We've had a few major house projects since last summer when I last posted on our blog. In August, Loren and I spent a weekend with a couple of sledge hammers, axe, and reciprocating saw to tear down the walls in our unfinished basement. Amid grime, dead rodents, and rotting wood, we managed to clear things away so the basement was ready for the contractors to rip out the old concrete floor. Within a week, the crumbly old floor came out and the new, smooth concrete floor was poured.

More recently we finally had a chimney insert put in. One of the criteria when we were house searching is that we wanted a wood burning fireplace. Last fall, however, the afternoon after having our first cord of firewood delivered so we could begin winter fires, we also had the chimney cleaned and inspected--and learned then it was unsafe to use until we could have a liner put in.

Due to the size of and shape of the blocks and chimney itself, we weren't able to put in an 8-inch liner, but installing a 6-inch liner alone would have presented an issue with the way our chimney drew air. As a result, our only option was to put in an insert (essentially a wood burning stove fit inside our fireplace with blower to maximize heat output). Because our chimney is in the center of our house, rather than the outside, we expect it to be helpful in keeping the heating bill down. We've both really enjoyed having our fires again through these cold, wintery nights.

Brady is thoroughly pleased with the new "chew toys" readily available from the log pile we keep beside the fireplace, and I am constantly amazed by his ability to consume wood. Our next purchase may be a large wood basket with a lid.

Cozy fires have been a great addition to our holiday cheer, and we've enjoyed decorating for Christmas!

July 2013

This summer we often have a smiley face in the center window...

The Patio is Finished

And the patio is complete!

Last weekend...after a month-and-a-half, nearly 10 tons of paver bricks were in place on top of 9 tons of compacted gravel for structure, in addition to a couple tons of sand to help with leveling. Our friend Brian came to help the day we rented the wet saw to cut bricks for the edges of the patio. 

The project came to a dramatic and climactic culmination as a steady rain began to fall while we spread the polymeric (water-activated) sand, used to fill paces between paver bricks- the final step. In a frenzy we swept wet sand in the rain until we were soaked through...and the patio was finished, whether we were ready or not!

Brady is a happy boy to have the full run of his yard again, and we've been focusing efforts now on building brick walls for the raised beds.

This weekend, we hosted an outside lunch and officially broke in the new patio. Jose and Tim helped Loren and me dig the hole for our (very heavy) ornamental cherry tree for the back raised bed, before managing to roll it into the hole.

The Patio...Part II

Back in June, before the gravel went down, we dug, dug, and dug...then laid down landscape fabric and laid an electrical conduit under the patio, for when we run electricity out to the garage.  Loren's sister, Julie, was an all-start patio builder!

For awhile, we were laying the first layers of gravel for the patio, then compacting it with the 200  pound compactor we rented.

Then...we started laying paver bricks...

...while Brady supervised...

Laying gravel involved several sweaty, dirt-filled weekends. More photos to come soon of the now completed patio!

Digging in the Dirt...Lots of It

Last year we moved into our new house and spent much of the summer scraping, painting, unpacking, and working with many contractors. This year we can focus our home improvement on the outside! 

We waited a full year to finally obtain our compost bin, which we can use to leave yard waste out with the trash. The delivery fee was a strong deterrent...but we finally we made good use of the Camry, which never ceases to amaze me in all it can do. 

With this new purchase from the City of Ann Arbor, we have started digging efforts. Our vet told us when we brought Brady home that lilies are toxic for dogs--especially those pups who eat everything--and so we have been putting our all into removing the well-established and widespread lilies that have run rampant in our backyard. Brady likes to keep on eye on things while we're working hard.

Last weekend we also began digging for our back patio. Julie came over and was a huge help.

In order to lay the base of the patio, we'll need to dig down nine inches and create the appropriate grade so that rainwater will run off of it. Then we'll need several cubic yards of gravel and sand delivered, in addition to the pavers or bricks...this will be a multi-weekend project. More photos soon to come!

Late April is here, and spring has sprung. 

In typical Michigan fashion, it snowed last weekend. This week, though, has been warm, rainy--and green! Loren and I went flower shopping at the farmer's market yesterday morning and bought trays full of pretty yellow pansies for our front bed. Finally, after a long, hard winter, I was able to happily dig in the dirt. 

After sweating out unusually high temperatures last summer as we waited several weeks in July for back-ordered parts for our air conditioning system, our boiler died unexpectedly this winter during a stretch of near-zero temperatures with wind chills in the negative teens. We are loving this beautiful, cool/not cold spring weather!

We made a Home Depot run this afternoon and bought white fencing material for the garden, as this summer we'll have more than rabbits to keep out. Brady and his best buddy from down the street, Meemo, had fun playing in our muddy backyard and tried to "help" as I staked out the garden spot for this summer.

Brady uprooted an old tomato plant from last year (i.e. giant stick), and Meemo decided to join in the fun so he could have it, too. Brady wasn't keen to give it up.

Brady, a tired and happy pup...even after having been toweled down and dried off after Meemo headed home. Brady and Meemo love mud!

On another note, we celebrated closing on our house one year ago on March 29th!