Little Ikea hack

I've had this

not-very-flattering light in my dining room almost since I moved in. I changed it up today. It went from that lamp, with this shade:

I don't use the floor lamp at all (the version I have isn't the cool bendy kind; it's straight up).

So I put the shade on the hanging lamp.

It's a zoo in here ...

... because we have a new cat tree.

When I brought it home it was quite a hit:

Then it was time to plop the cats on top of the tree.

Then I moved it to its proper place in the living room ... and enticed the cat to try it out ... with treats.

Driftwood yard

We've been working our tail ends off landscaping our yard while the weather is still moderately cool. This includes using the driftwood I got on a family trip to the coast as edging. My roommate also painted some edging purple for a more regal touch in some of the yard. I think it looks fun. 

The purple edging.

That's a cover for our young vegetables and herbs.  I know it looks like a shroud.

A huckleberry bush I got from my folks' house.

Another huckleberry bush I got from the folks'. The mulch is cocoa hulls. It smells heavenly.

Some of the driftwood edging. 

More driftwood edging.

Driftwood edging, cocoa hulls and a new stand for the birdfeeder. Hopefully we'll get some birds.

our catnip brings all the cats to the yard

My cat is just about breaking the windows with her tail because she's being forced to watch this — a cat who is attacking the catnip we planted out in the yard. Perhaps that wasn't such the best choice — this is a new visitor, as opposed to our regular guest, Scarface.

Snow

The view of the Kitsap Peninsula from my window at work.

This is my little coral bark maple.

Here are a few pics from the recent storm.

Tree hugger

This is a more grown-up variety of the little Coral Bark Maple I got at the garden show this weekend. I'm pretty excited for him to grow. We also got a fig tree and a bunch of smaller plants (and herbs) that are pretty fun indeed. Miriam bought a persimmon tree that should also be very interesting. Pictures of the actual tree (and yard) to follow.

little thieves

So some squirrels came to take away what few hazelnuts we left behind. Stinkers. They were deliciously fed, though. Now we wait for birds ...

More garden potential

The first raised bed gets some soil ... and some hazelnut mulch around it.

This is the new raised bed, near the back door, that has two levels.

The third raised bed is near the back gate.

This is the second raised bed, from the top.

The hazelnut mulch yielded a harvest of hazelnuts. Chocolate-hazelnut brownie cupcakes with Nutella frosting, here we come! 

First raised bed

Israel watches Miriam work on the cardboard to kill the grass under the raised bed.

This one is about three feet tall.

We used coca hulls to mulch with as well as use as a soil amendment. The yard smells so very, very good.

The bed fits nicely in a weird corner of my yard.

And it matches the new fence the previous owners put in, too.

There's those cocoa hulls. Delicious. Smelling.

How Swarming

Had a little shindig. But the most important thing (har) was the fact that the house was all put together by the time most of the people got here. It sure feels good to be in a put-together house.

Sara shows off the creepy guests of honor.

Aly and Dev, hanging out in the dining room.

Aly models the mirror/clock contraption in the dining room.

Miriam's scared of the camera, but is queen of the kitchen.

My room, only slightly a wreck.

Miriam's room looks like a serene aquarium.

Up the stairs. Some Silverdale photos at the top, some Europe photos on the wall.

Miriam and her mom in the kitchen.

Miriam and Kate in the dining room, seen through the hole in the wall from the kitchen.

The top of the dining room.

The messy kitchen. But it was being well-used.

Down the hallway.

The parlor.

The parlor.

We had to fight over the candlesticks. Like a wishbone, you know?