Home and garden

The garden is doing marvelous after that pruning of the other day... everything looks and feels so fresh and new!  The roses, or the few roses that I now have are also doing splendidly, considering they have been so neglected and doing so poorly for years.    

My little paradise is not disappointing me... it gets prettier and prettier each day.  Yesterday, we went to the annual garden tour our city sponsors every year, and I’d have to say that my little urban garden proves somewhat deficient, compared to some of the gardens we saw at those houses at the top of the mountains with the amazing view, but this is my haven, my refuge and the place I want to be from all places.   

And what can I say about my newly painted home!  I love it... I just love it!

I love the colors I ended up choosing for the exterior painting of our home.  All from Benjamin Moore, but because most, if not all of our local painters use Sherwin Williams, the colors had to be matched… but here are the names, in case you want to know:

Main body of the house:  Benjamin Moore HC-168 Chelsea Gray

Top accent walls:  Benjamin Moore 2121-10 Wrought iron
Trims, columns and garage door:  Benjamin Moore AF-5 Frostine White
Front door:  Benjamin Moore 2155-30 Yellow Marigold

The old settee that I have been moving with me from house to house to house is still here… now spray-painted in glossy black, with new patterned cushions in black and white.  All from Walmart.  Remember what it looked like back then at the little white cottage?

I love black and white patterned everything… it gives a room that classy look!

The small yellow/red pillows I had forever.  They had been in my gypsy caravan for years, and then last week when we went camping and found them I immediately thought of my front porch, and how well they would look with the black and white cushions and front yellow door.  So they are here now! This combo is perfection to me!

My newly painted succulent pot is looking lovely sitting outside too.  I’d prefer some type of annual flowers here, like petunias, but for now, this is it.   And my little marigold yellow table... I'm loving it!

The same old lantern I had sitting in the porch at our little white cottage!  Now on another thrift store 'new' to me table.  

The entrance is the first thing people see when they come by, so why not make your home stand out from the rest!  I'm loving mine!  I also love indigo, orange, chartreuse.  I almost chose orange, but felt in love with this deep yellow!  And guess what?  I went to the Internet the other day to find out what the color of our front door means, and I found the most interesting article  about front door colors and their meaning.  This is what it says about a yellow door: “While it ups your curb appeal, a yellow door also says you’re logical while also creative. Like the color, you have a positive attitude and may even be a morning person!”.  So utterly true! 😉

One of the fastest ways to amp up curb appeal is by painting your front door a fun and bright color.  If you haven’t done it yet, try it!  It’ll not only alter the feel and look of your house, but it will also upgrade it!

The entrance to the garden looking marvelous against the freshly painted house... I love how the new paint showcases all the beautiful garden colors with a lovely background. All the colors, forms and texture seem to be more visible, lovelier, and grand!

The back of the house...

Thank you for all your comments and thoughts.  Thank you for your good wishes and blessings and I hope I can be of a blessing to you too in whatever form or way I can through this little blog and this little life of mine... be happy, be blessed, be spontaneous and dance a little by the shady of the trees in your backyard... when nobody is looking!  I love you!

Painting the exterior or our house - part 3

Morning, June 8—Last day of painting, so I hope.  Raymond showed up a little after 8:00am all by himself, and that was it.  Nobody else showed up.  

Then, when the Fisherman and I came back from running some errands there was another young man working on the house along Raymond, a new painter I hadn’t met before.  

Santos will be spray-painting the gutters and whatever else still needs painting, but thus far, he hasn’t shown up.  Then it will be the cleaning up.  I can hardly wait!

Things are taken longer that I had expected, and the work should had been finished by yesterday, but these professionals are so busy and their business is so thriving, that they just have to take turns among themselves and among the houses they’re working on… and thus, I’ve been left behind sorts of speak… most of the work is done, so they are taking it easy with me now.  I must learn to be patient and wait.  It’ll all be done today.

Early afternoon, June 8—Santos is here now!  The gutters and last of the trims are being spray-painted, spots retouched, last details taken care of.  Santos is cleaning everything with the power washer, tools are being collected, painter's tape removed and thrown away, and everything is already looking marvelous... the back porch will have to be hose down too and floors re-stained, and then all furniture will be put back in place.  I hope we can finish this today.

It is hot, so hot!  And the garden, is like another garden—so much has transpired there while in my absence from it.  It is almost hard to believe how much it has grown and thrived in just this week alone.  I hadn’t been out there at all, that’s why.  Because of all the guys working around the house all week, I’ve kept away from it, and now weeds and broken branches are welcoming me into their green world with awesome, smiling faces that, too soon are ripped away and taken out by my intolerant hands.  So alas, while the guys finish up and the Fisherman (who is here today), mows the lawn, I’m cleaning the garden… pulling dreadful weeds, pruning the roses and vines, and bringing in handfulls of roses and perennials to make bouquets...

Late afternoon, June 8—the house is a new house now, and it’s looking so pretty and sophisticated in her new gray and white gown and marigold hat—like a real lady!  I should name her... oh yes I should!  But, what?

 

It occurred to Santos to paint the bottom part of the columns in the darker shade of gray, instead of painting them all white as it was my original idea, and I cannot love them anymore!  The dirt and stuff which is normally collected at the bottom of the columns will be less visible too, and I totally love the contrast.

One of the best things I love about this new paint color is how it showcases all the beautiful garden colors with a lovely background.  The deep red roses look particularly lovely against the gray backdrop.

What satisfaction this is!  The old house looks and feels like a brand new house, and all the colors of the garden seem to shine against the freshly painted background!  I am happy, my soul and heart are happy and I am immeasurably thankful for all we have accomplished in this old-new house of ours since we moved back!  Ready to start this new chapter, this new life with its ups and downs.  I hope my garden gives me hours of pleasure and healing… healing from my brokenness and losses, and that our comfy nest continues hosting angels, and that we can continue lighting up a candle on the altar of love, for anyone and everyone who enter here.

Tomorrow, I will be posting more pictures of our little front porch, which I am totally loving, and also the back!  Hope I won't bore you! ;)  Love you all!

Painting our house - second part

June 06—the Marigold yellow front door was painted just right before the painters gave it a quits for the day... 

It wasn’t even 2:30pm yet, when I brought out a tray of watermelon, coffee served in demitasse cups and some ginger cookies for them to enjoy… right on time, because I had no idea they were almost getting already for parting, after a hard day of work...   

From inside the house I could hear their happy laughter and enjoyment as they rested and ate what I'd brought them.  Then, in a matter of minutes one by one got into their vehicles and disappeared down the road to their own little lives… I don’t know why, I felt sentimental right there and then, as if a great loneliness had invaded me all of a sudden; for I was already missing hearing all the hubbub and laughs going on outside all day long as they worked.

I thought of mom, and of how I miss her, I thought of dad, and of how terribly lost and lonely he must feel without her, and for a fraction of time I too thought of all the lonely people in the world and how heavy God’s heart must feel suffering the entire world upon His compassionate shoulders. 

I don’t know what my Marigold yellow door had to do with any of that, but those were my thoughts right there and then.  I was not supposed to close the freshly painted door for another two more hours, so for a long while I sat at the doorstep and stayed there… deep in thoughts as I reflected on life, and on my many blessings, and on why God let my child-like faith and trust in Him be shattered into million pieces that very morning by the gigantic Rottweiler that escaping his domains came upon me while jogging... I could still feel the massive head pushing against my thigh.  And I was so sure God was right by my side... 

June 07—by 7:30am, I was already ready to go out for my morning jog, but first, I wanted to see how my little world looked outside my Marigold yellow door and, to welcome the new morning as best I know—by inhaling it through my senses so I could keep it tucked in my soul throughout my entire day.  When I went outside, Santos and Raymond had just arrived, and were ready to tackle the top parts of the house before the sweltering sun of June started warming up the land.

Yesterday after the painters left, I went to examine the back of the house, and what a pleasant little surprise I found there!  On Monday, I’d brought home with me the cutest, but old and wobbly little iron table from our local thrift store.  My plan was to get it fixed and then paint it the same Marigold yellow color as our front door, so I could put it outside with some flowerpots.  The only setback was, I didn’t know how to fix the wobbly problem thing.  

I happened to mention that to the painters one morning, and now my little table had been fixed, and it was looking marvelously firm and beautiful in her new life.   

You see, at some point during the day, one of the painters, a gentle Mexican man by the name of Mr. Torres had it fixed it for me without me knowing it. I guess, in appreciation for my kindness and all the goodies I offered them?  And I didn't even had the chance to thank him properly, because his job was done, and I never got to see him again.  How sad I felt.  

Today, only two of the six painters came in to finish up whatever was left from yesterday, and the house, including its premises, felt soundless and emptied.  

I almost wished I were the Alicia from the Grand Hotel TV series; that girl who lived in an early 20th century aristocratic hotel with her family during the reign of King Alfonso XIII, and whose life was all about the mysteries that involved her family and the hotel servants, always busy, always bursting with people and interesting happenings.

Can you tell I’m feeling kind of lonely these days?  I truly, most truly enjoy my little life away from the office, but there are times when I need ‘people’… need to feel their nearness hear them talk, laugh, know I’m alive.  I’m a case I guess.

The backyard is a total disarray of broken branches and stomped on plants.  But what can I say?  I should have expected that to happen, being already June and all the plants in full growth.  But that’s how long it took me to find the proper guys to work on our home.  Six whole months!  And I’m so glad it all happened the way it happened.  Because, I got to meet some very wonderful hardworking people, upon whose souls I am placing all of God’s goodness, and blessings, for them and for their families.  

The job is not finished yet.  Santos and his guys will be here again early tomorrow morning to finish things up and take care of all last details.  Then, he will hose down the front porch and even help me put the furnishing back there, he said.  Then, I can finally show you around!

I can hardly wait to see everything cleaned and freshly painted. I don’t have enough hours in my day to enjoy all the little things as much as I want.  Everything is so precious, and I’m so fortunate God thought of me in His divine plan of creation and salvation.  “O Lord, who lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness” (William Shakespear).