Hello Spring! Hello New Projects! Hello Concrete Sink!

Given the nasty winter we had this year, I wasn't too sure that spring would ever get here.  Too add insult to injury, we got around eight inches of snow on the first day of spring!  But spring finally did arrive, and so did our sink and our desire to take on new projects.

LD and I finally finished clearing all of the vegetation in the backyard last Thursday.  And we have a humongous brush pile to prove it!

Now we are in the process of getting bids for its removal.  It is amazing how much all that overgrown vegetation blocked our view.

Before

After

We can almost see all the way to Turkey Creek.  The downside is that we have a lot of landscaping to do now.  Unfortunately, that will have to wait until we are done with some of the interior projects we have planned for this year.

We got an email from Cretedog-the concrete sink for our master bathroom was finally done!  Keith and Jeff came by this afternoon to install it.

I couldn't be happier, it was exactly what I wanted.  We are waiting to hook up the plumbing until we install the backsplash.

I figured it will be a lot easier to tile without the faucets in the way.  The tile we purchased earlier ended up going back to Home Depot because LD was not completely sold on it.  The sooner LD and I can agree on tile, the sooner we can get the master sink done.

This weekend we also went shopping for some baseboards and cabinet toe kicks.  LD stained and applied two coats of polyurethane to the toe kicks yesterday.

Before

This evening we installed most of it.  We need to stain more toe kicks to finish the job, and get some smaller nails for the nail gun.  The baseboards have to acclimate to the house, so we will probably start tackling those next weekend.

After

Backyard Battle-Day 4 and Counting

Well, now that the snow has cleared, I thought it was time to start tackling the center area of the backyard jungle. 

Day 1-I started with taking out the forsythias beneath the trees. Then began work on trimming the "smaller" Christmas tree. I cut all the lower branches to open up the canopy. I figured if it was going to stay for awhile, I might as well make it look a little nice.

Day 2- I cleared the area around the second Christmas tree, and trimmed those branches. It looks really nice, BUT now we have a clear view of our neighbor's hot tub in the neighborhood behind us!! I hope the vegetation along the fenceline grows in. Delia said she doesn't want to see someone's "bathtub"! I can't say that I blame her. If it doesn't grow in, I have a solution-that's where the storage shed will go!!  

Day 3 & 4-I took out the juniper bushes on the west side. Even though I bought a new chain for the chainsaw, I actually haven't used it once so far. Turns out that the 55+ year old juniper bushes were already dying at the roots. I didn't know why before, but figured it out as I was working on them. There is quite a bit of this parasitic, viney groundcover everywhere. I'm sure it was nice at one point in time, but the stuff is horrific!!! It's killing the trees around the yard, and evidently the sturdy cockroach-like juniper bushes too!! I cut the vine on some of the trees, but I have to say that I'm glad it's killing the juniper bushes. I absolutely hate those juniper-type bushes. Hate is not a strong enough word to describe my feelings towards them. Loathe is a much better description.

I have a corner left to go, but the area is looking more open now. My goal is for the yard to look like a beautiful park with old trees.

However, what comes out must go somewhere. Which means that the bush pile is growing!!! Once I clear the last part of the yard and some thorny bushes, I'll have someone remove the brush pile.

Master Bathroom Sink is Starting to Take Shape

Earlier this week, we got a sneak peak of the mold that Cretedog put together for our sink.  

Hard to believe, but this mold will be giving shape to our new sink!

They also showed us the nifty flip drain in the satin nickel finish.

No, we are not going to change our concrete color selection.  Cretedog gave us our choice of concrete sealers.  The sealer on the left is a commercial sealer, and therefore more durable.  We chose the commercial sealer on the left. 

A couple more weeks, and our master bathroom will finally have a sink!