Wishful Photoshopping

 

 Ta-Da! Look, it's beautiful end-of-May-type weather and Mikey and I are headed out to the backyard to play... and the backyard looks so beautiful that I can't help but take this photo.... (click to enlarge)

That's the reality I wish I was living in right now.

This is an extremely photoshopped landscape portrait of the backyard - which I created by merging two skuzzy pictures from Spring, 2010.

Look, the garage addition hasn't even been built yet in this pic. Amazing! (Hard to believe it was just last year? I had to think about it... was it 2009? No - I looked it up on the blog. We began garage addition construction in April of 2010.)

So obviously I added in the addition - with an addition of an addition door. I extended our side-gravel driveway up to that door and added the most perfect grass you've ever seen. The green in the background I actually stole from a much earlier summertime backyard photo - so that is actually what it will look like in back.

Then, since we have a lovely drop-off style cliff just on the horizon of the backyard, I decided to add a Mikey fence. Behind which, we'd store the skid steere and the trailer. (Actual skid steere and trailer may vary. Images for illustrative purposes only.)

Then some hydrangeas on the base of the hill to the left... some azaleas on the base of the hill to the right.... a coat of black paint for our Trogdor burninator apparatus (plus some gravel underneath for safety)... and two of my favorite trees in the known universe.

Looks oh so simple, right? (I tell myself while at the same time reminding myself that We-Can't-Start-Any-New-Projects.) I wish I could just handoff the pic to some landscape dude and say, "Make it so #1."

Unfortunately that's not all. The first pic came out so awesome that I just couldn't help but do another angle.

I took the liberty of adding a bucket of Coronas to this pic... add me sitting in one of those chairs and Mikey going down the little slide... Oh yeah. That would be a dream come true.

Hey! There's a quarter in the gravel! I guess I forgot to take one out. Oh well.

Believe it or not, I went through several incarnations of this angle to really get something sweet. I tried everything on that back garage wall. A couple wall mounted trellises.... a cabana thing... a different patio set... but I really just like this simple awning with the two chairs, a burning bush, and a small decorative trellis. I don't have THAT much room back there, after all.

Here's the pic I started with this time. Note I kinda moved the scene to the left... couldn't help but to do it. I don't have any pics facing the right direction.

Ok landscapers. I'll pay you like $100 and you make my yard look like this. Deal? Deal.

Frustrations and Looming Spring

I was so hoping for big joyful tax returns to jump start spring projects like they always do. (Lowes, by the way, has what I think is a genius promotion. Put your tax returns on a Lowes gift card, then come in on March 18th or something like that, and it'll be worth an additional 10%.)

Unfortunately, I have a gorgeous new fridge and porch railings to pay off. And apparently, we make too much now to get more then that amount back. I suppose I should be thankful not to owe.

Meanwhile, temps have increased and the snow-pack is melting down. I can actually see grass! Which is getting me thinking about landscaping again. And over the weekend we took a deposit on Dodge #2. In the next two weeks, if I'm not cursing myself by saying such a thing, it'll be gone. (And don't think for a second I get a piece of that big money action... Mike needs it to get his trans in the current Dodge fixed.) Bottom line - I get the back yard back. And with the garage addition completed and the Dodge gone... and the porch out front still unfinished, I can't help but think about the landscape.

What about the porch? Well, we still have a decent amount of snow and ice on that side of the house. But if by some miracle we get enough melting to actually work, the next step is to wrap the next pole, install our last "in-stock" railing, and finish the side steps. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Front steps still need to be built and the bottom needs to be wrapped. We have to purchase a fan and install that, as well as the remaining outlet covers.

And don't forget that new garage door that's just hangin out on saw horses. Unfortunately, there's a big mound-a-snow in front of the garage, making installation impossible. That whole thing needs to melt. Then Mike needs to cut the hole and have his friend come by for installation. (I have to purchase the opener at that point in time too.)

Inside, I have it on my to-do list to count and purchase end caps for all the dang radiators. Plus, we need to finish the radiant heat on one of these warm days. (It's been waaay too cold to turn the heat off for even a second, never mind an entire day.)

Donde esta el bano?! Home Depot has been running these "Bathroom Savings Event" ads on the radio and they're driving me crazy. It's like they know.... They know we're way behind schedule and they're mocking me. Mocking me!

Mike was sick again on Sunday, much to his frustration. He wanted to move the camper and get Dodge #2 into the driveway and ready to fly.

And this is what winter has been - sick and frustrating. Oh, and the weather has been nothing short of THE WORST WEATHER EVER. So unlike previous years, here we are at the center point of Feb, with nothing to show for Nov-Feb save for a kitchen window and a new fridge.

This might be ok for some weekend warriors. For us, it's our least productive winter ever. For example, last year on this very day we installed the hardwood floors in the living room. We had spent the better part of Jan-Feb preparing the living room - fixing the drywall, securing the floor, repainting, etc. The whole works. And on Valentines Day, we tag teamed that floor and did it all, trim and everything, IN ONE DAY. (And we managed a seafood lunch from Eastwind too.)

This winter's accomplishments are nothing more then shameful.

Renewed and Ready

Back from Laconia, Beek Week.... beek week?! Did I seriously type that? Could have been worse. Could have been Beek Wike.

Yes - Bike Week. The trip was nice - relaxing, fun... short. Too short. But I suppose vacations always are. I can't remember the last time Mike and I had a moment to have something that wasn't an argument. That sounds terrible. Makes it sound like we're not getting along. And that's not true either. We're just under a lot of stress and highly testy.

Now, going back to good news, one of the conversations, of course, was house related. As in, I'm sick of stagnation. As in, "I know you]d rather start a new project then finish the old, but we need to. We made the decision to seek Tim as soon as possible. (You know, Tim the roofer.) That garage addition roof is #1. Also, we want Tim to place a bid on the completion of the farmer's porch. Yes, that's right. The farmer's porch. I made the executive decision on this one. We don't need much that we can't do - but we need it done. (Say that 5 times fast!) Furthermore, we need it done immediately, or sooner if possible. After the difficult stuff is complete, we can do our own staining, railings, etc. etc.

Which brings me to my next point. The yard. With all these new additions, it's time now for landscape planning. And I am no good with plants or researching plants. I want someone to do a design. Mike knows people - so talk to people! Get them over! Do a drawing, give me an estimate, I don't care just do it.

It all starts now. Yes, MB is still in NH until tonight, but this morning our neighbor Richard stopped over. Turns out that while we  were gone, Timmy actually stopped by - ready to roll on the roof! (Figures, right?) Well, I told Richard - we want the roof and we want the porch. And I know Timmy always tries to refuse money. Not this time. No way.

So Richard will talk to Tim, Tim will talk to Mike - maybe even tomorrow - and get started. He told Richard he could finish the garage addition roof in just a couple hours, with only a couple more little materials. (ice & water, that sort of thing) Sweet...

Wouldn't it be awesome if we could get this whole porch done in just a couple weekends?! The very notion....

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It's the Plague!

Does anyone out there have problems with locusts? Not the bugs - the trees. I have several in my yard and we've had several that we've cut down over the years. I hate them. They're ugly, sparse trees with sharp spines on the branches.

And even if you cut them down - they'll pop up new trees from the old stump and roots!

With this summer being as busy as it has been, we've hardly had time for yard work. But this Sunday morning, I just had to take the locust problem into my own hands. Over the entire summer, new locust plants had sprung up everywhere! There were 5 or 6 in the side yard, one by the porch, one in the front yard, two or three on the hill in the back - the whole yard was practically under attack by these ugly spiny plants! They're all springing up from old root systems and stumps of trees that we cut down a year ago or more.

What can I do to stop them?! On Sunday I grabbed the clippers and just snipped 'em all off. But I know that's not a permanent solution. They're all just going to keep coming back.

Why do disgusting plants thrive while nice plants die in my yard? It's so frustrating. And to make matters worse, as I've said before, I'm no gardener. I can barely keep my cacti alive. We barely can keep our grass alive!

I can't wait to get some nice trees in the yard, because I do love trees and the shade really helps the grass grow. Unfortunately, I want to purchase older, bigger trees, and those are the expensive ones. I spec'd out one particular kind of flowering tree I like about a year ago at a nursery. A large 6' or taller tree was $350. And I want at least three of those. Gulp! That's crazy money.... and then what if it dies?!

We'll end up with locusts only - ew!