Patio progress

 I seem to be taking my sweet time to unpack everything from the retreat. It's SUMMER, and I'm in summer mode -- slow, and I'm OK with that. 

They are making progress in leaps and bounds in the front yard, and the girls and I christened the patio last night. 

The new front patio

They still have some stuff to plant, but the three "big" trees are in. Let's not forget my little patch of grass has to go in. I don't want it; the landscaper does. I'll let him win, but then, I might ditch it -- I'll see how it goes. He is giving me a lesson on how to use my trimmer, and I see I'm also going to get new grass on the boulevard section as they ripped that out yesterday. 

The driveway crew did not return to finish placing the rebar in the boulevard section of the driveway, and I learned that they had set the neighbor's lawn on fire the day before when they were cutting the steel. Sigh! Thankfully, that neighbor (a young adult whose parents haven't been home since before the pandemic) won't notice or care. We have to tell him to cut the grass and that the pump for their backyard pond is running dry. Sigh!

The girls were totally confused last night when I took a chair out to the front and took them with me. "MOM -- we have LEASHES ON -- we should be going for a walk, not sitting here. This is BORING!" They did settle down, but there were too many new smells to really settle down.  

Why are we NOT walking? 

But I had some neighbors stop to chat, and that's the intention of the patio - get to know the neighbors better! It's already working, and we're not done yet! It did feel weird as the patio is a bit high, and you feel exposed, but I don't care! 

I have to laugh as my neighbor (where I'm parking my car and who loves to garden) is out there all the time, chatting to the guys. She would be there on her hands and knees if they let her!

My neighbor supervising the work

I think Lexi is missing her Dad. He's away for a couple of days, and she needs to feel connected, so as I'm eating lunch, she's lying on my foot. She really is a Daddy's girl!

Where's my Dad? I can't survive without him

Murphy, on the other hand, just wants to play ball. I think she will prefer the back to the front because she can play ball in the back and there are squirrels to chase and well, I might sneak to the front when I want to avoid her! Not that I would ever want to do that!

Let's play ball!

I snapped this photo when walking the girls yesterday -- how fortunate I am to have this beautiful green space so close to the house. I hope everyone is taking advantage of any green space near them. You would NOT believe the calmness that the forest exudes! I think there's a term called "forest bathing" and I have to say that it's fantastic! That forest was the deal clincher when we bought this house, and it's been a lifesaver! 

Forest bathing

I'm sure you don't remember, but a while back, I was looking for the quilt novels by Carol Dean Jones. I found this one at Quilt Canada, the first in the series (of twelve books). I'll have to read this and then be on the hunt for the remainder of the series. But if I don't like it, I don't need to. But sometimes, these light, fluffy books are a good diversion! 

Quilt novel - the first in the series

I got a bit more sewing done and one more customer quilt. 

Customer quilt - DONE

As mentioned, I'm in slow-motion mode. I have things to do but don't seem to be too motivated to make them happen. Hopefully, I can be a bit more productive today as there are some things I need to get packed up and done. And I have some computer work that I really want to finish, so LESS time reading and relaxing and a wee bit more time getting serious and being an adult! LOL! 

I would like to return to my decluttering, but I haven't made it there yet. There's still stuff to clean up in Studio B, and I want that to be my priority. There are tuffet kits to get ready to send and projects that need to be sorted and put away. 

OH -- here's something from the retreat to share with you. The sewing room on the back of the house has windows on three sides and backs onto a wooded area. One day, we spotted this little guy or girl. By the way, we were at Seams Appropriate near Huntsville. 

He was along the edge of the clearing and happily grazing on the grass. We were quiet and watched him flicking his tail to keep the bugs away. It was so cute because you saw the big patch of white under the tail. 

A fawn grazing t the edge of the clearing by the house

Then he heard us and popped up his head to look at us. "What is all that noise, and it is safe to check it out?" 

Who is there?

Then he bounded right into the clearing and very close to the house. He knew we were there and stood for quite a while, watching us as we watched him. 

Hey -- do you want to play with me? 

Then with a flick of his tail, he turned and bounded into the forest. So adorable!!! The following day, near the lake, I spotted a mommy deer and two babies. I wonder if this was one of the babies? It was so cute because he was intent on listening to what we said!!

That about wraps it up for me today! I'm off to spin class again! I like spin class, but there are days when I wish I could eat anything I wanted and didn't have to worry about taking the calories off! Once I get there, I'm good - sometimes, it's just the anticipation of getting there. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!