About Me
- Pamela Clare
- I grew up in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, then lived in Denmark and traveled throughout Europe before coming back to Colorado. I have two adult sons, whom I cherish. I started my writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor of two different papers. Along the way, my team and I won numerous state and several national awards, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service. In 2011, I was awarded the Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism. Now I write historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense.
Seductive Musings
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Saturday, July 09, 2011
Home improvement
It’s been a busy week around here. After 13 years of having the same faded, worn, chipped paint and crumbling siding on my house, I took the plunge (i.e., broke out the credit card) and got my house restored and painted.
It used to be dingy yellow. Now it is a very sweet shade of blue with bright white trim. It’s not quite finished yet — the trim above the upstairs window needs to be reconstructed and most of the trim still needs to be painted or given a second coat — but we’re so close! There’s a big redwood deck in back that will soon be refinished and stained, but you can’t see that in this photo.
Of course, it’s only natural that when I decided to put myself into debt for restoration on the house that other stuff would break down. Last weekend, right after the painting work began, my dishwasher gave up the ghost. It was eight years old. Unwilling to spend time doing dishes by hand, we got a new one. Another blow to the credit card. And the blinds I ordered to replace broken ones in my bedroom and in the kitchen before my Danish friends arrived— they left my house on June 27 — will finally be installed on Monday — also on credit.
Bottom line: nicer house, but bigger bills!
For the record, I don’t believe in using credit cards. But there are some times where you just get sick of finding pieces of your walls on the grass, you know? I guess I need to get writing!
In this photo, you get a glimpse of my flower garden, which brings me so much joy, in this photo. The veggie garden is off to the right behind that little wooden fence. The roses badly need to be deadheaded, but some are still in bloom. That’s butterfly bush in the foreground (purple) with hollyhocks lower right. The roses are kind of little puffs of pink around the place.
Just wanted to share the photo with you all.
Upcoming stuff —
An interview with Tina Lewis Rowe, the former U.S. Marshal who was a source for me for Breaking Point and who got a walk-on part in the book because she rocks so much.
A look at the reissue of Sweet Release and Carnal Gift, which will be available as self-published eBooks by August 1. I’ll tell you how they’re different.
Other stuff —
Those of you who haven’t joined the fun on the I-Team group page are missing out. Every day is MTM there, thanks to the fun women who share photos of super-hot men from around the universe. Click here to join.
Also, my website has been updated. There are links to the limited supply of autographed books my son Benjamin is selling through eBay, as well as some fun new foreign covers, including the Japanese release of Untamed, translated by the wonderful and gracious Kyoko Nakai.
I’m off to work on Connor’s book. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
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9 comments:
Now I can see that it's blue
Well atleast now it's all done & you won't have to worry about it for a long time. I love the blue. Very pretty! And your flowers are gorgeous. The deer around here eat everything I plant so I don't have a single flower in my yard. :-(
Looks like your own little piece of heaven! Love the color,very peaceful looking!
Yes, Michelle, it is definitely blue. I wish it had shown up on Skype.
Hi, Tonya — Thank you! We get rabbits but oddly not too many deer. More than that we get raccoons, coyotes and foxes. Last year, the little masked bandits ate every single ear of corn we planted. This year — no corn. There are kinds of flowers that deer won't eat. Maybe you can research that a bit.
Hi, Landipan — It is that. This is my sanctuary. It's where I try to hide from the world and where I've raised my younger son and where I write.
Here are some links, Tonya:
http://www.northerngardening.com/deerplants.htm
Deer Resistant Plants
By Rita M. Brehm
For the Gazette
Lists of deer-resistant plants vary according to area. Your garden may fare better if you choose plants that deer do not like, but remember that starving deer are not particular about what they eat. If they're having a rough winter, or suffering from drought conditions, they'll even eat things that are bad for them, Jim Knight, Extension Wildlife Specialist for Montana State University said. Here is a partial list of deer-resistant plants:
Trees
Maples, Honey, Locust, Hawthorn, Oak, Birch, Ash, Douglas Fir, Bristlecone Pine, Colorado Blue Spruce, Austrian Pine, Mugo Pine, Canada Hemlock, Engelman Spruce.
Shrubs
Barberry, Juniper, Lilac, Mugo pine, Potentilla, Rubber Rabbitbrush, Spirea, Red Osier Dogwood, Mockorange, Fragrant Sumac, Common Buckthorn, Buffaloberry, Bridalwreath, Viburnum, Chokecherry, Currant, Elderberry, Gooseberry, Caragana.
Vines
Bittersweet, Clematis, Baltic Ivy, Honeysuckle.
Perennials
Columbine, Astilbe, Tickseed, Bee Balm, Blackeyed Susan, Bleeding Heart, Campanula, Catmint, Purple Coneflower, Gaillardia, Gayfeather, Bluestem Joe-Pye-Weed, Cranesbill Geranium, Foxglove, Dianthus, Hellebore, Bugbane, Sunflower, Canytuft, Iris, Japanese Anemone, Lavender, Lupine, Monkshood, Pearly Everlasting, Penstemont, Peony, Poppy, Lungwort, Daffodil, Goldenrod, Speedwell, Yucca, Yarrow, Salvia, Russian Sage, Dedum, Shasta Daisy.
Ground Covers
Carpet Bugle, Lily-of-the-Valley, Periwinkle, Pachysandra, Lamb's Ears, Lamium, "Silver Brocade" Artemisia, Snow-in-Summer, Thyme, Dead Nettle.
Of the plants listed, I have a lot of them. Maybe that's why I don't get deer. We have lots of columbine and lavender, as well as Russian sage, a ton of thyme and lily of the valley, as well as peony, penstemon, yarrow, salvia, sage, sunflowers, and purple coneflowers.
Thank you so much! I had no idea there is flowers that deer won't eat. I try to always have something for them to eat when they come visit every evening. And we have an apple tree in the pasture that they eat from but they still come back after dark & eat everything we have tried to grow. Before we moved to the country we always had a pretty yard with flowers. I have missed them. My friend that cuts my hair told me that she has a lot of people ask her to save hair clippings for them. They say if you sprinkle them around your garden it will keep the critters away. I haven't tried it but a lot of people say it works. Thanks again! That made my day!
Are they MY hollyhocks coming from France, Pamela???
;-))))))
Oh, Pamela. What a beautiful home! I love your flower garden. It looks so relaxing and like a place you just want to go and spend hours! I'm so jealous! We don't have that much green up here in the high desert... though my rosebushes do thrive!