Progress

Well, we have are almost repairing our deck and the steps are nearly completed as well. I'm very excited since the weather is starting to warm up and we're spending a little more time outside. We just bought a new patio table as well. It's still in the box because Bear did not want to put it together until the deck boards were repaired. We bought at Bed, Bath & Beyond. At first we wanted to buy a complete set, table, chairs, umbrella, etc. There were some sets that were okay at The Christmas Tree Shop. Normally, I like their furniture and other items, but I have a specific idea in my head about what I want the deck to be like and the CTS set was not doing it for me. The price was right though and Bear said that if I really hated the color of the CTS set he'd paint it. "Nothing a can of Krylon paint can't cure Honey!" But it was more than the color of that set. I just thought it was cheap looking (Sorry CTS!) and really wasn't feeling it. Well, someone was smiling down at us, because the CTS one was out of stock. Now we have the pretty table I liked and I'm very happy. Granted, I have to save up some money for the chairs and umbrella, but I don't mind. My b-day is coming up, when my Mom and Dad ask me what I want, I'll tell them chairs from BB&B!

Here's a picture of our stairs that are almost finished. We have a guy that works for our town and does carpentry work on the side building them for us. Bear knew the young guy when he was a little kid. Bear said "He was in the Church youth group I ran a long time ago." Bear says he feels "old" now. The steps look great and we've walked up and down them already. They're sturdy. I say that because Bear and I are both big people and they didn't bend with our weight on them. I'm very happy with them. I'll be even more happy when the deck boards get replaced on Saturday as well. Our guy can only do the work on weekends because of his "real" job. He's coming here very early in the morning. I think he's only showing up that early because it's going to be an almost summer like day Saturday and he wants to be done early enough to enjoy it. I don't blame him. His coming early will get me moving too and getting things done I want to get done before I head out to dinner with my girls from high school.
If I remember tomorrow, I'll take a picture of our flower bed in front of the house. It looks much different than the previous photo I've posted before. The spring bulbs are blooming and we have all the shrubs put in. It looks nice.
No blog post about the house is not complete without a picture of our Emma. Easter wasn't very "traditional" at our house this year. We opted to do a BBQ. The weather was great for it and no one really wanted to make a fuss. So we invited Bear's Brother and his wife and kid and of course, MIL was with us. I invited my family but my Mother was feeling cranky and my brother was tied up with other plans his wife made. Our 3 year old nephew JB was feeling very happy this past Sunday. He was so full of energy. He wore poor Emma out! But he was having fun and made us all smile. They both played on the deck while Uncle Bear was grilling. They're favorite spot was our chaise lounge. Emma liked it best because that's where the sun was for most of the afternoon.
My next project will be setting up the container garden on the deck. My plan is to have an herb garden and grow some vegetables. My lists so far are:

Herb garden: Basil, Oregano, Garlic, Parsley, Rosemary, Lavender, Cilantro and Thyme
Veggies: Tomatoes (Plum), carrots, cucumbers, spinach, arugula, lettuce, a few peppers.

It's the first time I'm going to really try and grow anything on my own without my Dad. I've only really planted veggies with my Dad and now that he lives in Virginia, I call him constantly asking his advice. I also ask him for a ride to the Home store every time he comes up for his monthly visit. He has a truck and I fill the back of it with everything I need/want.

I'll be posting a few recipes that I've remembered to take photos of and have had a positive reaction from The Boy and Bear.