Checking In/ Spring Time Busyness

Hi, Friends,

How are you?

It has been an age since I have popped in to say hey. 

Hey!

I have lost the drive to document every instance of my decorating and gardening life but I have missed you all. Over the the years, I feel like I have shared the same stuff over and over again and there really isn't anything new to say. I've enjoyed employing spring touches without the pressure to share yet I thought I'd stop in anyway to check in and give you a life update. 

I'll share a few photos along the way. 

The busy season of doctor appointments is over for me. I have one more annual check up this week and one more visit to the audiologist and that should do it until September. Yahoo. 

Unfortunately, Bill's season continues as he has developed a secondary cataract. They are going to watch if for the next six weeks. They may do another zap with the laser at that time. 

We continue to split our time between the two houses. When I'm East Texas I want to live there. When I'm in town, I want to live in town. When Bill can retire, we will decide where we want to live. In the meantime, we keep busy tending to both places. 

So far this year, cleaning up the woods took up a great deal of our weekends until the poison ivy popped out. After the great freeze of 2021, (It got down to -2°, which was a 100 year event and stressed our trees.) many of our pine trees succumbed to the pine bark beetle. The needles turn a rust color, within a week or so they fall off and eventually the tree falls down. There was a long burn ban last summer so there was no point in bringing the dead trees out of the woods. The last few winter months have been a great opportunity to gather and burn the brush.

 

It was immensely satisfying. 

When I look into the woods, I want to see a clear landscape. Fallen trees that look like "Pick Up Sticks" isn't the look I want but it takes a lot of work. There is still more to do but I hope we will keep on top of it as new trees fall. Along the paths and road, my line of sight is pretty clear. Sitting by a big fire on winter days was a bonus. 

I planted the annuals earlier than our average frost date. Last year it got so hot so quickly that my plants really struggled. Our annuals need time to get acclimated before the heat arrives. I had to pull them in when one night when we had a freeze warning but they are loving our cooler spring. 

I've been spring cleaning out in East Texas. 

\

The porches and the carport got a good cleaning. I took the opportunity to do a little decorating. 

East Texas is a dirty environment and there were spider webs and pollen aplenty. 

I tucked faux geraniums in some little pots for the porches. 

My son's vintage Tonka truck is a cute planter. 

I love the pop of red. 

A rocker left by the previous owners got a coat of white paint. 

Paint made a huge difference. 

I had the paint and the cushion. All it needed was a pillow to match the one on the bench. It's so much better. The pillow came from Walmart. 

My youngest son got me the planter for Christmas a year or so ago. I filled it full of faux geraniums. 

I'm loving the spring front porch. 

It will be darling with some patriotic bunting as we get closer to the 4th of July. 

The inside got some faux fern decor. We have so many woodland ferns that I thought it'd be cute. 

I've been on a jigsaw puzzle kick. It's been a cozy activity on chilly days. 

That's all for now. I hope you are all doing well. 

Katie