I [Heart] My Life

Front Yard Work Continues

This week was pretty exciting in the front yard because we got our new flagstone path installed, and the old fence posts hauled away. (Notice our cute, little no-mow lawn growing away beside the path. :)  ) Next, Joe and Pam worked to reposition a stubborn rock that came with the house (it is one of 5, actually)...

The No-Mow Lawn

An update now on some of the home improvements going on around here. Last Sunday, Phil, Pam, Joe & I spent several hours putting in the first plants in our front yard -- a no-mow, native grass lawn. It is small: just 95 sq. feet, but we did it with grass plugs so it still took a long time. Pam did most of it, going out again on Monday and Tuesday to finish putting in the little grass babies. I'm so glad to see something growing in the front now!

Home Improvements: Now, What Else Can We Do With a Chainsaw?

It's been a little while since I've posted any pictures of the construction progress here at Harbor Dr. Yesterday was kind of a big day in terms of outside improvements, so I took some pictures. We are getting ready to start beautifying the front yard. First step: Remove the ill-placed Windmill Palm Tree. Step 2: Remove the ugly fence in preparation for the installation of a new fence. George brought his chainsaw over to help with Step 1, and ended up using it for Step 2, too -- which was pretty fun to watch!

Removing the palm tree: This turned out to be a tad trickier than we expected because it was so hairy. We had to dig down through the hair to the actual wood before the chainsaw could be used.

Removing the fence: We thought we were either going to hire someone to pull the fence out, or that Joe and Pam would attack the boards with a sledgehammer. Turns out, George had a much faster idea! We'll still have to pull out the vertical posts, but we are thrilled with the fence progress. And I, personally, think the yard looks a million times better without the ugly fence!

We also put George to work on a project for Kalli: Installing a cat door! We're going to introduce her to it this morning. Aside from two little jaunts out onto Phil & Pam's upper balcony, this morning's venture outside will be Kalli's first in 11 1/2 months! She's so ready to go out -- and we are so ready to have her going out again!

Thanks for all your help, George!!

A "Before" Shot of the House I Really Like

Today on my photoblog, VisualMeditations, I have one of the "before" shots I already posted here. The interesting thing, though, is to see the before-before picture of the same room taken back in May.

I love this shot. I want to get a print framed in the house. I can't explain it, but I like seeing the bare bones of the house. It is like a "true window" in a straw bail house, where there is a cut out in the plaster so you can see the actual straw. (Here is a neat photo of a "true window" with a tree design; far right picture.)

Gotta love that toilet in the living room, too. :) The man in the picture is Juan, one of the workers whose been at our house nearly every day since this project began back in April. A very, very nice guy.

Moving in Pictures!

We moved in over New Year's weekend. I took some "before" shots of all the boxes in the house. While we've unpacked all the boxes in the house and it is starting to really come together, there is still work to do before I take any "after" shots. Only one shot of moving-in upstairs as Phil and Pam are only sleeping up there now. I'll take more shots when their kitchen and bathroom are finished and they are able to really move in. The shot below is of them setting up their new IKEA bed, a project that ended up taking all day. But they report that the bed is very comfortable! (Click on the pictures for larger images.)

House Update: Sheet Mulching

This week, more progress was made on the house.

Joe did some more staining on the kitchen cupboards:

The light fixtures were installed:

And yesterday, Phil, Pam, Zomina & I got to work on the front yard. To prepare and rebuild the soil, we did a process called Sheet Mulching.  First, we ripped out this plastic border around the yard (there used to be a lawn):

Then, we chopped and removed any large plants that we no longer wanted and laid down a layer of cardboard (to keep the sunlight from reaching the old sod or any weed seeds:

Zomina was immediately attracted to the sun-warmed cardboard:

After the cardboard was covering the entire yard, we added composted chicken manure, earth worms & fertile soil and "tea" from the worm box, along with compost material (kitchen and yard waste.) During this part the yard started looking like a crazy mess -- we got some double takes from people walking by! The final layer is 4-6" of alfalfa hay and straw:

By this time is had cooled off, so Zomina had retreated to this cozy spot:

House Update: Painted Walls, Kitchen Cupboards

We are coming down to the exciting finishing details. The walls are painted and this week Joe & Pam stained the kitchen cupboards, which have been installed. Here are a few pictures Joe took last time he was at the house. They are a little blurry as he tried not to wash the colors out with the flash. Keeping them small here keeps them looking more in focus.

These are all from downstairs. The kitchen was enlarged by about 13", so they will have to fix the floor a bit, as you'll see in the second shot here.

These are a few shots of the paint. We have primarily grey walls with a red accent wall, green in the master bedroom, and yellow in the entry way.

End of October House Update

Dry wall! Getting closer and closer. This week the interior paint is happening along with stucco on the outside.

Scaffolding & Solar Panels

Harbor Drive update for the first week of September.

A House Update!

At long last, an update of the Harbor Dr. construction project. Sorry for the L O N G! delay.

First, some photos from July, what we found when we returned from Copenhagen:

And now, for August -- windows! A front door! A gorgeous deck!

We are still planning on moving back in early in October.