Back Yard Before

With still lots to do inside the house, of course we spent today working in our yard. Better to make progress before it gets too damn hot, which it will.

Here, some of the before pictures taken from atop a ladder.


Leaves. Lots and lots and lots of leaves. Our camphor tree drops lots and lots and lots of leaves. Notice, if you will, how there is ABSOLUTELY NO GRASS in this yard. I'll be an optimist and say that we've got a "blank slate" instead of a "dirt pile."


Piles of the stone and brick rescued from the renovation. Those will be used to make our outdoor cooking area.


Craig in the background, doing what Craig does.

Our biggest thing now is to plan what we're actually going to do. We know this: we need a shed, we need a sprinkler system, and we need more dirt. Which is why instead of bagging all those leaves we've decided to do something pretty ambitious for a couple of apartment-dwellers-turned-homeowners. We're going to compost. After all, why toss away all that possible new dirt? We'll see how it goes. Should be interesting.

What happened to January? And February? And March? And...um... April?

So, yeah... we missed a couple of months. Not because nothing was happening as far as the renovation goes (duh), only that I was lazy.

Yes. I said it. I was lazy. I could've said that I was trapped under heavy machinery, and there has been a bit of that lying around, but that would've been a lie. I've also been busy with my freelance, which is what has helped pay for the renovations noted on this blog. So, in a way, I have been busy in a renovation-related way.

Still, today's post is loaded with oodles of news. For starters, the terrazzo floors are finally redone. Let me just say that it took quite a bit longer than anyone anticipated, including Benny from Panamerican Flooring. While the results are impressive, it was painful for everyone. Several days of cleaning, polishing, and moving furniture around. And several more days of cleaning up the ultrafine dust that's left over from the process. As you can see, the results are mighty nice.



Even more impressive if you consider this is the same guest bathroom floor that once had the yellow linoleum floor and the nasty ceramic tile and looked like this:



What else? Ah, yes... the master bath. We're finally bathing like normal people. Here, a cropped shot of the master bath. (A full shot will be posted later. I'm such a tease!)



Now, what about the kitchen? Damn fine question. The kitchen, quite frankly, is a bit of a sore spot for me/us. The cabinets are up but we're waiting for the exterior panels and doors to arrive from Canada so that they can be installed. Needless to say, the "company" that's doing the kitchen won't be getting many referrals from us. (Long story.)

Notice, though, the lovely stainless steel fridge in the picture. The Kenmore Trio. We love.



And here's a reminder of where we were, the day we tore out the old cabinets...



Still, I'm hopeful that the end result will be worth the money we're paying, which is actually a fraction of what we were quoted elsewhere, ergo why we used Company X, an acquaintance of my brother-in-law's.

Hopefully, we'll have a kitchen by the end of the month, though I'm not holding my breath. I've passed out too many times to try that again.

The guest bath, seen below, is still not finished but we at least know what we're going to do and the materials we need, which includes about $946 in mosaic tile. Notice the fabulous little built-in counter with shelving created by Inmer. Nice, aye? It will be lovely and finished in time for our guests of honor when they visit—that's, you Daddy and Mommy B!



Good news is that the family room is completed. But, I'll post pictures about that and the laundry room in the next posting, which I'm hoping will be much more frequent than it has been.

Thanks!
Jacqui and Craig