October 2012

 Carver got a new haircut.

I started doing some work to the front of the house. I cut back a lot of bushes... almost to the ground... a month or two ago. More recently... Michael cut down a tree for me (you can still see part of it in this picture) that was half dead. It was really tall and would have blocked part of the view of the garage from this angle. 

The roof (new this summer) is black, the shutters were brown, and the door was navy! :) Those big bushes in the front were on my last nerve. They are always needing to be cut back because they overtake the sidewalk. The porch railing... also on my last nerve. We NEVER use the porch because you feel claustrophobic. So...

I spray painted the shutters black, tore down the railing, Michael pulled up the bushes, I painted the front door and the bench. 

This spring... I hope we can plant something lower to the ground in front of the porch, replace the outside lights (they are brown and faded/old), paint the gutters, and replace the porch columns. I am thinking something like this...

Image found through Pinterest

 .... as far as the block on the bottom and then a square column the rest of the way up. I have a couple of months to think about it. Until then... we are loving having an open porch. I was able to sit on our bench and look at Pinterest on my phone... while Carver played in the front yard. Yippee!

 I made this! I found the idea in a magazine but it was one of those things I cut out a long time ago so I am not sure which one. The 'original' used flatter pumpkins and didn't have the burlap and string in between. My top pumpkin didn't sit flat on top. I hot glued them together for stability but the top pumpkin kept pulling back and you could see the hot glue. So... I had to come up with a solution. Next year... I will look for some flat pumpkins before everything is picked over! :)

 This part of road (just outside of our subdivision) is my favorite! I love how the trees on both sides  come together to cover the road. Gorgeous in the spring and fall! The picture doesn't do it justice!

When we went to take the picture above this one.. Carver had to bring his camera as well. In this picture he had insisted that I stop so he could take a picture of a pretty tree and a dog near that fence. :) I love that he loves to take pictures! And I just love him!