My Garage

Backyard Cottage

Last week I posted this photo which I said is my inspiration of how my cottage garage 

might look with a little work.

I thought I'd go ahead and show you my garage as it is now.

Consider this the before. It may be a long while before there is an after reveal, though.

This is my house with it's newly painted windows and trim.

This photo was taken late last summer. Of course it's not that green here yet. 

Most of my grass is still yellow out front. 

The garage has the same roof color and will have the same trim color.

A lot of things are still brown. That's a pink crepe myrtle next to the pergola. 

There is a small window behind the crepe myrtle. I placed an iron decorative grill in front of it.

This is the pergola that is attached to the garage.

In summer, this area is heavily shaded by the trees in my yard.

I'd like to plant a vine on it but don't know what to plant since it's so shaded.

The plan is to create a small patio under the pergola.

The photo above was taken early last summer looking from the deck towards the pergola and garage. 

See the huge crepe myrtle that's in front of the garage.

It was needing a trim and it had just rained which is why the branches nearly touch the ground.

But see how shaded it is back in that corner. 

This is the very little side door that still needs to be painted.

I think the crepe myrtle is going to have to be thinned out a little.

You can see the main garage door itself there to the right IS painted.

The vine on the stucco wall of the garage is Virginia Creeper. 

It grows nicely up the wall but never grows on the pergola. 

Any ideas on what I could plant as a vine to grow on the pergola?

My deck was still very lush and green back last September.

I was very happy sitting out there but I'd like the garage to be pretty too.

Just another thing to add to the long list of things to accomplish.

Today, I was painting all day in the dining room.

Harvey was just beside himself not being able to be with me.

He cried and cried and pushed the baby gate down several times. 

Newman barked and barked.

Violet insisted on going out every hour which involved me stopping painting 

and going in to the other room to let her out.

She is the bossiest dog. 

I kept calling her the "Wicked Bitch of the West" today because she made me stop all the 

time to let her out or to get her water or to let her out again or to put her up on the sofa or 

to put her up in the bed or to go out yet again! She really thinks the world exists for her. 

I love her so much...but geez...it gets tiresome being her slave. 

She has been like this ever since she was a teeny tiny puppy.

When she was little...like from 12 weeks on...she'd bring her chew bone to my Dad and insist he hold it

 for her while she chewed on it. That meant while my Dad sat in his favorite spot (which we called "command central"), 

he'd have to hold his arm down and hold one end of her chew bone for her so that she could chew on the other end. 

Now he usually liked to sit and watch TV and read a magazine or the newspaper while he watched TV 

and it was impossible to do that while holding her bone for her. 

Because when holding the bone he didn't have a free hand to turn a page.

But here would come Violet and she'd sit in front of him with her bone and bark and bark and keep 

pressing her bone into his leg or holding it up or hitting him with her paws.

Sometimes...he'd yell at her..."I'm not going to hold your bone!"

It did no good. She would insist and before you knew it, he was holding it for her again.

He said lots of times he didn't even realize he was doing it. She had him so well trained. 

He would look down and see he had it in his hand holding it for her 

while she happily chewed away without having to use her own paws.

He didn't even remember taking it from her.

When Violet puts her mind to something...you ARE going to do it for her.

She just insists...there is no telling her no. She will pester you till you just give up.

It's easier just to do whatever it is she wants.

Violet "The Mean Queen"

(aka Wicked Bitch of the West)

She looks sweet but it's just because she is so beautiful. 

Truly, its like she is a beauty queen who has always gotten everything she ever wanted 

based solely on her good looks alone. 

She is everyone's favorite dog of mine and I've gotten where I just come out and say it...

"You only like her best because she is so pretty." 

They always ask me if she is my favorite and don't believe me when I say I love them all equally 

but in different ways. 

"No", they always say, "You must love her most." Just because she is so darn pretty.

She even knows the word pretty if she hears it, she immediately thinks you are talking about her and 

comes running over to you...whether she knows you or not. 

She once made a fool of herself at the park.

There was a little girl and a lady said to the little girl, "Look how pretty you are!"

Violet started running on her leash and wagging her tail making a beeline toward a complete stranger.

She stopped short and looked very confused when she saw the women lean down and take the little girl in her arms. 

She stopped suddenly and looked at me like "What?" 

And then she moped about with her head hung low when the woman never looked her way.

It was kind of sad, actually...that her own personal value relies so heavily on people thinking she is good looking.

Anyway...back to my painting and being constantly interrupted all day.

The only one of the four that didn't give me a bit of trouble was.....

Sally

She spent the day happily in my bed as she does every day. 

She lives in my bed. 

No one ever calls her pretty.

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