Shut The Front Door!

Today, we installed our new (to us!) front door.  

                        We found this door for $70 at the Habitat for Humanity Restore last August.  

Our old door was just blah.  It made our house look like a rental.

My Pirate sanded the varnish off of the door.

And I primed and painted it.  Tip:  always prime your projects with gray primer for better and truer color coverage.  Just say no to pink primer even if the gal behind the paint counter scowls and snaps her gum at you.

I'm really happy with our new door.  Now, I need to repaint the trim and the concrete foundation of our house.

 Don't you just love it when a project leads to several new projects?

Our Afternoon Jaunt

Have you ever seen a flying duck land in a parking lot mud puddle?  We did today.  The mallard looked like it got some road rash, but it waddled right behind us as we entered The Crystal Spring Rhododendron Garden. We went to look at their gravel because I love the way it sounds when I walk on their paths.  I want to add the same gravel to our path and patio at home.  

While we were there, I stopped and sat on my favorite bench in my favorite garden room.  

I admired the blooming rhododendrons.  If you live in the area, you really need to visit the park this spring.  And if you are looking for rhododendrons, their sale on Mother's Day weekend is fantastic.  

Afterwards, I was feeling a bit peckish so we stopped for a grilled beer sausage ($4) at Otto's, the best sausage shop in Portland.

Mike has been serving up fresh grilled Otto's sausages for 10 years.  And Otto's has been in this location since 1929 and is still run by the same family.  A neighborhood jewel.

We savored our lunch and then continued on our way with major onion breath.  

Puppy Love

Today, I met and fell head over heels for our new puppy that we get to bring home this Friday.  His name is Barnaby and he’s a Harlequin Great Dane.  He’s a sack of potatoes at 5 weeks, weighing in at ten pounds.

My friend, Linda, messaged me his picture last night.  He was purchased last week and was abandoned at her veterinary practice when the new owners learned that he had developed Parvo.  Linda and her husband gave Barnaby life saving treatments and now he’s all-better. 

I’ve always wanted a Great Dane but I believe in adopting rescue dogs.  And Barnaby is both!  I have a feeling that my heart and my garden are never going to be the same after Friday. Let the countdown begin.  

Barnaby is our little nose biter.

It's Alive!

I no longer look like Lord Valdemort from Harry Potter according to My Pirate.  Such a sweet talker…sorry ladies, he’s all mine!   A strong course of antibiotics and a massive tube of antibiotic gel have helped my smile return and oh, how I have missed it!  I didn’t realize how often I smiled until my face swelled up. 

I have a new healthy respect for the microorganisms in my compost heap. It’s alive! My garden gloves are in the washer.  Super Charlie finished spraying the moss off of the roof and now the garden and I can dust ourselves off and move forward.  I’m sooo happy to put last week behind me. 

Poetry Post: Poem of the Week

carry your heart with me

by ee cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart) i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing, my darling)

                                                  i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)