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Friday, January 19, 2018
It Was Fate
Thank goodness! We have the landscaping finished. Finally. And it only took 5 years and 2 months.
For those who weren't aware (because it really seemed to only matter to Steve and I), when we moved in this house we had a 20 x 23 foot plot of dirt in the backyard. We had intended to do something with it right away and then, well, I got hit by truck #1 and truck #2 and it took over 4 years to get the law suits rectified.
Once that was done, we found we had to "burglar" proof the house, add insulation and sealing up of certain areas, followed by the exterior painting.
You must get it, we just kept saying, "the next thing we do..." Also, I actually did have about 4 people come in to look at said dirt plot and none of them wanted to do anything to it. About a year ago our water bill began to get out of hand. I quite accidentally found the reason-a tree in the yard had roots that basically suffocated the piping. We did have our home warranty company come out and fix it several times, but Steve got tired of paying the fee and the extra that wasn't covered and he turned off the system!
Plants began to die. Steve kept saying, "well, it's monsoon season that will take care of it."
Problem-we didn't actually have any rain this year! So we had a LOT of dead plants. Steve still maintained that they'd be fine as soon as we got some rain.
I, in turn (and even practical), told him, "Dead is dead. And the HOA is going to fine us if we don't re--plant and fix things up. The catalyst for getting things done was the house painting. Steve didn't want the dirt getting onto the fresh paint.
Personally, I didn't care what motivated him but I took it as a sign when our neighbors had a landscaper re-doing their drip system next door and told the young man, "This is fate! Would you do a small job?"
He came over, actually gave us an estimate right there and then and we set it up to be done this week!
We now have 19 new plants, including 3 desert roses and a rosemary hedge for me, a new drip system (front and back) and the dirt plot has pea gravel in it for the dogs pleasure and use.
Honestly, the dirt plot doesn't look all that different, but it is small rock and the dirt will no longer be able to be kicked up everywhere. Eventually, Sunshine and Lucky might even do more than smell it.
Now comes the next thing to save up for: I REALLY HATE BAMBOO FLOORING. That needs to go.
But we've done quite a bit lately and we're still paying off hospital bills (amazing what insurance won't pay for) from my stay in July. So, I'll be content for the time being!
For those who weren't aware (because it really seemed to only matter to Steve and I), when we moved in this house we had a 20 x 23 foot plot of dirt in the backyard. We had intended to do something with it right away and then, well, I got hit by truck #1 and truck #2 and it took over 4 years to get the law suits rectified.
Once that was done, we found we had to "burglar" proof the house, add insulation and sealing up of certain areas, followed by the exterior painting.
You must get it, we just kept saying, "the next thing we do..." Also, I actually did have about 4 people come in to look at said dirt plot and none of them wanted to do anything to it. About a year ago our water bill began to get out of hand. I quite accidentally found the reason-a tree in the yard had roots that basically suffocated the piping. We did have our home warranty company come out and fix it several times, but Steve got tired of paying the fee and the extra that wasn't covered and he turned off the system!
Plants began to die. Steve kept saying, "well, it's monsoon season that will take care of it."
Problem-we didn't actually have any rain this year! So we had a LOT of dead plants. Steve still maintained that they'd be fine as soon as we got some rain.
I, in turn (and even practical), told him, "Dead is dead. And the HOA is going to fine us if we don't re--plant and fix things up. The catalyst for getting things done was the house painting. Steve didn't want the dirt getting onto the fresh paint.
Personally, I didn't care what motivated him but I took it as a sign when our neighbors had a landscaper re-doing their drip system next door and told the young man, "This is fate! Would you do a small job?"
He came over, actually gave us an estimate right there and then and we set it up to be done this week!
We now have 19 new plants, including 3 desert roses and a rosemary hedge for me, a new drip system (front and back) and the dirt plot has pea gravel in it for the dogs pleasure and use.
Honestly, the dirt plot doesn't look all that different, but it is small rock and the dirt will no longer be able to be kicked up everywhere. Eventually, Sunshine and Lucky might even do more than smell it.
Now comes the next thing to save up for: I REALLY HATE BAMBOO FLOORING. That needs to go.
But we've done quite a bit lately and we're still paying off hospital bills (amazing what insurance won't pay for) from my stay in July. So, I'll be content for the time being!
