From Shabby Chic To...A Little-Less-Shabby Chic

We both still love the idea of stripping the built-in down to the bare wood & refinishing it, but let's face it -- it's going to be a while before we get to that.

This is where we left off last March, when Zoey arrived, & we needed to stop creating lead paint dust:

This week, as part of the general sprucing up efforts, I put a thin layer of paint on the parts that still need a lot of love, & left the better spots bare. It should still be straightforward to start the project again if we want to; in the meantime, we're hoping this looks a little neater, & hopefully is a little more in keeping with the general eclectic decorating style of the house.

Mars Farm 2013: Sprouts, More Seeds, Raised Beds

The weather continues to get warmer, the days continue to get longer, & sprouts are starting to come up at Mars Farm:

Snap Peas!

Lettuce!

There were beets planted here before the dog got in. Bad dog!

Meanwhile, this weekend, I planted some more seeds:

Herbs!

Herbs & Thai chile peppers!

I also finished building the raised bed for the pumpkins:

Mr. Bunkport's leftover lumber -- cut & ready to go!

Front panel completed! 

Backing the open spaces between the wood planks is a section I cut from a livestock feed sack I found on our neighbor's 'free' pile on the sidewalk. My hope is that it will allow more heat from the sun to get to the soil, versus if there were just more wood there instead.

Back panel completed!

The sides go on!

Almost done!

Not quite square, but done!

It's 22 inches high, 3 feet long, & 19 inches wide. Why so big? Pumpkins require deep beds, & since I can't really dig into the existing soil without accelerating the slow collapse of the concrete wall on the north side of the yard, I thought this was the best way to take advantage of the great sun on that side. 

Also, this will be great for tomatoes next year. They also require deep beds, & as it happens, are poisonous to dogs -- I'll be able to put 2 or 3 tomato plants in here next year without a problem, & also not have to worry about the dog getting into something she shouldn't.

This was also a great way to use up the lumber sitting in the garage. The only thing I bought for this project was a hand saw & a box of nails.

After the pumpkin box was finished, I used the scraps to make a little (16 inches long, 8 inches wide, 7 inches deep) box for a small, round variety of carrots I just got:

Here it is, with soil & seeds in the sun:

In a couple weeks, I'll be able to get the pumpkin box out into the yard & the pumpkin seeds planted in it. All this waiting is unbearable!

Garage & Garden

Spring has sprung, & today is Chinese New Year -- that makes for a perfect weekend for more garden & cleanup projects around Mars!

Finished cleaning out the small room in the garage, & rolled out that carpet I found last weekend while cleaning out The Room That Time Forgot. Now Zoey has a nice big space to play & get exercise.

We've taught her to chase that beach ball & tag it with her nose.

I also finally got around to putting together some storage shelves that I got on crazy sale last month:

The wood in front of the shelves is my half-completed raised bed for the garden, made with lumber Mr. Bunkport, our contractor, left here after completing various projects last year. I'm going to plant pumpkins in it next month.

Lastly, I worked on the garden -- I dug some compost & peat moss in, to start to improve the soil & help loosen up the clay, & then got the first seeds in the ground. Here's what I'm growing this year:

I also put the planters back up on the back & front porches -- arugula on the back, and beets, arugula, lettuce, & spinach on the front. My stomach is growling already!

The Room That Time Forgot

In addition to working on getting the garden beds ready & planting 6 whole pea plants, I spent a lot of time this weekend reorganizing the garage & cleaning up the last of the forgotten downstairs rooms, or as I like to call them, "rooms."

Before:

That picture is from December 2011. It looked more or less the same when I stepped in there on Saturday morning. We can't actually use the space because of the giant hole in the floor (under that pile of junk), so it wasn't a priority to do anything with it. It's been a year since we moved in, however -- time to start cleaning up & making the place look decent!

There wasn't too much interesting in there -- mostly just trash, but a there were few neat items. There was an old heavy iron workbench vise, and a roll of industrial carpet that is surprisingly still good (the magic of plastic!). I plan to put the carpet in the small room in the garage so that Zoey can get some traction when we play fetch in there. There was also this envelope stuffed with old savings stamps, a pencil, a Disneyland Tiki Garden swizzle stick, and a 1943 five centamos coin from Mexico:

After I got the room cleaned up & the broken window covered, I put my beer brewing stuff in the usable half, some lumber & other assorted materials in the back for storage, & put these curtains up in between:

No longer looks like the place a serial killer would bury the bodies! Success!