Front Walk Facelift

The original path; functional but underwhelming.
The flagstones were all partially overgrown with grass.

The majority of the academy students, save the youngest group and the Nordies, have all headed off to November ski camp in CO. I'll be headed there next week, but for the time being, I have some time on my hands. Granted, it should be used to wrap up first quarter grades and comments, but really, I have until Monday at noon. Plenty of time!

So, with an hour or so to kill today while it has been lightly spitting snow, I figured I may as well finish up the front path. I gave you a little preview last week, and then picked up the sand and sorted out the flagstones earlier this week. You're in for a bit of a long post, but it's mostly pictures!

Let's rewind some, since the preview was missing a lot of the key work that had already been done. I have been planning to redo the walk for a while now. It isn't my favorite part of the yard, and while it functions perfectly well, I wanted to clean it up and feature the really nice flagstones more prominently.

This summer I acquired a big ol' pile of 1-inch gravel that I planned to use to surround the flagstone. Add in some free bricks from my sister-in-law's mother, and all I ended up paying for were the five 50-lb bags of sand I used to help settle the gravel. I love low cost projects! I finally got motivated last week to get started. We're well into stick season, which means it could snow any day, and the temps were cooling off. Motivation enough to get the path done.

Happy (Belated) Halloween!

This year the sister and I went in on a joint costume. I came up with idea earlier in the year, and with a little planning, some tween-dress shopping, and last minute embellishments, our costumes were complete.

Guess those 90s ice queens!

Perfection on skates

In Progress: Front Walk Sneak Preview

It's nearly the end of October, and given that snow could fly any day now (we had snow on Halloween a few years ago!), I decided I should probably get started on redoing the front walk. Mainly the issue is that the pile of stone that will go around the slate stepping stones is dead center on where the plow will push the snow off the driveway. I don't want to move it twice, so I may as well do the walk, right? 

Rough walkway! 50 bricks in, 60ish more needed
(And what's up with the paint job on the fascia?
Someone ought to do something about that. . . )

Earlier in the week, on Monday, I pulled up the slate stepping stones, cut the edges, and pulled out the excess sod. Yesterday I got the first load of bricks that will edge the walk. I still have a bunch to do - pick up the rest of the bricks, buy sand for the base, but I am certain I'll be able to get it done in the next week or so, especially since the kids all head out for their ski camps next week!

Grape Jelly!

Yesterday we were at mom's for most of the day, helping get several cords of wood put up. One of the big old maples on the west side of the property had been taken down last January and we finally got around to moving and stacking it all. Long morning, but we got it all done! Mom is psyched and will have wood for a few winters yet.

Along with some leftover chocolate cake from lunch, Mom also sent me home with a half-gallon jar of grape juice from the grapes that they have growing on an arbor near the barn. I used about three cups of it today to make some grape jelly, ending up with seven small jars.

Seven jars of jelly and a whole bunch more juice to use up

Random Repairs: Garage Door Weather Seal Edition

This is what my view was for about 30 minutes straight last night:

I went cross-eyed several times.
And my right knee fell asleep. It was not comfortable.

Strawberry Bed: Revisited & Revised

Remember back in May, when I made this for the strawberry plants that my students had planted (then abandoned when school ended) in the spring of 2013?

little strawberry plants, all tucked in - they're practically lonely with all that space

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We're in the midst of the annual September Ski Camps here at school. The Nordies are across the pond in Italy. The Alpine crew is down in Chile for some spring skiing. I went along to Chile as a studyhall proctor and injured-kid wrangler a couple of years ago. While it was a great experience - you can't beat skiing in the Andes above treeline - spending 15 or so days "landlocked" at a resort that is shutting down for the summer and that is a 2 hour bus ride from Santiago wears on you.

I certainly wouldn't turn the trip down again (hello, skiing in South America?!), but there's something appealing about staying home and having a quick break before the craziness sets in. And yes, it pretty much sets in from the moment the students all get back and doesn't let up until graduation in June. This year it was extra crazy as the Chile trip happened unexpectedly early (as in, the trip was moved up a week or so as we started the year. . . we spent the first week of school not knowing when they would actually head down!). The plus side is that we get an "extra" week in the fall before the November Colorado trip happens. The minus side is that I actually had the semester planned out before school started and the early departure threw a wrench in those plans. That's what I get for being prepared for the year! It's nothing I can't adjust for, but annoying nonetheless.

ONE YEAR!

So technically the official year-iversary isn't until mid-October (when the paperwork FINALLY went through and I actually owned the place), but it's been one year of living here. It seems kind of crazy, and I still can't always believe myself when I tell someone I own my own home (who does that??), but it's exciting to know I've made it this far, and when I look at the mortgage bill every month the balance seems to be a little bit less.

then. . .

New Shelves! The Backroom/Man(less)cave edition

The backroom/man(less)cave has become a catchall for storage bins, paint storage, recycling center, pet feeding zone, yard-sale pile, and general miscellany collection area. There is some semblance of organization, but nothing substantial. Basically, just zones where things that are kind of similar in theme are generally placed. The biggest issue has been the stacks of bins and tubs against the back wall. I've been stacking them a two or three high, but they've started to inch their way forward into the rest of the room. Add a bunch of stuff my sister has begun moving in ahead of her move and it was finally time to do something about the space.

this place is a little out of control. . . good thing I don't actually want to get
anything out of those tubs right now!

Kitchen/Dinning Area Update

I have a minor obsession with vintage Pyrex and have slowly been acquiring random pieces over the years. I definitely use some of them, especially at the holidays or when going to potlucks, but quite a few have been tucked away in cupboards, unused and unseen. I love the patterns and have been debating adding a shelf to the kitchen/dinning area to display the pieces.

Earlier this summer I grabbed a board from the collection of wood left in my dad's barn. It's a 1 x 8, about 6 1/2 ft long. The brackets are 6 inches on the short side, 8 on the long side. The board was primed already, and I wanted it to match the rest of the space so I added a few coats of the cupboard and trim paint. The board was sitting in the garage for a few weeks until I finally got motivated Friday night and Saturday morning. On Friday night I initially hung the brackets too high, so Saturday morning I started over. A little measuring, leveling, and drilling, and the shelf is up!