#55 Oooooh! and Arrrrrgh...

First the "oooooh!". I decided to get the outside decorations up since it was a mild 53 degrees this afternoon. It's fun having everything bright and shining:

And now for the "arrrrgh" - which is my code for : Projects That Challenge the Homeowner. Ain't nuthin' simple sometimes and I knew this one would be messy, but decided to take it on anyway. Suffice it to say I've ditched plans to paint the living room and music room before Christmas, let alone get a start on the two sofa slipcovers, but I will get the bookcases and adjacent wall repaired and painted. I mean, the bookcases never got painted when we painted everything else originally ( a mere 11 years ago!) and the wall was water damaged about 4 years ago. I think it's time to have these off my list, don't you? Here's what I'm working on:

The plaster was covered with about three layers of wallpaper and that was topped with pale blue enamel paint. Just, uh, lovely.

Pretty yuck, huh?
A great example of efflorescence (fuzzy white stuff) if I do say so myself!

The backyard is pretty much a mess, too, but at least some progress has been made and Landscaper Dude hopes to come back later this week to do more. Here's what I'm trying to keep Jake out of:

Moguls?!?

 I love the way the path curves!

 More curving path - and I loooove having the old gazebo gone!

(I'm going to train the New Dawn climbing rose up the tree in the spring.)

We decided to bite the bullet and have the cement slab removed and replaced with pavers.

(Perfect place for dancing when we have parties!)

That's it for today. Hope you're having a great week!

-karen anne