Gems on the Sidewalk

No, I did not say “germs” on the sidewalk, although I’m sure they are there, too…

Here’s a nice picture of my “whimsical” backyard, (“pre-mosaic curb“, I might add, if you look closely at the back corner). In the foreground, you might also be able to see spaces between the cement areas that make up the patio. After my (limited) success with cement over the summer, I decided it would be fun to fill in those spaces with cement and glass gems.You can see here that the wood that used to be in the spaces has sunk way down, leaving a lot of places where a person could trip. But really, that wasn’t my main concern. My main concern was that I wanted to do something whimsical. So I started with a very small corner, just in case it didn’t work out. I started by brushing out as much of the dirt as I could, and then I mixed up some cement and scooped it into the spaces.Next, I put in whatever glass gems I had left from my aforementioned curb mosaic and my “Whimsical Mushroom”.Have I mentioned how much fun it is to make stuff out of cement? And it’s ever so easy! (You can go back and read “Just Add Water” if you need a review.) I must say though, that this is a super easy project, compared to cement garden spheres. Since I didn’t have an old wooden spoon or anything suitable for stirring the cement, I used a paint stirrer. It worked okay, but I think I’ll try to find something a little sturdier and more spoon-like for next time.I was pretty happy with the way the first part turned out. What you’re looking at now is the start of “day two”. On day two, I seem to have put a little too much cement in one place, having gotten the idea that maybe the cement would settle as it dried. So here it is on day three, looking obviously like I had put, well, too much cement in one place.However, undaunted, I made a mental note that “cement doesn’t settle as it dries”, and continued the project. You do have to be kind of dauntless when it comes to stuff like this.Making progress!When I was really little, I was fascinated by the colorful marbles that some friends of ours had embedded in their front sidewalk. I think they might have spelled out names or dates, but I loved looking at them, and since then I’ve always wanted to have cement with marbles in it. Hence my “you can’t find marbles anywhere these days” rant from a couple of posts ago. What was funny was that while clearing the ivy away from the mosaic curb, I found……a real MARBLE! But, alas, there was only one, so I’m still waiting till I find a whole bunch of them at a yard sale. Or until I order them by the pound on Amazon, whichever comes first. So for now, glass gems will have to do.I especially like this photo, because it gives you a glimpse of my other project, the stepping stones and pea pebbles on the other side of the path.And here is how it looked yesterday, after I washed down the sidewalk with the hose.Not that I regularly wash down my sidewalk, you understand, with the drought and all…in fact, forget you ever read that last caption. Who knows how it got all wet. It may just have to be one of those unsolved mysteries…