"We're Almost There!!"

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!! That is what I have been chanting this morning! Reminds me of one of the cheers my girls did back in H.S. But, the sun was shining on me today - literally and figuratively! Since we have a 0 % chance of rain today, I knew I would be trying out the "new" tarp. And - hallelujah - it fit! Now, it doesn't fit exactly perfectly because my old tarp was all one piece so because of the way it was designed, it had no slack. The new tarp was three colors of plastic fused together. I think the "weakness" that this design creates for the style of covering we have made for the little bit of slack in the tarp. But, for some reason, I am O.K. with it. At least I got it to fit without having to buy a whole new one. What do you think?

Before:

After:

I love these shiny new swings with the plastic coated chain so the kids don't get splinters from sun bleached rope or whatever that stuff was!

Now that all of this is looking so happy and bright, what is wrong with this picture?

No matter how many times I bleach or pressure clean this slide, it still pretty much looks like this. I think the mildew has embedded the fiberglass. Time for a change. Off tomorrow to find a beautiful, new green slide - that hopefully won't show the dirt quite as easily as the yellow one always has! Then perhaps a new teeter totter. And then, I will probably replace a few boards. And then, something to replace the climbing rope ladder that is beginning to disintegrate. And then, perhaps the addition of a periscope. And then.....See how with me one thing always leads to another. And while I am at it, perhaps it is time to get some shade gardens going on this side of the yard. This is the end of our yard farthest away from the house and the pool. We really never come out here unless we are headed to the swing set. But, as I have been out here a lot of late, I realize that I kind of treat it as the "ugly stepsister". When we had the irrigation system installed, we included this side as well, so no excuses as far as watering goes. Guess I need to put on my "new eyes" once again to see how really bad it looks. Then, maybe I can "shop" the rest of the yard....oh, I feel another project coming on! Stay tuned!