Our oldest son Brian is marrying a wonderful girl named Alisha this coming Labor Day weekend. For the rehersal dinner they requested a cook out here and in our party barn. We didn't think that was fancy enough (- that's our excuse and we are sticking to it!) so we are renovating the back yard. Craig hopes to never have to mow a huge yard again and thinks gardening will be easier. We'll see about that! So he bought a baby back hoe and a dump truck for the project. He built some raised areas using landscape timbers and we are giving the yard tiers. This is a diagonal view of the yard. 
Using 720 red brick pavers we created a 17' across patio around the new fire ring so we have a great place to roast marshmallows now. I laid all the brick except the ones Craig had to cut to fill odd spaces.
So here is an in progress view of the fire ring in the rear with Craig, my mini-greenhouses in the center (with the covers off so the seedlings get sun because it was in the 80s today), the new stone walking path and closest is the stone raised bed with azaleas. The board walk, deck and porch were projects a few years ago. The wood wall is further out and extend across almost half the area side to side. It's wonderful being married to a man who can do anything but boy are we tired!
Using 720 red brick pavers we created a 17' across patio around the new fire ring so we have a great place to roast marshmallows now. I laid all the brick except the ones Craig had to cut to fill odd spaces. So here is an in progress view of the fire ring in the rear with Craig, my mini-greenhouses in the center (with the covers off so the seedlings get sun because it was in the 80s today), the new stone walking path and closest is the stone raised bed with azaleas. The board walk, deck and porch were projects a few years ago. The wood wall is further out and extend across almost half the area side to side. It's wonderful being married to a man who can do anything but boy are we tired!
The red set includes a bracelet for a nice matched set. Very classy looking and I have just the outfit to wear with it!
Okay, my favorites of the day: Marbled leaves. I began with polymer clay and have a little more to do to these puppies to finish them with pizzazz before stringing them, but I love the curl to the leaves. The curl held beautifully while baking too! They will look awesome on a finished piece. Who knew writing this on line class would be this much fun? 
The bead above is the same concept, same wooden bead with a large hole. It had a walnut stain and I didn't even paint it! The hole is much tighter now, obviously from the bulky fibers but can still be strung and hung!
