Front Yard Project

We had our driveway, patio, and pathway poured this morning. The patio and pathway were finished with rock salt, and the driveway was brush finished. In the next few days, the brick work will be added to the pathway and all of the forms removed. At this point, everything looks like it came out as planned. We dined in Dean & Carol's new backyard last night. It looks professionally landscaped and Dean's arbor is an attractive addition to the new deck. He also served a top-drawer dinner and, over drinks, we celebrated the "bon voyage" get-together by talking about Dean and Jack going to Burning Man, and Carol and Mary off to France. We are planning to stay around town for awhile, but are still planning trips to Las Vegas and Tahoe before winter arrives.

Hot August Nights

Alex and Onita moved into their new house and are getting unpacked. We celebrated Cindy's birthday at Danielle's Creperie (Ryan was a tad under the weather). He is working a lot of overtime to save money. Lindsay got new seat covers to go with her new paint job and her car looks new. Cindy has a interview tomorrow at work before a panel that, if successful, could be her last interview for awhile as it will solidify her position. We have started a new project...replacing our driveway, front patio (and steps), and adding a pathway from the sidewalk. The concrete was removed yesterday and the forms finished today (see above). The concrete pouring will be on Saturday, and we'll have to keep our cars off the driveway for about a week. Our next door contractor Nar is in charge of the job. I think we have decided to postpone replacing the backyard decks until Spring, they are seldom used in the winter anyway. We've had 90+ degrees for about 3 weeks, but it cools off nicely in the evening, and we can sit on the back deck and enjoy a cool beverage while the delta breezes sweep in. We're still trying to figure out how to keep the squirrels out of our new bird feeder, they are really clever little guys.