Kitchen window re-do...

Yesterday, we hung new curtains in the kitchen...that I bought back in January. But they were a great deal at about $15 bucks a piece. Does that make up for the 3 months it took to hang them? Yes, these are the same kitchen windows that I made curtains for back in December. But after a few months of not being able to close the curtains completely in the kitchen, we decided we needed a bit more privacy.

The hubs hard at work with my drill (just had to throw that in there)

 He decided to play peek-a-boo...

Now, we can see the backyard from the kitchen instead of having to peer over the top of the other ones...

And we can see the side porch without standing on tippy-toes (me)...

And, we can close them completely for privacy. You know in case we want to walk around in our underwear. 

For those of you who are scared of roman shades because of the risk of children injuring themselves, most shades now come with retro-fit safety kits. Heavy-duty velcro attaches new loops for the cords that raises the shades and will release immediately if anyone or thing gets caught. It was a pretty easy fix...after I made Chris read the directions. 

As for the former window curtains, they are long enough that I can cut them in half and cover the windows in the basement. Two birds, one stone.

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. 

Deer me...

No, I did not use the wrong homophone (and yes, I did have to look up the correct grammatical term for deer/dear) when I titled this post. I truly was referring to deer, as in the four-legged animals that my family frequently hunts in the fall. 

Sunday, as I'm in my Master's tourney-induced semi-conscious state, Chris jumps out of his chair and shouts at me to come "quick" onto the front porch. Why? Because there were three deer in our driveway. Yup, in our urban neighborhood. Walking casually up the drive. I ran back inside for the camera and we snapped a few pics since they were in no hurry...

 By the time I got the camera, they'd made it across the street...

 Chris whistled and the buck turned around, apparently they are really scared of us...

 Just checking out the 'hood...

Headin' on down the street...

Right after the last picture was taken, two cars, one from each direction, came down the street and the deer just hung out in the middle of the street checking the cars out. The drivers were dumbfounded. You know, we get a pretty good show from the front porch every now and then.

How does your garden grow?

Silver bells or cockle shells? Nope. Daffodils and tulips. They came with the house (read: I didn't have to plant them). Love those kinds. 

 Aren't they so pretty? 

Tulips, my absolute favorite.

I took these pictures on Monday. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm and about 70 degrees. The flowers unfortunately do not look exactly like this any more. You see, Tuesday morning, we were pelted with hail the size of Everlasting Gobstoppers (think movie theater candy) for a good 7-10 min. Now most of the leaves on the tulips are shredded. The tulip buds are still intact but the rest looks a bit sad. The daffodils put up a better fight.

In other gardening news, my itty-bitty African violet (front left) has not made it. The mother ship (original plant, back center) and that other baby plant (front right) are still going strong so I'm not a complete failure at this keeping houseplants alive thing. 

 

"You want to know how I fixed it?"

What is "it"? Um, the garage door opener that's been on the fritz since the weather hit the close-to-zero temperatures this past winter. Every morning since, it's been a balancing act of travel coffee cups, purses (me only no murses here), bags and lunches while lifting the heavy wooden garage door to get out. 


After we got home from our church's Easter service, we chatted with our neighbors in the backyard. Two year-old Finn told Chris "We need grass" for our yard that is currently dirt (with slight prompting by a speech-pathologist...) and practiced mowing the yards with the bubble mower, on both speeds of course- bunny and turtle. 

During our chat, J.J. asked if we'd gotten garage door opener to work yet. Um, nope. We were pretty sure it had bitten the dust and had been saving to buy a new one. Insert historical data here: It had stopped working once before this and J.J. fixed it by adjusting the down force on the motor. 

Ladder and Finn in tow, Chris and J.J. headed off into the garage to check for a pulse in the good ol' opener. Turns out it had one. Which is when the question was posed "You want to know how I fixed it?" by J.J. with a grin from ear to ear. Sheepishly, Chris and I responded "Uh huh." His response, still grinning, "The lock was on. I just hit the button and unlocked it." Seriously? Seriously? I was suddenly having flashbacks of almost-spilled cups of coffee all winter. Then the financial part of my brain realized that J.J. just saved us $250. For a savings of $250, I will eat crow any day. I am not perfect. But I am $250 richer, technically.

Why do I blog about these crazy moments that make us look a bit loco? Because I have a sense of humor. You have to. We have to. Everyone who decides to renovate a vintage home has to. And if you don't, you'll be walking around with a permanent look of consternation.

Kane County Flea Market

It's one of our hobbies. Flea-marketing. This time, we managed to come home without having to call Chris' parents to haul a big piece of furniture home (You may recall the posts about the Robbins table we found last fall). 

It was rainy, chilly and incredibly fun. It was also a bit muddy, which didn't seem to phase us due to our driveway and all.  In addition to lunch at our fav egg roll stand and a Bears (ugh) jersey, we came home with...

Vintage metal wheels (from a factory cart) for our future kitchen island project. Currently, the project's stuck in R&D. Chris had the pleasure of carrying this hefty pair around for the afternoon. 

Old Coca-Cola tray. Perfect for the front porch, serving drinks in the late spring and summer.

All in all, there was a pretty decent turnout given the weather. However, there are way more dealers in the warmer months. And, I've got my eye on some Polish pottery...

Surprise in the Spring...

Over lunch a few weeks back, a co-worker said she'd just started to have bulbs peeking up in her flower beds. I instantly regretted not actually planting our tulip bulbs last fall. Argh. Another missed step in the role of homeowner. Doh! But wait, what is that I see?

Okay, I'm over it. Apparently, the house came with more than a step stool, toaster, 3-4 brooms, snow shovel and a desk. It came with...perennials. Tulips. My absolute favorite flower. I think there is another type of flower coming up too but I'm no expert. Any thoughts? One tulip is even poking up through the stones near the mailbox.

During our gutter-cleaning bonanza, I also noticed that my chives were making a comeback. I had no idea they were perennials! 

I cleared away the old stuff and dug the growing chives out of the pot they were in last spring and replanted them in a smaller pot that would fit on the window ledge inside the back porch until it warms up a bit more. Our back porch is kind of like a greenhouse, with big windows to let in plenty of sun. Hurray for plants that take care of themselves!!