House Update

Since I last posted about the house, the front privacy wall has been finished and only needs the gates, which are expected shortly! (They will replace the functional, but very ugly, ones in place now.) The wall itself needs stucco and the columns will be stone-clad. It should look very good. The last cable on the front of the house will be removed in the next week and will be replaced with an underground electric cable. No more power outages due to strong winds.



As you can see. the conservatory is also structurally complete and needs only finish work when the weather warms up a bit.

 We still need to finish the second-floor balcony, which is missing the floor finish and railings. It's a two day job, once it's a little warmer

The conservatory is full of all the stuff from the living room, because that room is in the middle of finish work - the drywall is getting tape and mud today, the wiring & sound system are finished, and the floor will go down as soon as the painting is finished. Then the furniture and books can go in and the builders can move on to the kitchen and dining room!

Since we're having a very mild winter and it's snow-free, here's a shot of the lawn in all its "glory". It doesn't look too bad, especially since the dog (good boy, Archie!) dealt with the miserable moles. Terriers can be quite useful!

The pile of lumber and roof tiles in the left corner will someday be a summer kitchen. It's sitting on a concrete slab and the water and electrics are already in place. The "lovely" little outhouse will go the way of the dinosaurs at the same time and will be replaced with a proper bathroom for the summer kitchen. The wall here will also get the same stucco and stone treatment as the front wall. On the right is the start of a long perennial bed, which has nearly a thousand spring bulbs, plus poppies, chrysanthemums, lilacs, primroses, and roses so far. We'll be starting perennial seeds in the conservatory next month and will fill it all in, cottage garden style, as the spring and summer progress. The ugly pipes in the foreground are the basis for the irrigation system, which will all come from the well. That should help keep things green in the heat of the summers here. The apple, peach, and quince trees all need a second pruning to get them back in best form, but all of them produced well last year and hopefully will for many more years.