After a few hot sweaty days of work...

Well, our first afters are here. This week has been about the yard...the front yard. We have a plan for the right side of the house where water sort of doesn't flow, but we'll get to that another week, and the backyard is a whole different beast. So Monday we dug up all of the old shrubs and plants. We used some shrubs that had been planted on the side right before we moved in, and then a few others that were bought. We put in pots, a bench, and bird bath. Dick and Jeff dug out a Japanese Maple that Nancy had in a pot in her backyard, and planted that on the left side. We also redid stuff on our front door...bronze. I think our front yard is looking fabulous. A month of growing should really bring it out. The only snafu we had was the storm push our tree over, but it didn't harm it. We also have red mud painted on the grass, so after a rain or sprinklers we should be greener. Jeff got the water meters even. There was about a three inch difference in height, so after a lot of looking the perfect part was found to raise them. He's hooking up the watering system for the front stuff now. And as always is thinking how he can get the yard greener, more lush, and thick.
We also made a couple of runs to get some decorative stuff. Our mantle is looking good. We have an end table. We're coming along.

Before:


After:


Right side--our cushions weren't on the bench at the time:


Left side:


My handsome husband goofing around: