What will become of it?

This is what's left of the electrical panel for our sailboat; a 1972 Helms. I would love to have seen it salvaged and remain on the boat. The old knobs are just too cool. But the workings are just too far gone and it needs to be replaced. So, being the creative type person that I am; I'm turning it into a mixed media art piece.

Tulip Time in Holland, MI

I was going to title this "Tulip Time is over"; because if you lived in a town with a large festival that attracts thousands of people and makes your normal life moving around a lot more difficult for a week; you would say that too. Anyway, I really do like Tulip Time, not for the crowds or the junk food, but for the tulips. I LOVE them and we've got them all over town in all different colors. This fall I'm going to plant some in front of our house. I couldn't decide what color or colors to pick until I saw the ones above. I think I'm going to pair these with some pale yellow ones. They'll go perfect with the coloring of our house. Now I just need to find out what kind of tulip these are...

Watch my garden grow!

Two or more years ago, I tore out all the shrubs from the area by our front door and last year promised Bob that I would have something in there this year. Last week, we leveled out the area, using our first wheelbarrow in 15 years of marriage to haul a ton of dirt to the back yard. Well, this past Saturday, it got finished! I even went nuts and planted marigolds in the windowboxes and had enough for a hanging basket and two large pots. We had bought two flats and ended up returning one to get more mulch. That area took five bags! The rocks were already there, in fact, we didn't even use them all, the rest are along the road. Can you spot the two fake rocks? They are covering utilities and I intend to do some faux painting on them soon to make them look more "rockish". The plants in the front are: Blue Fescue grass, Batchelor Buttons, Purple Fountain grass and some kind of lavendar, I forget the exact name. They look a little sparce at the moment, but figure two to three years before the plants reach their full size and maturity.

Yesterday, I bought and planted six strawberry plants in one of the three half-wine barrels we bought to place in the area where we tore out some shrubs in the back yard. More vegetables to plant when the selection of plants is better. We'll probably do that after Tulip Time.

Oh, and I finally am going to get my clothesline up. Bought one of those retractable jobbies from Menards on sale yesterday. Bob loves the smell of sheets dried on the line and we haven't been able to do that at this house yet. I can't wait.