Get off my yard, sonny.

Georgie says, "Suck it, old yard!"

This picture is from last fall (spring hasn't sprung quite as fully just yet!), but it illustrates why exactly we needed to go and order ourselves an instalawn...

Gross!

So yesterday, despite the monsoon we were having here, the guys showed up and put in a whole new yard for us. And by the time I got home from work, it cleared up and we could actually stand back and enjoy the beauty. Sigh.

It looks like a furry Fraggle!

We can't walk on it just yet, and we definitely can't let the dogs loose on it (so it's back to the old leash/front yard/walk routine), but in a few weeks we can all roll around and revel in it.

In other new-around-here news, we FINALLY painted the LAST room in the house (and the second to last hallway left to do), the sun porch. Nothing drastic, but we went from dirty country yellow to fresh pale yellow (the same yellow we painted the kitchen).

Old. New.

It just looks that much nicer, feels that much better, and makes that much more sense with the rest of the house. (We also painted the downstairs hallway that leads to the two spare bedrooms and the guest bathroom.) All we have left to do is the staircase that leads upstairs. Eventually... For now, we will just enjoy our even brighter, beautifuller sun porch.

Don't you want to come lounge here with us?

Boys and beaches and ladies and balls.

I guess spring springing (then unspringing and being all winter-like again) has really kept me occupied. But I'm here. Still good. Loving my house more and more every day, and loving living in such a lovely little town, eagerly anticipating warm-weather beaching. Needless to say, the past few weeks have passed pretty quickly, with visitors, trips to the garden center, and general enjoying-being-outside-ness.

Speaking of, I'm madly in love with my front porch. It faces due west, so it's brightly lit come late afternoon and it stays lit until the sun sets behind the house across the street (between 8:30 and 9 right now). I can sit on my chair, drink a glass of wine, and watch the town go by. It's also deeply set, so as long as there aren't hurricane-force winds, you can sit and watch a good thunderstorm there, too.

I say this all today, the first sunny and warm(ish) day after a week of cold nonsense (which followed a week of sun and heat). Brad's out golfing, so I've spent the evening reading and drinking out front, only taking a brief break for a delightfully French-inspired meal. Scrambled eggs, toast, sardines, asparagus, and, of course, wine. It was heavenly.

Here are some sights from recent goings ons...

My family visited for Mother's Day. Little man loves the beach.

...and smearing dandelions at parades.

Some special ladies visited. And we harassed the wine pourer guy.

The ladies loved the balls on the Bluff.

I bought a bat plant to attract hummingbirds. Cutest ever.

I also planted tomatoes and peppers. Fingers crossed.

And I got to "enjoy" some Red Lobster with my family during a quick trip home.

What more can a girl ask for?