Little projects, big projects

Little projects that we're (slowly) working on/saving for:
- pictures (hanging as we find them)
- bookshelves for study (two out of three finished)
- turn laundry room closet into functional storage (need to build/place shelves, move items from garage into closet)
- replace light fixtures in bathrooms, upstairs hallway, breakfast nook and dining room
- paint dining room
- replace plants in cement planters on porch
- vegetable garden (pull up existing plants under dining room window, replace with tomatoes, carrots, herbs, etc.)

Big projects that we need to save up for:
- fence
- deck
- pull up shrubs in backyard and replace with grass
- blinds (for whole house, but especially downstairs)
- seal bare hardwood floors
- remove dying oak and leaning maple in backyard
- finish basement (in 10 years if we're lucky!)
- replace kitchen cabinets (but not the granite counters)

Will update as ideas/needs occur.

Yard Work

The maple tree in the neighbors front yard is growing into my roof. This is because we are on the choke property on the bulb of a culdesac, which means the back plane of my house lines up approximately with the front plane of the neighbor, the first house in the sac. As his front yard runs along my side yard, it allows his tree to grow into and over the side of my house.

His maple was growing into the side and over the top of the roof, hitting and brushing against it when the wind blew hard. I don't see any signs of damage as it's just the tips of the branch for now, but it will get worse soon.

I asked my neighbor for permission to trim his tree of that branch at the crown. Approaching his porch, I encountered two dead bushes, clogged gutters, a separated downspout, and poison ivy all over the crevices of the porch.  On the way around the side yard to evaluate the job, I noticed several bushels of poison ivy growing around the neighbor's air conditioner unit and sprigs of it throughout the front yard. Lovely.

I cut down the branch and trimmed several others at the property line to prevent them from encroaching further while retaining much of the canopy. Now our side of the tree looks much nicer. I hope he decides to trim the other half to match.

I attempted to use the Craftsman lawn mower that Grandpa brought over to mow the lawn. It started up and made two lengths of the front lawn before puttering out. I checked the gas, oil, and changed the spark plug. It started up, made one run of the lawn, then puttered again. It won't start at all now. Sigh, more mower troubles. I'll have to borrow Frank's again to finish the job while I get my two fixed.

I made another bundle. So far, I think maple is the easiest to bundle, followed by poplar. The eucalyptus and cherry are a real pain. Too knotty.

Talked with the HOA as they drove by about a possible fence for the backyard.

Adding flora to the back deck

I have added a 1.4 gallon hanging pot of Double Blue Calibrachoa to the back deck. Honestly, the flowers are more purple than blue, but that's what the label says! It's really quite beautiful; some of the flowers look more like roses because they have a double layer of petals. I'm looking forward to seeing it grow; it's identified as a trailing annual. This is my first experiment with flowers here at the new house, and I figured an annual would be a safe bet. I'm also looking to replace the shrubs in the three cement pots, but they receive more shade than the Calibrachoa (which requires about 6 hours of full sun). I haven't figured out what will go in those pots just yet, but I will probably chose some brightly colored annuals that match the Cali.

Hedge Trimming

The new Black & Decker hedge trimmer works great. I trimmed the front hedges to be level with the bottom of the windowsills. However, when I was trimming around the electrical box, I accidentally hit the extension cord on a backswing and the trimmer just lost power. On closer inspection, the trimmer cut clean through the cord. That 13AMP cord was too short to reach the electrical box from the front power plug anyway. Purchase two 100' extension cables from Lowes on next trip. And wrap them around the body, away from the trimming so I don't get a nasty shock. Also, basic safety, unplug when not trimming.

Trimming the yard

Ken, Mel, Jane and Kristin came over and helped us clean up the yards, front and back. Jane weeded the front garden while the rest of us trimmed the lowest limbs of the large trees that were hanging down into ours and the neighbors yards. Kenny helped with the chainsaw and made a day's chore an afternoon one. Thanks Ken!