Spring has sprung!

We had some warm weather this past week, so we got to go outside for some long overdue projects.

AJ took some pots and pans and baking sheets down to the antique stove, to make a final decision about whether she wants to cook on it. If the decision is yes, we will seriously look into restoring it; if the decision is no, then will just use it as a piece of furniture, as originally planned.

The decision is yes! We'll start making some phone calls and get a restorer out to take a look at it.

On a related note, in the course of researching the stove, we found out that this thing isn't for burning wood, it's a trash burner:

We also found out that the stove is likely from the 20's, based on the shape of the legs.

The front yard also got some much needed attention. I took care of the weeding, and The Mars Estate Head Gardener moved some plants that were getting too big:

Some of them made their way upstairs, into these planters:

Others were moved to the back yard.

Here is the end result, after taming the wilderness:

On Easter Sunday, the Easter Bunny left a basket on our front steps:

It was full of scones, croissant egg nests, and prosciutto egg nests -- all still warm!

What a nice thing to wake up to. Thank you Jon Easter Bunny!

Believe it or not, I also got back to the bamboo mural this week. I finished getting the chalk outlines up:

And started painting the leaf shapes white, as a base coat for the bright green:

Lastly, with the heavy rain more or less done for the season, the hammock made a triumphant return to the yard. Here is the view from the hammock:

Next up: we found a really nice, but huge china cabinet that we like for the kitchen. We just need to figure out if we can actually get it in the house. And then we need to start looking at sinks!