Deathtrap

When the previous owners of our house built the patio on the back, they intended to turn it into a screened porch sometime soon, so they never put up any sort of railing to separate it from the 10-foot dropoff into the driveway. I've been reluctant to invite people with small children over to hang out in our yard because the dropoff was such a kid magnet, and all we had to fence it off was a row of potted hibiscus plants. I kept figuring we'd either move before it got to be too much of a problem, or I'd convince Jason to install a screened porch.

Neither have happened, and since Liza is now turbo-powered, I've been trying to figure out how to put up a railing that wouldn't look like it belonged on a mobile home. While my parents were visiting my father and I finally got started on the project, and I finished it up today. After way too many trips to Lowes, $350 spent at the architectural salvage store in Lexington, 12 cans of spraypaint, 7 skinned knuckles and more swear words than I'll admit, here's the result:

And while I had the camera out, I got all artsy with the hibiscus:

Take this, Georgia O'Keefe:

And I finally got around to putting up the sea monster I bought at a craft show way back in the early days of this blog. I decided Liza would probably eat it if I put it in the bathroom, so instead it's stalking her in the back yard:

Yes, I've become one of those people with lawn ornaments. Next time I post, I'll have to put in a picture of the concrete burro/Mexican guy statue I plan to have installed in the front yard : )