Monday, September 26, 2011

FROM DIRT TO DRAMATIC.......A Backyard Transformation

It all started as a simple little backyard......
Where there sat a tiny Castle and lot's of dead grass....
Not much personality but certainly
tons of potential....
And then We moved in and had a Vision....
So we called in the bulldozers
and the steam shovels....
They showed up at Dawn.....
Waking everyone within a 3 block radius....
They pulled up trees....and tore up the grass....
Were we crazy to take on such an enormous project....
Oh heck no....
I was getting my Pool!!!!
So the Boss supervised from afar....
Thinking that I must have lost my mind for talking him into this....
In short time......actually the first day they arrived....
We had a huge hole in our backyard....
I told the Boss not to worry that is would be spectacular....
Even after 41 years of Marriage I think he doubted my judgement....
But I knew this backyard was made for this....
With a Six Week time frame I had a feeling that it would be like in the Movie
"The Money Pit"....
Where every time they asked the contractor when the job would be completed they
would answer the same thing...
"Two Weeks"...
But every day bright and early someone would show up at our gate....
And the work picked up steam....
And the men seemed to multiply.....
In just a few days we actually had what appeared to be a pool...
We were getting very excited....
At only 4ft. to a high of 4 1/2 ft.....I wondered why the steps looked
So Deep????
You see I can't swim and I'm not really a fan of water....
I was thinking 8 hours of sunning on the patio....
And maybe 1/2 hour of dunking to keep cool...
The first week the Boss had to hose the concrete 3 times a day....
I was in charge of standing on the sidelines and yelling things like....
"Your going to fall off the Jacuzzi"....
"Don't fall off the wall"...
And...
"You missed a spot"....
And then the Amigos came.....
And everyday They Cooked.....
And worked from dawn to dusk.....
And in no time flat we saw it taking shape.....
And we saw an end in sight......
There were only 2 days when it rained that the men didn't come.....
They even worked Saturday and they apologized for coming to work on
Sunday.....
The Stone Work was Magnificent.....
These men were true craftsman....
When it came time to grout the brick patio each brick was done by hand....
With this huge "pastry" type bag....
We watched in amazement and we didn't want these men to leave....
So we found more stone work for them to do.....
We doubled the size of the patio from the original plan....
Ahead of schedule.....We were at the 4 week mark...
When they knew Daughter and Miss B were coming they kicked it into
High Gear.....
We dressed up the Deck....
But it was covered in brick dust....
We were ready to see an end in sight...
Ta Da!!!!!!
It took only two days with our little garden hose to fill
and then we found out that Cobb County Water would not give us a one time
credit for the sewer charges....
I don't even want to see when that bill comes...
They told me they used to give the credit but the people of Cobb County Abuse water
use ........hence no more credits....
Of course.
It came more beautiful then we expected....
Every day another neighbor comes to visit to see the progress...
I'm ready to sit and relax....
With my "Charlie Brown" trees that I ordered special...
Not one but three!!
and listen to my waterfall....
and be amazed that after all these years I actually have a
Professionally landscaped lawn...
And I want to Thank the Boss.....
For making it all possible....
For years and years of enjoyment to come.....


p.s. We really didn't want the stone masons to leave so they will be starting on a
stone fireplace this week to cover the filter and heater....
pictures to follow!!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

This....That....And Nonsense......Thinking Outside of the Box

I am in the middle of Decorating Floor #2.....and I am looking forward to Showing you all
The other half of the house....
But in the Meantime....Since Decorating up a flight of stairs is a Bit
Hard when your wearing a cast on your foot......It is once again a
"Post About Nothing".....
and a few Good Ideas thrown in....
With the Internet as a source of news we no longer buy the local paper....
So when I had to pack up my things I needed to find
cheap packing material....
Thinking outside the Box....
I remembered I had leftover Christmas wrapping paper that I had bought
Cheap....
In fact I had gift wrap from The Dollar Tree also....
Way cheaper then buying a dozen Sunday newspapers and much larger to wrap those
larger items....it worked like a charm...
I am one of those picky picky people at the Deli Counter that has to have their
Deli meats cut just so......paper thin without being shaved....
I hate shaved...it looks like it's been chewed and spit out....Not good...
Anyhoo....Walmart Deli has this great sign that lets you choose
the thickness you would like...
I get my cheese sliced at #1
and my Ham.....well they can slice it at #1/2....Perfect!!!
And yes I really buy ham and cheese at Walmart....
It's just as good as any place else and a whole lot cheaper...
Should a Chicken and Biscuit place really be selling
Bologna...
In fact should any fast food place be selling Bologna...??
Another of my Outside of the Box Ideas!
Don't you hate trying to fill water in to your iron....
A squeeze bottle is the way to go.....Works like a charm....
Just make sure you use a new ketchup bottle or wash it good.....LOL
I try not to use butter but cooking with lo-cal
spreads just don't work.....There is just too much water in them..
Until I discovered Smart Balance....
Browns things just like butter...
I have failed to read the label to see if it really is "Smart" for you to use this....
But I'm assuming it's better for you then butter.....
And it really works!
I just like this picture I took while driving down Interstate 75.....
Actually the Boss was driving....
FYI.....
Never move into a neighborhood who has .....
A Ginormous Buddha statue in it's backyard....
can you see the man in the bottom left of the picture....just to show you how big
Buddha really is....
Picture was taken off Rt. 27 in South Brunswick New Jersey.....
Just for anybody out there thinking about moving to South Brunswick....
How cute are these two....
They had to have been in their 80's....
The writing on the back of the scooter announces that they are the Worlds Oldest
Living motorcycle riders....
I love the Handicap Tag....
And believe me they were going at a good pace....probably 55mpg....We had to
drive fast to catch up to them at a light....
Always flush in a public rest room using your elbow.
Kudos to Kohl's for having "child size potties".....
We discovered Grandpa was a "Food Hoarder"
If a loved one ever passes away and you feel the need to give their Hoard away to
the Local Food Bank.....
Make Sure.....

The foods were made this century......
That's not the price people....
That would be Teriyaki Sauce from August 1995.......
And we have no idea why he shopped at a Chinese Grocery Store....

Only in Jersey....
Does "The Situation" really need to be on a Billboard.....
Where's Snookie?
I had no idea you could successfully paint over brass.....

You Can!!!
First use a can of Primer....or two or three....

I am thrilled how great it's coming....
This will go in Miss B's room at our new house for when she visits....
I love this color and have found a wonderful comforter set from Garnet Hill for it....
I will show you pictures when the room is finished....
And to honor 9/11......
I took this photo one month before the Towers were attacked in St. Paul's Cemetery
which sits directly across the street from where the
World Trade Center sat...
While daughter and the Boss went to the top of the observation tower I wandered
around taking pictures...
I found this picture in a shoe box about a year later.....
It just gave me chills.....