We spent the entire day in the yard, sweeping and picking up the debris that accumulated over this very long winter. Despite having cleaned out all the leaves more than once last fall, it seems that many of them found their way back again. Our courtyard felt like I was walking on the forest floor. We still have quite a bit of work left to do, but most of the dirty work is done. The planting and detailing is the fun part.

We celebrated the long working day with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and then topped it all off with carryout. (Carryout is Urban Chic.) The kids were great and played in the sandbox or on the swing set for most of the day. No big bumps or bruises and all of the children are up to date on their tetanus shots. They spent almost the entire day outside and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

I wish I could say I took some great pictures but I didn't get a single one. We must have been too busy working. I could kick myself for not getting the "before" pictures of a dumpy old table that we restored into a masterpiece. Instead, here are the pictures of last year's garden taken shortly before Meryl's first birthday in June. After another week or two of work, I'll take some of this year's garden and see how far we've come.

Here's a cute picture of the back patio and the cute little circus tent that Nons (Jill) bought for the grandchildren.


Here's one of the courtyard. It's going to be ten times cuter this year. Our new table and the wrought iron settee will be perfect.


And here's one last picture of the kids' cute little playhouse. A tiny cottage in the woods, right in the middle of the city!

So girls, do you think we can do better this year?

Maggie