Landscaping - Part 1

First, let us just say one last adieu to my perfect Kits condo ... buh-bye chandeliers! I'll miss you guys most of all!



This week, the cedars were planted. All 105 of them. The wall looks a LOT better now. The yard looks ... well, judge for yourself.

Take a 10,000lb Bobcat:


Cut a swath along the wall and then make a nice pile:


Hmm...


On the plus side, the bamboo is gone!


On the minus side, the yard now looks like this (and this, by the way, is how it will look until the spring when the sod is laid):


The cedars look so nice against the wall. They look like a really long line of Rockettes:


Seriously, Wick? With all the loose dirt, you want to excavate the cedars???


I told the collies that we might have to limit fetch games on rainy days:


Wick did not take the news well.


Bear was more philosophical.


Lou said whatevs, so long as you don't take his leopard-print bed.


The next phase of the landscaping is building a deck. This may happen in the winter, or it might get tabled til spring. Still haven't made up my mind on that one.

We're moved in!

The dogs and I moved in last week. I have to say ... we LOVE having a house! The dogs actually spend time in the yard by themselves - almost like real dogs! Though it hasn't stopped raining since we moved in, I love the convenience of kicking the dogs out to their own safe, fenced yard, rather than hitching them up and taking them to the park at night. Bear and I have been doing the nightly walk for almost 11 years. I think we're both glad that it's come to an end!

The cedars are going in this weekend, I think. The juniper will be evicted too, and the bamboo forest taken away (only to return in a few weeks, no doubt). The deck is being designed, and the interior is being scrutinized. I think that pretty much the whole house will be changed in some way. Most exciting will be opening up the side of the house that faces the yard, using french doors and lots of windows. That will bring in a lot of light ...if it ever stops raining.

Still waiting for someone - anyone - on the block to put up some Christmas lights. Come on, people! It's almost December! I don't want to seem pushy, being new to the neighbourhood and all, but srsly ... I gotz an inflatable polar bear that has been waiting to be deployed for a month and a half!

First DIY project

The inaugural project: an Ikea TV stand!

Mise en place is very important:


Well, unless the pieces are too big. Then you can fling them around the room:


Halfway done!


Finished!


Wick can't believe it was done in one shot.


The dogs were very supportive.



Now that we're done with that, can you come out and play with me?


A brief update on the battle of the bamboo. Fiskar shears were procurred:


And the bamboo has fallen. But for how long? Probably a few days. :-(

Clean(er) carpets!

They are still 16 years old. They are still a strange menopause-pink-meets-fiberglass kind of colour. But dang it, they no longer appear to be hosting some sort of grunge festival in their fibers!

BEFORE:


AFTER:


And the guy who did it was very fast, very nice, and very fastidious. Citrus-O Carpet Care was who I used. They had good reviews and a good BBB rating - at least the franchise in Surrey, BC, did. $196 to clean three bedrooms, a hallway and the stairs. I think it was a fantastic deal! Now I will not feel the urge to don a haz-mat suit when I have to contact the carpet. BTW, the carpet will be gone soon. I just couldn't leave it like that and let all my pretty stuff sit on it, even for a short period of time. :-)