Katie, the Home Wrecker - Girl Interrupted

Author's Note:  This post first appeared on my craft blog, The Seaside Rose Cottage, on June 21, 2010.

Katie (short for On Golden Pond's Katherine Hepburn) is our newest Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. An adorable, almost 10 months old Blenheim, Katie is quite the character.  Her facial expressions tell you exactly what's on her mind and she has attitude with a Capital A. Usually she's loving and playful, smart and cuddly, and she's always finding new and interesting ways to get into mischief.  But she does not like having her "fun" interrupted.

For almost a month now, it seems like every time I turn around, I am finding Katie with a nail or a screw in her mouth.  It's been driving me crazy because we are very careful with little things a dog could swallow.  If she did manage to swallow one, it would be a medical nightmare.

Typically I will hear something going "clink clink" on the wood floor and I'll look down to find Katie playing with a big nail or a short rusty screw.  In the past three weeks I've taken away at least 3 screws and almost a dozen nails. I have gone crazy trying to figure out where she is getting them.

At first I thought that someone must have spilled some in the workshop and that she was somehow getting in there and scavenging. That part of the house is generally off limits to the dogs and the workshop door is not left open so that was a stretch to begin with.  And these were not new nails and screws - in fact, they all appeared used.... as in, old....  with painted or rusted or tarnished tops.  But I couldn't come up with another reasonable, alternate explanation so to be sure, I checked the workshop half a dozen times. For the record, there are no nails or screws lying around there at all, nothing on the floor she could have gotten into, even if she could have morphed her way through the door.

This morning, while I was cooking my husband's breakfast, I heard the familiar "clink clink" again on the wood floor right next to me.  Lo and behold, there was Katie playing with another short rusty screw. I took it away from her, again totally puzzled as to where she'd found it. She was clearly unhappy with me and scowled her indignation.  I saw that same expression many times on my teenagers' faces. Yikes. Wait till she starts asking to borrow the car keys and I say "no". I can imagine the look I'm going to get. 

After breakfast, I went out to clear the last of the breakfast dishes off the table on the deck and there was Katie, on her belly, wiggling and twisting with her snout locked in what appeared to be a kiss with the outside wall of the house where the trim boards overlap the exterior clapboards.  It took a minute for my brain to process what I was seeing – at first, I thought she was having a seizure – and then I did a double take when I realized that she was actually pulling a nail from the cement fiber clapboard siding. 

These nails are flush with the siding and the trim boards, so don't ask me how she was getting her little teeth under the lip of them, but there she was, twisting and pulling, twisting and pulling, until she finally eased the nail out.

I quickly snatched it from her and when I told her "No, no, no!" she gave me a baleful look and then took her sweet time coming inside.  I told her she can't play outside alone anymore if she's going to dismantle the house. And dismantling the house she was; she had removed at least one nail from the lower section of each of the trim boards.  

Checking a little more carefully, I discovered where she is getting all the screws.  She had been raiding hardware from around the frames that support the many sets of sliders we have.  I had not been able to figure out why the kitchen slider kept jamming and wouldn't slide open and close easily.  

These are top of the line Pella doors that always slid smoothly in their tracks, but lately they had been sticking and jamming and it had been a struggle to get them to slide back and forth across the track.  The problem, however, was that the frame and track were loose!   In fact, the frames and tracks were loose on all three sets of sliders that opened onto the deck.  She had dutifully removed virtually every screw that was within her reach around the bottoms and sides of each set of doors.  Since we rarely open the doors from the living – dining room, we had not realized where all the screws were coming from until that morning.

 What a character Katie is!  She gives new meaning to the term "home wrecker".  (Cute though, isn't she.) 

Top photograph:  Unhappy when she can't have her way, she scowls.  

Bottom photograph:   The dogs are not allowed to beg at the dining room table and are expected to nap quietly when the family is eating.  Katie found a way not to beg but still remain under foot by curling up under the table and resting her head on the ornate curved bars that span the table legs.)

The Best (Outdoor) Room in the House!

We've been enjoying our deck with it's sun-filtering canopy and wind softening side curtains, bubbling fountain, and raised beds and pots.

When we added a few pots and raised beds last year, it was the beginning of a transformation that converted a rarely used, unattractive deck into a warm and welcoming haven that has become one of our favorite "rooms".

Prior to last year,  we primarily used our deck for cooking on the barbecue grill.  The color of the floor boards and style of the railings were uninspiring.

Although we had comfortable furniture, the deck was a vision in gray and tan, totally lacking in aesthetic appeal.  It was not a place we enjoyed spending time.  The umbrella over the table provided little relief from the broiling sun that bakes the deck for most of the day and the settee, although comfortable, wasn't at all inviting when temperature and humidity soared into the 90's.  As far as we were concerned, it was wasted space.

We tried to dress it up with some potted annuals - mostly petunias and fuchsias - but we spent more time tending them than we did relaxing on the deck.  I also grew the climbing rose, "New Dawn" in a pot, hoping it would grow along the rails and posts on the upper section of the deck immediately off the kitchen (the area in the above photograph).

I was hoping for the same lush growth we have on the fence behind the herb garden.  That was not the best idea - it's a very thorny rose and that made it very unpleasant if you were seated next to it and it was hard to move to a more protected area for the winter.

Growing a rose this size in a pot did not yield the same results that we see with the New Dawns we have growing in the garden.  The canes barely extended to reach along one six foot section.  Since it's growth was definitely restricted by the pot, we didn't get the effect  we were hoping for.

Late last summer I transplanted it into the garden where it is much happier and this spring, I planted some hollyhocks along the rails.  We have not given up on potted roses on the deck, but I am finding that miniatures make a much better option for containers and work well with the lavender we have growing there as well.

Frustrated because the rabbits and dogs had eaten most of our tomatoes the previous two summers and impressed with the success some friends of ours had growing them on their patio in large buckets, I decided to give container gardening a serious try.

We found huge, inexpensive, decorative planters on sale at K-mart and there were window boxes to match.  I grabbed a couple of the long window boxes, thinking I would set them along the railing with some herbs.

Then I spotted some inexpensive kits for raised beds made from a composite material.  There were only two left and since the boxes were damaged, they were heavily discounted.  An idea was born and in the space of a morning, a deck garden had begun to take shape.

Two raised bed kits gave us a bed that was 4 feet wide by 12 feet long for vegetables.

We planted sun worshipers like basil and colorful petunias in window boxes along the railing behind the table.

Even the dogs began to spend more time on the deck, especially when the early evening shade gave a respite from the sun.

We added hanging pots of annuals for bright color.  I wanted to create the feeling of a conservatory and so over the course of the summer we watched for sales and markdowns and soon a hydrangea tree and some lilac shrubs took up residence on the deck.

This spring, we added both a lemon tree and a fig tree and we'll be enjoying our favorite recipes this fall as both trees are weighted down with ripening fruit.

Our first year with raised beds was successful beyond our expectations but it was also a learning experience.  I learned that four foot wide raised beds might be great in the garden, but against the side of the deck, they were impossible to maintain.  Reaching the plants in the back meant I had to step into them, and very quickly the dogs decided they wanted to play in them too.

The first beds we planted weren't deep enough and it was difficult to keep them from drying out. Add to that a 2 month drought and it was a daily struggle to sustain our vegetables and herbs.  And they took up so much space it was difficult to arrange the furniture in a way that maximized our ability to entertain and enjoy the space.


This year we rebuilt all of the raised beds to make them narrower but deeper and easier to tend, and to make better use of the living space on the deck.

By making the raised beds only half as wide but twice as long (which required the addition of several boards from additional kits), we were able to extend them along the entire length of both the upper and lower levels of the deck, replacing the window boxes which had provided precious little actual gardening space.

We kept roughly the same amount of total planting area but with the beds and open space laid out in a more user friendly arrangement, the deck is much better suited to gardening and entertaining.

And instead of just flowers on the upper deck and vegetables in the raised beds, this year we planted a true kitchen garden that includes an eclectic mix of annuals, perennials, herbs, vegetables, and even some house plants in all of the pots and beds.

I love the fact that salad greens, vegetables, and the herbs that I cook with the most are a few steps from my cutting board.

Perhaps the most dramatic and important change we made last year was the addition of a canopy.

Near the end of the season, we found a simple to erect "pop-up" canopy that we added over the upper section to shade the table.

 It took one brief thunderstorm to realize that bolting it to the deck was critical.  The canopy top is held on with Velcro and when high winds or rain are expected, we simply lift the corners and undo the Velcro and let the cover sag between the struts to prevent damage from wind and a heavy collection of water.

We also found some heavily discounted cushions in an attractive blue and green print that matched the color of the house. The new cushions completely changed the color palette to one that was more to our liking.

This spring, on a whim, I added swagged scarves to the canopy and the effect was amazing.

I used 22 foot  nylon window scarves that I draped loosely and secured with plastic cable ties. They are easy to install in spring and come down with a snip of the tie in fall.

Casual dining has a luxurious feel under the draped canopy and a paper and bamboo lantern fitted with an electric bulb attachment adds just enough light for dining after dark.

A lantern is suspended from the center of the canopy. The white cord is secured to the struts with white cable ties and is relatively unnoticeable.  The on/off switch is tucked in the draped curtains that cascade along theh poles for easy access.

The area lends itself to both fancy teas with china and casual cook-outs with paper plates.

The beds provide zinnias and cosmos for cutting, herbs such as basil and rosemary, and an assortment of vegetables that changes with the seasons. Hollyhocks are planted along the back and are just beginning to mature and set buds.

The Meyer lemon is full of buds and small lemons.

 

Squash, cucumbers, peppers, and lettuce share the space with  marigolds and petunias, geraniums, and some house plants. Earlier in the season we had sugar snap peas.

The hydrangea, Meyer lemon, and a lilac create a verdant corner.

The wider beds have a much greater visual impact than the narrow window boxes and we were able to plant more herbs and vegetables for a true kitchen garden.

We've added annuals to most of the large pots for extra color as well.

These lilacs bloomed later than the shrubs in the garden and added dramatic color to the deck in June.

The hollyhocks in the background have had a major growth spurt over the past couple of weeks and are now towering over the zinnias. I hope they will bloom this year and next year as well. The goal was to have them form a tall, thick border in front of the railing.

Our first year with a fig tree promises to be a tasty one!

We've added hanging pots in every nook and cranny. Here, they form a lovely backdrop for the cherub fountain.

Early in the season we had an enthusiastic crop of sugar snap peas that climbed over and through the deck railing.

The narrower raised beds allow the furniture to be placed in an arrangement that promotes socializing and conversation, with ample room to walk by. And yes, that is a second grill. The grill on the upper level is used for most meals and foods that everyone in the family can enjoy. This grill is used for fish and mushrooms so a family member with severe allergies to both can avoid contamination of her food with things that cause life threatening reactions.

Our Katie enjoys an afternoon nap on the settee.

Deck Canopy: Dressed for Success

Last summer, our seldom used deck became a favorite hangout with the addition of raised beds filled with flowers and vegetables, large potted trees and shrubs, and a canopy that offered shade from the sun.

With tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, lettuce, and cucumbers planted among pots of geraniums, petunias, balsam, and herbs, it was paradise and a kitchen garden all in one.

This spring we've added a Meyer lemon and honey fig and with the tree hydrangea and the lilac shrubs,  it has become a veritable mini forest. The four foot wide raised beds were too hard to tend from one side so we reconfigured them to make it easier to weed and cultivate. The extra two feet we gained by making them narrower made the living space much more flexible. But the ambiance created by the addition of sheer curtains draped and swagged over the canopy framework was the most dramatic change of all.

Inexpensive curtain scarves from Wal-Mart have transformed a clearance aisle, end of season bargain canopy into an elegant haven. I used plastic cable ties to hold the gently draped sheers in place and at the end of the season, it will be a simple matter to snip the ties and remove the curtains to launder and store them for the  next season.

My only disappointment:  it was raining cats and dogs today so I couldn't sit out and enjoy it!