Hey, folks!  It just occurred to me that on May 17^th, we will celebrate our 4-year anniversary of mountain home ownership! The time has flown by, and so have the changes.  So…I thought it might be fun to do before and after pics, so you can get a sense of the progress that’s been made!

Spring has arrived in the Georgia mountains in a big way, bringing with it near record-high pollen levels, and of course the gorgeous plants and trees that cause our unending misery! Greg and I have been sneezing, coughing & nose-blowing for close to 2 weeks now, with no end in sight.  He claims it’s a cold, in which case he’s definitely not on my “best of buds” list, since he got sick first and gave it to me!  On the other hand, I think our sinuses are totally overloaded, because this odious malady does not resemble any cold I’ve ever had.  But you know what?  If a box of Kleenex a day is the price for this kind of beauty, right outside my front door, I will gladly pay!  Below are pics of my lonicera (honeysuckle) “Major Wheeler”, which the humingbirds love, as well as some of the azaleas under the front porch:

My current project is exacerbating the nasal misery. This week, since there was a break in the rain, I have been painting exterior doors. The original color for of the doors was no-color & no trim, either. I then painted them a SW flavor called “Robust Red”, which is really a shade of coral; it was chosen to coordinate with the faded tomato-soup-hued metal roof that was on the house when we be bought it.  However, the exteriors of the new French doors, that were installed last year on both ends of the dining room addition, were chipping badly.  Whatever plastic-y material on the doors that is used to frame around the glass did not hold paint.  So Dad primed the bad spots with Zinsser shellac primer, and we hope for the best. (Note: the first 2 pics are the front of the house when we purchased it; how sad, right?)

The Robust Red door:

Now, I must admit that when it comes to color, I am a bit “coral-ed” out.  Having used it so liberally in the main living area, I was ready for a new hue outside.   The goal was to find a color that would complement all of the plants and trees surrounding the house, but still be bright enough to spark the grays on the siding (SW “Cityscape”) and trim (SW “Iron Ore”). On a trip to Lowe’s, I found an Allen & Roth paint chip called “Spritz of Lime”, and had a quart mixed up in a semi-gloss finish. (As an aside, I chose Olympic paint with primer, and I have to say, I will never paint with anything other than SW paint, ever again! I applied three coats, and would swear there is still some coral peeking through!)

I love the results!  The color reminds me of a Mojito, or a Lime Rickey, or a Margarita, or Sprite, or Mountain Dew.  (Perhaps I was very thirsty when I made this color selection?)  At any rate, painting the front door sparked a whole exterior spruce-up plan for the property (many pics forthcoming soon!).  Below is a photo of the front door, adorned with a newly-made wreath:

And here is a peek at the back deck (before and after), with newly painted French doors, and my work-in-progress rock garden.  Greg has a structural project build going on there, that I will unveil very soon.

One of the best roses I have ever planted resides in this garden. I think I paid $4 for this miniature variety, whose colors resemble a Jacob’s Ladder climber.  This little plant blooms all spring, throughout the summer, and never quits until the first frost; it is also free of black mold or insect pests that stress other varieties of roses.  The only thing I do to it is sprinkle chopped banana peels around the base of the plant every other month (or when I remember to do it!)

And now for a few words of wisdom about shoes, which I must admit, are my shopping downfall (or Achilles heel? ;>) I love shoes, and try to buy a pair in every color of the rainbow, especially for this ”toes exposed” time of year.  Greg does not understand this need of mine, but I try to patiently explain that underwear and shoes are the only wearables that I cannot make myself.  For instance:

 I can (and do) make my own jewelry

I can sew my own clothes (and sometimes do)

I can make my own purses (never have, but I can!)

But I cannot make blue, pink, turquoise, lime green, or yellow shoes.   (I mean, really, unless you are decked out in a LBD, who wears black shoes in the summer??)

For those of you who share my love of souliers, here is a little printable I made just for us: