New Deck

My home needed a new deck. I knew that when I bought it, but rather than have the seller fix/rebuild, I decided to keep that project for myself so that I could get what I wanted. Due to the slope of the lot and a few other considerations, I chose to have it built rather than doe the work myself. Safely was more important than saving myself some money.

My old deck was sloping, the footers were rotting, and I wasn't comfortable with the stability. It also lacked railings and the stairs weren't up to code.

Old deck

To replace the deck as it was, would have required a permit from the city so we lowered it and added steps down out of the house. It is also a bit smaller, and made of synthetic material which means I won't have to restain/reseal it every few years.

New deck

The crew from Rick's Custom Fencing and Decking did an awesome job.

My garden

I had the idea to put in a raised bed so I could grow tomatoes. I love tomatoes but I am not impressed by the ones you can buy in the grocery store.

We got one raised bed put together and filled. And had enough soil left over for second one. Now I have two, and my garden has grown to include bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans, sugar snap peas, strawberries, oregano and two kinds of basil as well as three types of tomatoes.

Newly planted, May 20.

June 11. 

45 Years

Happy Anniversary to Mom & Dad.

Strawberries!

It's that time of year. Actually, the season's a bit early this year. We've had some really weird weather.
Today my mother, aunt and I went to pick "just a few" and ended up with 42 pounds of the Benton variety! They're really yummy, but I don't think we needed that many.

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent Memorial Day Weekend at Newport. We walked on the beach, ate carmel corn in Old Town, had dinner at the Newport Cafe, and relaxed. It was pretty typical of our weekends at the Coast.

But the tall ships were in town. The Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain are replicas of 18th century ships. They are owned by the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, and each year they sail the Pacific Coast. The crews are all volunteer, and they spend anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks in each port. They were regular visitors to the Port of Brookings when I lived down there, but I never took the time to visit. It was fun to finally tour the ships.

Birthday Boy!

He turned 4 last week! We had a tractor party. His momma did a great job with the (cup)cakes and it was a great party.

Life....

“We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come. -”    Joseph Campbell