Two weeks since the last post, and so much backlog I don't know where to start. This is kind of rambling, but it's late and I'm tired, and if I don't get something out I'll never get caught up...

Lots of work has been done in the garden - new shrubs, a lot of perrenial flowers. Pictures of that tomorrow night. A couple of tubular skylights have brightened the office in the middle of the house.


The first hole is opened up in the ceiling.

A gas leak was repaired by the local utility, who sent the customary coffee-drinking #2 guy to observe the guy wrenching.



The deck project is underway, with some sod cut away, and the perimeter of the deck visible where the lawn now ends - and crudely outlined with a hose in the photo below.



Major electrical work was done earlier in the week, with a new panel in the garage to replace the one we learned was a potential fire hazard, and some interior circuits added where they were needed, and corrected where they were flawed. No photos here...not much to see for the $2,000 or so of expense. Still great to have that done.


Roses are blooming in my yard again. Roses!

Last weekend, Pat and I went to a Shambhala Buddhist group picnic at a nearby lake. Tonight, I went to Soup Night at the Buddhist center before checking out Bike to the Movies (see below).


At the picnic. This very nice fellow is one of the creators of the weekly Soup Night meals.


Soup! Two great soups every week for anyone who drops by.

I went to a Bike Week event yesterday in Old Town. They were judging bikes in various categories, mid way through a week or bike activities, like Bike to Work day, and tonight the Bike to the Movies event, where hundreds of riders pedal to the New Belgium Brewery to watch films on a giant inflatable outdoor screen.





Walking away from the bike event, I enjoyed a couple of Fort Collins sights...there is a large marble sculpture being created in Old Town Square - no one knows what it will be when finished, as the sculptor works in view of the public every day.



Then I passed by the food co-op, a member-owned organic grocery.



What a great town.

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Another week gone by in the new house, and I haven't made the time for a post. It's been really busy with projects, but Pat has been home and Mona came down to visit for a couple of days.


Mona has breakfast with us on the patio next to the kitchen.

Mona brought a bunch of nice things with her - some plant starts for the garden, some household things, food goodies (including a cherry pie made with cherries from her freezer we picked last summer in Wheatland), and some reading. Since Mona helped us choose this place it was nice to have her over as the first overnight guest.

One of the imminent projects is the construction of a small deck in front of the house. When we first saw the place, the front was so devoid of character we might have not even bothered to have a look.


The original MLS photo of the front.

When we decided to buy the place, we knew we'd do something about the front. Some landscaping would help, but it really needed a more inviting entry, and the deck combined with landscape improvements seemed like the obvious choice. I found a construction guy who seemed OK to work with, and we came up with a preliminary design - a 12X12 deck with a corner integrated bench and a ramp for acessibility.


The front as it appears today.


The front as it will appear with the deck added - a first draft.

Construction of the deck should take place the last week of this month. After that, I'll be doing some landscape work around it, and possibly adding a new flagstone walk across the front yard to the sidewalk from the mid-point of the front edge of the deck. We plan to reduce the amount of grass in the front in favor of some native plants with low water requirements on either side of the new walk.

Between now and then, there is a tile repair guy, a skylight installation, and a major electrical upgrade to be dealt with...

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Guess I have been sort of fixated on things related to the new house recently. Bear with me and eventually we'll move on soon to other stuff.


Yesterday, I got some patio containers planted with annual flowers and herbs.

It's hard to focus on much else with so much to do here at the beginning of our stay in this house. Today I had two people over to go over landscape design ideas, a guy to quote on tile repair in bathrooms, and a deck construction guy. Tomorrow the skylight installation guy is coming to quote an installation in the office ceiling, and I forgot to call back the electrician about replacing the panel and upgrading us from 100 to 150 amp service.

Meanwhile, between thunderstorms, I managed to get some more stuff planted in the garden and make some pretty decent turkey soup.


I got a sketch of the new deck design together last night. The deck construction guy had some good ideas that resulted in a few modifications. We have incorporated a ramp for disability accomodation. We had a very nice friend in California who had to struggle with steps, so if we are lucky enough to find a similar friend here they will feel welcome in our home.

Twice in the past day, as various people have been in the house, I have been asked if I am an artist when they observed my easel and a few paintings in the kitchen. Oh right - I was going to be doing that here. It doesn't seem like things will ever settle down to allow for that, but I guess that's my objective.


Time to put an ad in Craigslist for our moving boxes, now that the majority of them are empty.

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