Remember the gate? I was unhappy with it, but also just happy it was up? Gate looking shiny on its first day... before it started sloping downward into the mud. Well, over the following weeks/months it just kept slowly (not that slowly) sinking down to the point where it was pretty much unusable. I thought … Continue reading Gate part two!
Live and learn, right? That should probably just be the official theme for the garden(s) (and probably the house). A user requested an aerial view of the current garden layout. Here it is, courtesy of Google Maps and terrible drawing skills.A: East Slope raised bedB: Southeast Slope flower bedC: Raised bed for potatoes (keeping them … Continue reading With each garden bed, we get better at making garden beds
First, I'm truly terrible at taking 'before' pictures - so you'll have to use your imagination a bit. Sorry. The following projects all competed for the moderate influx of cash that tax return season usually brings: rebuilding the chimney from the roofline upbringing the well riser up to/above ground levelreplacing/repairing the driveway Basically, the driveway … Continue reading Driveway!
This isn't going to be one of those quick easy projects. The first floor kitchen is one of the few rooms that the previous owner(s) did not start renovating: the electric and plumbing are older than other areas, and the walls, floor, and ceiling were last updated sometime before I was born. So we're sort … Continue reading The Kitchen – Big Project Post
Destruction is fun. Destruction is satisfying. Destruction is dirty and results in way more material and/or waste than originally anticipated. We've been having a really good time ripping everything out. Cabinet (well...top half)At some point there was a large cabinet and chest of drawers (at least partially original) that formed a wall between the kitchen … Continue reading The Kitchen… pt 1
The plan has always been to restore the house to it's former glory, while incorporating some modern luxuries (indoor plumbing, integrated networking, electricity, massive Ritz-inspired walk-in shower, etc). One of the early priorities, especially for a gigantic house like this one, was to get some less destructive power sources set up. We wanted to start … Continue reading Renewable Energy!
The true Cinderella story of this trip was Valencia -- we knew we'd love Paris, pretty certain about Malta being awesome, but Valencia was the wildcard. I've never been all that interested in Spain and 3 years ago was disappointed by Barcelona.* But man oh man did Valencia deliver. Turia ParkCity-center, believe it or not … Continue reading A Short Break From Everything – Valencia
Five days in Malta - wonderful, but not as effortlessly so as Lanzarote. From Paris we headed off in search of the stuff dreams are made of on the little island* south of Siciliy. We explored our new neighborhood (Birgu) the first day, and then headed to the Playmobil Fun Park on the southeast end … Continue reading A Short Break From Everything – Malta
We've all been before (because it's my favorite, and I book the flights), but there is always more to discover in Paris. We had three days before we had to head out to the far-away Beauvais airport for our next flight and we (of course) stayed in our favorite hotel, ate our favorite crepes, and … Continue reading A Short Break From Everything – Paris
I immediately did not love the fence between the garage and the house - and not just because it was falling down and the posts rotting away into oblivion, but because it seemed unnecessary. After we moved in, though, I began appreciating the bit of privacy it provided (and potentially could provide) for our back … Continue reading Fence & Gate!
