The Front Door

I finished painting the inside and outside of the front door this weekend. We chose Valspar exterior latex paint, "Betsy's Linen" for color, with a satin finish. Truth be told, I don't think I matched the whites quite right. The new color looks more creamy in comparison to the white in the trim and the white in the storm door on the outside. But the color is a better match on the inside, where the trim is a bit creamy in color.
Another project, mostly finished. A few details remain. We'd like to replace the numbers above the door with ones that actually fit the space (I need to order some non-standardized sized numbers, the space is only 3" high). And someday, we'd like to replace the hardware, but since that's a minor aesthetic issue, we'll hold off until we're ready to re-key a couple of other doors. On the inside, where the door leads to the foyer, I'd still like to replace the overhead light and the linoleum (that fake red brick pattern isn't my favorite). Then maybe add a side table to add a little storage-and-bric-brac space and a lamp for more light. The trick will be to find one that's narrow enough for the entry way. Or maybe not, maybe it's better as is.

By the way, this painting project represents the last of the interesting color choices made by the previous owners. (The door, prior to painting, was an off-lime green, which can be seen here and here. ) It took two years and too many gallons of paint to mention to come to this point, but having the walls and doors colors we chose, for better or worse, makes it seem like home, finally.

In other news, potty training is occurring in the house. I'll spare you the details, but it's safe to say that we now need to find other uses for diapers. Enter Princess Diaper Head:

Morning in the Backyard

For the past few days, I've traipsed around the backyard still wet with morning dew, plastic cup of suds in hand. It's not like it sounds: the beetle last week was not a loner, and we have an problem. The beetles have completely defoliated the roses in the bed next to the road, and now they're starting on the crepe myrtle, the knockout roses by the barbeque, and the big elm tree. The elm may be a problem. It's loosing leaves quickly, like it's autumn, even. All we can do is hope that the beetle's life cycle ends soon and that our poor elm tree that we rely on for shade has a chance to recover.

But I can do something about the roses and the crepe myrtle. Each morning I greet the beetles with a nice warm cup of dish soap (a bath for the beetles, I tell O.). The beetles are more lethargic in the morning, less likely to fly away, and I can shake them into the cup. They drown, and dispose of them in the garbage (interesting note, you shouldn't squish them; they release a pheromone that attracts more beetles).

This morning I was out giving the beetles their death bath, when I spied this little guy, peering at me over a rose.

A side view. Some sort of wasp or hornet. Here's to hoping that it likes to dine on beetles, I could use a little help.This morning I also spied what I think is a juvenile blue jay. It was being stalked by our neighbor's cat when I heard the "EEPS" of a bird who was not happy. I think it is pre-fledgling or near-fledging, because wasn't trying to fly away, but a sturdy hopper.

I stayed back, but it followed me, vocalizing "EEEP!" constantly. I suspect that it's looking for its parent, like a certain kid I know trying to find me. "EEEP!" must be blue jay for "Mom?"

"MOM?!?""MOOOOOMMMM!!!"

Summer Hibernation

We had the first heat index above 100 oF yesterday, which means that summer hibernation has begun. Define summer hibernation? It's that time of year when you minimize the amount of time spent outside due to high heat. I personally tend to revert back to winter-type activities, but with a summer twist. For example, I've been filling the fridge with various "fruits of the summer" preserves:

In the photo above, a couple bags of corn, peachsauce (just like applesauce, but with peaches, great on pancakes), and basil pesto. The corn, peaches, and the basil are locally grown, and some the basil was from my own herb garden. I hope to do another batch of the pesto this weekend; you can't have too much pesto in my opinion.

The blackberries have been outstanding lately:

They're huge! One might think they were overcompensating for something.

And last, a photo of a bumblebee about ready to land on my lavender.

Ready for Storms

Our number 3 project in the queue is finally complete. Well, mostly complete. More on that in a minute.


J. and my father-in-law installed a Larson Classic Elegance 36"storm door in white with brass trim. It features a full-size removeable screen, which we can replace with full glass in the winter. Whether or not we'll actually swap them remains to be seen. We tried the swap once before the door was installed, and it's definitely a short straw job.

We still have a few things to complete. The doorbell doesn't sit correctly with the frame of the new door, so we'll replace that. There's some trim pieces to snap into place and the door closer too install too. And the strike plate for the lock will be installed, too, but we're waiting on a replacement for the "latch side Z-bar", which is the thing that you mount to the door frame so that the door will latch shut. At the moment, the holes for the latch don't line up with the latch on the door. I suspect that J. and his dad made a nonreversable error in cutting that piece from their sheepish behavior, but we're allowing the smokescreen of "I think the company sent us the wrong piece." And I still need to paint the front door white to match the storm door. After that, we'll call it good.

And that makes, oh, four months between purchase of door and (near) complete installation? New rule: thou shalt not purchase renovation supplies without solid plan for installation.

...
Meanwhile, on the other storm (the sliding door that leads to the back yard), we appear to have a little interspecies buggy lovin'.



It's also possible that this little beetle crawled up there thinking it was meeting its maker, the Great Big Bug in the Sky, because it died shortly afterwards.

I wouldn't feel too sorry for it, though. Its friends are busy skeletalizing the cannas.