The Yard...

For those of you who have been here, know how far the yard has come, and/or know where the plants have come from...enjoy the tour :)

Mini Iris's - Chris found them behind the garbage pail...and they are now thriving in front of the porch and around the mailbox


Chris lined the front...makes a huge difference...


Some of the few annuals we planted (we're perennial people) and the mini Iris's


Doesn't it just look cozy and welcoming :)


The rose on the left was there when we bought the house...the other one he found buried somewhere in the wreckage...and now it's doing great!


All the big rocks were going to be thrown away from a house we were working on....the lady wanted to get rid of them...and now they landscape our yard!


The driveway and side of the house look much better with the retaining wall that Chris worked SO hard on building... Cile, do you know what that big plant is?? (When it blooms it has little purple flowers...)


The Iris's came from our neighbor and a number of other sources...sorry they aren't blooming in the picture - they were so nice.


The patio Chris put in the yard is built out of the marble that came off the front porch when he tore that down, it's fun to re-use the old, original building material. And the patio boasts a number of different plants (most came from Pop and Queenie) - some of my favorite being the cana lilies - they haven't bloomed yet, but they will be SO pretty!





Chris has worked so hard on the yard - the path is made out of old slab he found in the yard and the large stones I mentioned earlier (and pea gravel from home depot...that he bought in broken bags so it was very inexpensive :) It's been so fun to see the yard so nice and full this year - we're sad to be leaving it, but glad we got to see it at this stage before saying goodbye!





Another rose he found buried somewhere and the salvia and coreopsis (forgive the incorrect spelling) that he got on clearance at the end of the season and they have done amazingly well - I can't count how many times he has split the plants - they are all over the yard!









My grandmother bought this clematis for us years ago - it was a tiny plant in a tiny pot and it barely survived in the first place we put it. Now....it gets tons of these massive buds and blooms and beautifuly frames the entrance to the vegatable garden (that has no veggies this year since we won't be here long enough to harvest...)

Hope you enjoyed the little tour. If you are close enough to come visist before we move (in early July) please do!!

Here's a fun before and after - especially for Glenn and Cile :)




And because I'm feeling a little obsessive about capturing and documenting everything....there will be a final, grand-finale tour of the house via the blog :) Probably sometime in the next month or so....

The Upstairs....completed

It started out like this...







You walked up the stairs and saw the bathroom







There was a little front room (I know - you love the eighties look of the mirrors on the wall...)







And a little back room..







For a little while we slept up there, and then for a few years we just used it as storage...and then we tore it apart.



Totally gutted the bathroom











And ripped down the wall between the two rooms (which had to involve taking out the chimney - which went from the basement through the roof).







So we tore down and cleaned out..







And started to rebuild..







It was very dusty...







But slowly but surely we made some progress. Chris worked really hard, and I pitched in sanding sheetrock, painting and caulking.











Chris built a fantasticly huge shower (this is the beginning of that)




And then the shower partially tiled..







After lots of sanding and painting, we scrapped up the old floor so we could lay hardwood..















Chris and Mike spent one REALLY long day putting down the floor







They were very relieved when it was over :)







And now...(with the help of lovely antique furniture from Chris's grandparents...) it looks like this:



The view as you walk up the stairs..







Looking into the bathroom...







Another view of the bathroom :)







Chris's massive shower...







A close-up :)







And the other end of the bathroom.







The corner of the room when you reach the top of the stairs..




The view from the bathroom







The CLOSETS that Chris built - can you tell I'm excited about the closets?











The view from the window/closet end of the room







A close-up of Chris's handiwork - yes, he built the handrail and the shelves!







The pictures don't really do it justice - you'll have to come visit so you can see it in person :)