Hey ya'll how are ya? Happy new year...wishing ya'll many blessings, festive events, lots of love and happy moments in 2023! How were your holidays? Wait OMG are we in March already!?! Has it been that long since our last hello's? Dang I'm so sorry ya'll! Well let's just say one of my new year's resolutions (to be a better blogger) soooo that's been a complete failure. Since we're both here, let's catch up shall we....our holidays were much different than last year and those were different than the year before. Seems a few years after our Mom passed away back in 2007 the holidays were different and difficult...yet...cathartic in a way. To be around family during the holidays can add subtle levels of stress that go unnoticed until one too many cocktails and then...bam Aunt Jolene let her mouth run like a river about family gossip. Someone got their feelings hurt and someone wasn't invited (on purpose.) Luckily that neeeeever happened in our family, well ok it did but we don't have an Aunt Jolene. As time went on since 2007, the holidays seemed to find it's own groove and new traditions emerged along with the birth of new family members. When our father passed away five years ago in January on his birthday of 2018. And just like that, the first Christmas holiday of 2019 was difficult all over again. Though the holidays were wonderful and close knit with family and friends creating unique memorable experiences for everyone involved. Then "The Covid-19" happened and again another holiday full of new and difficult experiences to explore. Though I'm pretty certain we weren't the only ones coping with unusual times. Sooooo enough about my weird holiday experiences, how have you been!?!
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| South Florida Holiday Season 2023 |
Since last we spoke, and again many apologizes, soooo much has happened right!?! I mean let's not even get into what the world is going through with COVID-19 and it's progeny offspring running rampant through the population. So let's set that conversation to the back burner cause we probably all have an overload of that. Instead I'll catch you up on what's the hap's around here! Got lots to talk about.
In a nutshell, we were renting our house, each year I would ask our landlady if she would consider selling. Each year she said no. We like our neighborhood so much we figured we'd settle here for a spell until we head for the hills. The end of summer 2018 she said yes and we closed on the house shortly after in December. Since then we got crazy with our projects...I mean I honestly think we were crazy! What were we thinking with the scope of some of these projects, ugh, I'll never know! But it made sense at the time. As you well know, we are landscapers by profession so that was the first thing I set to task...the front yard...cause ya'know we gotta represent! Then we installed new a/c duct work & insulated the attic, we moved the entire vegetable garden (soil and everything) to the south side of the house, knocked out the back screened patio & concrete knee-wall, removed & replaced the metal support columns holding the patio flat deck roof up, had new windows installed, started the backyard landscape, pressure washed the house (which turned into a nightmare story for another time), because of the nightmare pressure wash job we had the house stuccoed, then painted the house once the stucco cured, finished the backyard landscape then a new driveway was the finale in 2022. Whew! There's still punch list items like a new garage door, but we need a 'trifecta break' (financial, mental & physical break lol).
In a nutshell, we were renting our house, each year I would ask our landlady if she would consider selling. Each year she said no. We like our neighborhood so much we figured we'd settle here for a spell until we head for the hills. The end of summer 2018 she said yes and we closed on the house shortly after in December. Since then we got crazy with our projects...I mean I honestly think we were crazy! What were we thinking with the scope of some of these projects, ugh, I'll never know! But it made sense at the time. As you well know, we are landscapers by profession so that was the first thing I set to task...the front yard...cause ya'know we gotta represent! Then we installed new a/c duct work & insulated the attic, we moved the entire vegetable garden (soil and everything) to the south side of the house, knocked out the back screened patio & concrete knee-wall, removed & replaced the metal support columns holding the patio flat deck roof up, had new windows installed, started the backyard landscape, pressure washed the house (which turned into a nightmare story for another time), because of the nightmare pressure wash job we had the house stuccoed, then painted the house once the stucco cured, finished the backyard landscape then a new driveway was the finale in 2022. Whew! There's still punch list items like a new garage door, but we need a 'trifecta break' (financial, mental & physical break lol).
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| Decided to plant a wildflower mix this year in the island. |
Good news is I've been documenting everything so I can share some of the projects with ya'll! The rest we don't want to relive, ha. What would you like to start with? The veggie garden? The landscape? The nightmare pressure wash job? Or just a general conversation of gardening? Let me know as I'd love to hear from you. In the meantime here's a small photo dump of the what's been going on. Wishing you all well and that you are taking care of yourselves!
Until the next post, much love and happy gardening!
SB
xoxo
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| Gold gardenia & poinsettas to create a tropical holiday! |
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| Wild flowers |
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| We actually dipped into the 40's, bust out the fire pit! |
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| A detail of our backyard in south Florida winter. |
Just found your blog post on Florida ground covers. What awesome advice and knowledge!! Thanks for sharing! I
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