During.....

The front entry stairs - concrete base. These will be covered with rock.


Walkway forms for the back sidewalk. This will be colored stamped concrete.


This is the other side of the sidewalk that wraps the house.


Next, is the entry walkway that goes up the hillside from the garage under the house. These are the pads that the big honkin' rock slabs will be mortared onto. The gravel sections will be colored stamped concrete to match the sidewalk.

I can't wait!!!!!! It's a dream come true. Really! I've been visualizing this stage of the project for over a year now.

I'm starting to visualize the next phase....the landscaping. Yeah, buddy. Plants, grass, trees, flowers - my FAVORITE part of home ownership. The gardening!!!! Well, I do like the other puttering too. Decorating. Treasure hunting. Painting. Planning. Shopping. O.k., so maybe that's why the bank "gave" us a 30 year mortgage, 'cause with an older house, it takes that long to do everything!!!!!

BEFORE......

Here are the "before" photos of our soon-to-be completed entry way. Sure, it looks like a mess right now - and has for the last six months or more, but it will be my dream entry way when it's all done. Real ROCK. Beautiful stamped concrete. Rock stair treads. Rock walls. Dark stained shingles. OH yeah....

But, like everything else around this place....it takes time and money....AND a good skill set. Which has been really hard to find around these parts....

Stay tuned, later this week or maybe next, if this heat doesn't break soon, I'll be posting more in progress shots.....

AND some of our camping trip....... Later!

Off to.....?

O.K., so we don't really know exactly where we're off to, but we are off!

Somewhere - West of Grants Pass. A campground near the coast. First come, first served. We'll be camping in the new-to-us motor home. S'mores. Roasted Hot Dogs. Campfire bacon and eggs. Steak and Taters. Yummmmm!!!! Yes, I'll be taking the healthy stuff too, but I'm sure I'll be tasting a bit of the good outdoor-living food as well. I can't go camping and not have the good stuff, now can I?

Plus, I've been really, really, really good and have lost 10 pounds in the last two weeks. Oh, did I not mention, I've been dieting? Well, I have been. My goal is to lose the 15 pounds I've accumulated over the last five years since we moved to Oregon. Fortunately, I've never really had a weight problem, but somewhere around 35 the metabolism seemed to have slowed a bit. Or maybe, I'm just not chasing three boys here, there and everywhere, anymore.....Hmmmmm......

See ya next week!!!! Happy Weekend - early.......

Wishin'. Hopin'. Dreamin'.

Yep. That's right.

Getting the Jones to go somewhere tropical. A secluded beach somewhere with crystal blue waters. Somewhere warm, but not as HOT as it's been here lately. I can handle 80 degrees, but not this stifling, stagnant, hot. True, Grants Pass is an awesome place to be, but the handful of summer days each year that the mercury tops 100 is much too much.

Granted, we lived in the Southern California Mojave desert for a long time, but you get acclimated to the constant heat. This stuff around here is so sporadic, that we never know if it's gonna be 60 or 90! Jeans and jackets or shorts and tees.

So, I'm a Wishin'. I'm a Hopin'. I'm a Dreamin'.

Maybe a trip above the clouds to a tropical paradise....called Maui? Maybe for an anniversary??? Maybe.....???







Hey, Sweetheart....I know we're going camping this summer, but I've got another idea.......