Tuesday, July 26, 2016

WHEN SOMETHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN...










It has been so hot here...

HOW HOT IS IT?






Well, 
so hot that even the squirrel 
needs to give up his 
quest for nuts...






...and just 
chill out!






We chilled out in San Francisco 
to celebrate with Tami and the family,
 for her 13th year 
as a walker in the 
Avon Walk for Breast Cancer
 and her 13th year 
as a breast cancer survivor.






We are all 
so proud of you, 
my girl!


Now
 for the rest 
of the story.






This
 tells the
 whole story...






...so find a leafy spot,
 and while the cooling breeze
 stirs the wind chimes...






...grab a glass of lemonade 
and listen to
 how something old
 can be made
 new again.






You might remember 
the Secret Garden.

 It was a place
 of peace, 
a place of pride, 
and a place where we could escape 
and enjoy the serenity
 of nature 
around us...






...also
 it was a place to enjoy 
a good meal and a cool drink.

 The ultimate space 
for relaxation 
UNTIL...
they moved in!







I won't go into full detail
 on my thoughts about birds 
and I apologize to bird lovers everywhere, 
but suffice is to say...
I love to hear them sing 
and I love them in a ceramic state 
or any other inanimate objects 
(as you will notice), 
but I do not love 
to share my personal space 
with the real thing.






They came two years in a row 
and their visits,
 while cute at a distance,
 were not conducive 
to a relaxed 
state of mind...






...nothing 
was sacred 
anymore..






...and can you imagine,
 just because a bird house is there,
 they would have
 to use it??





So 
the Secret Garden,
 once again, 
was locked behind
 the ivy covered gate...






...that is,
 until the Captain and his apprentice, 
who has now been promoted 
to journeyman, 
took on the job 
of bringing the Secret Garden
 back to life.

 It has been 
a long labor of love,
 done on a strict budget
 and has used almost all
 of what we 
already had.






We did go for a quote
to have screens made for the porch...
$250.00 
plus all the wood that was needed,
 possibly an additional $150.00.

 We ended up at Home Depot
and purchased screening 
for a total of around $50.00. 
 With a staple gun 
it was actually
 pretty easy
 to install.






Instead of using redwood,
 which is super expensive, 
we opted for pressure treated wood...
you know the kind 
that looks like a telephone pole 
that has seen one too many 
garage sale signs...






...then covered it with 
redwood lath strips
 to hide all the ugliness 
and the stapled screening.






Now
 we can eat and relax 
in solitude again 
and we don't have to share 
with anyone, or anything,
 we don't want to!









There is still 
a pretty little garden spot 
under the gazebo
 that is seen from the screened porch
 where the birds may come 
and sip from,
 and bathe in,
 the fountain 
and mingle with the memories of 
Mary Lennox, Colin, and Dickins
 and all their mystical woodland creatures, 
along with a few hot squirrels...




...and a mother 
who still needs to feed
 her baby 
even though it 
is trying to 
leave the nest.






"However 
many years she lived, 
Mary always felt 
that she should never forget
 the first morning 
when her garden 
began to grow."

Frances Hodgson Burnett, "The Secret Garden"




Side view of the gazebo with the orb hanging in the center




You will remember seeing these objects used elsewhere in past posts




An old porch post that came from a neighbor when we moved here almost 30 years ago. The medicine chest we have had in storage for quite some time and I am debating on painting it green




This is the vent from the gas stove in our bedroom on the other side of the wall. It is quite an eye sore so I made a blackboard out of the door of an old wall cupboard to hide it.  Since we turn the pilot light off in the summer I can hang it here but when winter comes it will have to be removed because, as it says, it gets pretty hot. 






A twilight picture taken through the screen



Top of the potting bench. I stenciled the GPS coordinates for Grass Valley on the back of an old board



My great-grandmother's old steamer trunk that I'm sure came over from England in the 1800's




The only new objects that were used in this space are the back pillows that I got from K-Mart for $9 each. I stenciled a bird on them just to make them stand out. I painted the seat cushions with General Finishes Halcyon Blue milk paint and then waxed them with a clear wax...



...it covered in one coat




The perfect spot for my Mother's Day gift from the kids




A pretty evening view




A pair of pressed back chairs that we replaced the cane seats with pierced boards which I am looking for cushions to sit on and an old drop leaf table that has sat out in the weather for 30 years. There is just a little of the chipped green paint left and we decided not to repaint. I really like the rustic look of it




A bunch of alstroemeria from the grocery store, three bunches for $12, makes a beautiful and long lasting bouquet.




A mixture from The Dollar Store, Pier One and Home Goods set a pretty table 






One corner 





Another corner with the potting bench/drink station




Up close and personal with the potting bench/drink station




The door leading into the master bedroom off the porch. This side of the house used to be an alcove between the master bath on the right side and one of the sun porches which is now my storage room on the left. We added the roof and the porch decking and the door into the bedroom was a window. We wanted to be able to enjoy the porch this summer so we didn't paint the walls. That will be a project for next spring. We are also going to be adding pea gravel to the Secret Garden. There is some there now but it needs to be refreshed and we will cover the gazebo floor with it also.






For all of you dear friends, 
who still are holding true 
to the myth that I am a gardener:

 It was really late in the season
to put in my flowers
 and there wasn't much still available 
at the nursery.





I knew that I wanted 
to plant some impatience in the pots.
  I knew that because 
we won't get too much sun
 in the Secret Garden
 that they would do well there.

 I had been wanting to have 
a white garden 
as it would look so pretty 
in the moonlight,
 but as I said, 
it was late in the season 
and not too many flowers were available.

  I did spot one flat of impatience
 that looked pretty healthy, 
even though it was of assorted colors,
 so that was my choice.

 As some of you 
might have already surmised, 
what I actually got was vinca,
 which thrive in the hot and dry sun.

 So,
 if you have been hanging onto
 that impossible myth, 
you may now let go 
and I won't ever
 hold it
 against you!





I am, however,
 a little proud 
of the topiaries 
that I trimmed up 
from some blobs
 of heavenly bamboo!





Thanks for sticking with me.
  It has turned out to be
 a pretty long post 
and I hope you enjoyed 
the new "old" Secret Garden.

 It is a "rustic, rusty, radically refined" little nest;
 a bird and bug free zone, 
that is just cozy enough
 for the three of us.






...Judy...






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