Spring has sprung

Spring is here in the valley of the sun.  My lantana is in full bloom, the Mexican Birds of Paradise are sprouting their new branches, and my dogs and cat are shedding their winter coats.  Yup, spring has sprung.

We have decided to put "grass" in, in our backyard.  We had all the dead trees removed last year and it looks so bare.  It is all sand/rock there and not a very nice area to enjoy pool time.  So next week they will be coming out to put in the new grass (artificial) and in the process they will be removing all the river rock (but we are going to keep it since you can't just "pick" it up anymore), take out a small chain link fence, remove a small sidewalk walkway and then dig down 5 inches and start putting in decomposed granite for drainage and then lay the grass on top of that.

After they are done I will be putting my "lawn decor" back out.  We also have a fountain that has not worked for a few years.  I love it but it is a real pain to use as a fountain.  When it is done running you have to make sure all the water is out of it or you get a nasty mosquito problem quickly.  Also, you no longer can fill it with the garden hose since there are cancer causing agents in the hoses now a days and I have a LARGE dog that can easily drink out of the fountain.  So I have decided to turn it into a planter.  I am going to plant hens and chicks in it.  It sits in almost full sun all day and needs a very hardy plant in there that is also drought resistant. 

After the yard is done I promise to post pictures on here.  We have one other project that needs to be done for the outside of our home to be totally complete.  We need 2 new gates.  One will just be a replacement gate but the other will be a new gate that we have been wanting to do for about 10 years.  Last year our roofer told us that he could do the gate for us and we have not heard from him since then.  My husband has a friend that is looking for odd jobs to supplement his income so I think that is who we are going to have do it.

As a gift for my husband I told him to get a pool service.  His back is not as young as it use to be and for what they charge it is ridiculous for him to be spending 2-3 hours every other week working on the pool.  Plus they will supply all the chemicals and clean the salt cell on a regular basis for us.  The only thing Hubby has to do is clean the filters and that only happens about once every other month.  ( I so love the salt water pool!  So much easier on the skin and clothes)

I am still working on the princess blanket and it is about 9 rows from being done other than the edging and the accenting of it.  I have started the next spiderman blanket, but still have LOTS to go on it.  I forgot how much fun making afghans and blankets was.  I have been so wrapped up in my sweater and socks that I completely put my crocheting skills on a back burner.  Well no more.  I still love to crochet and it is so much quicker for me than knitting.  But I love the look of knitted items.  Especially items that are worn.  Crocheting is my favorite way to make blankets and shawls though. 

In other news.........................my mom is still in her "boot" but we are all hopeful that it will be coming off around the 12th of this month.  She will have been in it for 3 months by that time.  She is going nuts not being able to just go when she wants to where she wants to.  I can totally understand that too.  I was in that situation for about 2 months after some foot surgery.  It is not pleasant knowing that you have to depend on others to get you around.

This seems to be a big birthday month too.  I have a nephew, niece and grandson all with birthdays in a weeks time.  They are all grown up now but I still remember them when they were all little and cute.  (they are still cute but not so little anymore)

My brother has gone on a mission trip to Africa this month.  He was really excited about doing this.  He will going to several areas in Africa over the next few weeks but will not be in any of the "hot spots" over there.  Please pray for his safety and success of this trip.

My husband will be leaving right after Easter to go and visit his mom in Las Vegas.  He had been going up every month but since he is my main chauffer for my mom he hasn't been up there alone since before Thanksgiving.  We did go up together in March and saw her then.  She looked really great too.  She had lost a lot of weight after Dad passed away but seems to have put it all back on and looks much better now.

I really need to take some pictures and get them loaded on my computer.  I want you all to see the spiderman blanket I finished.  It is so cute.  Maybe I will wait until I finish the princess blanket too and then I can put up TWO pictures. 

Hopefully you all are seeing signs of spring in your area.

Happy crafting