Delays & Frustrations

Well, after a truly frustrating bought of poison ivy (no emergency room trip this time, but did miss work because of a swollen face…) 2 busy weekends, missed delivery dates and threats of rain, I still have no new roof. Now, don’t let that make you think I’ve been sitting on my tush since the last post though. Thanks to a huge effort on the part of Marc & Sara the entire right side of my yard has gone from overgrown jungle to a perfectly clean slate. It took 2 days of hard labor digging out roots, trimming trees, knocking out trees, clearing shrubs, and removing overgrowth. This work is featured in several pictures both before and after shots so you can truly appreciate the hard labor. (Labor just sounds like a much more intensive word that work. My partner teacher always tells the kids to show with their writing, not tell. I think labor is a much more telling word that work. To me it conjures up images of sweat and blisters, true work! But I digress, although this should come as no surprise to anyone…)

Side Yard Before

Side Yard After

The Shed Overhang Before

The Shed Overhang After (notice it's gone!!)

Back Patio Before

The Back Patio After

Once all of the junk was cleared, I took advantage of Washington County’s Spring Cleaning free dump weekend. Thanks to the help of James & Sammy Zeiders and Kyle Duggan with the help of the Zeiders’ truck it only took two full truckloads, plus 2 huge trailer loads to clean up the mess. Along with all of the brush, I was able to get rid of the broken stove, vent hood, microwave, sink, excessive trim, old mailbox, waste concrete, the entire back roof/overhang from the shed and other heavy pieces of trash.

The Dream Team!

Trailer Load One!

Speaking of waste concrete, while clearing the backyard, we discovered a large patch of excess concrete. Did I mention it was a large piece of concrete? An old large piece?? You can see it in the picture of the cleared backyard and concrete mess. It’s the large gray piece just to the left of the center of the pic. I have a call into the man who originally built the house in ’61 to see if he remembers what it the world it was. Don’t you love small towns??

The Side Back Yard After with Random Concrete

I spent 2 hours on Saturday clearing out 3 feet of

flowerbed in the back. I’m slowing working my way around. The process is frustrated by huge roots, old toys, short roots, building debris, tough roots, rocks, small roots, trash, and a few more roots. Excess top soil also has to be hauled to the front yard a wagon load at a time. Removing the soil allows space for the mulch to sit in the bed, not flow out onto the patio. The short part of the “L” is finished, full of growing irises from Colorado, clearance hyacinth from HEB and a gorgeous mandavilla. Eventually it should vine out and climb all over the brick wall in the back. I’ve included a picture of the patio when I purchased the property and a current one. Notice the sideways chairs in "The Back Patio After." A cat has taken up residence on my chairs and leaves hair everywhere. They’ve also started using my cleaned flowerbeds as restrooms. This does not make me happy, so I’ve turned the chairs to discourage this.

The outside is not the only place taking shape. More finishing touches are starting to appear inside as well. The living room is SLOWLY beginning to look like a place you’d actually want to hang out. The appearance of crown moulding and baseboards are much beloved touches. You might be asking why? Why in the world am I so excited about having up the mouldings. Well, they finish the room. It’s like a super model all done up in makeup with bushy Cronkite eyebrows. Waxing those caterpillars will make all the difference and finish her look. Adding mouldings are like waxing your eyebrows. (Bet Norm Abrahm never made that reference!!) Instead of looking like a work in progress, it makes the room look finished, albeit, empty. It’s a true feeling of completion. (If you don’t have trim moulding up in your house or in a room, I STRONGLY recommend that you do it. It’s makes all the difference in the world!)

The living room isn’t the only place that got its finishing touches. The hallway also received baseboards. Please only look at the wonderful baseboards, not at the floor that needs a serious scrubbing!! The built-ins in the living room have also started to fill up. So far I like the look, but I’m keeping an eye out for more things that sparkle to put among the antique books.

If the rest of this week proves fruitful with the addition of a new roof, I’ll let you know. Given the gray skies and the occasional drizzle, along with a damp forecast, I’m not holding my breath! ;)