We’ve been living in our abode for nine months now. It’s been a process of fine-tuning our surroundings to feel at home, while trying to maximize the use of what’s around.

One place of satisfying evolution has been the garage. With the door open, an incredible breeze blows through from the distant ocean. When we moved in, the space was storage for rusting barbecues, trash cans, and old five-gallon buckets of paint. Everything was covered in a film of red dirt.

I dug out the gravel in the bordering beds and planted some succulents. We moved out the massive barbecue.

We gave the zone a good sweeping, and positioned a few chairs by the fresh starts. Recently, we filled an old bathtub and added a water garden. Some rickety, but beautiful, carved panels had been tucked in storage in a far corner. The Bohemian and I hauled them out of hiding, deciding that if they need to be stored, they might as well be seen and appreciated.

The transformation is still in process, but it’s fascinating to observe how it’s evolving.

Here’s a post from April, when I was in the initial stages of change.

Though there’s further to go, it’s come a long way.