Peggy and Dave’s Home Sweet Home

I am so excited to take you on a virtual tour of Peggy and Dave’s AMAZING outdoor spaces!!  These two folks are unbelievably talented and creative.  They think up a neat project and the next thing you know….it is DONE!  (Being friends with Peggy could be dangerous to the self-esteem…as in “Ok, now I feel like a slug- Peggy has finished 34 projects and I have managed to MAYBE buy the supplies for one. LOL)

Here is the front of their home.  Isn’t it inviting???

It is definitely past the prime gardening season in Indiana but there are still lots of things blooming in the flowerbeds!

This pink and yellow lantana is one of my favorite flowers!

Orange and yellow lantana

They have a wonderful deck attached to the back of their home.  As you step onto the deck, this amazing stained glass piece adds privacy.  Peggy made the stained glass windows and Dave added the frame and iron scrollwork. Talk about a great team!

I covet this, by the way.    =)

The photo below is looking from the covered patio/garage back toward the deck.  You can see the coveted stained glass piece in the background.

The stained glass window hanging from the garage is ANOTHER of Peggy’s original designs!

While lounging on the deck, you can watch all of the fish in the amazing pond.  I am pretty sure some of the koi are the size of large cats!  The water plants and plantings all around the pond are wonderful.  There is always something in bloom!

Feeding time in the fish pond!

Amazing to still have lillies blooming in mid-September!

The deck has a fountain and plenty of wonderful plants.  Peggy designed and made these beautiful mosaic pots.

They added a little ‘river bed’ that flows from under this huge rock and winds around the side of the deck.   (I LOVE this rock because it was a birthday present to ME from my son, Scott! One of my best surprises ever!!   Peggy and Dave ‘adopted’ it when I moved to San Diego.  And transporting it was quite an adventure.)

There are even little goldfish that swim in it.  So fun!!

Looking out from the deck, you see the swimming pool that was added this summer.

Dave added a covered patio to his garage–and now it is the perfect place to sit by the pool. ( On the wall is the shell towel rack that I showed you in a previous post.)

Next to the patio is a flower bed that contains this unique piece.  It started out as an antique bed that belonged to Peggy’s grandmother.  She had it made into a bench and then added the stained glass mosaic.  I think it is amazing!

Metal bed made into a garden bench

Peggy also ‘planted’ a few of these fun flowers made from various plates and bowls that she picked up from local thrift shops.  They add great color and a fun touch of whimsy.

And finally, another of my very favorite things is their swing and pergola. Peggy dreamed this up and they both worked hard to get it completed.  I absolutely love everything about it!!  The stained glass windows, again, are original designs by Peggy.  I could sit there all summer!!!

Peggy and Dave’s home is a feast for the eyes and it is good for the soul.  It is peaceful and beautiful….and I know they work really hard to make it so wonderful.

Now, what is that verse about ‘Thou shalt not covet’…?

Tackling the Double Decker Stairwell of Doom

Double Decker
Stairwell of Doom

One of the major adjustments of moving to San Diego is getting used to all of the PEOPLE.  So. Many. People.

In Indiana I could look out the window and see NATURE.  In San Diego, I look out the window and see PEOPLE.  Before you begin to think that I am anti-social, let me tell you that I LOVE people- just not people yelling at their kids, or arguing at all times of the night, etc. Every time I would look outside, I would see people.  Most often it was the same woman- often in a bathrobe- sitting on the steps to her apartment complex, smoking a cigarette.  It didn’t seem to matter what time I looked outside, THERE SHE WAS!   (We are talking about a serious nicotine addiction here!)  Each time I saw her, I felt my spirits dip a bit further.  My mind was racing… “I just don’t know if I can DO this.  I miss my quiet house on the hill.”

During this time, my new husband probably wondered what HE had gotten into as well!  Previously not much of a cry-baby, I could now let loose at just the mention of my kids..or when I got a ticket for parking in a ‘boat trailer space’ at the bay (Hey, we don’t HAVE those spaces in Indiana!)…or talking about holiday plans…. Heaven forbid he ask me how I was doing!  He was so sweet and patient with me.

Once my crying jags lessened, I decided to creatively block my view of ‘smoker chick’.  My friend Peggy, who is also my partner in crime when it comes to stained glass, came out to visit and while she was here she helped me organize work space in the garage.  I had drawn a design idea for stained glass windows for the stairwell so, with Peggy cracking the whip helping, we got them started.

No more ‘bathrobed smoker chick’!

This solution really was perfect for allowing light into the stairwell but blocking the less-than-desirable view.

One down…one to go!

I spent many weeks trying to figure out how to tackle painting the 20+ ft high walls in our stairwell.  Fortunately we own a sixteen foot extension ladder.  Unfortunately it was not tall enough to reach the top of those towering walls.  I think I could have paid a painter with the amount of money I spent at Home Depot buying extension poles!

Huge Walls, Huge Project!

“…Can’t…quite…reach…!!”

I finally found a solution!  I built a platform that extended the horizontal surface of the stairs.  Then I was able to turn the ladder sideways in the narrow stairwell and get a bit closer to the top of those monster walls.  I still had to use a paintbrush attached to the end of a long extension pole to cut in a few areas.  Uh, yeah…don’t look too closely.

Home-made Ladder Extender

DONE!

Painting Done! Now to hang some photos!

Please forgive the bad photos…It seems there is always a glare when I try to take get a shot of the windows.

I am really glad to have that painting job over with!  If I had to do it again, I might hire it done.  It was a beast! One great thing that I discovered during this project is the LAMBS WOOL paint roller cover.  (Insert the heavens opening and a choir of angels singing.)  This roller cover holds at least twice as much paint as a regular cover- and that is a BIG deal when you are climing an extension ladder!

Lambswool Roller Cover = AMAZING!!!