Good News First:
I finished up almost all of the painting a couple weeks ago and I’ve had a lot of complements on the paint color so I ‘m happy with how it turned out. I was also able to replace the skirting around the base of the porch and paint it to match the trim to keep things looking neat.
You might also notice new flowers I planted along the driveway. Most of these plants I found on Craigslist or in the five dollar section at Lowe’s. The flowers are Peonies, Coreopsis, Blanket Flower and Daylily. I think all of these plants should do well in the full sun this bed gets.
In other news… I was finally able to upgrade my porch furniture to what I always had in mind. Patio furniture is not cheap so in order to do it I had to sell my old set and use some birthday money to make up the difference. The rocker and the glider came from Lowe’s and then I sprung for the cushions and pillows at Target. The coffee table and end tables were flat-pack furniture from Walmart and were less than 30 dollars and the rug is something I have had.
Last week Home Depot had a sale on landscape timbers and I took advantage of that to use them to line the edge of my driveway (and to smash my index finger with a sledge hammer). My driveway is plain old falling apart and I ‘m hoping to be able to disguise that fact with a combination of these timbers and the flowers I planted along the other side. I’m not really sure that either of these two things did the trick, but the timbers definitely help to keep cars off the neighbor’s grass.
I also got a great deal on pansies at the Public Market for the flower boxes and those have been planted and seem to be very happy doin’ their thing in the window boxes.
Bad News Second:
Looks like I’m not working summer school this year so I not going to be able to put up the pergola I wanted to in the back yard or install a privacy fence. In fact, I wouldn’t doubt it if these were my last projects for the summer. Oh well, I supposed it will help me to become a little bit more patient and to enjoy what I have been able to do.
I am however, looking forward to reading about what all the other bloggers are up to this summer and perhaps refinishing the top of my dinning room table. Unless anybody can save me from this agony by advising a solution to water rings. I’ve already tried to iron them out, (which was most successful, but not quite good enough), mayonnaise and Restore-A-Finish.
Ittybittybungalow 
Your house looks great, it is amazing what you have done. I hope you enjoy your summer off!
John
The house looks terrific! Love the paint color, the flowers along the driveway and the porch furniture. I’m sorry you won’t have the income from summer school; that does put a big crimp in the projects.
Wow, you’ve accomplished so much! Great choice on the flowers for the driveway, by the way. I have those in my sunny front yard as well. The best thing is, they’ll come back year after year. I know the lack of additional income hurts, but I think you deserve a summer to just relax and enjoy what you’ve done.
The house and the furniture look great.
I’m sorry about the summer situation. A friend of mine does adjunct teaching at local community colleges, maybe you could find something like that?
Sorry to hear that things aren’t going to go as planned this summer. 😦
Oh, and there’s nothing better than sitting out on a front porch – your furniture is lovely, btw, and it looks so comfortable.