Pesky weeds

One of the projects this summer was to clean out the overgrown raised bed in the backyard. I have a confession to make - I haven't made an effort to keep the backyard up as well as the front - because nobody sees the backyard except for the neighbors that look into my backyard. Also I normally am watching grandkids during the summer and I don't have a lot of time to do weeding. This year was a different story and I began to clean out the unwanted grass and weeds that have overgrown in my raised bed in the backyard, of course Stella, the lab thought I was playing with her.

Darn dog, now I have debris all over my yard. I decided I would work on it a little at a time especially if it is in the shade. It has been so darn hot this summer in the Pacific Northwest that suffice to say, I try to stay cool by doing things in the house, but even that uses up energy that eventually makes me hot. 

Now that summer is over I looked at what I have accomplished in the backyard and YIKES! the grass I had pulled up is now making it's way back to the surface. NOOOOOOOO----- I really need to get that raised bed ready to go before winter starts - but there are a whole gob of sticker bushes in one corner.  

I finally bit the bullet and spent an afternoon cleaning the overgrown grass out of the raised bed and cut back the sticker bushes. By the time I was finished I had 3 garbage cans full of the unwanted grass. Boy it looks so much better.

Than I laid down the bark that I got free from the city when they cut down overgrown trees. See the pile - my neighbor was supposed to help move it around the yard - but that hasn't happened. I should of known better than expect him to help.

Now after a couple of weeks I inspected the bark again and of course grass is finding its way through the paper and the bark. Saturday I added white vinegar around the edges of the raised bed hopefully killing the grass. I won't be planting anything out there in the near future in case the dogs decided to dig it up. I will move the painted wheelbarrow back into the corner and plant something there to see if the dogs will do damage and then will go from there.

Next project is to get rid of the rest of the bark, hopefully today so I will be able to get my car off the street and into the driveway.

Costco - great deal on Finish Dishwasher Detergent

I went to Costco the other day and when I entered the doors on my left was a display of Finish Dishwasher Detergent. A sign above it stated they were Buy 1 Get 1 FREE. WOW! - was my first thought, what a deal. You receive 110 tablets in each box, total would be 220 tablets. I know that this would last me at least a year since I don't do dishes everyday (I know I should probably do them more - but not going to happen) and if I replace my homemade dish tablets every other cycle I will be able to stretch the Finish even more. So I bought 2 boxes for $14.95.

I now have enough dishwasher detergent for awhile. The Costco sale runs through August 31, 2014.

Pruning a photinia hedge

I can cross off another item off of my summer list - cutting photinia hedge by driveway. Every year, I need to trim our photinia hedge, it has a way of getting out of control and this week is yard waste pickup. So I decided it would be a good time to cut the hedge. I got the hedge clippers, extension cord and the step stool and set them out in the middle of the driveway. Next, I had to move all the containers and a cold frame away from the hedge, so as not to fall over them. Look at how uneven the hedge is - I am assuming it has something to do with where the sun hits. Also the hedge on the end on your right is dehydrated since it is thinner and a different color, it even has dark spots on the leaves.

 

So after getting the step ladder I realized I couldn't reach the back side of the hedge. I went and got the small ladder to be able to clip the back of the hedge and even then I needed the long tree clippers to get the stragglers.  But after trimming and cleaning up all the debris - I have a full can of yard waste and a nicely trimmed hedge.

 Looks so much better, until next year.

Cleaning and organizing dining room

Well, I don't know about you but I hate to clean with a passion. I would rather do anything else but do housework. But this summer I am determined to get as much of the clutter and mess cleaned up to help save time once school is back in session. So far I have cleaned and organized Kenz's room and most of the garage. Last week after getting back from my weekly excursion to the Goodwill, I started working on my dining room.

This is what it looked like before I started my re-organizing. 

And after I replaced items and moved things to their rightful place, I had 2-1/2 bags filled for the Goodwill and now it looks like this.

Of course the dog and cat needed to be in the picture also. 

The only thing out of place is the box under the table. This box contains all of my children's dolls - when it is out to be played with I have a bunch of naked dolls all over the living room, EW! What an improvement. I even re-organized the gift closet and art supply closet. I don't have a before picture, but here is an after picture.

Now the question will be how long will it last like this.