Detours off Britta Blvd

Here are the garden updates I promised!

( new flowerbeds along the Final Pathway )


From stepping stones in gravel with giant can of dirt, to plumbago, black-eyed Susans, purple verbena & a "Halloween" dahlia along the newest brick pathway...notice the ugly green plastic garbage can is now GONE! hooray!


( tiny pumpkin patch so far )


Pumpkin seedlings, from planting to today...still growing!


( tomato & chili harvest )



Lots of tomatoes already, including some more citrus flavor zebra heirloom tomatoes, already 4 good-sized Anaheim chilis, enough for two delicious batches of fresh homemade salsa so far!


( abundant grape harvest! )


Already 3 big bowls of grapes harvested, with still bunches as large as your head hanging on the vine! Nice shade with the new cushions too...

Obviously I was concentrating more this year on hardscaping with finishing the brick, then doing my kitchen remodel instead of tending my plants this spring & early summer...my poor geraniums haven't been deadheaded since the winter I'm afraid! But it is very nice to enjoy a pretty garden even without constant maintenance...look what it used to be when I moved in compared to now! :)



We'll get to enjoy the garden again tonight with another Cinema Brittahytta evening...the usual suspects will be watching The Usual Suspects... ;)

Back in January I posted what house projects I completed in 2008, plus what I had planned for 2009. I've gotten a lot done already with 2009 not quite half over yet, including the most ambitious project on my list that is well underway!

( Brittahytta home & garden improvements for 2009 already completed )


( still to-do for 2009 )


( ...and last but by no means least...(fanfare please!)...the kitchen remodel is well underway, hopefully all finished before 4th of July! :D )




kitchen color story = raw copper sink, EcoTop samples (Pecan is the winner), Tuscan Bronze faucet, IKEA "antique effect" flooring

So, now you can see why I've been so busy the past few months! When not at work or doing all the other stuff I've already posted, I've been either revising layout drawings, researching & purchasing, packing up my kitchen or bashing tile off my floor! I also was wary of posting too early in case I might jinx something...the cabinet order was one of the last details to get in place for sure, but now that's in process, I feel much better that everything is underway!

The last major detail is choosing castley stone(like) backsplash tile, but since I can't install that until after the cabinets & counter are in anyway, I have a little time to go shopping. I have a general idea in my head of what I'd like (think the flagstone pattern from my Halloween walls, but more tan than gray), but haven't investigated local tile stores. I also haven't found any knobs or pulls I like enough, but at my request Richard is making me fingerpull cabinet doors & drawers, so I won't have to install knobs or pulls anyway. My parents' kitchen doesn't have hardware, and I might like the cleaner look.

From my estimates, since I don't always know what the price would be if I paid labor for what I've been doing by myself so far, I will probably get a $35K kitchen including new hallway & living room flooring for about $25K that was secured last year when our company stock was nice & high, so sure glad I sold options when I did...still not any low-budget kitchen & I could have cut more corners to be cheaper, but I think the value I'm getting is definitely worth it!

Biggest splurge = gorgeous copper farmhouse sink...almost as expensive as the fridge(!), but smiling every time I do dishes will be as worth it as the expensive teal custom paint job is every time I smile when I see the Briata, even 5 years later... :)

Best deal (so far?) = found the matching finish dishwasher air gap for $20 online but won on eBay new in box for $0.99 + $4 shipping...woohoo!

Happy Friday everyone!

Current Mood: excited

Almost three years later, I am finally finished with brick at Brittahytta! :D The whole time I was pounding this pathway this past weekend, I kept singing "The Final Pathway" to the tune of The Final Countdown! heehee...

December 2005 - boring concrete pathways from sidewalk to front porch & back side yard, no back patio, no pathway across front yard, only stepping stones from porch to side gate
March 2006 - started bashing concrete along back side yard - took until February 2007 to finish!
September 2006 - back brick patio & original pathway across back yard
March 2008 - brick stepping stones with vegetable garden along back side yard
September 2008 - pathway across front yard
February 2009 - front porch paved in split bricks
March 2009 - after bashing concrete out, front pathway from sidewalk to front door,
May 2009 - final pathway from porch to side gate, meeting original pathway across back yard!

I'm sure you've seen enough brick by now to spare you too many step by step photos! Not only do I have plenty of dry bricklaying experience during the past three years, but this pathway was easier since that stretch had been white gravel over black plastic with no irrigation since before I moved in, so the ground was flat & compacted already, and at the perfect depth to match the paved porch, so no digging required until meeting the original pathway under the side gate. This was about 10 hours work from unloading 200 bricks from the truck onto the porch & scooting gravel to the end of laying brick, since all I had to do was scoot the gravel out of the way in the correct shape, lay down weedblocker fabric & sand, and start pounding bricks...


From stepping stones to coming full circle meeting the original brick pathway at the side gate, Britthytta is now surrounded with brick that matches the front chimney!

Full photos of The Final Pathway start on page 51 of the garden gallery...


P.S. This isn't even the big news yet...stay tuned!

Current Mood: accomplished

When I moved in over 3 years ago, my house had no walkway across the back or front, only covered back patio space, and a boring straight concrete walkway to the front porch. Brainstorming led to my mom's idea of brick pathways around the house since my brick chimney is so prominent on the front of my house. I've always liked the charm of brick, so that idea developed into a back pathway from my gate opening into a nice open brick patio that was done in 2006, in 2006 & 2007 cracking out concrete to make room for brick stepping stones & vegetable garden along the side yard finally in early 2008, moving lawn sprinklers in the summer to add the front pathway across the house last fall (that I guess I never blogged because of book & Halloween craziness)...

...and now finally the boring straight concrete is replaced with a charming curving brick pathway!



( This was a major effort, since this time was ALL by myself! For details click here to keep reading... )

concrete haulaway = free
labor = free (exhausting though!)
weedblocker fabric = $5 (didn't use the whole roll so really less)
brick = leftovers from previous purchases + $35
8 bags sand = $32

...so for only $72 cost I have a brand new pathway, but that's not quite fair since I knew I would be doing this project eventually, so it was really prepurchased by buying 3 full 520-brick pallets, two for the back patio, and another one last year for the front pathway (since I was paying a delivery charge for new doors anyway), then saving the leftovers stacked out of the way by my garbage cans. I definitely saved labor cost by doing it all myself, and I can always be proud when showing off my new pathway! :)

I can't tell you how much better I like my front yard now! Still plenty of details to tackle, like filling in with good planting soil along the new path in spots, but it looks so much better now! I still have about 25 ft left from the porch to the gate to meet the first pathway, then I will have pretty brick surrounding my entire house...yay! :)

Current Location: Brittahytta
Current Mood: accomplished

Last year was the first year my dad was retired, and my mom wanted to go to Stitches West, so the plan was for both of them to come stay at my house, I would take some vacation days, and my dad & I would build the two gates I asked for as Christmas presents while my mom was at the conference. This worked well enough last year that Stitches Project Weekend has become an annual tradition. This year my mom even brought a friend for the conference, so I had 3 guests for Mardi Gras, then only a couple days later, another 3 guests, so I'm glad my guest room & office have gotten good use!

When I make my wish list of projects to do, it is truly a wish list of things I want done eventually, but usually a stretch goal I don't expect to complete, so I prioritize, plan out what we think we can do in the time we have vs. daylight hours, and see what we can do. We actually got EVERYTHING done on my list this time...wow! Thanks Dad! :)

To read details about each project, click the links.


Day One (only afternoon/evening):

( site survey & shopping )

( leaky sprinkler valve )

( new kitchen light )


Ugly old kitchen track light before...now prettier & brighter new kitchen light!



Day Two:

( proper drainage from 3 downspouts )


Drain ditch in process


( paving front porch to go with new brick pathway )


Voila! Front porch before I moved in & now! So much more charm than the pebbly concrete before!




Spillover Day Three (morning only):

( hallway linen closet doors closing properly )


Linen closet doors with new hinges that match my hallway doorknobs...and should I repaint the fronts but leave the insides of the doors the "painted desert" effect as house history? ;)


( restabilize pipe organ )


( old kitchen light installed on wall switch in garage )


Track light from kitchen now illuminating the garage


( new fridge water supply valve in kitchen )


new water pipe extension through garage wall...and the valve moved inside ready for a new fridge!


( stabilize screened patio structure to be ready for outdoor patio carpeting )


so...

leaky sprinkler valve = $13
new kitchen light = $175
proper drainage from 3 downspouts = $60
paving front porch to go with new brick pathway = $144
hallway linen closet doors closing properly = $25
restabilize pipe organ = $0
old kitchen light installed on wall switch in garage = $4
new fridge water supply valve in kitchen = $35
stabilize screened patio structure = $0

...project weekend with Dad = priceless! :)


P.S. I did get the living room, dining area & hallway all painted with a "wheatland beige" base coat then a hand-rubbed "wam oats" topcoat all in January! Those photos are here if you'd like to see...

Current Location: Brittahytta
Current Mood: accomplished

I'm still recovering from my latest illness, but I decided to take stock of last year's home improvements and organize my thoughts for this year. I thought I didn't get much done on my house last year, but now it looks like I did after all! In rough chronological order...

( Brittahytta home & garden improvements in 2008 )

( Brittahytta home & garden improvements for 2009 )

( farther future because timing will be tricky, plus not all kitchen decisions made yet anyway )

Speaking of the kitchen, one part I am struggling on is the sink. I hate stainless steel, and I want warm colors in my kitchen, not a white enamel sink that will stand out as too bright against all my warm tans & beiges. I cannot find any enamel sink darker than "biscuit" which is still too light. I found a gorgeous natural stone travertine farmhouse sink with a carved apron, but I am worried a bit about the cleaning care. I have seen some custom-painted fireclay sinks, but none in designs I like enough. Why can't someone just paint a fireclay sink to look like stone? Or why can't they let ME paint one myself, then fire it for me? heh...If anyone comes across any sinks you think I might like, please let me know!

Once I find a sink I think I might be close, but the timing is tricky, since I have to have half my house unusable for quite awhile, since the flooring can't be done until the existing kitchen is dismantled, and as you know I have party schedules to work around... ;) Unless I have decisions finalized by Mardi Gras to be able to start work, which is only a month away, I won't be able to start until after next Mardi Gras. At least the summer parties I can work around having no kitchen since the parties are out back or on the patio, I have a fridge out there already, I do have a sink in the garage and can move appliances like the microwave to the patio too.

...and speaking of Mardi Gras, I have to get an invitation out, since the party is now only one month away!

Current Location: at work
Current Mood: accomplished

Trying to catch up starting back in mid-July...whew!

( The Police, take 2 )




( Chris Isaak )


( Alaska cruise coming soon... )


( Birthday Cinema Brittahytta )


Birthday Cinema Brittahytta


( new dining table )


New Dining Table


( more house projects )


Movie Screen Grape Trellis and Custom Window Box - thanks, Dad!


( garden harvest )




Saw The Wrath of Khan at midnight movies on Saturday...wow, the print was absolutely atrocious, with red starfields instead of black, awful pops & scratches, and even off track a couple times so that the line was in the middle with heads at the bottom...but the saving grace was the opening trivia contest where I won a poster for the new Trek movie coming out in May! Woohoo! Just too bad it's the Kirk poster, not Spock... ;)


Next up is Yosemite, leaving Thursday, hopefully hiking to the Halfdome summit on Friday with mrmouse, recovering with local hikes on Saturday, then coming home Sunday. I barely got the single campsite in March with the most stressful Saturday morning at 7am I've had in a long time! I tried this trip 2 years ago, getting an even better campsite in North Pines on the valley floor then, but an old friend scheduled his wedding the same exact weekend and I couldn't get another campsite date, so I had to pay the cancellation fee last time. hp_jenorama and her husband are also coming but won't be tackling the 12-hour Halfdome hike past two waterfalls and including cables along the rock towards the summit. This will be my first serious hiking since Scotland in 2005, and I haven't even been tent-camping since Scotland 1997, so I have been so looking forward to it! Even if the wildfires make the view hazy, that's no different than our view at the summit of Ben Nevis in 2005. ;) Wish us luck!

Current Location: at work

My garden has been loving the spring weather. The calla lilies bloomed so well I kept taking them to work with lilac, pink breath of heaven and the first roses, including my new JFK rose I planted just this year. I even had one lone dutch iris bloom out front! I'm very happy that my tomatoes like my skinny walkway spot along the fence. I had worried there might not be enough sun there for them when I planted them in March, but they have more than quadrupled in size and have many blooms already, so hopefully eventually there will be actual fruit once it's staying at more than 60F overnight. :)

Tomatoes from March to May


Speaking of fruit, the quince are growing, no plums so I think that's an every two year tree, I'm already working on cutting my first 5 gallons of loquats for jam with plenty more on the tree, and the feijoa just started blooming. My grapes on the arbor bench have really loved the extreme record heat last week...in only 2 days between tending the vines by wrapping them into the arbor, I had two feet of growth on almost every trailer! I even have baby grape berries all over my vine, so I should have flame seedless grapes by harvest time! One of my Concord grapes I bought last year died, and the other is coming back, but it's too young still for fruit. Next year perhaps?


Loquats and grapes around the back patio

I have also started digging out sod in the front yard for a brick pathway across from the driveway to the main front path, since my plan is for brick pathways in the front to match up at the gate where the brick path starts in the back. I'm waiting until next February to crack out the front concrete path so I can get rid of the scrap for free during the city spring cleaning, but this path across will be useful until then. Since I don't have quite enough leftover brick from the backyard, I'm buying a whole pallet of 595 bricks to be delivered soon. 300 of those will be for the cross path, then leftovers will be used for the main path eventually, with supplements to be added at that time of course.

I saw Angel's Trumpet plants with their giant hanging blooms in Jamaica a couple years ago, then saw one in my neighborhood and even the Pacific Northwest, so it does grow here, but I never saw it for sale...until Saturday! So I wouldn't keel over in the heat, let alone shock the plants, I waited until the sun went down Sunday, then dug out one pink breath of heaven bush, moved it over, then planted the Angel's Trumpet in its place. $25 is the most I've spent on a single plant, but I think it'll be worth it. It already has buds drooping, so hopefully soon I will have pretty creamy white fragrant trumpet blooms underneath my Brittahytta sign!


Brittahytta front garden



If you really like garden photos and want to see more, there are a ton more in my garden album, with the updates starting on page 25.

Happy Spring!

Finally my side yard has been transformed from a solid concrete pathway to a side vegetable & herb garden, with brick stepping stones, and a new gate to hide the garbage cans!

( A long road to a short pathway... )

Side yard when I moved in, now after 2 years of gradual work!


Oh, and my gnome finally has his own home at Brittahytta! I had made the gnome door in 2006, but putting it out front was risky since it kept getting moved so I'd find it across the flowerbed, so I moved him inside. Nathania had given me the perfect-sized gnome figure for my birthday, so I had been waiting until my path was completed before setting up house for him. Now that there is irrigation around the tulip tree, I plan to transplant some baby tears to give him more landscaping, and hopefully the wooly thyme & golden thyme will grow over time. (haha) The irrigation line should relax in a bit so I can bury it without it popping right up again, then he'll have a better front yard.


Brittahytta is "truly" a Scandinavian house now, complete with gnome family living in the yard. :)

Boy am I tired! I can barely grip anything my hands are so sore, and my legs & back are aching from crouching so much, but at least I have my nice new herb & vegetable garden with pretty bricks to go with my brick patio...and all done by myself! :)

Current Location: Brittahytta
Current Mood: accomplished

What a long week! I wanted to post Sunday night or Monday morning with project success, but work has been so busy, then the evenings as well with rehearsals & such that this is my first chance, on Friday night...whew!

My parents were at my house for a long weekend for my mom to attend Stitches West, so I took two days off work so my dad & I could work on projects...

( Two New Gates! )

Front side gate - before & after


Side walkway - before & after


Side walkway - before & after



( Other minor projects )

Freshly-barked Brittahytta


I can't tell you how nice my yard smells with the fresh bark & the nice redwood gates! :) If I get my act together enough this weekend, I might finally be able to set my brick stepping stones in the side yard so I can fill in around them, then PLANT things!

Current Location: Brittahytta
Current Mood: accomplished

I've been so busy, plus it's been a matter of choosing what to say, since so many things have been going on...but when two or more people ask "you haven't blogged in awhile, are you ok?" I guess it's time for at least a little catchup! :)

I guess my last post was about Robin's lame ER bills. A few generous people contributed, so Robin has $376.36 waiting in her new PayPal account to be used to chip away at a tiny bit of that horrendous bill. Donations can still be accepted of course if you feel so inclined. The odd number is because to accept credit/debit cards, people had to send to my account which took out fees, so whatever was left after fees went from my account to Robin's as PayPal cash...little did I know it'd be such a hassle!

We had a Choral Project concert up in Santa Rosa on March 25th that went very well, with complete strangers coming up to us raving about how much they enjoyed the concert...which is always nice to hear! We actually sold out our CD stock that we brought to that concert, so that was amazing! Should have brought more I guess! We're also doing pretty darn well at iTunes sales so far, which is really cool to hear...I'm still amazed that my solo on Mary's Little Boy Child ended up on the preview clip! :-o

My garden is doing well. I did get irrigation for the new concrete patio installed, just some mini-half-circle sprayers, but some of the baby tears inbetwen the pavers got crunchy before then, so I'll probably have to dig up some more from the volunteer bumper crop on the north side of my house. My roses started going to town while I wasn't noticing (hooray for pruning properly in December AND planting red onions between as organic insect control!), so Sunday morning I already deadheaded a bunch of blooms! I also pruned my lilac tree since so many branches were crossing, so I have two giant lilac bouquets in the house now!

Solar might not be the project for 2007, since Nanosolar is an up & coming new technology that should be 10% of the cost of standard PV panels, which sounds worth waiting for. I had an appointment with a friend of a friend "green" contractor last week, who recommended improving the efficiency of my house for the major expense vs. solar right now, especially with Nanosolar already constructing their first plant in San Jose for production in 2007, so he's getting me leads for new HVAC (including roof-mounted AC and replacement furnace), new polyurethane foam roof (R24 insulation! attic fiberglass gets max of something like R14 only if properly installed, and I have no attic option anyway), and blowing insulation into my exterior walls by punching small holes in the stucco. Unfortunately my gas supply line is too small for a tankless water heater, so my existing functional water heater will probably stay as-is for this year, since it actually fits in my utility closet, and with a new furnace space inside there might be an issue to solve later!

As an excuse for getting some college friends together I haven't seen in awhile, plus I've discovered some more recently-acquired friends are also fans, I had Mystery Science Theatre March Madness, which was a Saturday afternoon BBQ plus two MST3K movies, Hobgoblins (ARGH! SOOO painful!) and the infamous Mitchell! It was a lot of fun, and the majority opinion was to have another one soon...so it'll just be a matter of fitting it into my hectic schedule!

Speaking of hectic schedules, yes, inbetween concerts and dates (! - yes, still going well with Patrick! :D ), I'm already working on the Big Bash, aka Final Festivities, aka Year 7 at Hogwarts for July 21st. Copious supplies have been ordered and/or received, decorations are in the works, my costume is designed, but there is so much to do! I'm putting extra pressure on myself since I'm considering this to be my last chance to do some of the ideas I've had since 2000 but ran out of time for the previous parties...like the edible Hogwarts gingerbread castle centerpiece, edible Mandrake Seedlings, edible bugs for Potions, Sugar Quills, Ice Mice, Polyjuice Potion, etc, etc, plus it's a new location with this house, so I have to figure out the most logical party setup, which will include a new Marauder's Map too...I hope I can do it all!

Current Location: at work

Busy busy busy as always! I haven't posted really since Mardi Gras except for the Police tour and a quickie Trek blurb... ;) Well, I made a very realistic fish cake for my dad's 60th birthday, I've been babysitting more Brittahytta Brewery concoctions (more to come next week pending the results of cider batch #4), cleaned out my old laptop even replacing the keys as my brother's birthday present, started getting estimates to install air conditioning and a home solar system, non-destructively altered my grandmother's blue lace dress from 1940 so I could wear it again, bought a new digital camera, driven the Briata up to snow at the top of Mt Hamilton, and I've even been on a few dates with a friend of a friend, will wonders never cease! :-o

Amongst all of that, there has also been gardening progress, with the most significant results being that the concrete walkway started last April with Cyd is now done! It's not fully cleared or ready to plant or place the stepping stones yet, but the major task of removing the concrete is done, thanks to Kael's help! The extra benefit of the walkway being cleared is that I have a new little corner concrete paver patio for the papasan chair, plus a rustic flowerbed wall that nicely finishes off the look of my back fence bedding areas. :)

( Concrete Crushing Complete! )


New concrete paver patio with a little glimpse of new flowerbed wall


New flowerbed wall along the back fence


What a lovely difference from before I moved in (showing patio & yard) vs. now! :)


If you'd like to scroll through all the pretty blooming things like the calla lilies that have returned and all my daffodils, start here at the bottom of the page & enjoy! :)

Current Location: at work

One year ago today my offer was finally accepted on my house, escrow began & I started mentally remodeling, researching & buying things for when the house became officially mine on Dec 9th. Since I'm taking the holidays off from remodeling in favor of decorating for Christmas (hooray!), I think this is a good time for a recap. :)

I have gotten a lot done in the past year, but there is still plenty to do, most obviously the kitchen. I recapped the first Eight Months of Effort before, and since then it was mostly the backyard sprinkler system, brick work, vacation & Halloween, so this time I'll give my wish list of what I hope to do in 2007.

( Inside projects )
( Outside projects )
( ...and the biggest & most expensive dream that requires copious research first )

So, I think all that will be keeping me busy for quite awhile yet...and that's just the house projects, not the parties, website work, video editing, or party book writing that I also want to do too! There have never been enough hours in the day for me, ever since I can remember...

Happy Friday everyone!

Current Location: at work
Current Mood: anticipatory

The latest fruit discovery in my backyard is a pineapple guava tree that is still throwing down ripe fruit after I've collected about 8lbs worth! Gotta make something from all that! My box of MCP powdered pectin "from the makers of SureJell" had recipes for a ton of fruits, but mostly jellies with juice-only vs. jam, so I tried using the fruit with the juice to see what happens...I'll let you know after they've fully cooled if they ever gelled, but they're still pretty warm at the moment...


Pineapple Guava, one cut to show cross-section

( Pineapple Guava Preserves )


Completed Pineapple Guava Preserves

Only a small amount of juice drained off into the liquid measurement, like 1/2 cup, since I'd have to mash it up or squeeze it to get more juice to come away from the pulp, so I put the lemon juice in first, added the guava juice I could drain off, then used the boiling water as instructed to fill up to 3.5c liquid. Even after following the instructions from the pectin box, it still seemed very syrupy vs. jam-like, so we'll see what I get when it fully cools. The syrup is tasty though!

Current Location: at work
Current Mood: accomplished

My mom remembered my grandmother has always liked quince jelly, so I looked up a recipe online, finding one for clear, strained quince juice jelly that was a beautiful ruby color. I was a bit worried about having so little fruit how much juice could I really get, so I wanted to make preserves instead. I saw a link from the jelly page to this page...little did I know that quince preserves "carne de membrillo" is a traditional pairing with manchego, one of my favorite cheeses! Well you know what recipe I had to use...haha!


Brittahytta Quince Harvest 2006 (one not shown was sliced for tasting & chopped for freezing)

( Carne de Membrillo = Quince Preserves a la Brittahytta )


Completed Quince Preserves in jars, and Carne de Membrillo in various shaped molds, almost ready for manchego...yum! :-9

My quince preserves seem to have gelled properly, since my molded ones are pretty solid, but I'm not risking removing them from the molds yet. From what I licked off my arm after it was done burning me (!) it was pretty tasty! It looks kind of like applesauce for color & texture, but doesn't quite taste like applesauce, since it's a bit more tart & has a slightly unique flavor. I can't wait until it's cool enough to try with the manchego I have in my fridge! :-9

Current Location: at work
Current Mood: accomplished

It's been awhile for any gardening updates! Last update was finishing the brick patio & walkway, then I promptly went on vacation & had my annual Halloween chaos...so now that Halloween is over, even though I'm still putting decorations away, it's time to get back to work. :)

( Another fruit discovery in my yard! )


Pineapple guava in front of the tree


As for yardwork, I had bought bulbs for full-size & mini-daffodils (tete-a-tete) before Labor Day when I saw them for sale, so my mission was not only random yardwork that had been neglected like weeding, but to get my bulbs planted, which requires planning for where they would look the best, plus how they will multiply for future years. My mom had brought me grape hyacinth bulbs too, since those multiply so quickly she was thinning some out in their yard. I really wanted to put bulbs in my brick planter under my front window, but I only discovered last spring after the rain stopped that the sprinklers don't reach, so I had to put in irrigation before bothering to plant anything in there...which is why it stayed empty all summer for sake of other projects taking priority.

( General Garden Update )


Brittahytta from the front - November 2006

In other updates, not gardening but just annoying, I had to dismantle the Briata trunk panel to access the rear brake light to get a new one, but at least the dead headlight was easy to replace, and thankfully both parts were in stock at Kragen. I also even saw friends this weekend! One group saw Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D (AWESOME!) on Saturday night, and another group did a 5K charity walk at Stanford Sunday morning with Hobees brunch afterwards..hooray for sweet potato hash browns! Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Current Location: at work
Current Mood: accomplished

What a relief! The entire brick patio & walkway in the backyard are DONE! It took until about midnight on Sunday night but I did it! Cyd did try to come over & help me one evening, but since I only have the one mallet, I wasn't able to pound the bricks in quickly enough for her to keep lugging over more local supply, so I've just been doing it myself. Honestly, standing upright again to go haul more bricks over to the working area gave my back a good break from the rest. I was also paying close attention to my back so I wouldn't overdo it & be completely useless the next day, so that often meant I could only work 2 hours in a night. I was able to use Melanie as extra hands for finishing up the arbor bench & hanging the blind as the shed door. mrmouse also came over Sunday to help, but I gave him other projects of painting Halloween props as I continued with the brick work. Thanks to you all for the help!

window & gate before & after


patios & shed before & after


side entry gate before & after


I also finally figured out the other fruit tree! I had seen these apple-looking fruit develop on the tree in the corner, but the skin was fuzzy and I wasn't sure if they'd ever turn color from pale green or have a softer texture, but the oldest one fell off the tree on Sunday, so I cut see-through slices for mrmouse & me to try. We both thought it tasted like a nice tart granny smith apple! I had a couple larger slices later in the evening still with no ill effects, and I've been allergic to apples when I was younger. My dad suggested it might be a quince, but I had been told quince were more citrusy, but lo & behold I googled "quince apple" & found a photo of exactly my fruit! My grandmother loves quince jelly, so I picked the ones still on the tree that were slightly yellow & put them in my extra fridge so they wouldn't just fall off the tree & spoil while I'm gone on my trip. Hopefully they'll last until after Halloween when I'll have time to try making some jelly...there won't be much since not much fruit but it'll be fun to try! :)

Current Location: Heathrow airport
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: crowd chaos

I hope you all had a relaxing holiday weekend...I however am still more exhausted than I've been in a long time! As my dad said "I haven't been this tired in at least 20 years!" Why you ask? Well, since there are some garden projects on my list that needed either extra hands or other expertise than just myself, I had requested awhile back if my dad could help me at some point, so we had agreed on Labor Day Project Weekend. I was already at my vacation accrual cap anyway, so I took a 5-day weekend, but then I got that darn cold, so my parents decided to give me an extra day for the germs to disperse before coming up on Thursday during the day. They brought both Labs, including cute little Elsie the puppy, so Kylie the Kitty was not pleased & hid in my bedroom closet all day long as the dogs were roaming.

Day Minus 1 - While still feeling awful & weak from my cold after a very long day at work since I'd be gone for 2 days, Wednesday night I unloaded 340 free bricks out of the truck to the back patio all by myself...took about 3 hrs since I had to keep taking rest breaks & only could take 2 bricks at a time...ugh!

( Day Zero - prepping only, but it was labor too! )

( Day One - the real labor begins! )

( Day Two - the labor continues... )

( Day Three - and now the conclusion...or is it? )

( Collateral Damage - worth it for all the work we got done! )

As my parents left on Labor Day, I finally took a little rest, since I knew I had to last through rehearsal, and my congestion wasn't fully gone yet. I finished the laundry & did some bills, then went to Home Depot to get the 1x4s to finish the bench, and had them cut them there since my dad took his circular saw with him. I did haul the rest of the river rock out to the front, then I also got most of the boards onto the bench before I had to leave for rehearsal. Last night I finished the bench construction & weeded the front side yard a little more, which was the only section my mom didn't have the chance to weed for me. All in all, a very productive weekend, but boy do I still have work to do and I'm still exhausted!



Backyard after Labor Day Project Weekend



Front yard after Labor Day Project Weekend - Dad & Mom are rightfully proud! :)

If you're interested in seeing all the Labor Day Project Weekend photos, it's easier just to start here on page 7 & keep going to the end of the album:

Britta's Garden at Brittahytta

Still much too much to get done before I leave for Oktoberfest in Munich on the 26th...ACK! ...but tonight I need some sleep...haven't gone to bed this early in a long time, but I am wiped out...

update: I don't really have any good before photos, definitely not at the same angles, but here are some to compare...we jumped straight into doing work, completely forgetting to take the immediate before photos, which is why I started taking daily progress photos in the morning before we started working again...



Backyard Oct 2005 before my offer was accepted - plants had grown a LOT in the meanwhile


Front Yard June 2006 after the liquid amber tree was removed - can't see the mess that was the front beds though

Current Location: Brittahytta
Current Mood: accomplished

Since it's been awhile since I've posted remodeling progress, let's recap now that I'm just starting my ninth month of living at Brittahytta. All work has been performed by me, myself & I unless otherwise noted:

( House projects so far... )

As for the garden, not as much work has happened there until recently, but notable events:

( Garden projects so far... )

All that while having 3 big parties (housewarming party, Mardi Gras, and 4th of July) and a few smaller get-togethers, plus having my grandmother & parents stay the weekend of our big choir concert...whew! I keep thinking I must not have done much since there is so much more still to do, but looking at the list, that's not that shabby knowing I've also still been working a solid 40+hrs/week the whole time! ;)

Now since the last update, here's the new house progress:

I started my faux wood beam treatment by painting the beams with leftover hall bathroom tan that will also be the darker shading color for the stone wall effect. I had already tried stripping the beams in another room, but it was stained a deep burgundy before being painted white, so even getting past the white I still can't get past the burgundy to any real wood color...hence a paint treatment to bring out the texture in the wood again...

Tan beams in living room vs. still-white beams in kitchen


I have started the stain overlay of the faux wood treatment that picks up the wood grain & texture, but nowhere yet finished...I need better daylight but I thought the drywall should go up first vs. trying to store it while I stained the beams...

Stain overlay in flash looks pinkier than in person

Stain overlay in daylight


I acquired 3 full sheets of drywall in the family truck (thanks Robin for the extra arms!) & finally enclosed the open wall where the solid wood paneling was...just tonight finished the last long cut, then taped & put on the first coat of mud ...since this wall & the rest of the living room will be textured like the bathrooms, then painted to be stone blocks, I have a LONG way to go here too...

Drywall is up in living room!


New garden progress basically all this weekend to now:

I acquired 70 free new clay bricks - perfect for testing patio & walkway layout! That confirmed that I wanted to use clay brick vs. fancier pavers...I think it will really look nice when it's finally finished, especially with the curves...

Brick walkway test under arbor

My dad & I had started troubleshooting the broken sprinkler system when he visited last, and most of the heads were buried & we had already found some broken parts. Now from careful & logical digging I have found about half the sprinkler lines (rear sprinklers were listed as broken on the inspection), but still at least one more section to trace.

Backyard archeology - don't the white pipes look like dinosaur bones on a dig site? ;)

Wait - I even found a real dinosaur!


After copious months of planning & sketching, I finally laid out an extra garden hose, marked with some spare spray paint, then dug out the edge of the walkway & new open patio in back. Of course I have to dig out all the rest now, which will take a long time, but once I know where all the sprinkler lines are, I'll know where I'm safe just to hack away at the ground vs. being careful...

Patio edge dug out so far


I'm almost tempted to set up my videocamera, since it has got to be a riot seeing me balancing with both feet on the shovel like a pogo stick, weaving around this way & that trying to dig into the hard ground...what surprised me was that my butt muscles were sore from all that pole action! haha...I have LOTS more digging still to do...and I'm still sore from digging 2 days ago, which is why I took a break tonight & only finished the drywall...those full sheets of drywall are quite awkward & heavy to move around all by yourself, but I did it! :)

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Current Location: Brittahytta
Current Mood: accomplished

Since I was early for my salon appt on Friday afternoon, I stopped by my old place to take a peek at the yard...no one was home & all the curtains & blinds were closed, so I went into the yard just far enough to see the patio & snapped a few quick pix with my Treo. It looks like at least the major stuff I planted is still alive, but it looks like the grass is suffering, so I wonder if the sprinklers never got turned back on after the rainy season? The iris under the potato vine is full with a bunch of nutgrass, and the side yard has lots of weeds flowering & seeding, but my bark over the weed fabric seems to have done well for weed control up in the raised beds, and there are plenty of still-green concord grapes on the vine on the fence. They are putting their garbage & recycling cans in front of the fence on the side yard (ugly for the front yard for neighbors' sake in my opinion) so they're not using my bamboo fence I built to hide the cans...to each his own...if I was brave enough, I should have climbed in the back to see if any blackberries were ripe yet! haha...


Backyard at Lockwood Now


Patio and Potato Vine


Side Yard at Lockwood - do I see volunteer pumpkin blossoms? ;)

Compare those to last year at this time...


Backyard at Lockwood - Late July 2005


Side Yard at Lockwood - Late July 2005

Granted, my first summer living there I didn't have much side vegetable garden either, since I had worked so hard on getting the backyard ready for my Year 5 at Hogwarts party that summer, but by late August I did have a little "farm" growing...and my new yard has a bunch of weeds right now since I've been so busy, then the heat wave made it unbearable to do yardwork until evening when I couldn't see the weeds... ;) I am glad that my iris, roses & rosemary are still surviving, and I didn't notice walking past them, but in the photos I see some pumpkins reseeded themselves in the side yard! They might have a Halloween surprise...haha...somehow appropriate that I leave behind some Halloween legacy... ;)

Current Location: at work