Memorial Day

Well, today I finished the door project by painting the back door Spiced Plum.  This shows a little bit better how it looks in the sun.  I didn't get out front in time to photograph the front door in sunlight. 

(the Union Jack isn't on the door...it's on the wall behind it)

As I said, I didn't quite make it out in time to photograph the front with the sun directly on it, but this is mid-day, and you can see the wreath on the front door now too.

My neighbor who has a signature row of 70-year old peony plants in front of her house let me pick a few today.  I put them in my Grandma's silver vase I love so much, and they are fragrancing up the whole entry. 

(Don't worry...I checked them for ants)

Newly Plum Front Door!

We have a new front door color!  Behr Spiced Plum.  It only took me ages to decide for sure what color to use, but I'm quite happy with the result.  In shade, it looks a bit more purple, and in the sun, a bit more magenta, but I like it both ways.  Here it is in shade tonight...I'll try to get pictures in sunlight tomorrow.

You can see I also painted the flower box scrollwork today too.  Tomorrow I'm going to do the back door.  This picture below better shows how the door color coordinates with the new roof too.

By the way...find the hidden Spidey in the below picture...

You can see there have been other changes around here too...we had the maple tree removed from the front yard, since the roots were getting into the sewer.  But we hope to plant another smaller tree (probably Serviceberry) closer to the front corner of our property along with a new triangular flower bed over there.  I think it'll balance out the front yard better, since there's more room on one side of the sidewalk than the other.

In case it isn't blatantly obvious, the below picture is heavily photoshopped to show how we want things to end up looking...not how they are quite yet.

Iris Wednesday

Two years ago in the fall, my friend Renee gave me two bulbs for tall dark black-purple irises.  Last year, the shoots of the leaves came up, green and fan-like, and stayed that way all year, with nary a sign of a bloom or even a stalk or bud.  This year, I was shocked to see buds, and as the days went by and more of the tightly curled petals could be seen on the bud, I was more and more excited to see the full bloom.

Which I woke up to this morning.

Look at the SIZE of that bloom!!!

The petals are even darker in person, a black purple.

Squirrel Planter!

There have been a LOT of changes around Catty-Corner Cottage lately!  We have a brand new roof, this year's flowers and plants starting to flourish, our red maple tree removed from the front yard, a new chandelier in the almost-ready-to-debut finished dining room...so much!

The thing is, I have to repaint my door to coordinate with the new roof, and until I do that I don't want to share the changed exterior.  And I want to get some super-good pictures of the dining room before I share that too.  So I've been busy around here, but that's why the blog has been quiet!

Saturday was the Great Granville Garage Sales.  At last year's event, if you recall, I got my gothic-style table that once was used in a church.  Like last year, this year I only found one item to buy, but it was a stand-out item again.

Late in the garage sale season last year, I found a super super heavy stone garden plinth for $10 (I can't believe it either).  I've been needing a planter for the top of it.  Well, at Saturday's sale, I came across one that was too perfect to pass up.

A pair of squirrels on each side of the heavy stone planter form an ornamental design reminiscent of Arts & Crafts design with their tails.  Acorns adorn the center of the pattern.

At $20, it was a bit more than I usually pay for something at a garage sale, but I knew I'd deeply regret it if I didn't bring it home.

And look at how lovely it is filled with coleus by the gate!