So for those who have not heard. Tom and I are officially homeowners. After an incredibly long and exhausting period of loan applications, we can finally say we are finished and have all the needed financing. We’re excited!
Yesterday I spent the whole day at the house. The electrician is set to come, hopefully, today, and the plumber can’t come until we have electricity, nor can the person who will turn on our gas. So. . we’re still waiting, but in the mean time I’ll we working on the yard, and any projects I can do under the light of the sun and by the power of my own arms.
I spent several hours yesterday weeding the portion of our flowerbeds that will be dedicated for a vegetable garden. It was one huge patch of weeds with a few ground covers, three spirea, several batches of black-eyed susans, an enormous rose bush along with many smaller ones. There are a few peony bushes, and two lilies! It was a big job, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are few things as rewarding as taking a bed of weeds and turning it into a flowerbed of beauty and organization.
When the weather got to hot of working out doors I went in and tore up carpet tacklets- the small strips of nail-laden wood that line the walls and carpet is attached to. We had bought a ripping bar that morning that worked wonderfully and I scooted along the floor jamming my palm into the back of the bar, wedging it along the tacklets until I had popped them from their bearings.
After I finished that job, I went back outside to pull a few more weeds and to start some pruning. I pruned up the two lilacs that line the back of our house and are right in front of the sun room windows. They were unnecessarily bushy, and blocked the sun room windows. I pruned them back until there are just the main branches winding artistically in front of the windows and the main greenery is reserved for higher up- by the roof. There are lots of volunteer trees growing in our yard, and so when I return I’ll be taking my shovel to dig them all out.
After a good analysis of the yard, I think we have a lot of shrub pulling to do. We have shrubs that line our driveway that I think I want to get rid of, and we have a double layer of shrubs that layer the entire front of our house- which must be removed. Do any of you have suggestions for the best way to remove large shrubs?
On a side note, some of you have expressed a great interest in seeing the progress of the house, while I fear others might be bored by loads of before and after pictures. I am considering starting a new blog- dedicated solely to the house renovations. What are your thoughts on that?
By the end of the day my back was aching, my hands were sore from all the pulling and squeezing,