Patio Power Washing

A while back Frank bought a power washer on craigslist.  It needed a part when we bought it, so I picked on him for weeks about how it was junk.  He did a superb job and fixed it up to working order - I'm such a proud wife!  I finally took it for a test spin last weekend on the back patio area, and boy did it work well!  Between the backpack leaf blower and the power washer, it's hard to say which yard tool is my favorite!

Here are a few pictures to show you the before vs. after look of the patio.  The dark is the pre-washed area.

Overall it didn't take too much time to finish at all.  I think the patio looks much better now, and I'm excited to take on the next project with the power washer soon!



Our Plants are on the Move!

It feels like since the day we moved in we've been cleaning out the yard!  There was way too much overgrown greenery right on top of the house.  Frank and I have been working hard and seeing some big progress.  This past weekend, we even had some hired help come over to help us relocate two beautiful rhododendron trees/bushes we had right out in front of our house. 

The one tree was quite large. The job was one we definitely couldn't do by ourselves.  The second seemed smaller, but one the guys got digging it looked bigger than we thought.  Before we moved anything, we needed to figure out where we wanted them moved to.  We really wanted to put them right at the front of our driveway, but unfortunately there wasn't enough sun there. These plans need lots of sun, which can be somewhat hard to come by in many parts of our yard due to the surrounding larger trees. 

We decided that the side yard would be best.  You can see them from the front as you drive up, the back and the side. Plus, they'll be right outside of our master bedroom and bathroom, so we'll have the view there as well.  Once we decide on the spot, it was time to get to work. 

Here's a few reminder pictures of where the trees were before...

You can see the larger tree on the left of this photo by the hose - only about a foot from the house.  the second is in the top right of the photo, in front of the second bedroom on the first floor. Again, right up against the house.

Below is a picture of the larger of the two trees right when we moved in.  They're just beautiful when they flower, so we really wanted to try and keep them if possible. Although, you can barely see half of the tree with the jungle in full effect around it!

Here's a quick picture of where we were going to move the rhododendrons.  There was a tree there as you can see, but we took that out.  It was a crab apple tree and made a big mess.  It was also a terror on Frank's allergies. 

We hired four guys to come and help us make the move.  There was lots of digging, until we got the base of the trees into tree balls like this:

Next they wrapped it up in burlap, but I was busy doing other things in the yard and forgot to snap a picture.  It took the four guys, plus one more we called for backup, plus Frank to get this thing moved!  It was much bigger than anyone though and super heavy!  Frank's tractor was a big help... here's a picture of him on his favorite toy (moving compost for the tree transplant).

And here's a few pictures after the trees were out of their holes...

(where the big tree was)

(where the small tree was)

(side yard where the crab apple tree was)

All in all, it took many hours, lots of man power and one Kubota to move the trees.  But they look GREAT!! And I'm so happy with the results.  Now we just need to nurse them and keep our fingers crossed that they live.  Here they are!

Wash, Dry, Repeat

Recently we found a steal of a deal on a few appliances! Along with some things for the bar, we purchased a new washer and dryer. Since we'd been pretty busy, there wasn't much time left to install them. Luckily, last weekend was the day! Here's a look at what we had in place before:

Nothing wrong with them, just couldn't pass up the deal we found.  However, the white set is for sale now! So anyone who's interested please let us know.

And now for the reveal of our new duo...



Of course Tyson wanted to get in on the reveal action!  He loves hanging out in the laundry room while I fold clothes.  Such a good helper her is. 

The new set is great!  It's very energy efficient and washes and dries in less time than before.  Additionally, there's a ton of space inside to fill.  Check out the washer ...

... nothing sticking up in the middle means lot smore room!  Another fun thing about the set is that when the cycle is done, a pretty song plays to let you know.  Since we're not used to it just yet, we always think it's so funny when it starts to play. 

I have lots of plans for this room as we start working more on the lower level transformation, but for now I'm happy with the new washer/dryer set!