Improvements Going on All Over

The dragon was roaring bright and early this morning. By this afternoon they had the forms in for the curb, which they'll probably pour tomorrow while they put in the forms for the sidewalk inside that. Maybe we'll have a sidewalk by the weekend, maybe not until after Memorial Day. I'm hoping to get a chance to put a little something personal into the cement before it sets - maybe a special stone or a "Z" for our family name.


We thought it was about time to get the snow tires off the Subie. I mean, we could have snow again this season, never say never up here in the mountains (we had snow here on the 4th of July one year), but it's unlikely. We took the car down to have the tires swapped and walked down to a local restaurant to wait. They have this little outdoor section. We've never used it because it's so windy out there, but this year they added some screening and tied the umbrellas down. Today was the perfect day to try it out - it wasn't snowing, and it wasn't 100 degrees in the shade. We tried to pretend we were at a little sidewake cafe in Paris. It was kinda the same. Except for the SUV's and logging trucks rumbling by.

I bought a new rose today. It looks a little straggly right now, but at least it's already in the ground (thanks to hubby) and it will grow into it's space.

It's an English rose, one of those wonderful roses with a thousand petals. The best thing about it though is it has a rich spicy old rose scent. I wish you could put your nose up to the monitor and take a big sniff. It's heavenly.

And speaking of heavenly, look what I bought. I've been eyeing her for weeks now and finally broke down and brought her home today. Yes, I know, I'm no longer a Catholic. I'm not even a Christian. But I have a special fondness for Our Lady of Guadalupe. I didn't realize until I looked up a link for her that some people consider her a blend of the Virgin Mary and earlier central American goddesses. Although I'd never researched the image, I've always responded to her as the Goddess, with her blue star covered cloak, her golden aura, and the moon and cherubs at her feet.

I cleared out under an established grape arbor in my back yard and it makes a perfect green grotto for her. I'll have to plant some flowers underneath. She seems perfectly at home with the Tibetan buddhist prayer flags, the pentacle wind chimes, the angels and the fairies hanging in the apple tree just a few steps away. Isn't she beautiful!

I also bought a few more veggie, herb, and ground cover plants and got some of them in the ground this evening. The mosquitos drove me indoors before I could finish.

Later afternoon and early evening was filled with what else - more painting tasks.