New Houses in the Neighborhood

Two new houses are being constructed close to us. This one is located just west of us in a cul-de-sac. A developer is building the house so he will probably live there for a while and then sell it. There are four other pie-shaped lots available in the cul-de-sac....one is sold to a couple who work for Game & Fish and will build when they retire (1-2 yrs.).

This is the view of our house from the lot above us. A man from Rhode Island bought two lots and is building in the middle (sort of) of the lots. They hit a lot of granite during the excavation so they had to move the house closer to our lot. It could be worse....we could have someone right next door.

His house is 3500 sq. ft. with a large garage/shop, but it's just one story......another bonus for us. We haven't been bothered with the construction noise.....windows are closed this time of year.

Turf In

I am standing on the street facing the house.....this is the side yard we have been working on. Pardon the construction mess.

Lattices are ready for white paint.

Turf is installed. We may do something different than the rock border.....not sure I like it.

The turf looks really green now compared to all the other vegetation. In other words, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

This rock border is definitely going away. We are going to try pavers.

This is the fire pit. We opted for propane rather than wood. (Who wants to smell like a camp fire all the time?) It was difficult to find a small one. This one is 28 inches in diameter.

Painting is next....lattice and window boxes. Then we will have to wait to plant. The waiting will be hard!

West Yard Progress

The lattice work is complete. It will look so much better once we have plants climbing up it. Though we won't be able to plant until mid-May. We are having a cold spell right now.....11 degrees when we got up this morning.

Here's a shot of one of the window boxes. They are big....Matt called them small coffins. We have to waterproof the insides and drill holes for drainage.

Fire pit area. Plants will be growing on this lattice as well.

I am trying to decide whether to paint the window boxes Cherry Bomb (like the front door and door to the garden shed) or White. Got an opinion?

Fake grass/turf arrived. It comes in a 15 foot roll. It's really tough to cut.

We spread it out in front of the garage in order to get the "kinks" out. The guys cut it to fit the areas they are working on (We have 3 small areas.) and then sprinkle a turf fill (green sand and zeolite) over it. They then use a machine that "fluffs" it up.
Cooper "christened" it right away. The jury is still out on whether we like it.......I'll keep you posted.

Beef Bourguignon Cooking Class

 Here's Judy.....our cooking class leader.

She cut bread into triangles and placed them on a baking sheet and topped them with a cake rack to prevent buckling. The bread is baked until dry, turning once and then placed in a pan with heated olive oil until golden. The bread is served with the beef.

These are the garnishes that are added to the meat at the end of the process......bacon, onions, mushrooms.

The finished dish! This recipe is four pages long! I'm not sure I will ever make it. It was super delicious but what a lot of work!

Still Snow/Pavers Done

Cooper is quite happy that the snow is sticking around. The temperature has been in the teens in the early morning hours. Luckily the sun comes out and it feels a lot warmer than it actually is.

Cooper hides his bones in various places around our yard. He is always so pleased with himself when he finds one.

The pond near our house is full from recent rains and the snow melt. It has been frozen every morning for over a week. Cooper is bummed because there are no ducks when the pond is frozen. He loves jumping in the very cold water and chasing them.

The sections of the yard that don't get much sun this time of year continue to have quite a bit of snow.

The garden is a total mess. Notice the saw for cutting pavers on the left. We have to bring in more dirt/granite for around the beds. And we may need to move a bed or two. We are waiting until we are finished with the upper section of this yard before we work on the garden.

The paver sections of the yard are complete. This area will have four chairs (or a small couch and two chairs) and a propane fire pit. The posts will have lattice work attached to them.

You enter this section from the downstairs door. It will have enough room for a couch and some chairs. The area around the pole will be planted as will the area near the wheelbarrow. It looks like a lot of hard surface at the moment but we will plant along the sides and the section between the two paver areas will have "fake" grass/turf. We are currently researching the best kind to purchase.