Time for Rejuvenation

And I'm not talking about light fixtures this time! This Memorial Weekend was just a little different from last year. If anyone recalls, last year we spent Memorial Weekend removing all the trim from the 2nd floor. Such began the story of the wood pile...

Steve and I went to Galena, which is a nice historic small town in Jo Davies County in Illinois. It's about a three hour drive from Chicago. Unlike most of Illinois, it's quite hilly and has lovely countryside.

We went canoeing, horseback riding, had massages, went antiquing and had some nice dinners out.

Of course, we had to check out the local architecture. Here is me in front of the oldest home in Galena. In Chicago, we have virtually no buildings this old because of the fire. Most of the homes were on the smaller size, but very charming nonetheless.



I really really love old ironwork.
Here you see the native and wild phlox, which was flowering everywhere and smelled beautiful. I wish I had taken photos of some of the gardens because there are some really great flower gardeners in Galena.

Unlike last year, we weren't working on the house, but I can assure you, we aren't going anywhere in that regard.

I'll be posting soon on the Front Door Re-Painting and the awnings.

Also, I keep noticing that the solid oak stairs to the basement have only one or two layers of paint on them. It is tempting me to relieve them of this brown paint. You know what they say about us strippers don't you? It's really hard to stop once you start on that road.

As the grass grows...

The lawn is coming along nicely. I mowed it for the first time this season today as we had to give the grass a chance to take.

Its funny because Mojo insists on walking along the "path" where the conduit was buried last year. I think he likes the feel of baby grass under his delicate feet.

I've been remiss on blogging I know. I was in Las Vegas for a trade show for a week and that was fun. Las Vegas is such the opposite of everything I deal with in my every day life, I actually find it refreshing-funny.

I got some "me" time and saw a show, had a nice dinner, and went shopping, which I rarely do. I bought myself a pair of those $150 Seven jeans and it felt good!

I have been mainly working on my gardening. Here's a shot of the front parkway, which I plan to completely take over with plants eventually.

Steve's Mom planted our little pine tree a few yeas ago and we look forward to the day when it's 10' tall. We give it an inordinate amount of TLC, but there is something so cool about planting a little tree like that and having it grow into a big tree.

I'm sure you have experienced where you go back somewhere and see a tree that you remember and it's become a giant.

Plus, we love love love pine trees. Mark my words,we will be planting more evergreens before this season is over!


While we are on the subject of plants I adore, take a look at the utter perfection of this one- a lily of the valley. The fragrance, the perfect bell shape of the flower, the beautiful green foliage the toughness of this plant cannot be beat in my opinion. It does need to be controlled though as it can be invasive.


I saved mine from a teardown site in my neighborhood. They now line the fence along the sidewalk where they can't take over my yard, but soften the sidewalk.

Steve is going to put the 2nd coat of paint on the front door trim today. We still haven't worked on the door itself. I am holding off on photos for now. More on that soon...

A Thorough Scraping

It's all about the prep work and we are not rushing our front door paint job this time. The better you prep, the longer the job will last. Also, the longer the job will take to complete. It's kind of a double-edged sword.

Saturday morning, Steve and I got to work scraping the loose paint off the front door trim We then filled any holes with wood epoxy and then sanded it all with 80 grit. Then we primed it with Sherwin Williams oil based primer. Stinky stuff oil paint. Then we prayed for no rain.

I like when Steve and I work side by side. Saturday morning I had the thought, "the couple that scrapes together stays together," and then I thought wryly, it's time for an intervention. Steve said our prep job was going to be "This Old House" quality. Uh-oh.

This morning when we reviewed our work, we decided that more sanding and filling was in order. Why not do it right?

I have to go out of town for a trade show in Las Vegas this week, so it will be up to Steve to keep this project going till I get back next Sunday.