Driveway

Well it finally happened the driveway project is done!
Eric with help from his Dad moved all 7 tons of gravel and spread it out in the driveway.
It's been a slow long process, this driveway project.
But it's done yeah!

fun is good too

So it's Monday and i am feeling guilty, but not guilty for the level of things accomplished this weekend.
On Sunday we went to the children's museum and took a family nap. I did not dig in the driveway. I did however rearrange the pile of ex-driveway dirt. The slope from our fence line, to the grass level in the park, is quickly becoming an embankment. Don't worry now i am only dumping dirt on our side of the property line. Eventually we want a gate that goes from our back yard to the park. In order for that to be a reality we needed an embankment with steps instead of very steep slope. I have a large amount of dirt that needs a place to go, so an embankment i am building. Eric worked on the gate project by digging and hacking away at the stump that is exactly where we would like to put the gate. I also hacked at the very stubborn vine growing on the fence. I cleared it off the whole fence line and sprayed it for a 4th time with vegetation killer. The darn vine just won't go away. We bought some privacy fabric that we are going to put on the fence. I just have to get rid of that vine before we put it on. A simple project that so far, has been the hardest one.
On Sat we went to the liberty lake yard sale. The girls made a killing. We stopped by one place that was "fill a garbage bag for a dollar". They filled it with two castles, barbie stuff, a carriage, books, and some clothes. They also got a VCR for $5 (their old one was on it's last legs), some Disney movies for 25 cents, and a little tike's beauty salon for $10. Between all of their yard sale shopping and the "super why" party at Toys R Us earlier that day, they crashed for a good long nap. Meanwhile I tried to figure out, how to incorporate their new toys into the playroom.
Girls having fun and family nap taking. That was a good weekend. Maybe not as productive as it could have been, but it was fun. Fun is very important.

My husband

My darling husband had a project list of his own. So while I have been folding laundry, mending clothes, checking temperatures and wiping noses; he has been working hard.
He has dug and ran a permanent line to the sprinkler system he installed last year (front yard) and the year before (back yard). No longer do we have a garden hose and wires sticking out of the sprinkler box. Yeah!!
He has also been working on my pond. Apparently it had a crack and was leaking. He also decided that the small but functional waterfall he installed last year was not up to his standards. He is now turning my pond into a true water feature complete with waterfall filtration system. Yeah!!!

Pretty impressive if you ask me, since he really only had yesterday afternoon to work on things. Saturday he helped his youngest sister move, then we went to a Shock game. Sunday we went to home depot for supplies after an all family sleep in morning (the girls didn't wake up until after 10am). Then i went to work that afternoon. Today he was up early to help set up computer stuff and another trip to home depot for supplies. It's now 3:30, the girls just went down for their nap and i will be leaving for work in an hour. He just now went outside to work and promises to have a running waterfall when i get home. How awesome is he? I am one lucky girl. How many guys are that handy? And how many get down right cranky if they don't have one-on-one with their kids? (time he gets while i am at work) Well i don't know the answer to that but i figure it's got to be close to one in a million.
Feeling like I won the lottery! Hope you are feeling that good too!

Update

50 stones later and......
The hedge enclosure is now done as well!
I still have to back fill it with dirt but the stones are laid. I have to dig up the dirt from the driveway in order to back fill, so that will be a slow but steady process.
The really neat thing is you look at the yard and it looks like it has always been this way. All these improvements and it's hard to imagine that it ever looked different. Oh but what a difference these changes have made.
Now i just have to get this drive way project completed. The shovel and i will be best friends before i am done.
Have a great weekend.

Progress update!

Progress update!
112 Stones later and....
The pond enclosure is done!
The Tree enclosure is done!
The porch enclosure is done!
The lilac bush enclosure is done!
Tulips have been cut down, snow surviving perennials have been redistributed, and new annuals have been planted!
Eric just gave the go ahead to buy additional edge stones to do the hedge!!!!
Hopefully by the end of tommrow that entire section of project list will be done!
Our houses curb appeal has greatly improved!

It's also very nice to come inside and enjoy the lovely cooling breeze by the two new ceiling fans that Eric installed.

things getting done

This has been a busy weekend. It's been a list crossing off kind of weekend. The kind with a few sore muscles to remind you, that you got a lot done.
Well it finally got warm here. I know it's crazy but here it is middle of may and it is the first weekend that the high was above 50. It was actually 85 today. So with this warm weather Eric and i decided that we should look at the ceiling fans while we were at the hardware store. Then wouldn't you know the fans that we had liked before were on clearance. Now priced at $75 from $105 and only three left one of which was the floor model. So we happily bought the last two fans. We hadn't planned on it but it worked out wonderfully. I am enjoying their cooling breeze now.
Then we said to ourselves we had better buy some edging stones before they sell out. We waited too long last year and the store sold out. While Eric was installing fans i put in edging stones around my pond enclosure and i have almost finished the tree enclosure in the front yard. In between trips to the store for additional stones i removed another six feet of vines from the driveway fence. I also filled the newly fixed wheel barrow with drive way dirt twice. I am slowly but surely chipping away at that project list.
We squeezed all this in, in between two birthday parties. Eric's went wonderfully on Friday. Everyone ate lots of food but only the Hawker's braved the cold to watch the whole movie. Then we went to wonderland for a friend's five year old birthday today. Eric and the girl's mini golfed and had a blast.
Well i am tired and dirty and tickled pink about it. Hope your weekend was good too.

projects

projects that are in the air, started, need to be finished, or otherwise in some state of development. In no particular order.

DRIVEWAY- 1. Gravel driveway 2. removal of dirt for gravel 3. prep area that dirt is to go 4.remove vegetation from fence and near fence 5. apply fabric screen to fence
GARAGE- 1. remove old roof 2.apply new roof 3. paint 4. scrape old paint
WINDOWS- 1. measure, count, determine pieces needed for storm windows 2. price out storm windows 3. buy storm windows 4. install windows
LIGHTING- 1. install new light fixture in dining room 2.install switch in dining room 3. purchase ceiling fan for living room and playroom 4. install fans
KITCHEN- to numerous to list but will name current 5. 1. paint window frames 2.paint window wall 3. fix holes in walls 4. paint existing cabinets brown 5. put new knobs on existing cabinets
FURNACE- no idea what needs to be done but i have two furnaces in my basement. the one installed is before energy ratings existed. the new to us one has a decent energy rating.
GARDEN ENCLOSURES- 1. Edge stones around tree out front 2. Edge stones for porch flower bed 3. edge stones for pond area 4. edge stones for flower bed by lilac bush 5. Edging for hedge in front yard