Monday, July 12, 2021

Welcome to Our Home!

The day has finally arrived ~ our landscaping project is complete!  Finished!  Done!  Much labor went in to this project and it actually feels a little strange (in a good way) to not have it hanging over our heads anymore.   We ordered all of our plants from Plants Express and we are extremely happy with what we got.  After we placed our order it was sent to a local nursery.  The plants came to us in great condition and they are starting to flourish.
 
So without further ado, please join me in a walk around our yard. Let's start in the front.  This is on the side of our driveway.  Three banana trees and a Japanese maple tree:
 


Between the sidewalk and the street, we have agave with stone.  We used leftover flagstone the fill it out.  We wanted simple, drought tolerant for these spaces:
 


Across the driveway is another Japanese maple tree:
 

In our planters (you remember the planters that started this whole project?) we have succulents, agave and geraniums:



Along the side wall are two types of Canna lilies, Tropicannas and Chocolate Infernos:
 



Across from the cannas is a bougainvillea:
 


And our third Japanese maple tree is between the cannas and the bougainvillea:
 
 
Under the kitchen window are geraniums:


Directly across from them are three more Tropicannas:


 
On the other side of that wall are three rose bushes:


A view from the front door:



Looking left of the front door, we have calla lilies and more roses:



I thought this guy was perfect for the back corner:



On the other side of the wall from the roses is a cordyline:

I tried my hand at some panoramic shots:



Now let's head into the back!  This is from the gate shown in the above picture.  Just outside my kitchen window is another variety of canna lilies - the Intrigue:

I can see this one from the window at my kitchen sink.  It has been growing like crazy!  It was about 24 inches when I planted it on May 29th.  I measured it on July 1st and it was 34 inches.  Today it is 59 inches!  That is two feet in eleven days!!


Next to the Intrigues are four palm trees:
 

 Another panoramic view:


Along the back wall, starting in the corner is a bougainvillea.  It needs a little attention so it won't lean so much:


Along the back wall are more rose bushes, geraniums, and a palm tree cluster:




Continuing along the back wall, behind the pool are a variety of succulents and another cordyline:
 



Turning the corner, we start with another cordyline:
 

We have more geraniums, Wyoming canna lilies, another Tropicanna, and one more cordyline:


These are the only mature geraniums we bought.  We originally bought 4 flats of 16 plants in four inch pots for 64 total.  We planted all of them and needed just a few more.  We could only find larger ones locally.


This is one of the few plants that was not removed for this project.  We call it the "jungle plant" which seems to fit:


From the jungle plant to the gate are more geraniums, Intrigue cannas, and two more bougainvilleas:
 




Now we'll turn around and walk along the house.  A few more geraniums:
 
 
cast-iron:
 

and variegated shell ginger:


 
Along the back patio we start with a couple more calla lilies:


Around the corner is a geranium and two rose bushes.  Some of our geraniums have really struggled and all of our roses went into shock when we planted them.  These two are the last ones we planted, so they're the last to recover:



Our final Tropicannas:


Even when the flowers fade and are pruned off, the leaves are spectacular:


Our final geranium and rose bush:



And a couple more panoramas of the back:



And there it is!  Thanks for visiting!

Friday, July 2, 2021

Friday Foodie

Summer is in full swing around here and that means cooking foods that require less time in the kitchen.  I did a round up of summer recipes last year that you can find here.  One favorite that appears on Les' wish list each summer is Lemonade Pie.  This recipe came from Grandma Luella and I have made it many times through this years.  While shopping for the ingredients, my store did not have frozen lemonade.  Bottled lemonade doesn't work, I needed the concentration of frozen.  The only choices were orange or pineapple juice.  I went with pineapple and it was an excellent choice!


Pineapple Pie

6 oz. frozen pineapple juice concentrate (bring to room temperature)
4 oz. low fat cream cheese, softened
7 oz. fat free sweet condensed milk
8 oz. lite Cool Whip
1 graham cracker crust

Mix pineapple juice and cream cheese well
Add sweet condensed milk, whip until foamy
Fold in Cool Whip until smooth - do not over-stir or your pie will be runny and not set.  This works best if your Cool Whip is still partially frozen.
Add to pie crust and freeze for 1 hour or until set.
 
This was the perfect mix of sweet and tangy.  It is also cool and refreshing with no cooking required.  Makes 8 servings.

July 5th edit:  I should have added that the original recipe makes two pies.  That makes buying the ingredients a lot easier, so if you're feeding a family or a crowd, the original ingredient list is below.  You can also use full fat cream cheese and sweet condensed milk if you want.  Divide the pie ingredients evenly in the two pie crusts.

1 can (12 oz.) frozen pineapple juice concentrate (bring to room temperature)
8 oz. low fat cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 oz.) fat free sweet condensed milk
16 oz. lite Cool Whip
2 graham cracker crust

Thursday, July 1, 2021

Happy Plants!

 
I know I keep saying we are almost done with our landscaping, and we are, but we're not there yet.  All of our plants are in the ground, weed barrier and drip irrigation lines are in, but we ran out of decorative rocks.  We'll be getting one final order in the next day or two, but until then, let me give you an update:

 
Our grass went in on Monday, June 7th.  Naturally, the weather heated up, so we've been watering like crazy.  All the watering is paying off, so much that Les had to mow the lawn yesterday.  It's so thick and lush...


While Les was mowing and edging, I was pruning.  I am amazed at the growth of so many of our plants.  Many needed more space, so I moved some of the rock and cut back the weed barrier.  These are Intrigue Canna Lilies, some of the first plants we planted:


If you look closely, you can compare where they are on the wall.  They've grown approximately 6 inches in the past month!

I even discovered some new shoots coming out of the ground:


The change in our banana trees is astounding!



I've never considered myself a gardener or one with a green thumb, but Les and I are both really enjoying the fruits of our labor.  There's a lot to be said about doing the work yourself!

Friday, June 25, 2021

Friday Fitness Surprise

 I realize I've been pretty quiet here on the blog this month.  We have been BUSY!  All of our plants are now in - a total of 11 trees and 158 plants!  Yes, you read that correctly.  We have six trees in the front with 56 plants, and five trees in the back with 102 plants.  Our final plant went in Monday night:


All the weed barrier and irrigation lines are in.  We have just a little more decorative rock to do.  I'll do a full reveal next week.  But here are a couple shots:



I headed to the trail for a run this morning.  About 2.5 miles up, I saw these guys:



I made it just passed the four mile mark before turning around.



I was enjoying myself on the way down, but also aware that cattle could be around the next curve.  Much to my surprise, there were three calves!  Two of them were walking across the trail just as I came around the curve.  By the time I had  my phone out, they were already off the trail.  I had to stop for a few more shots:




8.17 miles total in one hour, 37 minutes.  Almost 1,000 feet of climbing (and descending) and 626 calories burned.  My weight loss has been stalled for the past month.  I hadn't gained, but I also hadn't lost anything.  I was finally down another pound this morning for a total of 27 pounds and 28.5 inches in 26 weeks.

Monday, June 14, 2021

Mirror, Mirror


 
My YouVersion Bible study last week was called, "Daily Jewels- Aligning Your Crown As A Daughter Of The King."  The description for the plan said, "Look around. In the midst of chaos, there is always a jewel to be found. Daily Jewels is a 7-day devotion that calls you to boldly align your crown as a daughter of the King. Join me on a treasure hunt to discover the extraordinary jewels hidden in the ordinary places."
 
I thought Saturday morning's was outstanding.  It was called, "The Dreaded Mirror."   The author wrote, "I have made a habit of using the words “fat, ugly, plain, old, and gross” when I see what is reflected back and there are just some nights I don’t want to face it. You can basically say, “I beat myself up.” "  She continued, "The feeling of wanting to be invisible consumed me, until God showed me in Genesis that “We were created in His image.” I read that scripture one day and the Lord gently said, “Stop bashing me.”"
 
This reminded me of a Bible Study Les taught more than a decade ago.  I blogged about it and decided to re-post the entire thing:
 


Les taught a really good Bible study last Wednesday night. "God's Image versus Self Image." He brought out so many points about how our self image is based on family or friends or Hollywood instead of remembering that we are made in God's image.

He challenged us to look in the mirror first thing each morning and say to ourselves, "YOU are made in the image of God." I've been trying to remember to do that each morning. If I remember I am made in God's image I'm going to do a better job taking care of myself. Les and I had a really funny exchange as we were getting ready for church Sunday morning:
Les: What do you see in the mirror?
Me: Bushy eyebrows...
Les: Uh!! (with much eye rolling and shaking of head)
Me: Well, that's what I was looking at! I know, I'm made in the image of God. I guess God has bushy eyebrows...
What a difference it makes when we aren't trying to look like the latest rising star or the thinnest runway model or the tallest basketball player! We all have days when we would rather not even look in the mirror. On those days when you're looking at eyebrows that are bushy, or hair that is flat, or a figure that isn't what it use to be, remember:

You are:
  • Made in the Image of God
  • Chosen by God
  • A Child of God
  • An Heir of God
  • A Joint-Heir with Christ
  • A King and Priest Unto God
  • The Apple of His Eye
Feeling better, now?

Saturday, June 12, 2021

My New Coffee Spot

I enjoyed coffee out on the patio this morning.  My view was a tad different from a few weeks ago...



As of this morning we have planted 25 plants in our backyard and 50 (FIFTY!!!) plants in the front.  We have about 10-12 to go in the front and 25-30 in the back.
 


My favorites so far are definitely the varieties of Canna Lilies.  We have Tropicannas and Chocolate Infernos in the front: 
 
 
and Intrigues in the back:
 

We planted three Japanese Maple trees.  
 
 
These came in 15 gallon buckets, so the holes were big!
 

Big enough to climb in.  Les said, "now act like you're a tree..."


We have three Red Leaf Banana trees.  The front one needed some extra stabilization:
 

We got a second plant order on Wednesday and will receive our final order next Friday.


We even have plants in our new planter.  We're doing the upper planter first, using the lower to stage everything since we don't want to walk all over our new grass.


But the real star of the show is this guy, the mastermind behind it all!  
 

It's been a ton of work, but we've done it together.  When it's finished, we'll be able to enjoy it together. 

Us on our 30th Anniversary a couple weeks ago!


Verse of the Day