Hardscape and a Bit o' Color

Please forgive me as it has been 3 weeks since my last post.  While much has been accomplished, it seemed to go in tiny little increments.  So on with it!

Driveway, Patio and the Retaining Wall
These crazy little increments that stretched the days into weeks and almost into months were because of the staging that needed to be done between multiple members.

Step 1: All of the heavy stuff needed to get delivered before the driveway could go in to avoid leaving marks in the new driveway.

Step 2:  Lay the asphalt driveway.  I was shocked at how much equipment and manpower it took

I was worried ho the rock wall was going to meet the asphalt, but it looks pretty slick!

The line where the driveway and the patio were going to meet was left exposed.  On to the hardscaping!

Step 3:  Lay the patio block.  We used a Belgard Laffit pavers and mixed the 2 colors 50/50.

The curved edge of the patio has a soldier course of the smaller pavers.  Finishes it off nice.

Step 4:  Base for the retaining wall.  Approved by our friendly local kitty, Annakia.

Then the wall block itself.  We used a freestanding wall by Anchor Artisana in the Woodlake color.

Step 5: Beds edged and mulched, you can see the tiny itty bitty micro grass patch,  mowing should be a breeze once the sod is in!

Irrigation
We had an irrigation system installed next to maintain the sod and our landscaping plants.  We also had a drip line run to the raised bed by the back door for an eventual kitchen garden.  I'll be taking bets on whether that ever happens.

Exterior Painting
No, our house isn't supposed to be patchy green.  Now that the mulch is in, painting has begun!  The house body is painted and the trim has begun.  SOOO EXCITED!

The lower body is Valspar Walk in the Park and the upper is Valspar Bunker.

You can see how the Valspar Deep Bronze contrasts with the Walk in the Park.  

The back entrance trim is done - that's where the kitchen garden will go...  someday.

You can see a little bit how the time looks against the upper color.

Good-bye goat bridge

For the last few months, we have entered the house billy-goats-gruff-style.  Lucy would insist on walking across the board saying, "trip trop, trip trop" as she crossed the goat bridge.  No longer!  We stopped by today and found the goat bridge gone.

Kind of like the troll, refusing us passage.

The good news, the stair forms look good!

Is this what is called a stoop?  Never was clear on that.

The driveway was also graded and the base was set for the garage.  It is a lot easier to envision the garage location now - previously, there was just some stakes...  pretty difficult to imagine.

Now level, the driveway is ready for paving.

Garage site - check!

All I want for Christmas...

Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday
With the decision to build, that took care of presents and shopping.  We decided to "get" each other things that either got chopped from the budget or other goodies that the other person really wanted.  I received heated floors in the master bath for my birthday.  For Christmas, I got a window or two in the garage - I think it will look better as such a prominent part of the back yard.  Andy got some upgraded lights on the garage and an antenna in the attic.

Progress
The fill and grading around the foundation is in.  Still a little work left to install the window wells, but it looks great.  It's finally possible to see the scale of the house on the lot.  The driveway is very easy to imagine now, thankfully it doesn't feel too narrow.

The family walking down the future driveway.

Rear view, this is the side of the cave-in.  Thankfully it really is decent buffer now that it's filled in.

A little discovery is this stone wall that runs along the drive way.  We knew it was there, but it was really hard to see with all of the overgrowth.  I think it is very, very cool.  It runs a little kitty-wampus so it is partly on our property, then drifts off.  Still cool!

Merry Christmas around the WORLD!

Today seems like a good day to give send Christmas blessings out to friends (old and new) around the world who Blogspot tells me is reading.

• Outside of the US, the #1 country reading is Russia by a long shot - С Рождством Христовым!  
• Germany - Froehliche Weihnachten!
• the UK - Merry Christmas!
• Malaysia - if you are who I think you are Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan!
• Mexico - Feliz Navidad!
• Colombia - Feliz Navidad, también!
• Thailand - Sawadee Pee Mai!