Wall Blocks

This is the front edge of our yard after I ripped out the ivy.  Pretty sad.



This is our next-door neighbor's yard. The contrast is striking.



Our neighbor has these wall blocks that come up to the edge of our yard.  I decided that the obvious thing to do was to get the same kind of blocks and continue the wall across the front of our yard.  I tracked down the blocks at Lowe's--regularly $1.98 apiece, so I kept checking back on the website to see if they would go on sale.



On April 10th I was heading over to that end of town to run an errand.  I remembered to check the Lowe's site before heading out, and saw that the blocks were finally on sale. (Yay!) So I went over and bought 76 blocks. My car is not big enough to transport 76 blocks, but the Lowe's guy and I loaded 25 into my trunk and I brought those home.



My first block in place! (This was so exciting.)



Miriam Webb helped me pick up the rest of the blocks the next day in her husband's truck. Lots of lifting! (According to the website they're 24 pounds each.) I did remember gloves, which help a lot with those rough edges.



I've been working on the wall a little at a time.  I wasn't able to get any done while the kids were home on Spring Break, but it's coming along!  I got this picture on April 25th. I'm almost up to the mailbox, at which point I'll probably have to stop till we get that taken care of.

I like having a project to work on outside.  I can go out and lay a few blocks while I'm waiting for Andy's bus to bring him home.   I've been finding a great many fat, happy worms. That must be some really great dirt. (I've acquired some groupies--the robins have started following me around.)

I realized that it probably would have worked better to dig out the whole edge at once, and then lay down the bottom line of blocks and get them straight, but no, I had to dig out and place each one individually. The wall does have some slight undulation, but it's really only noticeable if you stand directly over it. And once I get some things planted along there it won't show at all. Plus, I think the street is a bit crooked anyway. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Backyard Easter

Our cute Easter kids!  We missed the neighborhood egg hunt on Saturday because we were up in Seattle, so we had our own little hunt after church.  Our overgrown yard has lots of great places to hide eggs.




Into the jungle.



Kate took a turn hiding the eggs so I could find them. We may have missed one the second time around.

Visiting the Fremont Troll

Every bridge needs a troll living under it. In the Seattle area there's a famous troll who lives under a highway overpass in Fremont. We'd never been to see him before, so we stopped by after our day at the zoo.



A Volkswagen that got too close.



The bridge is in a really pretty neighborhood (with narrow streets and tight parking!). Lots of blooming trees.

Conference Weekend (six months later)

General Conference happens every six months, on the first Saturday and Sunday in April and in October. Last Conference Saturday we were moving into our new house. That was certainly a crazy weekend.  (And then it took us a few more weeks to get everything out of the old apartment!) This time we can relax and watch the broadcast. I've mentioned that I like to have a project to work on while listening. That didn't quite happen this time--I ordered another Japanese crochet book but it hasn't come yet. I've just been working on some photo editing.

It really doesn't feel like six months.  There were things about home ownership that came as a surprise (you mean we have to pay for the sewer?) but we're getting the hang of it.  More or less.   We haven't done much yet, but we've finally figured out exactly what we're going to do with the bathroom, so hey, that's a start!

Art and Clay, Kate, and a Fish.

One of Kate's classmates had a birthday party at the Art and Clay Studio.  This place is down in Lakewood.  Apparently it's been there for a few years, but I'd never heard of it until just recently.  (I've even driven by it plenty of times and never noticed it--too distracted by the taxidermy and stained glass signs, perhaps.)



Most of the girls picked teddy bears to paint, one chose a duck, and Kate got a cute fish.



The girls all had a great time singing along with the Frozen soundtrack while they painted. And dancing around, toward the end. It was a pretty exuberant bunch. (Ah, to be young and energetic!)



This ended up being a very colorful fish.  We'll get it back in about a week, after it's been glazed and fired. Now I want to paint something too!

My First Daffodils

It's April!  And I have daffodils!



I've always loved daffodils, and always wanted a place to grow some of my own. They are all over town right now, but I'm enjoying being able to look out the window and see my very own little host of golden daffodils, tossing their heads in the breeze.


I'm looking foward to seeing them multiply every year.  After we get the front edge of the yard fixed up I want to put in some different kinds--maybe some of those pink double daffodils. Fancy!


Kate likes them too!