The Story of a Porch and a Scarf....

Somedays I get alot accomplished. Somedays I do not. Both kinds of days are great in my book~ I can definitely appreciate both.
This past week has been a week of projects which I absolutely love! I am still finishing up the rock patio. Last night I worked on it (with the occasional shovel of dirt by Mike :) until dark). The problem I am seeing though is the incredible amount of mosquitos that have their nightly party in our backyard. Does anyone have natural solutions for getting mosquitos to stay out of the yard? We have no standing water around so I have no idea what makes our yard so inviting to them. Any thoughts?

Beyond the rock patio I finished up the $20 porch!


Here's how it broke down
Porch Paint $5 (on the Oops! table at Home Depot)
Planters $4 ($2 each at the thrift store)
Plants $7.50 for both (on clearance at Meijer)
Light Fixture Free (in a box lot of other things I had bid on at auction)
Spray Paint $4

Oh crap--- I was $.50 over budget. I just now saw that. STINK! Well ok, here is my $20.50 porch! Before the porch was very drab and boring. Just a concrete slab. I purchased some terra cotta colored plastic planters at the thrift store and spray painted them with spray paint for plastics~ way super cool stuff!!!!
(( The house numbers are still being painted so they are not up yet--hence the crappy look above the door))

At first I was going to paint the entire front porch but then I was afraid that would get too slippery when it rained so I opted for a "frame". What do you think? I love it (atleast this week) and Mike hasn't made up his mind on it.
We would love to paint our entire brick house someday but that would be a long way off. For now, this will do....
Yesterday I finished up canning the apple butter which is always fun. I LOVE canning! I really think I was meant to be a Pioneer Woman. Yesterday I also made this scarf as a thank you gift for a woman I know. It took a little over an hour to sew and I was able to use fabric I already had on hand. The back side in linen and the patchwork is a linen and cotton mix.

As much as I accomplished this week I certainly feel a lazy week coming on soon!
This weekend we are going on a family hike to a bird sanctuary nearby. We are really looking forward to reconnecting as a family after a long work week and getting outdoors to breathe in some cool fall air.
Have a great weekend everyone. See you Monday, if not sooner...