When things need doing, get them done

Most of my life, I've not been a big fan of yard work of any kind. Even after we bought our first home together here in Denver, I pretty much stayed out of the yard work. For design consultation, our neighbor Melissa worked with Walter, and took the time to walk around the yard with him, looking at what was growing, which spaces needed to be filled, and in general, talking about the yard. We jokingly call it "walking the perimeter," and I am so grateful for her patience and care in doing this so that Walter had an engaged partner. This spring, along with cooking, I've found I have a lot more time on my hands since I'm currently looking for my next job and things have slowed down. So, I've taken more of an interest in what's happening in our yard, and much more engaged in making it a better place to spend time. 

Umbrella stand

Over the weekend, we took down a pergola that had honeysuckle on it to give a volunteer maple more room to grow. When we did that, we had four 4x4 beams that were in pretty good shape. So, we decided to build a pad for our deck umbrella with them so that we could permanently mount the base there, and get rid of an ugly plastic base filled with sand. Part of making it permanent was to pour concrete. Neither of us had ever done that before. However, I have a memory of watching my Dad and brothers make and use concrete or cement, and so I thought that with a little internet research, I could do it. And I was right! Not only was I able to mix and lay the concrete by myself, I made the umbrella stand perfectly level!!!

BOOM!

Because, Pizza!

After that, a hearty meal was in order. And it was pizza. Melissa also has an incredible green thumb, and shares her bounty with all of us. We found a delivery of fresh rosemary on our porch, and so we added it to Bobby Flay's crust recipe (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/pizza-dough-recipe-1921714). We topped it with ground lamb, some radicchio and a jalapeno we had in the fridge, and some feta and mozzarella. Popped it in the oven on 400 for about 25 minutes, and voila! So, what did we drink with our pizza? Red wine of course. 

Wash after every wear!

Now that the CDC and Colorado's governor Jared Polis have recommended wearing a mask in public, we've started to do so. Our other neighbor Meghan made us a couple, which we have worn to the grocery store and Costco. In fact, in the spirit of showing support, we've given our front lawn creatures masks of  their own. And Lazy Eyed Susan and Rusty will be wearing them until we can all take them off again!

Lazy Eyed Susan and Rusty