We have grass!

Ladies and Gentleman, WE HAVE GRASS! We've waited almost 2 years for this historic day. The yard was one of the main reasons we wanted this house. The bamboo privacy hedge is in as well, and it looks great. I can't wait to see it grown in. The landscaper is done except for a visit 2 weeks from now to reset the sprinkler timers and go through the setting procedure with me. The general contractor was here was well and started the elevated walkway.

Unfortunately, we can't walk on the grass for 21 days. The landscaper was adamant about this, and told me 3 times! We used sod, and it doesn't have any roots. Walking on it can cause the pieces to shift and make gaps, and your footprints can leave permanent indentations. We have a friend who walked on her sod prematurely, and the footprints never filled in.

Today, I feel a huge sense of relief. The yard/exterior project is well under way and going smoothly. We may have waited a while to get these two particular contractors, but they did do a good job once here. This is our last big project for the foreseeable future - YAY! Our next few projects include finishing the interior window frames with shellack, shellacking all interior doors, buying window shades/window treatments, staining exterior doors, interior trim, interior painting, and flooring. There's a lot more to do than I've listed - but you get the point. After the yard, we are really into a whole new level of projects that are less complex, less costly, less lifestyle detracting, less urgent, etc. We are also into a lot less "R&D," which in this case means Research and Decision making. We have really turned a corner.

Here is the sod delivered:




Here is the bamboo delivered.




Here is the grass during installation.




And here is the best picture of all, OUR GRASS!




Here is how it looked the first time we saw the house. It gives me heebie-jeebies just looking at it. What you can't see is that most of the area from the back of the garage to the back of the yard is paved over with concrete.






I can't get over how great it looks. Here is a view looking toward the house.



And the back of the garage. The sprinkler controls are visible on the back of the garage. The transplanted lemon tree is visible along the wall.




Here is how the back of the garage looked when we first looked at the house.







Here is the bamboo installed. It will be nice to have some separation from the 2-story apartment building next door. Our bathroom window is right in this area and while the window is frosted (and we've tested it, you cannot see through it), it is still weird to see people walking by 6 feet away.




We had them put gravel down around the bamboo (we may do the whole side walkway in the gravel as well). I like the way it looks a lot.



Here is the side walkway viewed from the front of the house. Eventually there will be a gate at the front of the house to keep it private.



And here is the start of the elevated walkway. This crew doesn't fool around - that is going to be one solid walkway!