2 boxes to go!

Yes we only have 2 boxes left in the dining room and we are done with the house unpacking. They are kitchen things that are needed but not used as often. We have a 5 shelf storage unit to put together for the garage to hold the extra items. Yes they don't all seem to fit into the kitchen. I would love just a few more cabinets but will settle with a storage unit in the garage. Lloyd will then start working on his garage to get things in place. The house was our first priority! We have even started hanging pictures. I have a lot still to go through to frame and hang so it will be a work in progress for a while. I will have some up by this next weekend but certainly not all of them. This last week we purchased a great shelf at a garage sale for 5.00 which turns out to be perfect for over the bar area. Then on Craig's List I found a mirror that was perfect. So for another 45.00 we have a oak framed mirror with beveled edges. This will really complete the wall. Lloyd even picked up a sign which I know all of you will laugh at once you read it. You will have to wait and see it at the party. I am looking forward to seeing all of you. Many of my friends will be out of town on vacations and I will miss them, but we will all have fun.

Wed Aug 5th Bobcat Sighnting!!!

Yes I said a BOBCAT! We were getting ready to leave at 4:30am and all the dogs in the neighborhood were barking. We looked around and didn't see anything but heard dozens of dogs. We loaded up and left, turned the corned and made it almost 2 blocks. There in front of us was a bobcat crossing the street out of our neighborhood, we suspect on his/her way back to the rocks/hills. We have almost seen everything now. Do I hear bears, deer, lions, tigers?? Well probably not the last 2 but who knows maybe a deer or long shot a bear. We have truly seen so many things at 4:30am! I know the best time to hunt now.

Pool Lessons

Well we had a pool guy at first until he let the pool go green. I think between him not spending enough time putting the filter back in correctly and bending the hose the water came into the filter in and skipping a week. He is getting married soon so I guess he has not been doing his best work. Per his brother "he has several houses with green pools". We knew at this point we needed to do it ourselves. I have taken many drives to Leslie's with samples of water. We started off with the green swampland and within 1 week had it back to crystal clear. Thank heaven as I was enjoying the daily swim. Now I test it every couple of days and add the chemicals myself. A new task learned! Note the chaise lounges! We found a great deal at a garage sale. 2 chairs for 10.00 and they regularly are 45.00 each. What a bargain. We also got a barracuda pool vac for 30.00 instead of 300.00 and the hose for 2.00. Yes just another wonderful garage sale!!!!

The new Bar

Ok this is also one of the next projects. For now we just need to unpack the alcohol into the bar and hook up the kegerator! Later we want to add a mirror and some cabinets to the wall behind the bar. So many things to do and so little time and money.

ALL GONE

The front of the house looks so much better without the tree's there. In the back corner where the 3 palms were left had all the bark and a couple of yucca plants removed. And look no more huge purple weeds. Okay technically they are drought resistant plants but to me they were weeds! Our next project is to put bricks in next to the patio area. I think it would be a perfect place for a table, umbrella and chairs. We even are going to turn the sprinklers into misters. This project will take a bit as it looks like about 300 bricks/stepping stones 12 by 12 and a regular brick border around it all. We will have to level it all out and then add some slope to it to make sure it drains away from the house. As anyone with a house knows its a work in progress all the time. This is one of the next projects!

Plants after 1 month of watering

Okay these bushes are as tall as I am. Okay okay I know I'm not that tall but still they were almost 5 feet tall. They had to go! Plus once they were so tall what could you do with this area?

Outdoor plants

Ok when we first moved in we had these ugly cypress trees in the front yard and a bunch of bushes in the backyard. The backyard was a waste of space as the bushes grew and grew. Here is what it looked like when we moved in. These were actually taken before we moved into the house back in late May and early June!