There are times when celebrating the seasons with decorations is more an obligation than a joy. Not so this Easter. Sparser than trimmings in other seasons of the year, I had a good time putting them up.
We’ve undertaken two ginormous home improvement projects in 2023. First, it was installing new quartz countertops and tile backsplash in the kitchen. What a difference that made! The whole kitchen seems new. We usually wait until some disaster to make improvements, but not this time. It was all for looks. Unfortunately, it has also doomed my wallpaper to the dustbin of history. I’ve always had kitchen wallpaper and I do love it, but it’s too busy with the richly detailed arabesque tile and dark grout. I have begun taking it off but that project is on hold until after the upcoming holiday.
Easter decorations are scattered around. Here’s the new counter and tile. And there’s some of that pesky wallpaper peeking out from behind the fridge. On the right you can see my efforts at spring pot-holders. That’s probably a topic for a separate blog.
I couldn’t resist these romantic duckie salt and pepper shakers.
Our other home improvement project is replacing the fiberglass shower/tub with a tile walk-in shower. This endeavor was half necessity and half practicality. We could hear a drip in the wall when the tub drained so there was a leak. But we are not getting any younger and the practical aspects of a walk-in shower were obvious. Since this project has not been completed, I can’t share pictures yet, but I will. We might have a tiny bathroom but we will have a sumptuous shower. I will miss my big soaker tub though. I’m a read-in-the-bathtub kind of girl. We have a normal-sized tub in another bathroom I’ve been using, but the advantages of showering have become obvious. Showers are quick.
Everywhere I look outside, I only see work that needs doing. I wasn’t a diligent gardener in the summer or fall due to an abundance of mosquitoes. This winter has been the longest and coldest in my memory. We didn’t even have a single hot spell—unusual for So. Cal. I guess I’m not very thick-skinned. Gardening in the cold, rain and wind was beyond me. But I am getting started. And I’m determined to make a lush spring display on our porch. Maybe I can distract guests with some bright flowers so they don’t notice what’s really going on in our garden! And the front patio is inviting if I do say so myself.
The elfin thyme I planted around the rose bushes seems to be taking hold. It will be grand when the wild sweet peas start blooming in earnest.
Here’s a bright spot, sweet peas, pansies and lavender.
Lots of things are vigorously growing due to all our rain.
I am just no good at parsley. The dill got eaten in the fall, but look what rainwater can do!
We have poppies all over the hills where we live. How can poppy seeds stay in the ground for decades and still grow? There have never been so many poppies around us.
So how’s your spring going? Feel free to share an update in the comments below!
