Friday, September 28, 2007

The View From Our Front Porch

Isn't it lovely? Try not to be too jealous, gentle reader, of our "Fast Stop, Sandwiches and Cold Drinks" sign and building accentuating the mountainscape. And YES, we do have a little snow up there, as of last week although most of it will melt before the stuff really hits the ground.

Imagination Boost

After posting about the roses, I took a look at the pics and realized how uninspiring those twelve little pots look. Hard to imagine what they'll be, you say? Need a mental picture? So here, culled from flickr, are images of the roses that will be blooming from these first twelve plants next summer:
"Abraham Darby" English shrub rose

"Graham Stuart Thomas" English shrub rose

"Darlow's Enigma" Hybrid musk rose

"Madame Hardy" Damask rose

"Madame Alfred Carriere" Noisette rose

"Konigin von Danemark" Alba rose

"La Reine Victoria" Bourbon rose

"Apothecary Rose" Gallica rose

"Wise Portia" English shrub rose

"Reine des Violettes" Hybrid perpetual rose
"Angel Face" Grandiflora rose
"Gertrude Jekyll" English shrub rose
A Special Thanks to all the flickr members who by taking these pictures allowed me, someone that hasn't gardened in YEARS, to plan out her dream garden with stunning visuals.

THE LIST, rev. 30

Really, there may have been more, I just stopped counting at 30. I can be completely AR at times, just ask R how many graph pads I go through a month. This particular revision is what I call the "Things to do BEFORE Christmas" list. As in things that will keep me from mortification when seasonal guests and visitors start to descend on me during the holiday season. Also some practical things to lower my energy bills, keep me from burning down the house, and give me much needed privacy from the neighbors' oh-so-close windows.

The List

1. Plant front yard roses/bulbs/perennials/trees, mulch and cover with burlap for winter protection
2. Throw out any debris from demo/yardwork, clean out garage so car will actually fit inside
3. Weatherstrip front door where gapped, cover swamp cooler
4. Tear out paneling in foyer/living room/dining room/guest room and dispose of
5. Skim coat walls with plaster as needed, also patch with sheetrock any bad spots
6. Primer and paint walls in foyer/living room/dining room/guest room
7. Order velveteen for heavy drapes in foyer/living room/ dining room/guest room/master bedroom (we figured it best to concentrate on the largest windows first)
8. Install any needed curtain hardware, sew and hang linen-backed drapes
9. Have FP/chimney cleaned for winter use, chimney cap tightened
10. Clean/strip FP bricks, replace mantel with something more fitting for a bungalow(DIY, probably)
11. Tile FP insert and hearth
12. Remove remaining carpet in foyer/dining room/hall/guest room/master bedroom
13. Deep clean and sand exposed hardwood flooring
14. Shellac and seal hardwood floor in foyer/living room/dining room/hall/guest room/master bedroom
15. Remove foyer mirror/foyer light/guest light/master light, replace lights with period/vintage/new fixtures
16. Finish skim coating kitchen walls where needed
17. Primer and paint kitchen walls
18. Finish painting/staining cabinets, attach new hardware
19. Remove chandelier from kitchen nook, replace with 3 pendant lights
20. Find fabric, sew and hang linen-backed drapes for kitchen/kitchen nook(harder than it sounds, what goes with lime green AND looks good year round?)

The Real Work Begins

Gosh folks, sorry to leave you hanging for so long! We've been spending the past weeks getting settled in our new home & neighborhood, dealing with the obligatory plumbing/electrical problems that always surface when moving into a new place, and unexpectedly commencing homeschool a la kindergarten. Busy, busy, busy! But now that we've settled into somewhat of a daily pattern it's time to bust out the tools and start work in earnest on what really needs to be done here in the Nuclear Bungalow.


Since we in the Rockies are rapidly closing on "frost date", I'm starting with that exterior job closest to my heart, planting the roses(cheers!). In preparation for the planting I get to do FUN things like tilling/composting the site, removing cat pee bushes(yes I know that's not what they're called), and knocking down the world's ugliest brick planter. Which has already broken one sledge handle. Hopefully the mason's chisel will work a little better, but there is a strong possibility that I will be planting around the thing for now.

So here are a few pics of what my front yard has looked like up to this point:




And this is what's going in the ground today:

Also, if I can find a "Green Gage"plum and "Blenheim" apricot locally that aren't budget-breaking these babies will be in rings around the trunks, in the island part of our yard: