Oasis

I hadn't realized that taking a two week break would cause me to get out of the swing of blogging. Perhaps I'm in one of those post-visit funks and it'll take me a bit to get back into form.

So in the meantime, take a look at my redecorated balcony. It's changed from being the dull place where I stored my mop buckets to a little seating area where I can enjoy the summer weather.



The stark bare metal floor has been covered with some lovely green outdoor carpeting and I have an awning to block the hot morning sun. I've hung flower boxes from the rail and on an old hostess cart I've put more flower boxes that I used at my old apartment.



I was able to take advantage of my MIL no longer having a balcony at her new place and was given her old balcony chairs. Very comfy for knitting alfresco.



This bit of funky art was purchased by me last week when my family and I visited Wernigerode.
Here! Look at a photo of the Rathaus in Wernigerode. It's funky too!



Anyway, I collect antique keys and so when I found this hanging in an off-beat sort of gift shop in the artisan quarter of the town, I had to buy it. B hates it. He thinks hanging rusty antique keys on the balcony to be tacky.



He does, however, approve of the garden gnome. My sister thought that if I was going to have a garden-like balcony that I needed a garden gnome and so she surprised me with one. He sits peering into the livingroom through the plate glass window holding his little bucket in his little gnomey hand. I think he's hunting for beer. His name is Schweini. B named him after Bastian Schweinsteiger. Antique keys are tacky to him, having a garden gnome named after a midfielder for Bayern-München apparently isn't.

Well...at least Schweini doesn't have some sort of creepy, demented look on his face. He looks friendly. Must be from all the beer in his bucket.