Rain Chain

We have a pretty rain chain - made of copper with blue glass balls. I got it on etsy.

The snow and ice made for some pretty pics and video.

Iced up and pretty

Here's a video taken earlier showing the normal rain chain experience

First Snow Storm 2012

The pacific northwest was hit by a snow storm which, as per usual, shut down the streets of Seattle.

The first dusting

By far my favorite snowy pic of Sadie

As the day went by, the snow kept piling on.

The girls had a ball. They had a lot of fun while the snow was powdery and light. But as soon as the snow got heavy and icey they didn't like it much. 

The day after this snow dump (maybe 4-6") we got some freezing rain. That was fun. Made getting to work an adventure!

Kitchen going in at gramma's house

So the house my dad is remodeling is coming along great. The electrical is in, walls are painted, doors are mostly installed, and right now the kitchen is going in.

This is an example of the door style Brenda chose. This is the door(s) that leads to the wash room, 2nd story.

Kitchen installation - note the recessed lighting

 

The kitchen wood choice is African Mahogany. I plan on picking this same wood for our kitchen one day. This is natural, no stain. It darkens as it ages.

new light fixtures

Christmas Puppies

Christmas-y pics of the pups! I'd have more of family but Rob forgot to put the camera in the car.

Yard Progress

So the landscapers are gone, the deck is done, and it's time to show off some progress.

The good: it looks great. The paver color choices are great and I'm excited to plant some creeping thyme into the paths between the pavers. Overall, pleased with the yard.

The bad: they went way over budget and it's not done. The overall cost was supposed to include all the labor, the hard scape, misc materials, a watering system, and the plants. They went quite a bit over budget. To rub a little salt in that wound, the plants weren't purchased and therefore nothing got planted, no watering system, and some more landscaping things need to be done, like pouring gravel around the raised beds. So those are all additional costs that I have to take care of on my own that doesn't even get included in the budget fiasco.

So while we recover financially from that money eating project, I've been going out every other week and buying some mulch, buying a plant or three, to do a little bit at a time. I may have to bring someone back in to deal with the espalier trees unless I can find some good info on how to set up the fence for fan style espalier trees. I know how to get the trees going, it's the fence and support system I worry about.

So I have the yard maybe 35% mulched and a few plants in the ground. Some were mine before the project that we implemented in the plans (like my japanese maples) and a few I've gone out and bought because I wanted a little green mixed in with the dreary brown.

This photo shows the overall patio where the deck used to be and the new back porch. You can see where I have mulched and where I still have to lay it. The garbage & recycling cans go under the porch and come spring we'll put up a lattice wall/door to enclose it.  The wooden stakes in the ground are where various plants need to go, per the plans.

This is the rain chain design hanging by the back porch.

There are a couple of tall wooden chairs that I have placed strategically around the yard. I set containers on them. I will probably grow some easily managed vines to grow up the chairs to give it a nice organic look.

The back of the yard showing the pergola. I might plant grapes to grow over it.
The flagstone looks washed out here, but since the pics we have gotten some rain which washed away the dust that was washing out the color. There is quite a pop of color hiding in there.

Night time view

Today Violet and I went to Swanson's Nursery and picked up a few plants to brighten up the brown. The ones I got are evergreen so it'll give us some interest till spring finally hits.

This is a neat little shrub called Sunshine Blue Blueberry. We bought two of them.

We also got two Thunderbird Huckleberry shrubs. They're pretty small right now.

I was supposed to have three huckleberries but I saw this and decided that I'd gladly trade one huckleberry for one Pink Lemonade Blueberry plant!

So that's the latest. I'll continue to post pics and updates as time goes on, maybe once a month. Next weekend I see more mulch and compost in my future. How exciting.

Bathroom Demo?

We came home today to find a little demo action done on the bathroom.

Notice what is amiss?

The damage

The mess - I think we'll throw those tooth brushes out.

So some work was being done on the exterior of the house, around the deck. Some wood was being removed and apparently that is when the bang job happened.

With every job done on the house, always expect it to take on a life of its own.

Grass!

The grass (sod) has been laid. I'm a little worried about the timing. It was laid yesterday just a couple days before thanksgiving. I've heard mixed reviews on the success of such a move. Right now Seattle is suffering from record breaking rain fall so hopefully it doesn't drown.

We also had a wind storm that knocked down the remaining leaves from the neighbors huge tree. As soon as the rain stops (never?) it'll be time for raking.