Met Monday: Landscaping Phase 1

When we bought our home 21/2 years ago we were cramped for time. Okay that was a gross understatement we had four days to find a house that was move in ready! When we chose our home we loved the wooded back yard. What we did not care for was the slope that came down from the house into the yard. We knew we would have to do something to remedy this once we owned the home. I was eager to get to work but moving to a new state produced its own challenges. One was knowing who to call when you know not one soul in the state. Who could we rely on to accomplish the big job I had inside this head of mine? Time flew by and before we knew it we had been in the home a year before we decided to make the commitment to getting the hardscape done. If you ask my husband he was rather deperate because I don't do well without an outdoor grill to cook on and he wanted a steak! Last Summer we had our hardscape done with very little of the greenery put in. This Summer we hope to get more of the greenscape part done of the project. We had a series of three terraced patios placed in the back. We used stamped concrete and were lucky enought to find some true craftsman that created these lovely curved walls. Stacked stone? NO they actually hand sculpted these out of colored concrete. Amazing!

You can see the slope here that rolled down from the driveway and into the yard.

Here are the steps we had installed off the driveway eleminating that slope. It looks so pretty at night with the lighting. We had lights installed in the stairs and planters.

Ahhh just look at that blinding sun beaming off the grill! That rounded wall is actually a built in grill island. It has drawers on the front side to house all of our cooking goods! You will find us grilling out here about 3-4 nights a week.

Here is more of the space before. The builder gave is a 12X12 stamped patio. Not bad but not large enough for what we wanted.

The same space after.

Here is the view from my screened porch. This was that patio I mentioned that the builders gave us.

Here is the same view afterwards. The wall curved on the table patio now housed two lantern style lights on each end. In the picture you can see the wiring sticking out where they are now. These pictures were taken shortly after the main concrete work was done but before we had some of the final touches installed. You can see our grill island in this picture better and maybe peak at the drawers on the front side. Our outdoor kitchen. We have plans to plant a lot of flowers and plants. I hope to add some hydrangeas and hostas among other things. Once we work on the greenscape a bit more I will post some more transformations. Thanks for joining me for this Met Monday. To find more wonderful transformations join Susan over at Between Naps on The Porch http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/.

It Was The Dawning Of The Age of Aquarious

I received this in an email yesterday and it brought back so many memories. I could relate to every single one! I thought I would take y'all down memory lane. I know this doesn't apply to everyone who will read this but I will wager we all remember these things on some level. Remember the song by the title of this post? I can so vividly remember sitting in the front seat with no car seat or seat belt or anything keeping my from plowing head first through the windshield of my mothers black hearse of a car, her Mercury Marquis singing this song as well as many others. That is why, all the girls in town......follow you.....all around....just like me....they long to be......close to you.........

Just for Fun - Totally RandomDescription: If you were a little girl in the 70's...

You had that Fisher Price Doctor's Kit with a stethoscope thatactually worked. (yes and Blake and his sister who lived next door were obesessed with playing doctor. Blake was a couple years older. Need I say more. He was really into the getting naked thing.)

You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with
flowers on it. ( oh I loved that bike, purple sparkly metallic with a silver sparkle banana seat!)

You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that hadmetal wheels. (yep and adjustable slide bottom and leather straps)

You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!) (maybe a bit my favorite character was Julie)

You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island . (da plane da plane)

You had either a 'bowl cut' or 'pixie', not to mention the 'DorothyHamill'. (I had the pixie the Dorothy and the captain and Tenille cut)

People sometimes thought you were a boy. (especially since my mom kept my hair so short and I was SO tall)

You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days. ( I had both and I loved my moon boots they were blue and white striped)

YEAH! You owned a 'Slip-n-Slide', on which you injured yourself on asprinkler head more than once. (Yep)

You owned 'Klick-Klacks' and smacked yourself in the face more than once! ( I loved those darn things & I was good at em. Mine were purple hmmm I am beginnning to see a trend with this color and I disilike it now!)

Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession. (yes and my sister made me a HH quilt in pink and green with yellow yarn knot ties which I loved. My room was done in pink and green with yellow gingham!)

You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers. (My mother made me two pair of gauchos one denim and one brown. She embroidered flowers in orange yellow and green on the front pockets of each pair and I wore them to death! Yes with my orange yellow green and blue poncho! I had a pair of burgundy cordoroy knickers that matched my plaid ruffle insprired (see below) Laura Ingalls shirt)

You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon. (I had the game.)


You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satinyshredded outfits, or the sunshine family (okay I had the sunshine family and their van and their whole house. My niece Jodi was obsessed with Donny Osmond and wore purple socks for one whole year!)


You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze. The swing set tipped over at least once. (we would purposley try to tip it! It was painted white with blue swirls down the legs. we loved the see saw on one end)

You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color. (yep I had them and made them all)

You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with hard sole &the buckle). (yes that is probably why I have such foot problems now my leather strap was white with a gold buckle)

You also had a pair of salt-water sandals. (two pair red and navy)

You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore thatLittle House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture; and you despised Nellie Oleson! (I was obsessed. My mother even made my niece Jodi and I matching bonnets which we wore. FYI Jodi and I are only 10 months apart in age so she is like a sister to me) My actual siblings are much older than me I am the last of 6)


You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink! (I just wanted to skate at the roller rink)

PONG! ('video tennis' ) was the most remarkable futuristic game you've ever heard of ! ( I remember astroids and pac man)

Your hairstyle was described as having 'wings' or 'feathers' and you kept it 'pretty' with the comb you kept in your back pocket. When you walked, the 'wings' flapped up and down, looked like you were gonna'take off' . (the Farrah Faucett....my hair was too thick to ever do this it was terribly upsetting at the time because everyone had it. Now looking back at school pictures I am thankful my hair never did this!)

You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends,Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie. (I know them but think I was a bit older when they got into full swing)

You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic. With the thermos inside some were glass inside and broke thefirst time you dropped them. (I remember 4 metal lunch boxes. A red tartan plaid one. A Holly Hobby one, a Josie and the Pussy Cats one and Scooby Doo)

You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazard was your boyfriend. ( oh my best friend loved the blonde guy. I could have cared less for either. I was in love with Parker Stevenson from the Hardy Boy Mysteries)

YOU had Star Wars action figures, too! (no figurines but I saw each one of the movies over and over)

It was a big event in your household each year when the 'Wizard of Oz' would come on TV. Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags! (oh yes and Gone With The Wind Too and my friends would come over and spend the night and we would all pile on the floor and watch)

You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: 'Who will I marry.Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or David Cassidy?' ( I did love the Partridge Family but my favorite shows were Family Affair and Nanny and the Professor as well as Please Don't Eat the Daisies and The Ghost and Mrs Muir)

You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record album. (never fame but the other two oh yeah baby! although I was not allowed to see the movie Saturday Night Fever)

You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stickGod's eyes, decoupage, or those weird potholders made on a plasticloom.You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts! (guilty of most)

You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portabletape player up to the speaker. (oh yes I recorded everything and my radio was this olive green round ball with two silver dials)

You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat. (NOPE Seventeen and Glamour)

You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from JudyBlume books. (Are you there God, It's me, Margaret.) (that book was taboo my friends and I passed it around and we covered it in a brown paper bag so no one would know what we were reading)

You thought Olivia Newton John's song 'Physical' was about aerobics.(?? its not??)

You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces with heart or rainbow designs. (guilty of both)

You wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer. (and later a member of the B-52's)

You drowned yourself in Love's Baby Soft - which was the first 'real'perfume you ever owned. (yes and my mothers Jean Na Te (sp?) and another one that was in a mint green and peach floral box)

You glopped your lips in Strawberry Roll-on lip-gloss till it almost dripped off. (Bonnie Bell baby!!! and those little metal tins that slid open oh my favorite was green apple and bubble gum)


Hope you remember and had fun!!!

South Carolina or BUST!

Why were we in South Carolina you might ask, okay well maybe you aren't asking, but I am going to tell you we were there for little Miss Whimsy's cheer competition. Five down and three more to go! My daughters team took second. Way to go girls! But it wasn't all cheer and games.....okay it mostly was all cheer but we did have time for some fun lunches and dinners out and a nice tour of the University of South Carolina. Of course there is always time for creative photography if you are a tween. Here is Miss Whimsy and some of her team mates. Do you know which one she is? They really all look alike once they get their hair up and their make-up on don't they? My little Miss is the one on the far right.

The weather was outstanding and WARM! We ate our lunches and dinners in an area called The Vista. It offers a lot of fun resturants many with patio seating which was a must!

We were lucky enough to be able to take a driving tour of USC. Miss Whimsy loved it and has decided that this may be another option if Harvard doesn't work out! Just between you and I.......unless we win the lottery Harvard most likely will not be an option. I will let her keep dreaming ......afterall she is only 10! Here is a lovely area of the USC campus.

I would have loved to study (or sleep) under one of these beautiful oak trees! My college was a concrete jungle! This was so pretty!

USC was established in 1801. Some of the original buildings are still standing. How fun would it be to attend class in a nice antebellum greek revival?

Or just stroll to class on a brick path?

No tour would be complete without viewing some of the lovely old homes around campus. This was one of my favorites.

This one looked like it was recently renovated.

As did this one. At first I thought it was a new build amongst the older homes. But then I looked at the lovely front door and side windows. Stunning and original even though much of the restoration was not.

I loved this cottage. Look at the rounded arched front door. How charming!

Another one of my favorites. I loved the old street lamps too!

A big ol stately brick.

I would love to get my hands on this one and restore it. Look at the lovely sun room above the porta cochere!!! Bliss!

Miss Whimsy's next competition is down in Florida. I hope it is as fun as this one was. Hope y'all enjoy looking at old homes as much as I do! I may just have to find some down in Florida!

Hello Everyone A Little Update on Our Dear Friend Barb

I spoke with Barb this evening. Bill is not doing well and they will be taking him back into surgery on Monday. They believe he has a blockage and or some organ damage. Barb said he is in a tremendous amount of pain and she doubts he will be able to make it to Monday without needing the surgery sooner. My heart goes out to them both. Barb herself just started antibiotics today as she is sick. I just want to thank everyone personally and on Barb and Bills behalf for your continued prayers. I told her I would post an update for her, as you can imagine she is exhausted and unable to do so herself. Please continue your wonderful prayers.

Please Join Me In Prayer

We all have heard that saying "The Lord Never Gives Us More Than We Can Handle". I do believe this is true. However, I also know for a fact that although we will handle it come hell or high water it won't be easy along the way. Our friend Barb over at Grits & Glamour has been having a very rough few months. Extensive health issues have made their way through Barb, her mother and now her beloved husband Bill. Although I know Barb is one spectacular lady and will indeed "handle" it all with grace and well maybe a little kicking along the way due to her southern spunk, I also know that the Lord listens and is willing to hear all our prayers for Barb and her family. With that in mind I would just like to give a big ol shout out to the Lord and I hope all of you will join me............

Heavenly father we pray for your daughter Barb. We pray that you give her the strength to be there for her man and give her the wisdom to know when to take care of herself. We thank you lord for bringing Bill through the complicated surgery Lord and we pray that Bill recovers from his surgery and that you bestow upon the doctors the wisdom to figure out where the complications lie from his surgery. Lord we pray that the days ahead go smoothly for Barb and her family. In Jesus name we pray this. AMEN

It's Like A Train Wreck.....

I promise myself every season that I am not going to watch.............nope not me, not this time, no way! Let me reveal my shallow self.......The Bachelor junkie. Hello my name is KD and I am a bachelorholic. So of course last night I HAD to watch the most dramatic proposal and rose ceremony ever. Oh yes I did. I also had to watch the after the Rose show that was so traumatic they had to film it on a closed set. Can ya feel the fishing line pulling ya in yet? It is like a bad train wreck, a morning after , a one night stand. Here I am tired from staying up to late and of course disgusted with myself and ABC for even watching and um showing the stuff. Heart be still.......he proposed only to break it off on the wrap up show. Change his mind and beg the other gal who he so unceremoneously dumped to give him another shot. I can just hear my mother yelling "DO YOU HAVE NO SELF RESPECT?" This has to be staged right? No one would break up with a person on live TV without some huge paycheck coming their way...right? Okay so now that I have a bachelor hang over I must move on with my day but not before vowing to "never watch this show again" ...........ummmm after part two of the after the rose show though, okay?

Met Monday Brought To You By Nature

Of all the transformations I myself can create there are none so wonderous as those created by the man upstairs. Why is it, that no matter how old we get, there is sheer excitement in our hearts when it snows? The serenity in the beauty of the glorious white stuff is breathtaking for me. It brings such peace over me. This is a view of our pond in August.

Here it is this morning. The man upstairs knows how to transform!

I hope all of you have peace and serenity today whether you are in the warm or the cold, the sun or the rain. Carry warmth in your hearts. Visit Susan at Between Naps on The Porch for more wonderful transformations.

Just To Let Y'all Know.........

There will be no Themed Thursday tomorrow. In fact unless I can get Mr Linky to work for me, which so far I have not been able to, I may have to give it up. It is too time consuming for me with my family activities to manually have to load all the links up. I feel badly but am hopeful Mr Linky will cooperate in the near future. I have done the tutorial twice and done everything they say to do but still it won't work for me??????? Any tips would be great if you have them. Thanks for understanding.
~KD

Thanks for the T's & P's

I think today was the first day I am feeling okay. I may have turned a corner. Stubborn me refused to take those darn steroids they gave me. Sadly I was getting no better. Chest was rattling away and breathing was labored. SO yesterday i started the steroids after 5 days on the antibiotic with no great results except the loss of the fever. Miracles of miracles tonight I am feeling rather spunky and ummm yay, No chest rumblings! When will this stubborn Scotch, Irish and German girl every learn? Thank you all so much for your kind words, thoughts and prayers.

Flakey Sick Gal

With sick kids. That's me! I just had to post a quick apology for my absence and dropping the ball for the second week in a row on Themed Thursday. Sadly my son and I BOTH were diagnosed with Pneumonia today. We have been sick for over a week and everything kind of blew up last night. SO we are bedded down with antibiotics and steroids (we both are asthma sufferers) so we can breathe. I have a feeling this is only the beginning. Middle child has been sneezing all afternoon and his eyes have that glassy look about them. Mr. Whimsy is practically giving himself and remaining healthy house residents vitamin C intravenously!!! I fear there is just no way five people living under one closed up house can avoid illness. Hopefully when the drugs kick in we will be feeling better a couple days from now. Thanks for understanding.
~KD