Spring Cleaning

I really must apologize to my readers for neglecting my blog. Some think I've abandoned it and moved on to other things. After all, we see it happen so often in blogland. I assure you that isn't the case. The reason I haven't been posting for the last few months is simply that I haven't had the time to do much in the way of knitting or other crafts. The sharing of these creative projects is the sole reason for this blog's existence.

The reason for my lack of free time? My mother was diagnosed with cancer and I have been quite busy helping to care for her during chemotherapy and the other assorted indignities of modern medicine. I won't go into details, that isn't the purpose of this blog, but suffice it to say that it has been a rather life-altering experience.

Now that things are a bit less hectic, I hope to resume my blogging activities.

We seem to have caught the spring cleaning bug at my house. Most of our free time is being spent on sprucing up the exterior of our home. I don't know about you, but I think that nothing improves a home more than a fresh coat of paint and a few pots of flowers.

We are painting the house a bright, clean white. Simple, uncomplicated and always a good choice in a hot climate, it has brightened up the feel of our covered patio already with the reflected light it provides. The trim will be in earthy brown and tan tones to help offset that almost artificial looking appearance of the bright white base color. I must say it's a real improvement over the dull rose pink color chosen by the previous owner.

The one drawback to my paint color choice is that the house no longer provides a contrasting background for some of the flowering plants in the landscape.

The 2 most prevalent flowers in the yard are confederate jasmine and white lantana. I could rip them out and replant, I suppose, but I'd rather not do that; the jasmine perfumes the air all around the house, and the lantana blooms profusely and repeatedly year-round, all without attracting bees or wasps to our yard. That's an important consideration if you have an allergy to stings, or are concerned about africanized bees in your area.

I think I'd rather add more flowers in brighter colors to the existing plantings. I don't think there is such a thing as too many flowers in the yard, do you?