Fourth of July

So while many were celebrating our nation's independence from the Brits, Jonathan and I were enslaved to our home. He (with help from Josh) worked on removing clay from our new planting areas... who knew we could make pottery from the "dirt" out back?!

Always in need of my own project, at some point this spring I proclaimed that we were going to repaint the downstairs bathroom. I've had about all I can take of realtor beige. So, with help from Carrie, the downstairs bathroom is now blue (with white ceiling), a new mirror and light fixture. I also opted not to hang the door on the upper cabinet (reflected in the mirror) -- it's a cute "spa" look....

Not bad for a weekend's work, eh?

More on the patio

Okay, so Jonathan's feeling sheepish that the patio is "messy" but (shhh -- don't tell him I said this) even messy it's so much better than the Swiss Cheese that used to be there -- it looks great. So, in an effort to share (even messy) views of the work we've done, I'm including some photos here.



Below is the view you have after stepping out of the sliding doors (from the kitchen). Beyond the table (note new umbrella!) is a big planting area that is Jonathan's Purple Plot.


In case you're interested, here's the detail of the pavers.

Jasmine, Eggplant, Zucchini, Lavender, and Pavers

Wow, it's been awhile since we've posted anything...

We've undertaken several home improvement projects this summer. One closest to completion has been our backyard, which many of you may remember was previously our rotting wood deck; that's now gone, and has been replaced by concrete pavers, landscaping, and drip irrigation.

It's still a work in progress, but the infrastructure is in and I've done a bit of transplanting. Here are a few updates:

Our Japanese eggplant is growing nicely, and--since protecting it with Sluggo--seems to be safe from the snails. Chiu-Ki gave us some of her extra Zucchini seeds, and we're batting 0.660 in terms of seedlings. We've named them "right" and "left", but through a catastrophic turn of events, and the usual degree of obfuscation, the plant on the left is actually "right".

In a nod to downtown Palo Alto parking, we've named this region the "purple zone", with a variety of flowering plants, including our recently transplanted lavender and jasmine:


Set your expectations appropriately since you know how frequently we update this blog, but additional garden details, photos and tracking can be found on (you guessed it) the web's latest Gardening 2.0 adventure: MyFolia. Check it out.