Lemonade in my Pretty New Front Yard

A few weeks ago I posted about some ideas I had for my front yard.  I had this ugly dirt patch.

I never bothered with it - mostly because I chose to think about other things.  But this year the spring has gotten my attention.

I really, really, REALLY don't have a green thumb, so although people would usually put some sort of greenery in this area, I didn't think that would be a good idea.  Instead, I decided to turn it into a sitting area - a drinking-lemonade area, a watching-the-kids-play-and-making-sure-they-look-before-they-cross-the-street area.

Here's what we have now!  We got this pretty little table from Wal-Mart's site-to-store, online.  It cost just $100, and shipping was free.  It's actually quite comfortable!  There was one that we liked a tiny bit more at Ace Hardware, but that table cost $200, so we passed.

I added some greenery.  A little potted Marigold from Home Depot ($13), and some greens passed down from a friend in the barrel behind the table.  I'll probably throw some flowers in there when they are inexpensive enough.

My mom and dad bought Steve a fountain last summer, which we moved to the front for a more prominent spot.  It's on the front left corner.  You can see it better in this picture:

And look at what I get to watch from my new spot:

Pretty birds eating from my new bird feeder!

So now instead of a bunch of dirt, rocks, and weeds, I have a pretty little spot to sit, watch birds, and drink my lemonade.

Which is exactly what I did yesterday.

Yesterday I made lemonade from scratch in about 10 minutes.  Have you ever done that?  It's such a great way to appreciate the little things in life - things like pretty yellow lemons and summery pitchers of cool, refreshing beverages.

Here's how you do it.

From-Scratch Lemonade
Served 6

1/3 cup lemon juice, fresh-squeezed (2 large lemons, maybe 4 small)
1/2 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
ice
4 cups water (appx.)

Fill a pitcher with ice.  Add lemon juice.  Stir sugar together with a little bit of water in a microwavable cup.  Microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until just boiling.  Stir to dissolve.  Pour slowly over the ice in the pitcher.  Add water to taste.

Happy Spring!