Needles and Pens

Sorry I'm a little late with this (story of my life these days), but the challenge project for June is #12 -- on my list, the front porch and back deck. With any luck, I can tackle this one with some help from my hubby and still play catch-up in the kitchen at the same time. So here's the front porch, from the front of the house. It doesn't look too bad, but it's definitely time to repaint the rails and stain the deck. A little landscaping wouldn't hurt either. And this is the view walking up to the porch from the driveway... Yikes. The railroad ties supporting the walkway are beginning to rot and the whole thing has a definite tilt these days. My husband just mentioned this today, so hopefully I can get him on board to work on it soon... (And I think the snowboard can safely be put away now, too.) Here's the back deck, which gets lots of use -- and it shows. Coming up the stairs from the back: View from the sliding glass door: View fr...

I way overdid it today in the tackling department, but I guess that makes up for yesterday, which I spent wandering from one room to the next, trying to decide where to start and never actually starting anything. I really needed the Tackle it Tuesday motivation and, apparently, the exercise. Man, are my legs stiff tonight! Several random ideas kind of culminated into one big tackle today. We had our first frost last night, so we pulled in the "summer outdoor" plants last evening before clearing a place for them inside. So Tackle One was to do some rearranging and find a home for the plants. And, ta-dahh! I even got motivated enough to clear off the "bottomless" clutter pile on the kitchen counter. Note the treadmill missing from the corner above? That would be Tackle Number Two. My all-or-nothing weight loss goals of earlier this year did indeed come to... nothing. In fact, I've gained back the fifteen pounds I lost, plus a few more. Ack! The diet has been p...

Second year, the clematis is thriving... A profusion of lilies... Purple Coneflowers... and the view from the chaise lounge... "All of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today." ~ Dale Carnegie

...where I regain my sanity...

I was poking around in the garden yesterday, looking for signs of life... and I found one! Several, actually. Not the type I was expecting, but it was sure a nice surprise to see butterflies flitting about so soon after all that snow. This species is new to me, so I'm searching through thumbnails at Butterflies and Moths of North America , trying to make an identification... ... hundreds of thumbnails later, I may have found it! I think it's a Mourning Cloak butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa). I sent my photo and sighting info to the state coordinator at the site, so we'll see if I get a for-sure confirmation. Looks pretty close, though -- only mine's prettier. lol Amazing how easy it is to get completely sidetracked with a thing like this!