A Little of This and That......

Well, I am back!  Nope I didn't go anywhere, just been trying to get healthy again, and doing some "housekeeping" type things.  We've been working outside, inside, all over, we've gotten a lot done, and yet I look around at my house and sigh, because it is a mess and it looks like I've been doing nothing!  Because of that I am joining Blissfully Ever After to do some spring cleaning.  She has a great printable list for everything you need (and don't like) to do to get your house ready! So, here is what we have been up to.
This was the state of my family room last week.  I'd like to say that it will all be cleaned up by today, but it won't.  The majority of the mess you see is stuff I am selling at our local children's consignment sale.  It started on March 3, and will run until the 11th for anyone in the area.

This project was a family affair.  Hubby wanted to stain our front porch floor, but we had to wait a few years because we used treated lumber for the floor, and it has to dry out more.  Little Monkey and I did the sweeping, and I did a little sanding, Hubby did most of the sanding, cleaning, and staining.  He used a product called Australian Timber Oil. 

close up of the color

Isn't it pretty? I am loving how it turned out.  It takes a while to cure, we were a little impatient and didn't wait till it was consistently above 50 degrees.  By the end of the week we should be able to put the porch back the way it should be!

Lou, you notice the equipment neatly stacked at the back, that was the stuff in the driveway when you were here, so much better!

 

This is a project I started in December, and I have been working on it a little at a time all winter on the warm days (there have been lots of those!)  I finished this side two Saturday's ago.  It will hopefully look prettier this spring and summer.  Its a bit messy looking at the moment I know.

This side was almost done, then we decided to redo it.  Hubby started on the redo, and I have been working on it on warm days.  This side has herbs and lavender plants.

We also went to our local salvage yard recently and found a few things, this being the best buy of all in my opinion!

This is also a small section of brick we decided to add after the fact, I sitll need to actually set them in the ground.

This old iron headboard turned garden gate is going to go in our yard, not sure where yet, but it will.  I picture it with a clematis climbing all over it and blooming with a profusion of flowers! Oh yeah, and this was $23, maybe more than I should have paid, but I think it was a deal.

Last week Hubby worked on moving our walkway.  You can see here where the original walkway went.  The original walkway had sunk into the ground so much that part of it was under water when it rained.  This meant a whole lot of dirt got tracked into the house, which is sort of annoying if you have just mopped the floor.  We used slate tiles, they were end pieces from the manufacturing of slate roofing tiles, they were a great deal!  Hubby raised the walkway about 3 inches, and curved it out a little farther, now we are tracking in a whole lot less dirt and mess. 

It was perfect timing because on Monday this happened!!

The weatherman was WAY off in his predictions, rain and a few flurries turned into 8 inches of snow!!  It was lots of fun, and Little Monkey thought it was the best birthday present!!  She and Hubby and Little L, played out in the snow while I stood on the porch and took pictures. 

Aside from all those things, we have had company 3 times, which is always a lot of fun, and I have been trying to keep my house clean, which is always not fun and doesn't seem to be as easy as it should be. :)  We've also had the usual assortment of colds, yet again.  Seems to be a bad year for those!  I've been doing a bit of sewing as well, and will have something to show you soon!  I hope you all are having a great week!
Melissa