Monthly Archives: September 2009
my niece Teagan
The last few days have been a big blur. My sister Ali went into labor early Sunday morning and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl around 11pm.
When Teagan finally arrived it was so exciting and a little overwhelming. I never have felt such deep, true and immediate love for a little being before.
I know we are going to be good friends and have so much fun. I can’t wait!
So please meet the newest member of my family – Ms. Teagan Estelle. 
Uprooting the camellias
This Saturday, the weather forecast was 104°. Sanding the remaining fascia boards would just have to wait for a cooler day.
Instead, Nate and I decided to focus on removing the bushes along the front of the house in preparation for the big paint job.
I tied ribbons on all the plants that will be transplanted to the back yard. I am transplanting 3 hydrangeas, 2 viburnums, 3 bergenias and a cleveland sage to the back. I am leaving a weigela on the side yard as well as a bunch of ornamental ginger. I know most of these plants are considered old fashioned, but I think I can mix the right amount of modern in to make it work.
Nate started by tearing out all the lilies under the dogwood. I think he found about 300 snails in the process. We now have a big dirt patch around the tree, but hope that it will fill in with grass.
As we worked, the cats were playing on the roof. All of a sudden, we heard a loud thud and saw Loki on the roof of my car. Apparently he though jumping from the roof to the car was a lot easier then climbing down? I grabbed him and put him in the back yard and then in about 10 more minutes we hear another thud. We quickly realized it was time to put the cats inside or we would never get anything accomplished.
Our friend Joe came over to help Nate remove all the camellia bushes. It went pretty smoothly although we lost two shovel handles in the process.
It finally feels like the house is making progress. I can’t wait to decide on the final color and get painting.
Mask needed
So this has been my view for the last few weekends. Lots of dry rot and very weathered wood.
My uncle, a house painter, offered to help us paint the exterior of our house which we are thrilled about. Having someone with the knowledge to tackle this beast has been so helpful.
Our plan is do get the project done this fall before the wet weather hits. It was important for me to have all the weathered wood painted to protect it (especially since all the issues I had with the inspection had to do with dry rot.) On top of that, the house has not been painted for at least 10 years and it really shows.
We have been working on the prep the last few weekends. Stay tuned for the whole story!
