Parsley, Plants, Plans, and a Pushcart

The parsley has gone wild! Every time I cut a bunch and use it to cook and the plant seems to replenishes itself, fast.

Fresh parsley has so much flavor. I've used it on fish, eggs, pasta, vegetarian chili, and a vegetable lasagna I made yesterday.







George gave me this hanging bougainvillea for the deck. He knows I love them and it looks so pretty from the kitchen window. It's a nice view while washing dishes.







George cleared out a bunch of nasturtium (which we have no shortage of) and planted this Pink Bower Vine we got from East Bay Nursery. They are very helpful and have a big selection of trees and plants. We are gradually reconfiguring this area. He has a plan.

     Last weekend at a Flea Market held at the Senior Center I got this cute pushcart for the patio. Isn't it cute?

We've been clearing weeds out slowly but surely and planted flowers from seed in this section by the rose bush that are growing pretty well. 








The Roma tomato plants are producing. There are a lot of green ones growing and we harvested one tomato so far.

And last but not least, we finally got a nice Loveseat/Chaise/Ottoman furniture set! It fits perfectly in this small room.

This post is brought to you by the letter P

and P.S. maybe it's just me, but this new blogger format give me more trouble that it used to with formatting posts....  

as you can probably tell with the awful spacing, ugh.

DIY Songs

Taking a break from DIY and listening to the songs in our vast digital music collection has made me experience some songs in newer, different ways.

So for something different, I'm posting, just a few recommendations (for you guys), some songs that seem DIY-ish that reflect some thoughts that go through me from time to time.   They are all available on Itunes btw.

Enjoy!

DIY listening for the guys:

Lay, lady lay, - Bob Dylan

Wrapped around my Finger - The Police

It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr

Shine like it Does - Inxs


Any other suggestions?

DIY Payoff for the Amateurs

I wondered how all this "sweat-equity" would turn into something meaningful and I'm happy, and proud, to report we successfully completed our first refinance.

Basically, we were able to get a full point rate knocked out, move from FHA to CONV and found that we added a lot of equity to this old house.  Despite the difficult times we live in, where many people are enduring the hardships of being underwater, we were able to systematically improve our home and make it more valuable.

We were fortunate enough to have worked with  loan officer Chris Garza of RMC Vanguard,  a direct lender with a reputation for satisfying customers. The communication channel with Chris was always open and the good faith estimate was very close to what the actual closing numbers would be. Although new lending restrictions can make the process seem like you are just 1 of many in a pile, Chris does a pretty good job of making you feel like you are an individual with individual concerns.

We are also grateful for all of the tips and advice in the past and hope our little blog will help give you insights into how you can be pretty good, amateur DIYers.

Here are a few pics I took today, in honor of all those ideas and tips we found online and off, of things around our house: