-whats over the 4th of July weekend to paint the kitchen and master bedroom.

Then we started on the yard. The back yard was covered in leaf litter and lawnmower mulch and required a lot of raking to clean it up. Since we've had this huge heat wave and drought, I'm not watering the grass/weeds. I've already staked out a location for the raised-bed vegetable garden for next spring. Wouldn't you know that the only place with enough sunshine to grow veggies would also be the only place I have really pretty grass?  Since the grass costs water and doesn't produce anything of value, other than oxygen, it will be replaced with veggies and good nutrition!

There are too many shrubs in the front yard, so as soon as the outside temps go lower than Hades-level, I will begin landscaping out front. I know many will be disappointed, but the wishing well fell apart when we moved it and it's now gone to meet its maker.  I'm going to yank out the 20 chinaberry bush palisade that lines the driveway and front walk. It's all too linear and closed off and not welcoming. I want to add color and flowers and a little more native landscaping that it a little more drought-resistant.

So, you all can see that my work is cut out for me.  Wanna help?  Pictures coming soon.