There are the things you have to do to a house to make it livable. For JJ and Steve, it was months of back breaking labor, with months more work to have even a living room that wasn't behind a drop cloth.

For this place, everything was technically livable from day one, but the wall paper really made it difficult to be here. So that was the first thing we did.

Then there are the things you have to do make a place match your lifestyle better. Getting the grill and finding a place for it was probably in that category.

Once you're really settled, you can start to do things just because you want to.

Like hang lights in the back yard.









I cleaned up some more of the gardens too. I have completely filled the green waste container four weeks in a row. I got the front part looking a little better, getting more of the dead leaves out from in the bushes. The first week here, I filled the green waste container in the front yard alone and had to stop raking out from under the bushes, so I got the rest that I didn't get then.

In front, we have a beautiful tree that was just starting to open little pink flowers as mom and dad were here. It's now in full bloom.



I have no idea what kind of tree this is. It's lovely to look at, but let me tell you, these blossoms STINK. If you've ever seen the movie Rat Race, it smells like I imagine the bus with all the Lucys (ladies going to an I Love Lucy convention, all dressed as Lucy) smelled; like 84 pounds of Aquanet, three gallons of Oil of Olay, and strong wafts of every cheap perfume ever made. The tree's smell actually makes me sick to my stomach. If it was in the back yard, it would make it unusable for me. Hopefully the flowers don't last long. 
 
Bubba is still good, but the spot she's in is the only logical place for the trash containers. So she's not in the most glamorous position.



I'd give her a hug to make her feel better if I could.

The tree in the back that my mom helped me clean the odd fluff that comes off it before it gets leaves had dropped fluff all over the back yard and patio again. So I raked, swept, and put that into the container.

We're trying to get ready for Kelly B.'s arrival in less than two weeks. (My) Kelly's parents may be out that week too. So, the place is very presentable, even more so than when my parents were here.