Coming Along

Our patio, August 2007

Our patio, July 2009.

While our backyard is not yet the lovely landscaped haven we eventually hope to make it, it has come a long way. For instance, there are no longer 9-foot long blackberry branches dominating the concrete. Look at the first two pictures. See the blackberries behind Jack's head? There's concrete under there. The week after we moved in I was having signs of imminent labor, but then nothing happened. To hasten things along, I got an axe and chopped down two of the painted tree stumps. Then I took clippers and cut down all the grass and bramble, which revealed piles and piles of spider-infested bricks and rocks painted with garish-looking farm animals. There wasn't a single room in our house that didn't need lots of work. The whole house smelled weird. Not just like someone else's house, but like old, damp, warm garbage and cigarette smoke. It still needs work. We've done bits and pieces, but there's still a lot left to do. The smell is gone. The rat-infested room in the back of the garage is gone. Lots of the gross aluminum single-pane windows are gone. The purple kitchen cabinets are gone. The ugly stainless steel sink is gone. Most of the ugly sun room is gone, and along the south side of the house where there used to be a tangle of weeds we have a jungle of tomatoes, cucumbers, acorn squash and sugar pie pumpkins. Yes, we are coming along.