God Bless America...

Oh, the 4th of July.

Gotta love it. Good times. Good friends. And fireworks. The house got a flag in celebration. Kinda makes me want to say the Pledge of Allegiance. We spent the day hanging out with Kelly and then walked down our street, literally, to the town's fireworks display and celebration with our neighbors, J.J., Jena and Finn. 

Finn, me and Kelly waiting for the show to begin...

Kis, as Finn refers to him, was also ready...

Awesome...

Getting even better...

Pretty darn spectacular...

And, um...what is that? A new kind of firework? A UFO? Nope, a two year-old with glow sticks. "You have one? Kis have one?"

Summer of Freebies...

Free? Everyone likes free, right? Not just the Dutch - which I'm darn proud to be. Well, it's been the summer of. 

Gas grill. From J.J. - who got a new one for Father's Day. 

Propane tank. On loan from Chris' brother and wife, Grant and Carolyn- who are moving to Thailand to teach and explore the other side of the world for the next year.

Weight machine. From Keri's parents, Jack and Carolyn - who wanted more room in their house. 

Lawn mower. From Chris' dad, Craig - who had two. 

Weber Charcoal grill. From J.J. - who needed more room on his deck. 

 

Patio set. From Carolyn's grandmother - who got a new set. 

Toddler high chair. From...um, someone's curb down the street. Yes, I'll admit it. Chris' sister, Kelly, and I were on a walk to get out of the house while Chris was painting the front door and spotted it. Chris had really liked this one in the store and I was never going to spend the money on it (um, Dutch...but he is too). But, I'll take free. It needs a replacement foot rest but it's already been tested and approved by a one year-old and a two year-old. We won't use it until baby's a bit older but the neighbors already agreed to loan us their highchair. Sweeeeeet. 

Home Grown Vegetables...

Last weekend, Chris and I planted our vegetable garden. We picked up our plants from a local grower that we had ordered as a fundraiser for the Gweimen Centre, an organization that helps provide assistance and education for widows and orphans of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

 

First, we arranged all the containers on the back walkway.

 

 

Then we filled them with stones for drainage per Grandma Versluys' advice.

 

 

And a few more pots...

I put together the tomato cages with adjustable arms so you can move them as the plant grows.

Then, we planted all the herbs and vegetables. 

Two tomato plants (with Marigolds to deter pests- also a Grandma Versluys suggestion), a pepper plant, parsley, arugula (from seed), basil and mint...

Another two tomato plants with more Marigolds, another pepper plant, chives and cilantro...

And the extra Marigolds and chives from last year found a new home next to the house...

 

 

Now, I just have to remember to water them...regularly. However, it's been raining every three hours for the past few days so I'm good. And to feed them  Miracle Gro  weekly.  And hopefully, they'll grow lots of vegetables. Now, I just need Mom to teach me how to can salsa and I can be in tomato-induced heartburn heaven in a few months.

Improving Curb Appeal: One Plant at a Time

Good 'ole Home Depot...I'm sure they love us. Seeing as we've dropped a few coins there in the past few weeks on landscaping materials like flowers and bushes and pruners and a/c units and potting soil and....the list goes on. But words don't really do justice to the changes around our abode...that's why we take pictures. 

Chris planted Salvia (purple) and Tickseed (yellow) in the front yard. However, he realized he bought medium height Salvia and tall height Tickseed...so he had to do some re-planting since he had planted them backwards. Live and learn and then dig up some plants. 

 The Salvia is still taller than the Tickseed but it will grow to be about 12-24" taller than the Salvia, eventually. 

Chris planted a Barberry bush in front of the mailbox.

Then he had to move the pavers forward a few feet and re-purposed a few from the backyard patio area so the path would reach the driveway. 

Chris planted Creeping Thyme in between the paver stones. 

Watering his handiwork, making sure it packs down to stabilize. 

The man does nice work. To the far right of the front of the porch (under the Evergreen tree), Chris transplanted Hostas from the backyard to fill out the front "bed".

 

Weeds, Weeds & More Weeds

Ugh, weeds. Plural. Thriving in the disaster of the "landscaped" area next to the stone patio/terrace under the Maple tree in the backyard. 

 

 

This picture was taken a few weeks ago so you'll have to use your imagination to picture how weed-infested it was. Um, because I forgot to take a true "before" picture. Doh!

 

While Chris and Craig got to work on installing the garage door opener, Shari offered her assistance for weed-removal and I took it. For about 1-2 hours. We did some serious damage!

 

 Let the wild muddy rumpus begin...remember all that rain we got (and in the basement)?

Weed bouquet anyone? Look at all the baby Maple trees trying to grow in the Vinca vine...

And now, notice the lack of baby trees...Thank you, Shari! 

I found a baby walnut tree...where the heck are the walnuts from??

Isn't that kinda cool? I obviously thought so. 

After helping rid the darn Lily of the Valley (which we have in spades), Shari helped transplant some...um...I think she said they were Black Eyed Susans. 

Much improved, made satisfactory progress, and so on. It was a job I had been trying to avoid but went a lot faster with some help!

After our weeding adventure, Shari and I made a quick trip to Costco and I snagged some instant curb-appeal improvement (the hanging basket) for a mere $17.99. Now, I just have to remember to water it...regularly. 

I also got to put some of our new tools to work today. After watching Chris balance enormous Hostas on borrowed shovel while carrying them to the desired transplant spot, it became clear a wheelbarrow was needed in our garden tool repertoire... since, ahem, the neighbors don't have one (but we'll share). So with the money from our garage sale, Chris and I bought a bright orange steel wheelbarrow and shovel at the good ole' Home Depot.

Garage Project #2 : New Garage Door Opener

Who got hooked up with a new garage door opener this morning? 

This girl. This very happy girl and her very tired but happy husband.

The father-son duo stepped up to tackle Garage Project #2: Install new garage door opener. 

 Since our garage has a solid-wood door (read: fun to lift when the old opener died), we had to get a heavy-duty 3/4 HP opener. 

In about 3 hours, Chris and Craig got us hooked up. Down with the old, busted dinosaur and up with the new, functional system. 

Ain't it pretty? You should hear it...or try to hear it. The "Whisper-drive" system is no joke. It's as quiet as a...well you know, those rodents that make me scream and jump on tall things. 

It's got a laser beam to show you how far into the garage to park...pretty fancy.

This is the best safety feature which our last model lacked...the "eyes" on each side of the door that will automatically stop the door if something or someone gets in the way of the closing garage door. And, remember the darn thing is solid wood. No smooshed tools, bikes or people. Makes me happy. 

And...Chris' favorite feature. Dual openers. He gets one for his car now. Guess who's on cloud nine? As the gentleman he is, he gave me the one and only opener for the last opener. It's also got a wireless keypad on the outside of the garage...gone are my days of balancing coffee cups, purses and lunches while trying to maneuver lifting the garage door.

Firsts...

There's a first time for everything...

Chris mowed our lawn for his first time this morning. 

(insert: applause, a happy wife & most-likely happy neighbors who have nice lawns). 

It takes approximately 12-15 minutes to do the yard (minus behind the garage that's currently trying to grow grass). 

It also takes the neighbor's lawn mower, thanks again J.J.

How does your garden grow? Part II

Some recent eye candy of the bloomin' beauties around this neck of the woods...

 The lone tulip peekin' out from the stones...watch out Mr. Mailman.

More of my favorites, tulips...the hail missed these ones!

Unfortunately, the hail didn't miss these leaves...silly weather!

 Ready for a close-up!

Found some violets growin' in the backyard (just for you Grandma V)!

 Hostas, the indestructible species, have returned. Love 'em and their lack of maintenance!

The grass (or lack thereof) is another matter...

The ground cover under the maple tree in the backyard, in need of some serious weeding...in the future.

 The chives and Gerbera daisies are just hanging on the back steps next to the two enormous planters (smokin' hot deal at Home Goods) which are awaiting some potting soil and veggie seeds...

It's official. Spring has sprung all over the place at Casa de Buma.