Rain, Weeds, & Maple Seeds

There has been days of this:

Due to much of this:

You have to admit it’s pretty darn awesome.

Gardens to plant:

Many pots and baskets to fill with flowers:

Major yard clean up of weeds, weeds and more weeds. Even more clean up of the seed dropping from the Maple Trees. This would be the neighbors Maple Trees that surround us and also the weeds because the rental next door just cut the lawn – for the first time this year in late May 2010 – this would be the back yard.

Now look how pretty it is. I know it still wasn’t done when I took this photo – As of yesterday the whole entire back 40 is weed free.

Which is why we went through 5 yards of black goodness – that would be pure compost.

Oh and how can I forget the Greek Spring Festival, which was the first festival of the year. I wish I had some of those honey buns now.

There have been many conversations from Ghetto said neighbors, which include endless hours of the following Ghetto-Speak.
“F*#k” – insert whatever comes to mind that makes no damn sense.
“She’s a Bitch” – use best ghetto slang you can muster up.
“She’s a Skank” – is that even a real word?

Now repeat for the next 7 hours.

That leads to the husband and myself beating a path to the nearest, quietest, restaurant and enjoying these.

I guess it would be fair to say that the husband and I have been a bit outdoorsy of late. We have literally been covered in some sort of dirt, mud, compost for the last 2 months when mother nature found it fitting. I need to have a talk with mother nature about 86 degree days and high, nasty humidity. Working in the back 40 feels like the damn Amazon Jungle complete with bugs. Ewww.

There are more photo’s here, and more to come.

The husband: I want to order 4 more yards of compost in.
Me: Okay, what are we going to do with the rest of it?
The husband: I want to re-seed the back 40 area, after I cook and kill the weeds that have taken over the grass.
Me: What about, cook it, kill it, no grass and we just landscape it? Bring in a River Birch and a couple White Pines, thin the triangles out and finally just redo it.
The husband: I like that Idea, I like that Idea a lot. Think about how we tie it all together.
Me: Okay.

What the hell was I thinking – OY! Yes, a new project for fall.

Happy V-Day to us!

It has been a while, I know. Work has been CRAZY. There are no other words to describe the mayhem I walk into every morning now. There have been snow storms which had set the kitchen reno back a good week. There have been miss communication with the granite peeps which set things back – Damn e-mail. All is good now.

Today is the day when the cabinets are coming! WOOT!!!!!

There will be photo’s to take, photo’s to upload, and photo’s for all to see.

Tomorrow the granite will be installed. WOOT!!!

By the end of the week I expect to see the stainless top done and installed, if not sooner.

Things are moving fast and after waiting for almost 5 years to find the right people, who will not rip you off, I will be doing cartwheels when it is finally done.

There is still the issue of lighting that we need to make decisions about. I can wait a bit longer on lighting it’s a huge decision and we’ll let the kitchen speak to us about what type and what is appropriate for the space.

Stay tuned…time to rip out the last kitchen cabinet and the sink.

Feeling the Pressure.

I’ve been away because I have been hiking again at places like this every chance I get. I love this time of the year in Ohio.

We have been working hard to put some balance back in our life because all work and no play make the people in this house and their pets grumpy.

The husband and I have been working very hard with Stella and her behavioral issues. These issues would be people, other dogs, well you name it. So Stella has been in doggy boot camp so to speak.

When I get home from work I’ve been going to a couple special places I know that are safe for walking dogs and we do at least a good 2 mile walk. When the husband and I are off together we do 3-4 mile hikes with the dogs. This routine has taken the edge off Stella’s behavior and actually for the most part she is doing very well with the occasional slip up. The best tool we use is a dog backpack along with some other knowledge that we used with our other dogs in the past.

I don’t know about you but we have been feeling the pressure to “Getter Done” of late.

Mother Nature has not been on board with us for the last month. All it has done is rain and when it’s not raining its been cold. As I checked the week forecast – part of my morning routine – I saw a temperature of 65 – 70 degrees. Shoot, its been a good month since I’ve seen temps like this. Since I’m on vacation this week – this is a busting ass, gotta a list of shit to get done in the next 7 days – vacation – If one wants to call it that.

When the weather turned to shit we worked on these, interior storm windows.

It was a victory over the English Ivy that had taken over 25′ x 10′ of area in the back forty. We also chipped and shredded an area of the yard we have not seen in 3 years.

Before:

After:

The English Ivy ran from the Burning Bush all the way over to the other side and to the fence. We took care of that last week during one of our light rainy days.

A nice cleaned out canvas for next year. The husband and I will be redoing this whole space. It will no longer be the plant holding pen. Bye the way does anyone want any fountain grass?

We sealed the side door entry on Wednesday, photo’s to come yet.

I did these Thursday. Thank You, Mother Nature!

I forgot to mention that after 4 long years we finally found a cabinet maker who is not going to rip us off. With fingers crossed we will actually have functioning kitchen by Christmas. It has been meetings and phone calls. I have a strange feeling that it will actually take time for us to adjust to having – lets say – a counter top by the sink – a place to actually store kitchen goods. Is it possible for one to forget how a kitchen actually functions?

However, and you knew there would be a however – there are two things that must happen. Here’s a clue, our kitchen is textured, B is loaning us a shop vac and a special sander. Need I say more?

The other one is a kitchen floor that is going to look very familiar to some of you out there. All I have to say about the floor is what the hell were these people thinking.

So now its back in the 50’s as I write this and its starting to rain again, I’m glad I need a rest.

Friday running around list of places to go:
Vets- both dogs need nail trimmed
Lumber Store – find new base moulding
Fabric Store – fabric for couches
Hardware Store – quality latches for new cabinets and knobs for drawers
Take dogs to the park

I am forgetting something I know I am.

Doors

I have a tiny problem – I think.

I have a small confession. I think, I may possibly have a door fetish.

There I said it, now with that out of the way.

I want these doors.

These are not just any type of door, these are the doors I swoon over.

Someone get me the drool bucket, make that a trough because I want these.

I must have them.

I have no use for them at this moment. However, I have ideas I tell you that involve that front porch.

B has other ideas for them which I think the husband was not amused at. B should have been talking me out of these beautiful, gorgeous doors, not encouraging more ideas.

The husband stated and I quote: “You lost me at the word doors“.

Could this be due to the fact that I have gotten two more doors – for free. This makes 4 doors in our garage at this moment. I have one that is an Arts and Crafts with all of the lead glass in mint condition and one that needs some work that is like the ones in the photo except it is one full door not French doors.

Now where can I get a pickup truck to go them – we down sized our old one – this is the only time I miss that gas guzzling monster.

Do you think the husband would notice if I brought home 2 more doors? – well actually – 4 pieces that make 2 doors.

A New Vocabulary Word

There are so many things to talk about, where do I begin? The highlight of my day is when the husband informed me that the FBI had questioned the head of our community development department for our dysfunctional city. I did a happy dance, I was elated that this had occurred; I have no shame in admitting that I wish the asshole would be taken down already. So, it was a good day.

Sunday the front porch had a date with a mason. It needed to be re-pointed on the top row where the mortar cracked and shifted due to huge weather change when it was done 4 years ago. The porch is happy and so we are happy, another item crossed off the list of things to do.

As you have noticed I have yet to talk about the front yard. Why? It is an embarrassment! After the rebuilding of the basement walls we hired a lawn guy to come in and remove nasty clay soil, rock and other fragments of things that did not belong in soil and put in a new lawn. The husband and I figured we would deal with landscaping the following year. Well – a few more floods, one crap trap later that went terribly wrong in more ways than one and we were promised a new lawn from the city. Remember the contractors ended up digging up our entire front yard to find the sewer line because the idea of using the sewer camera never entered their feeble little minds.

Well – here is a new word for your vocabulary:

Fast Forward – Inside the House

The kitchen is still 3 years later in shambles, why? That would be due to the fact that custom cabinet maker never delivered the goods. The goods were very simple: 1 bottom cabinet to be custom fitted for apron front sink (still sitting in the box), 1 custom full cabinet to go over refrigerator, 3 shelves and a piece to pull it all together all made of white oak. We are still waiting; actually we are looking for new cabinet guy – for some strange reason we just don’t trust the bastards.

During our adventures with the “crap trap” issues in 2007 there is nothing like releasing all that anger on a couple of walls. It has always been the intent to open the 1st floor of this house up. The space needed to be reinvented.

Husband’s kin folk squished 5 rooms into 624 sq. ft. it was like living in a cave with many caves in it. This house had no cross ventilation, it was dark and the floor plan made no sense.