La la la la la!

Do you ever have so much going on with progress, it is the most you can do is to take pictures for some future blog? That is where I am at. I am so far behind.

Now on to the next letter in the alphabet!

L is....
Lists
Never ending lists is our life.
As long as it is written somewhere it will get done. Eventually.
Problem is things come up all the time and suddenly we are off for another trip
to the hardware store for the supplies!
Current lists are separated in to Sunny weather and Rainy weather.

Travis:
Scrape asbestos from hallway-Check
Install plywood in attic-Check
install fan in bathroom
Install security cams
Dig Trench for rain in gravel
Get dirt, gravel, sand and last 16 pavers
Install gravel, sand and last 16 pavers


April
Buy plants-check
Plant plants-check
Call landscaping company about clearing lower moat.-check
Write blogs-working on it!

Since these 2 lists are completely not equal, I guess I should take on the never ending cycle of life maintenance.

The buying of plants is the best part of having an April birthday! Spring has sprung and I have been buying like crazy. A bit slower on the planting (and blogging) side, but getting there.
Turns out you cannot get a landscaping company to return calls or show up if you didn't schedule it in the winter. I guess the economy isn't so bad after all if they do not need my business! I called/emailed 8 places, got 1 appointment and it was a no show. 1 other returned my phone call, but we have been playing tag for 2 weeks! Oh and 1 other is actually a landscape design for bigger picture. They were also a no show... and rude when I emailed about it...
So looks like we will do the dirty work ourselves as usual.

So here is what we have been up to..
Landscaping:

Clearing the lower moat was a new one on our to do list this year. It is quite the project, especially for planting. It wraps 1/2 way around our yard and is quite thick with weeds. Weeds ON TOP of landscaping "weed" paper.

From the reverse view

To make my job smaller, I gave Travis more area for grass :)

 The hardest part is separating out the foot of river rock drainage around the edge. Weeds have grown through the drainage so much people have been parking on our yard! Travis said it was like harvesting alien babies separating the rocks from all the weeds.

And what a great job he did! Now it even has some green peach fuzz!

 I will show in later posts as it grows in.

 

While I have Travis on the job, it was time to plant my tree, Chester.

I have had this tree since 2003, started in a Starbucks cup, while living in an apartment!

Chestnut trees can grow upwards of 60 feet! In the next 30 years that is.

 This is the view out my kitchen window, you can hardly see Chester since he hadn't leafed out yet.
It is a far nicer view than the dead tree that was there previously.
He measured 7.5 feet when we planted him, and I am positive he will get more posts in his honor as he settles in.

 Back inside the house--
I got modern lights in the kitchen!!!

 The brown swirls accent my cupboards quite well.

 Total upgrade price? $45.

Compared to the $25 I paid for a replacement globe

 for the one I broke on the old fixtures...

that did not fit.

So technically $70, but well worth it!

And they are changeable, so if I want to change the color pattern I can, for only $15 or so.

 Oh Yes, I had a Birthday too!

 #32

And I got just what I wanted. Early in fact because those plants needed to get planted!

Meet my new rototiller!

I was able to put it together myself.

(2 nuts/bolts is not rocket science!)

 Garden prior to rototilling:

 During:

 After my first test run.

 What a glorious tool!
And after all 3 sections were done and raked:

 And planted!

It worked so well, I wish I had more spaces to use it in! It took me maybe 45 minutes total to til both directions in all 3 sections!
Now some of this is nice new dirt from last year and some is stuff we tilled by hand(or foot/shovel) several times in the last 2 years, removing rocks and roots..But if you have a pre dug area--this Yard Machine Y155 is for you!

In other birthday news, I got a bird bath!!
Early, because I was likely to go buy it myself. Jessica is a smart girl! She even knew exactly which one I wanted since we window shop together often.

Here it is in action with some other presents. It really perks up this boring section of our yard. Nice and shady so the water stays longer. I saw a bird on it this morning for the first time!

Laundry

A new LG washing machine to match our fridge!

I sure am glad these appliances are dying in a spaced out fashion!

Sheesh.

This makes laundry so much easier and quieter.

For the last few months(many many months actually)

it has sounded as if our washing machine was going to launch into orbit!

This one doesn't make a peep and holds about 2x as much!

And finally, nothing to do with L,
Asparagus sprouted... way back in March... and is now 5 feet tall!
Here is my first shot:

This being the 2nd year, we were allowed to eat a few spears. We sauted some for my birthday dinner and YUM! I have never tasted asparagus like that! So sweet and tender. The following week we did a taste test against store bought, and my asaparagus definitly won!
If you can get past the commitment/time issues with asparagus, I recommend planting some. Or if you find it at your farmers market--be sure to get some!

Cutest mossy purse planter from Molbaks

More pics of all these plants I bought on the next blog. Promise! I keep taking pics and then buying MORE so once I get caught up on plants to pictures ratio I will upload them all. Plus I need to make a list of all I bought and planted.