Two Spring Projects

Most of you know that we are renting, (will hopefully buy soon), a house in Florida that has an awesome back yard.  It's about 1/4 acre of land, and has an in ground pool, and a screened in porch.  It also has two raised beds for gardens just outside the kitchen window.  This will be our second spring, and summer in this house.  Last spring and summer, I was in no mood to do any outside work, so the raised beds grew weeds, and the screened in porch was a disaster, but I kept the pool clean so the kids could swim.  This spring, I'm in the mood for outside projects.
At the end of February, I bought some seeds, and at the beginning of March, Annalise and I planted them in little flats.  About two weeks ago, I planted most of the seedlings in one of the raised beds, and some of the other seedlings in pots behind that raised bed.  The other raised bed is being used as a compost area. 
The giant cabbage is Annalise's. Every student in the entire third grade at her school got a tiny seedling back in February.  It's a contest to see who can grow the biggest cabbage.  So far, of all her friends, hers is the biggest!



Do you not LOVE these little frogs??  I wish they had had one for each plant.

The other project, Steve and I did together.  It needed engineering, and I don't do that.  The problem with the pool is that my children and their friends leave wet towels and bathing suits on the floor of their bedrooms.  The only carpeting in the entire house is in their bedrooms, and they leave wet stuff on it.  This irks me to no end!!!  After posting this complaint on facebook shortly after we opened the pool for the season in March, my very wise friend, Ginny, suggested creating a place they could change that was outside, and that had hooks for them to hang wet stuff on.  Enter the 'Changing Cabana' on the screened in porch.  Steve constructed the frame, and the towel bars and hooks out of PVC, and attached the rope lighting.  I hung the curtain panels.   The kids and Steve have used it, and it works really, really well, (but only if they remember to change INTO their suits out there too!).  I'm pretty happy with it, I must admit.  If there was a way to install a toilet, and shower in there, it would be perfect!

  As you can see, the screened in porch is no longer a disaster.  Special thanks to my great friends, Harold and Heather, for giving us the patio chairs.  Our next projects will be to recover the cushions, and pressure wash the floor in there.  Now, since I've spent so much time outside lately, the inside of the house looks like a landfill.  One thing at a time.