Moni, Yep. I watch some of the same people in our county every year rototill that soil, plant that garden and then, by about late June, you cannot tell there is a garden because all you see is bermuda grass and Johnson grass. Sometimes I feel like I spend all of April through June digging out bermuda and Johnson grass and hand-pulling broadleaf weeds, but I refuse to let them take back the veggie garden area, though they always try. In July and August, how successful I am in keeping out invasive weeds depends on how many venomous snakes I encounter. Some years, there are fewer snakes and the garden stays tidier. Last year I kept having problems with timber rattlers who really were strongly drawn to the veggie garden, so after mid-July I gave up on the weeding. That left me with a lot more to clean out before planting time this year. Another reason (as I am sure you have noticed as well) that new gardeners get discouraged and give up is that they start out too big. A couple of years ago, someone here in our area rototilled an acre or two and planted a garden. It must have been in 2010, which I remember as a rainy year. Once the rain started falling in April or May, the weeds took over. By the end of June, you couldn't see the garden. At least I had the sense to start my garden here small, and then enlarge it every year until I got it as big as I wanted it. I still haven't completely won the war on bermuda, but there's less and less of it creeping into the garden every year, so I feel like I still am making progress. When friends ask me how to plant a new bermuda lawn, I tell them to start a veggie garden....or I tell them they can come dig up the bermuda that is invading my garden and take those sprigs home and plant them in the ground. I know people go to a lot of trouble seeding improved forms of bermuda, or even laying sod, but sprigs of common bermuda placed every few feet will fill in a yard in no time at all. I spent time this week digging out bermuda that has crept into the edges of my big compost pile, which is roughly 6-8' wide and 20' long. The last thing I need is bermuda on growth hormones from the compost pile. Dawn

I LOVE Palmetto Blues and I LOVE Humble Bug, too! When it looks like this is drawing to a close, say next Friday, I may have to post them all and have a vote. And don't worry, I won't offer the squashed roach as the booby prize. BTW, we also have scorpions here, so don't think you had a corner on the EEEEKKKK market in Phoenix, they don't just stay in the sewer here, they come in your house, especially if you have a lot of pine trees around, which we do. We also have "cow killers". They are called that because the sting is so bad it will knock down a cow it's so painful. (That's the legend, anyway). I don't plan to test that one out. I have seen them outside and tried to stomp on them and they don't even flinch they are so tough.

Count me in with Bronwynsmom. I take it from my grandmother. She always got up and dressed, touched up her hair, etc. Said it helped her face the day. I of course have play clothess, etc. and I work in the yard, outside a good bit. Doesn't mean I run out anywhere in those clothes though. I'm usually a sweaty mess after yardwork. On days at home, I'm very casual (yoga pants, etc. alot, shorts and tanks in summer), but not hole-y, ripped up clothing unless doing something really nasty or heavy duty yard work. I don't wear alot of make-up at any time, but if I'm going out, I'll put on a touch. I have a wash and go hair style, so it's very easy and quick to do my hair. I'm not a fan of sweats as they are not attractive on most and we don't get cold enough that often for sweats around here. There are some cuter, updated, less bulky sweat pants, cardigans, etc. out now. I feel better if I've made an effort with my appearance. It never fails if I go out looking not so hot, that's when I'll run into the most people. Bronwynsmom, it's very private here and I'm often out back in my nighties, so I get the t-shirt and undies. Your story cracked me up!! tina

That looks awesome! I love the recessed shelf. My husband just put up our tile backsplash and then we realized we could have done a similar recessed spot. But hopefully we can save the idea and do something like that when we move to bathroom renovation. I think your kitchen looks really sophisticated, comfortable, and functional! The spice rack is so cool - spices are so small but they can take up a lot of space and can make a surface look cluttered, so that storage is key. Our kitchen is very small, but I look on the bright side - we need fewer tiles, less paint, etc! Our almost-done kitchen looks like some people's "before" pictures - but we did what we could with what we had. I'm going to check out that finished kitchens blog. Thanks for the inspiration!