Getting ready for the holidays!

It’s been a minute.

I really haven’t had too much going on project-wise…little to share. I guess I could have shared the new water line I ran from my seasonal meter out front to the back yard. Or maybe the repairs I made to a neighbor’s kitchen island or garbage disposal. Could have shared the cute cupcakes the little girl next door and I made and delivered to our neighbors.

I could share the Alaskan cruise we went on in September. I’m not a travel blogger…just go! I promise you won’t be disappointed.

But seriously, no major projects. I have a few in the thinking/planning stage I will share in the coming months. One will be a room makeover for a very special “delivery” coming in May! Stay tuned!

So for now I will just share what is coming this weekend….CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Yep…for the first time ever I am actually doing a little Christmas decorating BEFORE Thanksgiving!

Why? Well, it has been a lifelong dream to have a tree in every room of my house…and last year I finally achieved that dream.

It started with the “black and white” Christmas tree I put up in the office….I share that HERE.

This year we are going to set up the vintage train set around this tree.

Callum, our youngest grandson, will be 10 months old and he will LOVE it! This is the train set Brian’s grandfather gave his dad when he was a little boy…so Callum will be the 4th generation to enjoy!

The Stewart plaid tree is one I added to the sunroom two years ago…..I shared it HERE!

And for the first time ever, I decorated the master bedroom for the holidays….

What I didn’t share is the large red and white tree I added to this room later in the season.

So with these new additions, as well as ALL the Christmas decor through out the house, I just don’t think I can get it all done the weekend after Thanksgiving….the main tree in the living room takes an entire day!

So for the first time ever I am breaking my hard fast cardinal rule of NO CHRISTMAS BEFORE THANKSGIVING! I love fall decor and I really want to enjoy it for as long as I can. So I have decided to decorate the office, master bedroom and sunroom for Christmas since those rooms don’t have a lot of fall decor!

So stay tuned…at some point in the next few weeks I will share all the holiday decor….again. Little changes from year to year but it is my hope that something I do, and have done for years, may catch your eye and give you a little “Christmas inspiration!”

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stone step and front yard makeover reveal....

HERE I shared the start of this little project!

The stone steps were a major part of this little makeover…and in all honesty the hard part. Moving these stone steps into place took some serious planning, preparation and muscle.

Now all it needed was a little topsoil and sod!

No biggy right?

WRONG!!!!!

The retaining wall was there for a reason…to keep the yard from having a severe slope and prevent serious erosion.

This was day one…

…after new soil and sod three years ago….

So it was super important to make sure that after I removed the retaining wall the grade was gradual.

First I used the leftover backfill to create a solid base where we removed the block retaining wall.

Then LOTS of topsoil and some very careful grading….

I used quality shifted top soil and made sure it was well compacted and level before putting down sod. After I installed the sod I noticed a few “low” spots, so I pulled back the sod and added a little soil.

This yard is primarily shade so I used fescue sod which is what we had put down three years ago. Fescue is a pretty grass but it does require shade and annual reseeding, unlike bermuda.

So…how did it all turn out….

I LOVE it! Love it!

By spring the new sod will bed down and seamlessly blend into the existing lawn!

Still debating what to plant to the right of the steps where I expanded the flower bed, but that will come in time. Maybe another dogwood…maybe a few azaleas.

It may appear as if the steps go “nowhere” but the seasonal water is a hair in front of them…I use the steps all the time!

My original plan included cladding the landscaping blocks to the right of the steps and behind the shade bed with native stone. Truthfully, I don’t even notice them now and I really think I will just leave it be for the time being.

Right now I am just focused on the sod….lots of water and a little bit of sun. So far, so good!

Fall is literally right around the corner so in the next few weeks the leaves will start falling…hoping the sod will be rooted and ready!

Stone steps...

Just returned from a trip of a lifetime.

A few months ago Brian said “You know, when we are 103 we will have xxxx dollars!”

SERIOUSLY! 103. I don’t know a lot of people who live to be 103 and while I love my children, I’m not all too concerned with leaving them a whole lot.

So I sat down at the computer and booked the first Alaska cruise I came across.

Seriously, the first. Thank goodness it turned out to be a good one.

So this past week we flew to Seattle and boarded a cruise ship to Alaska. This was my first cruise and since I am not a big “foody,” drinker or gambler (obviously since I came home with a lot less than I left with), I decide I would much rather fly to my destination, rent a car and see the sights at my leisure.

But I am glad I took the trip. We saw some beautiful sights and had a good time. The weather wasn’t so great and we missed a port because of it, but all in all, good. Unfortunately, I believe cruise ships are basically floating petri dishes. Travel home was a booger but I am able to recoup at home in my own bed! Fun!

So I want to share a project I started a few weeks before we went on vacation.

I have loved landscaping this yard. I shared HERE all the changes we have made outside over the last three years.

The first time we drove up to this house I knew I was going to get rid of the block retaining wall in the front yard….

In the past three years I have been slowly chipping away at it…removing as many as I can without creating a serious problem…and of course we added more topsoil and sod and that has helped a great deal.

The retaining wall is necessary along the far right side…behind the shade garden…and it really doesn’t bother me too much since it kind of blends into that flower bed.

But I really disliked the part of the wall that runs in the middle of the yard. As you can see in the “before and after” pics I have been slowly removing it…a few blocks at a time!

My “plan” was to add stone steps to the left of the flower bed then remove the retaining wall to the left of the steps and slope the yard with fill, topsoil and new sod.

Of course my “plan” entails moving HUGE stone steps into place. Not an easy task and one that woke me at 3:30 a.m. several mornings as I played the process of moving 500 pound rocks over and over and over in my head!!!!

As with any DIY project I first started looking for inspiration. Again, got to love Pinterest…a quick search of “stone steps” gave me a whole host of inspiration pictures.

One of the reasons I don’t do a lot of tutorials is because every single project is different…case in point. Lots of inspiration for different yards but very few that were EXACTLY like mine.

But looking at what others have done is helpful when deciding what you may want.

Case in point…I THOUGHT I wanted something like this look….

I could manage building these steps by myself since the rocks are smaller. But truth is, I really don’t like this look. I love flagstone…I love the “organic” look…but it’s just not what I want.

I decided I like something more along these lines….

I didn’t necessarily like the “perfection” of the cut stones, but I like the stack.

Problem. Huge stones. HEAVY stones.

But it is the look I love so I figured out how we could move them with the least amount of back muscle (something lacking around here).

Then I set off to find the perfect stones.

The first thing I did before picking out specific stones is measure for the actual “rise” so I would know how many stones I would need.

The thickness of the stone steps I was eyeballing ranged from 6” to 4”…and they were 18” x 48” (explains why the darn things are so heavy!)

The height of the wall where I wanted to put the steps was 12” from the ground to the top of the wall. So I knew that I would need at least 2 6” thick stones to be level with the top of the wall…then I would need another step that would sit on top of the wall and the bottom two steps.

There are LOTS of instructions online on how to figure the “rise and run” of steps…if you have more than 3-4 steps, I would strongly suggest doing some serious research.

Since my son and Brian were providing a majority of the “muscle” I wanted to make sure I got all the prep work done before they showed up to start moving the stones.

As with most builds, the foundation sets the tone. In other words the first step needed to be level and perfectly placed for everything else to work out.

I decided that building wood frames the size of the stones would make it a lot easier to decided where I wanted everything placed and how I wanted the rocks set. Moving wood frames is A LOT easier than trying to shove 500 pound rocks around.

It is a good thing I did that because I discovered that I needed to do a lot more digging and leveling than I thought. Then I tried several different placements, and got some neighborly input, before I finally decided what and where I liked best.

First I angled them to the right…

Then I angled them to the left….

Then I moved them to the left about 2’ and angled them to the right. I liked that look best….

Once I decided exactly where I wanted them, I made sure the base was solid and perfectly level. I used THIS paver base sand and a tamper…and I watered it down well to make sure it was well settled! Then I marked where the base stone would sit by using spray paint around the base of the form.

The the day of reconning….moving the big stones. I had them placed across 2x4s and in order on the trailer so we could easily slip a dolly under them. One person would slip the dolly under the stone and hold it in place, then two of us would lift the stone upright onto the dolly. We then wheeled it off the trailer onto plywood laid out on the ground and put it in place. The fact that the ground was perfectly leveled made this super easy.

Then we back filled behind the base stone, leveled and then place the second stone using the same method…then the third stone. Presto, bing, stone steps!!!!

As you can see, these steps are much more “organic” than the stones in my inspiration picture but they are still cut relatively uniform…. I love them!

We had a neighbor who wanted all the landscaping blocks so he came over with his trailer and we helped him load them up. I used the leftover fill to start the “slope” of the yard.

Next up….top soil and sod.

So until next time when I share the finished project….

A small pantry makeover....

I love pantry projects…HERE I shared mine!

There is no shortage of inspiration on Pinterest for pantry makeovers…you will find one for every possible size and configuration!

My son and daughter-in-law, Hannah, have a great kitchen but a small pantry with typical poorly designed shelving placement…it was a MESS!

Soooo much wasted space!

For months we discussed giving it a little makeover, but they really wanted a house that is a tad bigger on a few acres further south. So there was a chance they would not be staying in this house.

Several months ago they found one, made an offer, got it accepted and were all set to rent their current home!

So the pantry project got nixed.

Unfortunately, the deal fell through because of a boundary dispute.

Hannah was bummed. (She had already started packing!)

So the pantry project was back on and a few weeks ago we tackled it!

The first thing we did was empty everything that was in the pantry and took measurements.

After emptying the pantry, we “demoed” EVERYTHING…shelving, supports, trim.

I usually repair and paint the walls, install the new shelving, caulk, putty, lightly sand, then paint the shelving. All the shelving is already primed and sanded before I install it so that I don’t have to do any heavy sanding in the house.

When designing the shelving placement in a pantry it is super important that you identify EVERYTHING you may want to store in the space and then measure it.

If you think you want baskets, bins or jars, figure out what will go in what and how many will fit in your space BEFORE you go buy them…or at the very least keep your receipt!

Take measurements of EVERYTHING!

These measurements are important because you can then design your shelving placement based on how tall everything is. You don’t want a bunch of wasted space.

Case in point…can goods stacked two high are less than 9” tall…why would you dedicate a shelf with 12” clearance for canned goods. Paper towels are generally 12” tall…why dedicate a 15” shelf for them.

Add up 3-4 shelves that are 3-4” taller than they need to be and next thing you know you have lost an entire shelf…critical storage space for a small pantry!

In this case we gained an entire shelf. Crock pots and the insta pot are stored low because they are heavy…the extra coffee pot and extra paper towels are stored up high.

We built a shelf 4” off the floor…not necessary for actual storage but they have a dog and her hair inevitably blew under the door and ended up all over everything that was sitting on the floor.

I made the shelving out of 1/2” plywood, the bullnose and supports out of pre-primed 1x2s. All the shelves were 14” deep, except the top…it was 12” deep.

We also built a door shelf system that is perfect for aluminum foil, plastic wrap, storage bags, etc. (HERE I shared one I made for my house on Lankford…I built two for this house! One is in the garage and the other is used for my cake pans and baking supplies.)

You can buy wire door storage system but building one allowed us to place shelves as needed for specific items.

The end result is amazing! Neat, clean and organized!

I am a big fan of clear plastic bins vs. baskets. I use both since there is some stuff I don’t want to see that can be stored in pretty baskets (open chip bags, storage containers, etc) but the baskets are labeled. (Again, check out my pantry HERE!)

She loved it so much she tackled her kitchen cabinets and organized them with storage bins and jars.

Organizing a space (whether it be a pantry, closet or drawer) not only frees up space, but I have learned that if a space is pretty, clean and organized I tend to want to keep it that way.

When everything has a place and everything is where it belongs it makes my life so much easier!

(HERE I share my trips and tricks to getting and staying organized!)

And remember, you don’t have to take on a big DIY project to get a space cleaned and organized…and not every space in your house needs to be done in a day, a week or a month.

Commit to take one space a month…or even every other month….purge, clean, organize. I think once you get started and realize how much easier it makes your life, you will want to keep organizing every space in your house…just like Hannah!

I may not be around for several weeks…this is our vacation month and this year we are going to take a VERY special vacations! Can’t wait to share!

The den window reveal!

From day one…three years. That is how long I have wanted to put a window in this room!

It was a cave. There are windows and a door on one wall but they are covered by the enclosed sunroom so the natural light is seriously defused. (HERE I swore I was through with major projecting on the house…HA!)

I crave natural light. This house has TONS of windows, but the majority are adjacent to a sunporch, screened porch and covered front porch. All which I am grateful for…I just wanted a hair more light in the den.

My original thought was to put a window on both sides of the fireplace. Unfortunately, the guest room closet extends out behind the bookcase to the left of the fireplace…so that is a no-go. That’s okay…I need the built in bookcase. (HERE you can check out how I refaced the fireplace!)

(Obviously I did not take “before pics” and the only picture I have of this space is from Christmas!)

A window on the right of the fireplace is doable….for someone like me with a bit of experience. Personally, I don’t think this is a “novice DIYer” project. If you are hell-bent, watch TONS of tutorials first and be prepared with a stand-by sheetrocker, framer, electrician, trim carpenter and brick/siding expert just in case you find yourself in over your head.

Even then, if you don’t have a basic understanding of how a home is constructed, I wouldn’t even attempt it. (HERE I posted a little bit about framing for a door or window)

Also, I highly suggest you check your local codes. You may need to pull a permit to modify framing.

As you can see from the post when I modified the laundry room opening I knew I was going to have to put in a header and maybe a few extra studs. Since I was only installing a 32” window, I figured I could just get by with a 2x4 or 2x6 (at the most) header.

Nope. When I opened the wall I found a support that was FOUR 2x4 sandwiched together…have no idea what that was all about. I went into the attic to see if maybe they loaded the roof rafters or something onto that area…not as far as I could tell. But what is there is there and I wasn’t about to assume it was just over kill.

Which meant I needed to put in a 12” header which meant I had to move the exterior light to make room for a bigger header, cut out way more sheetrock than I anticipated and add more stud supports.

CURSES!

All that being said, again it is doable. So if like me, you just HAVE to have a window (or even a door), go for it!!!

And go for it I did.

Again, I am not really a tutorial kinda person…there are tons out there, why reinvent the wheel. And honestly, every project will be different depending on what is behind the sheetrock.

Case in point.

After all this “rough in” framing was done, I drilled through the corners of the opening (using a wood bit to drill through the plywood and a masonry bit to drill through the brick) and marked where the actual opening would be.

My brick guy then came and cut out the existing brick 3” from the mark where the actual window opening would be….

You can see in this picture where I had to move the existing exterior light!

While I was waiting on the brick guy I was able to get the sheetrock repair done…HERE I shared a little tip about sanding sheetrock in the house!

When the window finally came in, I cut out the plywood…MAN OH MAN!!!!

If it weren’t 100 degrees out I would have just left a big ole’ hole in the wall.

There are TONS of tutorials on how to properly install a window…read them and follow them to a T. Find one that makes sense to you!

After the window was installed, trim and paint! The brick guy came back and installed a window “casing” with new brick around the window ….

This house is 23 years old so I can’t find the exact brick to match but I found one that was pretty close! (HERE I shared how I used this “good enough” brick on my shop!) This is why he cut the brick 3” around the actual rough in opening.

What a difference this little project made!

I LOVE IT!

Fortunately I originally bought matching sheers for the breakfast window and the den window. I couldn’t find sheers that matched them so I took the sheers from the breakfast window and used them for the new window and bought new for the breakfast window.

I love all the the wonderful light and the view of my flowerbeds! Blooming dogwoods in the spring and fall foliage in the few months!

Lovely!

How to sand sheetrock without a big mess!

My recent big project is one I have been eyeballing since day one.

Windows in the den next to the fireplace.

(Naturally I neglected to take a “before” picture so this is the only one I could find of the space…Christmas!)

My original plan was to remove the bookcase to the left of the fireplace but I discovered that the closet in the guest bedroom extends out so that part of the exterior wall is partially covered by that guest closet….poo.

So the only option was to leave the bookcase, which I honestly need, and just add a window to the right of the fireplace.

Why?

Well first, I love natural light…one thing I love about this house is the abundance of exterior windows.

The only problem is MOST are adjacent to a covered patio, a sunroom and a screened porch. So MOST of the natural light is seriously filtered.

Great for heating and cooling, not so great if you like natural light.

The den has windows and an exterior door, unfortunately both are on the wall adjacent to the sunporch.

Nice windows, but again the light is seriously defused. So the den was basically a cave.

ANYWHO, I wanted a window in the den…for light and for fresh air.

So, I busted out the sheetrock, removed the exterior brick, moved some electrical outlets and fixtures and framed in for a new window.

Sounds so simple. It was NOT!

First, you never know what is behind your sheetrock. In my case there was serious framing. Then there was the electric outlets and exterior light fixture. Of course insulation and brick and Lord I can’t even remember it all.

One a scale of 1-10 this is a 10 DIY project. For me, not that huge of a deal because I know electrical, I understand basic framing and I have a great brick guy. But for your average Joe, my suggestion is hire it done! And expect to pay dearly.

But even this old dog can learn a new trick. I saw this suggestion somewhere on the interweb but have no idea when or where. I had never tried it but because of some serious sanding needed on the sheetrock I decided to give it a shot!

Just duct tape your palm sander to a shop vac…then turn the shop vac on while running the sander.

(Palm smacking forehead!)

Boy did it work! I would say 95% of the sheetrock dust went into the Shopvac vs. all over every piece of furniture in my house.

A FEW TIPS.

Make sure the holes on the sand paper line up with the holes on the sander…that is where the dust goes.

Tape well between the sander and the Shopvac hose to prevent dust from creeping out. I used duct tape.

Make sure your Shopvac has a clean (preferably new) filter.

I have never used an electric sander on sheetrock in the house before…just waaaaay too much dust. This time, due to circumstances I won’t go in to, I knew a light hand sanding wasn’t going to cut it. Hooking the sander to the shop vac was a game changer!

Adding a window, whether you have brick or siding exterior, is doable. Just know that it is not a project for a novice DIYer!

Next time I’ll share the transformation! HUGE difference!

Changing dated can lights!

My wing is broken.

Poo.

It’s my elbow…it is still boogered. I am trying to “heal” it by resting it but after about a month I’m ready to give up and see what a ortho dude can do for me.

While “resting” I pretty much sit around and look for stuff to do.

Laying on the couch, looking at the ceiling, I began to obsess about my dated can lights

SUPER simple fix and on a scale of 1-10 it is pretty much a 1.

This is what I have….

…an ugly old can light with a bulb. It had obviously been painted over when the prior owner painted the ceiling. I have five in the kitchen, two in the den, four in the living room, two in the bedroom and four in the bathroom…so yes, they annoy me. But truthfully only when I am laying on the couch or in the bed looking at the ceiling.

While they are “dated,” truth be told no one really pays attention to them except of course when a bulb goes out.

This is where I want to say that when “they” say an LED bulb lasts 10 years, “they” lie.

Beside the point…point is, it is cheap and easy to replace these “dated” fixtures.

So off to Lowes I went and THIS is what I found….

When I say it was easy to replace, I am not kidding. The hardest part was climbing up and down the ladder. Just remove the existing bulb and trim piece. The trim piece is usually held in place by little springs or pinch clips.

Then just screw the new fixture into the socket (like a light bulb) then slip the little pinch clips into the existing brackets on the side of the can. Simple!!!!

The fixture has five different light settings on the back…from bright white to soft “yellowish.” I set all my living space lights on a soft setting and the three in my kitchen on a brighter white for task lighting. Perfect.

TIP! If one of these eventually goes out you can’t just replace a bulb. My suggestion is to get an extra 1-2 in case one goes out in the future and this style or brand is no longer available…that way you won’t have to replace multiples if one goes out!

Again, one of the simplest and most impactful DIY projects you can do. Don’t know why I haven’t done this in the last three years.

Oh, yeah, I know why. Rarely do I lay on the couch and look at my ceiling lights.

A rock water feature...

In my last house I had an amazing two tiered water pond with a fountain next to the back patio, outside my bedroom. I loved it. I could open the window at night or sit on the patio and drink coffee and hear the water.

If I believed in the whole Zodiac thing I’d say it is because I am an Aquarius…”water-bearer.” I don’t ….. I think I just like the soothing sound of water.

Truth is the sound of water is very tranquil…zen if you will. Calming. Destressing.

I can’t really have a open pond water feature here…too many leaves!

Then I ran across this tutorial on Instagram for a closed water fountain. THIS I can have!

So I set out to build it.

Keep in mind, this is MY tutorial for my specific fountain. There are TONS of tutorials and designs on Pinterest so do a little research and find a tutorial or design that works for YOU!

I decided to place it in the corner of my front flower bed (shared my flower beds HERE). The first thing I had to do was move a few plants around…no biggy!

The tutorial calls for using a large plastic tub as the reservoir. I bought a livestock feed bin at the local livestock supply store…a 40 gallon tub that has an inside diameter of 26 1/2”. (Much cheaper than a tub designed specifically for a water feature that you can buy at the big box hardware stores.) That measurement is important when you go to buy rock because your base rock needs to be a few inches less than that in diameter so the water flows back into the reservoir. If you want a bigger rock, I suggest getting a bigger tub.

So, dig a hole…a BIG hole…large enough for the tub to sit in flush with the surrounding grade. I dug mine a few inches deeper so I could cushion the bottom of the hole with a few inches of sand (plain ole’ play sand). I think that is important for leveling and stability. It also ensures that no rocks will compromise the bottom of the tub.

Set the tub into the hole and make sure it is level…I used a 3’ level. If you don’t have a 3’ level, set a board across the top of the tub then use a shorter level on top of the board.

Once the tub is level and flush with the ground, back fill around the tub with dirt…checking for level as you go.

Water the back fill well so that all the dirt settles around and under the reservoir.

After I was certain all the dirt around the tub was well settled, I dug out the dirt around the tub about 2-3” deep about 5-6” around the tub. I filled that in with small rock I bought at Lowe’s.

I did this so that if the reservoir “flooded” there was less chance of dirt and silt back flowing into the reservoir…kind of a “french drain” thing.

As you can see, I created a little “bed within the bed” by using THIS plastic border material …keeps it nice and neat and separated from the mulch. (TIP..buy extra stakes…this kit does not come with enough!)

The next step is the metal grate across the top. I was going to have my son wield me a grate out of rebar but I found this little gate at Lowe’s and decided it would work fine.

Being the “overkill” kinda person I am and knowing this was going to have to support some super heavy rocks, I did attach three pieces of 3/8” rebar to the underside of it just to add a little strength.

I painted the rebar with Rust-oleum protective paint just so it wouldn’t continue to rust and leach down into the reservoir.

Then I lashed them to the gate using zip ties, making sure they would rest on the edge of the reservoir.

I set a square rock in the bottom of the reservoir to set the pump on…that way it wouldn’t suck in any dirt or sludge that settled in the bottom of the reservoir between cleanings. I put the pump in after the grate but before the mesh. (THIS is the pump I used)

After you lay the grate down, but before waterfall rocks, lay chicken wire or some other smaller metal mesh down on top of the grate. This is because you are going to surround the waterfall rocks with smaller decorative rock and you don’t want them falling through the grate.

I used a stainless wire panel I found at Lowes,. (can’t find it online to link). It is a 2x8 panel next to the rebar.

Cut the wire mesh to fit over the metal grate, and cut a small hole in the front so that you can get your hand down into the reservoir. Remember the mesh has sharp edges so give yourself a little room so that you don’t slice up your hand! (yes I learned that lesson the hard way!)

Then just lay a scrap piece of mesh over the hole before you set the waterfall rocks.

If you need to get to the pump, or when you want to clean out the reservoir, you can easily move aside the decorative rock and remove this panel and access everything.

Now the fun part…picking out your “water fall” rock and decorative rocks.

So off to the rock store I went.

Funny story…my daughter called one day and asked what I was doing. Told her I was headed to the rock store. She laughed…what’s a rock store?

A place where they sell rocks!!!! Big, small, gravel, pavers…the whole nine yards.

I picked out three large rocks I thought stacked nicely and would fit within the 26 1/2” diameter of the reservoir and would flow water. I took a picture of them at the rock store so I would know exactly how they stacked…

I picked out the decorative rock that will go around the large waterfall stones, on top of the wire mesh. It took about 10-5 gallon buckets, but I only fill the buckets about 1/2 full so I can actually carry them!!! You can also buy bags of decorative rock…to each his own.

I also picked up 4-5 rock shims that were scattered about…little slivers of flagstone rock that are about 1/4'“ thick…later you will understand their importance.

These larger rocks are super heavy…so make sure you have some muscle to help you load them and set them in place!

Stack the rocks like you want them next to the reservoir. Pour water over the top of the rocks to make sure the water will flow properly. You can make minor adjustments with shims later. It’s important that the water that comes up through the rocks will flow back into the reservoir. I stacked mine so that all the water flowed to the front and sides…again, personal preference.

Time to drill the hole. WOW! What a chore. I used a 12” 1/2” masonry bit to drill down through the top rock drilling far enough to “mark” the second rock. Move the top rock to the side, then drill the second rock and go far enough to “mark” the bottom rock. I drilled the bottom rock after it was moved into place on the grate…that way you drill through the wire mesh where the hose needs to go.

After the holes are drilled, stack the rocks and line up the holes….it is easier to line up the holes by using the 12” drill bit as a guide. Then snake a 1/2” water line that is attached to the pump through the holes and out the top, cutting it about 1/2”above the rock.

Clean out all the rock dust and muck from the reservoir. Just hose it down well and suck out the dirty water with a shop vac….you may have to do that a couple of times. That way it is all nice and clean and ready for fresh water.

This next step is super important.

Fill the reservoir with fresh water, just enough to cover the pump about 2”-3” and turn it on. (Oh yeah, you do need a power supply close by!)

You want to make sure that ALL the water is flowing from the top rock into the reservoir…if it isn’t, make adjustments to your rocks by using the rock shims. You may have to shim the rocks from side to side or back to front to get the water to flow properly.

Watch it for a bit…make sure it does what you want it to do! (For the record, the pump can be adjusted to flow lighter or stronger…read the instructions…I did not)

I did this before I added the decorate rocks…just made it easier to see. I did notice that once I added the decorative rocks that some “splashing” happened…no too worried about it because the reservoir will have to be filled from time to time anyway, so….

One suggestion…only fill the reservoir about 4”-5"” from the top. If you fill it to the top, there will be no where for rain water to go and you are more likely to have “flooding.” Just my thoughts.

Bingo…a relatively simple water feature!

I added one of my Colorado decorative rocks and a piece of driftwood…

I loved this little things so much that Brian and I installed another one just off the screened porch so I could hear it when I am drinking my coffee in the mornings or having dinner on the porch…added a little Dwarf Japanese Maple….LOVE!!!!!

This is NOT a hard project. Yes, it takes some muscle…but it is relatively easy and probably cost me under $300.

Perfect for small areas or in areas where an open pond water feature isn’t feasible!!!

We've come a long way baby...

So often I share the inside of this house and all the work we have done. This week I finished up another landscape project and realized I have never shared how far we have come OUTSIDE!

I didn’t even comprehend the amount of work we had done outside until I looked it up on Zillow again. The pictures are from when we bought the house three years ago. Sooooo much has changed…both inside and out!

The landscaping was basically a blank slate. I pulled out a few shrubs here and there, moved some azaleas, cut down an overgrown tree in a flower bed and pulled up some edging. But basically it didn’t have a lot of landscaping. I guess the lady who owned it for over twenty years before us really didn’t do a lot.

Fine by me…just that much less to demo!

So let’s start with the front…and keep in mind I didn’t do any “editing” on the pictures i took so you can see how things really look around here. Shade and all!

Before….

The first picture is the Zillow listing. The last two are the street views from Google Earth.

You can probably tell from the Zillow picture and the Google street view pictures…clever photography and heavy editing can really make a difference!

On the house I removed the ugly wood arch things to open up the front porch, changed out the front door, replaced the dated light fixtures, added some minor detailing on the garage door and changed out the arch transom windows.

Trimmed up all the overgrown trees…a must for aesthetics but also for safety…a big dead limb can do a lot of damage.

Removed a few flower beds and then composted and mulched the others.

We brought in new top soil and sodded the entire front yard with fescue. I removed some blocks from the block retaining wall. I really wanted to created a new retaining wall with native stone but that is another project for another time.

I moved four large azaleas that were planted by the front entrance to the side yard where I created a shade garden.

Nothing was going to grow under these trees and it features a huge dogwood …the space really needed to be highlighted! The azaleas and dogwoods are spectacular in the spring!

I planted new plants in the flower beds to the left and right of the entry. Again I am transitioning to perennials so I planted small boxwoods, chokeberries, tick seed, lirope and Stella D lilies…and of course a few potted hostas.

The bed on the left is filled with beautiful daffodils and tulips in the spring…I left those. (This is where I added a simple water feature…stay tuned and I’ll share how easy it is!)

I fill in with a few colorful annuals and I have a few pots I add ferns and impatiens to every year.

Dressed up the beds on the north side of the house with a little rock and planted a few easy plants…hydrangeas, lirope and some astilbe.

Prime example of why you should really research plants…originally I planted some Stella D lilies here and they did not get enough sun. This side yard only gets a little morning sun which is perfect for the hydrangeas and astilbe.

A few weeks ago I finished a little makeover on the side yard where grass would not grow. I added a little flagstone, some decorative rock around the air conditioner, planted some lirope my neighbor was thinning out in her yard, planted a redbud and added a little birdbath.

When I was at the livestock store picking up supplies for my water feature project, they had their azaleas 50% off. I snagged a few and planted one here and two in the side shade bed incase the older ones eventually croak!

The entire back yard slopes towards the house and to each side. This side of the yard gets a pretty heavy water shed because of a downspout. It is one reason this side of the front and back yard would not grow grass. I have to be VERY careful about any changes I make.

HERE I shared the changes I made to the side yard behind the fence.

The back yard has probably had the most dramatic changes.

These are the “before” pics from Zillow…when we bought the house….

If you are wondering what that big concrete bench thingy is, we don’t know. It was there and it is HUGE so it’s not going any where. We have been told it is part of the old farm house that was once here before this area was developed.

One of the first things we did was take out the shrubs along the back of the house and cut out the old pawpaw tree. I loath to cut down any tree but this one was just too big for the space and was on the siding and roof. We replaced it with a little Japanese Maple and someday I MIGHT figure out what I want to do with this bed. In the meantime, potted flowers will have to do!

We added a little rock and planted smaller boxwoods long the back.

I’ve never been a big fan of rock beds…I always preferred mulch. The ease of these beds the last few years has really made me a fan. Truthfully it is easy to plant in and of course pretty much maintenance free.

I added the large flower bed in the corner when we first moved in. Again, it was NOT going to grow grass under the humungus trees. I knew I was going to grow mostly in pots so I put the edging down around the trees along the “shade line,” applied some Roundup on what little grass was there, then just topped everything with about 4” of compost.

(Feel free to be envious of my spectacular wind chimes. I showed them to Brian last spring at a local garden shop…he remembered and gave them to me last Christmas. The man is amazing!)

I have always heard you should be very cautious around oak trees so as to not “smoother” their root system. We have a HUGE white oak and several large red oaks. I made sure to keep the compost and mulch thin around the base of the trees. When I plant in the bed, I dig a big hole then add a mixture of garden soil and compost before planting the plant…that way I didn’t have to amend the soil in the entire bed. With all the rocks and roots in this area it would have been dang near impossible. And again, I didn’t want to do anything to disturb the tree root systems.

HERE I shared the pathway I made with my grandad’s old grind stones.

I shared HERE the extension of this little back bed. Just what little digging I had to do for the edging and planting destroyed my elbow (don’t ask, I don’t know!)

Around this entire back bed is my next “want to” project. I “want to” extend the entire bed about 4-5’, add a flagstone walk and more plants…in other words make the entire thing bigger. Hum…maybe someday when I don’t have a bum elbow.

I shared HERE the construction of the swing…and HERE when I stained it.

HERE I shared my shop and the changes I made to it to make it more appealing. The inside is still a shop full of tools, supplies and garden stuff…but the outside had to be dolled up!

I added this bed last fall for the hostas. I split off the potted hostas this year! Everyone of these hostas are splits!

Two years ago I added a little “pergola shed” onto the back of the shop for Brian’s zero turn mower and our larger garden tools (shovels, racks, wagon, etc.) Everything else goes inside the shop.

We didn’t completely sod the back yard but over the last few years I have sodded and seeded here and there…it is a work in progress. Someday I hope to have a perfect back lawn. With the shade and sun combo it is a struggle.

I was fortunate this yard had an irrigation system. It had been neglected for years so it took several years and some back breaking days to get everything repaired and in working order but it has been worth every effort. I don’t know that I could keep everything alive without it!

I keep thinking that SOMEDAY I will get it all done and then I can just sit around my park-like setting and enjoy. But truth is, I like working in the yard…I like digging in the dirt…I like planting new plants.

There are days I just walk around with my coffee and enjoy. But in my mind I am always looking for new ways to get my hands dirty.

It is my therapy.

A CUTE GARDEN BENCH...

I saw a precious little “mud bench” on Instagram….

Cute as a bug’s ear. Only one problem…I don’t have any grandgirls…just boys. Two are too old to appreciate something like this and one isn’t old enough to sit up by himself sooooo……

What to do?

As I mentioned before there is a precious little girl next door….I borrowed her to bake Christmas cookies!

She will be 8 this summer. She LOVES to make mud pies and has a raised vegetable garden. She had a little make shift “mud table” in her back yard so I knew she would love something like this!

They were on vacation a few weeks ago so it was the perfect time to build and stage a little surprise…so off to Lowe’s to TRY to find some decent wood. Not an easy task these days!

The inspiration bench looks like it is made out of regular wood and painted. I built mine out of treated wood so it would weather well. Unfortunately that means I have to wait a few months to paint it or stain it…no biggy.

For this bench I needed the following lumber (all treated):

2-4x4x6

5-2x4x6

5-1x4x10

2-8’ deck boards (they are around 3/4” x 5 1/2”)

1-1x2x8

1 plastic storage bin with a lid

I used a skill saw, chop saw, a kreg jig and my screw driver.

Remember, 2x4s are actually 1 1/2 x 3 1/2”….and 1” thick boards are actually only 3/4” thick…it’s a racket! The lengths are what they say they are….

I had all the screws and hardware so no need to buy any but you will want 2 1/2” Kreg jig screws and 1 1/2” and 2” deck screws…and some random hooks!

I decided to make the entire bench about 29-30” tall, 4’ wide and about 2’ deep. I think it may be a tad tall for a little one so I built a little “walk bench” for the front of it until she grows a tad.

I can pretty much construct something like this in my head, but if you are a novice, make sure you draw everything out on paper using the actual measurements of the lumber. Or better yet find a plan online THAT MAKES SENSE TO YOU!

The first thing I did was cut the 4x4x6s down to 4-29” pieces for the legs (remember the top will be about 3/4” thick). I used a skill saw to cut them down.

I used the 2x4x6 for the front/back frames and the side frames. The width will be 48” wide so the front frame is 48”, less 1” so the top can hang over by about 1/2” on each side, less 7”(two side posts/legs…remember they are actually 3 1/2” wide) …so the front and back frame pieces are 40”. For the sides…24” less 1” (for the overhang) less 7” (for the posts)…those are 16”. You will cut 4 of each length…2 for the top frame and 2 for the bottom.

To attach the front and side frames to the posts/legs I used my Kreg jig…love that thing. A little glue and then two screws on each end.

Just a reminder…ALWAYS attach boards with the “cup side” down…this applies to any project. To find the “cup” look at the grain at the end of the board. In other words you want the “hump” of the grain to face out. This is important to pay attention to when selecting wood…if the side that will face out is all scarred or knotted you will want to pass.

I put a frame at the top and also 2” from the bottom of the posts/legs so I could add a bottom shelf.

After I got the frame constructed using glue and the Kreg screws, I attached 47 1/2” 2x4 boards cut in 1/2, 3/4” from the top of the bottom front and back frames, on the inside…I did that so I could use 1”x4” boards as the shelving for the bottom. I just laid the 1x4s on the cut down boards then attached them with screws.

I made the top back by attaching two 2x4 boards vertically to the back frame, then attached 3 1x4x48” boards across them with screws. I laid a 1x4x48” board on top for a little shelf and trimmed it with a 1x2. Not on the inspiration bench but something that was simple to add and gave me a space for plants and such.

For the top I used deck boards. I used my jig saw to cut out a hole for the storage bin with a lid so she would have a little “sink” to mix her mud pies!

I made sure to leave gaps between the boards like you would for decking so water could run off.

As I said, we can’t paint or stain it just yet since it is all treated wood but it was super fun to stage…some cute little containers for little plants, some plastic bins for her pots and pans (all from the Dollar Store!)…a few hooks for more pots and spoons. Even a hook on the side for a little watering can.

My neighbor has a Cricket so she made a little sign so everyone will know it is her bench!

CUTE AS A BUG’S EAR!!!

I love it, she LOVES it, and the entire neighborhood loves it and now all want their own garden bench.

Super simple to make and it will not be hard to customize it if someone wants one bigger or even smaller!

I’ll let you know how the mud pies turn out!