I'm beginning to sound like a broken record.....

Yep, that record that plays over and over. "I know, I haven't posted in a while...."

...but we've been busy as ever. Busy working around the house starting/progressing/finishing all sorts of things around the house - inside and out.

The retaining wall/planter. Sealing the inner walls with concrete sealer so the stone veneer won't pop off once it's done. Freezing water and such. Fabricating a perforated steel drain cover at the base of the wall. Filling the space with drainage rock. Then covering it with topsoil/garden loam so our future plants will love their new digs.

Here is the pallet of capstones for the top of the retaining wall and the stair walls. The walls will be covered in stone too, but we haven't ordered them yet!

Completing the entry walkway up to the front door. More like side-walk supervising the awesome crew that took on this project. 6000 lbs. of super thick sandstone slabs set in beautifully stamped concrete. We love it! Now we just need to do the landscaping - but that will be the "easy" part compared to the rock hardscaping.


Here is Wonka-dog enjoying the walkway. The first day the stone were set, he promptly made his way, testing, each and every stone. Step. Lay-down. Test. Step. Lay-down. Test. I think he approves. Now if we could get some landscaping so he quits rolling in the dirt = dust!

The front porch stairs. After a zillion phone calls. A ton of communication. Waiting almost three months. Our stone stair treads finally got delivered. All the 14" x 14" stone and the retaining wall capstones turned out beautifully. The 14" x 28" stones...well, let's just say, if I was doing a science project to illustrate fossilized tide pools...BINGO! We'd have it covered. Only, fossilized tide pools don't fair too well on main entry steps!!! So, here we are. Waiting once again for the replacements to be shipped in from Missouri. You heard me. Missouri. Missouri to Oregon. Believe me. I tried to find sandstone stair treads in Oregon. No such luck!
The layout pictured here is NOT the final layout. There will NOT be running seams from one step to the next. That just isn't the plan. I'll post photos when my little gems arrive from MISSOURI!!!


The walls of our entry/foyer. Plan. Shop. Measure. Measure again. Cut. Glue. Nail. Fill the seams. Ready for paint. Cream paint. Chocolate brown paint for the top walls. It's not done yet, but it's progressing. Things around here take time and money, but it gets done in due time. Plus, it's a little bit of a challenge transforming a 1976 house with an awesome view and location - with NO architectural style - did I mention 1976? into a 1930's farmhouse/cottage style home. A challenge, but worth the payoff!

Plan. Dream. Sketch. Plan. Dream some more. Execute. REST. Execute some more. Live with it partially done. Dream some more. Execute. FINISH! Well, that's the plan anyway. To finish. To finally have that dream come true. I don't know what we'll do when it's all finished, but I think we have a TON to do still, so I don't think I should be worrying just yet.

So there you have it. Dreams. Progress. Execution. Finish?

Toot-a-loo.

ps.

What can you possibly find in the attic of a 1976 house? Classic love letters? Priceless antiques? Vintage children's toys?

What's in that box at the far end of the attic???? Hmmm.....