A Step Back

I frequently get comments questioning the size of our property, or suggesting we must live on a large piece of land.  We do not.  We live on a standard 50 by 100 city lot.  The yard shrunk quite a bit when we put an addition on the back of the house in 2007, when I was pregnant with The Girl.  But I've also removed almost every piece of sod over the last 12 years, including the parking strip, in order to make room for more plants.

I do a lot of close up plant pictures 'cause I'm constantly feeling like something needs to be done in the yard, or some corner isn't quite picture perfect yet.  But today I'm gonna take a step back and show you the whole picture.  A lawn that needs to be mowed, the compost bin in the corner, kid toys laying around, and all.  I didn't get every part of the yard, but it's a start, for those of you who have asked.

First up, the front yard.

The south side that I talk about all the time.

Look close at what The Girl is holding.

I'm creating a monster.

This is looking toward the front gate, that was pictured above, from the backyard.

At the end of the pathway, in the backyard, is the shed and the kid corner.

Here it is from another angle.

Not a lot of color goin' on yet.

Unless you count the flamingo.
 

From the kid corner looking north, toward the rest of the yard

The back bed, which is the east end of the lot.

East bed, looking north.

Looking west, from the back bed, toward the back of the house.

The north side and the fire pit area.

Border between the fire pit area and the deck.

Looking south, toward the kid corner, from the deck.

The deck from the patio.

The patio is a nightmare right now, so I'll give you a shelf picture.  :o)

So there ya go.

The yard in a nutshell.

I'll try to do better about showing the whole picture.

You're trying to figure out where in the heck I put 96 impatiens, aren't you?
Once the annuals start fillin' in, I'll get some pictures of the areas I missed.
Now, I'm attempting to round things up for a long weekend.
I'll be unplugged for three days, so see ya'll on Monday.
 

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Another Kid Apron

I busted out the sewing machine again.  My niece's birthday was last week and I decided to make her an apron like the Hello Kitty one I made for the neighbor girl.

I used the same tutorial for the apron itself and the double-fold bias tape.  I added the ruffle and pockets again, as well.

I had leftover fabric from The Girl's ladybug party, so that's what I used.  Instead of Hello Kitty, I did three different sized flowers and attached them with the same heat n' bond stuff I had used for the kitty face.  Then I did a zigzag stitch around each one.

Here's the latest, I-suck-at-sewing, project:

The sewing machine is still sitting on the floor in the dining room.

Remember the 10-minute Patio Curtain I made two years ago?

Yeah well, the squirrels chewed through the pocket hole last summer.

So I've got the drop cloth in the dryer and hope to be hangin' up a new one before the day is over.

For some reason, the pile on that side of the house has gotten bigger.

Please take a look at my sidebar for the parties I link up to.