When I shop at thrift stores I’m always on the lookout for outdoor decorations that have utility (such as in supporting plant life) and brightness and beauty that can withstand our moderate climate, rain and in the case of where I live, high winds. There are now areas of the backyard and side yard that have covers, such as under the gazebo near the hot tub, but I also want things to be left in the light.

With a small, sturdy table I got on sale at Lowes, I moved the large fountain in the side yard off of the wood porch to effectively extend the porch sideways. I then added some plants in terracotta pots to make sure that the dogs didn’t accidentally fall in the crack between the porch and the table on which the fountain is situated. This is a good use of space between the rose bush and the porch. The reason why I’m worried about the dogs falling in the crack is that two of our dogs are blind and senior and they are not going to be specifically aware of the movement of these pieces, but the plants with terracotta have them covered.

The recent rains brought a boost in the bloom, which is nice at this time of year when there is so little sun near the winter solstice. I’m always looking forward to days with more sunshine. It will be particularly joyful now that we have five solar-powered spinners going in the backyard, three of which are above the side porch, visible from the kitchen getting more of the afternoon sun.

As we age in place it’s nice to make safety improvements. While we don’t run up the steps to the various tiers in our backyard all the time, it is nice to have safer steps with handrails when we do for various reasons, including “hillside” gardening. Shando put this together for us. My original plan was to build a platform that was safe to climb on top of the deck in our lookout area, but even when we brought it to the lookout and walked up all the way, our own roof obstructed most of the water view of the Carquinez Strait. So much for that theory.

I was going to order a shorter set of stairs for the bottom tier of the garden with one handrail, but after we tested it out, this one fit very well, and the steps are gradual, like the staircase that came with the house up to the lookout. In the end, it was meant to be, and it matches the other decor of the backyard well, as far as I’m concerned. These steps now make the path “around” the bamboo much more practical for humans.

I’m continuing to update the coffee station to best suit our needs. The pink roses on the front side of the house always bloom this time of year, so I’m glad I was able to pick some up off the ground and display them for a few days before they completely desiccated. At least now I can compost them. It amazes me how many of the rose bushes do so well in California in the middle of what other parts of the northern hemisphere call “Winter.”

Never sewed nor had a lesson in my life, but watching my mom for years must have paid off! I just saved this robe and another similar one from the dustbin since the belts were hanging on by only a few threads on one side. A guest dog a year or two ago had gotten to both belts and chewed three holes in them so that pulling them through the loops became an increasing challenge. Shando was impressed with the tenacity of my work (perhaps not aesthetically) and could not believe it was my first time sewing and threading a needle. Unlike him, I never took a Home-Ec class. 🙂

I needed something to pop for a bed cover. I liked the red warm blanket contrasting the blue headboard and the green wall, but it was not quite big enough. After years of owning this same bed, I’ve come to the realization that it must be a California King and not just a King because King-sized blankets never fit well enough. I bought this paisley California king cover and it’s bright enough, but the pattern isn’t as visible as I had imagined it would be from afar. At least it fits and I like the material, and it goes pretty well with the matching lamps that I now have in the bedroom. None of the variety of reds was close enough to the red color of the warm blanket we have here, so I decided to go in another direction.

Previously I had some desk lamps that looked like they belonged in an office. They matched, which I think is important for both nightstands, but these cheap-looking “Tiffany-style” lamps made of plastic are a little more colorful and fit better in the bedroom. The REAL fake Tiffany-style lamps are in our living room, of which there are now three, and they are much more convincing (and expensive) but nothing near the price that a real Tiffany lamp would cost. At least they’re glass and intricate. The bedroom decor is more fun and utilitarian since so many fewer guests would ever see it anyway.

We only have this bathtub because demolishing it would mean future grandchildren had nowhere to bathe in our house since we have two walk-in showers in the bathrooms now (such a dream). However, this bathtub, as nice as it is with the big window letting natural light in was SCREAMING for something, so I determined it had to be a caddy. I love the way it looks!

Our small bathroom is Parisian-themed in part because I had an Eiffel Tower shower curtain before converting the bathtub into a large walk-in shower. Now that I have an odd number of Eiffel Tower icons, I can put them in one place again!

I’m constantly looking for utilitarian objects to manage our bathroom tools and supplies. Some are more practical than others.

We had a small bridge in this location for a while which the dogs didn’t really use much and which was hard to see. It also only took like one step for a human. This new bridge feature may be redundant, but it looks great and will contribute to the continuity of the paths that we have in our uniquely shaped garden. The guardrails are actually high enough for a human and it makes a great transitional piece that fits with our decor, as far as I’m concerned.

To his credit, Shando put it together himself in our garage. He never looks forward to these kinds of projects and when we first placed it in this spot it was dusk, so he was skeptical that it would work. We had to jerryrig one side of it to keep it balanced, but in the daylight, despite the rain, we both love it.

The smaller bridge that we used to have is now up in the tiers and will used exclusively for dogs!

For perspective, you can see BOTH bridges here:

This is a combination of all other areas of the house that I didn’t spend too much time redecorating, but I still want to memorialize the updates just the same.