Whose Going to Tell Them It's November?

Spuds

We grew potatoes in a pot this year. The dirtballs on the right are our crop. Not much, I'll admit, but they were great in the soup I made. Yes, they're all already gone.

The three small lumps to the left are peanuts.  A squirrel keeps burying them in our yard. Toaster likes to dig them up, and the squirrel runs across the top of our fence barking at him while he does so. I've nicknamed the squirrel Grumpus.

In the time it took me to go inside and load this picture up on my computer, the peanuts disappeared. Grumpus strikes again.

Frankensquash

We get a lot of cross pollination in our backyard and then the seeds survive the compost pile and surprise us.

This year, we got something that appears to be a cross between a pumpkin and a zucchini.

Last year, we got something that seemed to be a cross between a pumpkin and a butternut squash. I used for all the applications I would normally use a butternut squash for and it worked quite well.

Not sure how the pumpchini will cook up, but we shall see!

Planted!

This is what the pond looked like yesterday afternoon.

Sadly, as I was working in the kitchen last night, I heard a splash. Rob went to investigate and the eighty pound rock that makes up the waterfall had slid into pond.

The good news is that Tubby wasn't in it. We've been keeping her in the ghetto pond during the day and bringing her into the bathroom at night.

The bad news is that we're 90% sure it crushed the filter, it takes up the entire deep end and we have NO idea how we're going to get it out.

Ground Work

Rob really got into it when it came time to lay down the liner.

We're 98% certain the turtle's a girl. Her name is Tubby.

She seems pretty content with the pool Rob made in the blue storage bin, but she's vulnerable to raccoons, so Rob's been bringing her in each night to a similar bin in the shower. Not a great long term solution.

We decided to build her a pond along one corner of the house. Last weekend we dug the basic pond and laid the foundation for a cage that will go around it -- kind of like a chicken coop -- to keep raccoons and other critters from getting to Tubby. We used some of the old bricks from the fireplace that we still had on hand.

Rob's been watching Gardeners' World to learn how to make a pond. After we had the basic shape, Rob put in a special pond liner, which will keep the water from leaking out.

The pond needs a filter and Rob rigged the outtake hose so that it splashes over a rock. Hurray! Our own private waterfall. It sounds really pretty.

Tomorrow, the plants go in and then we get to work building the cage. Hope to have this done before the weekend is out. 

Turtle Watch 2015

The turtle took off yesterday and we couldn't find him anywhere. We thought he might be hiding in our vegetable garden, because the squash leaves make a lot of shade and the grey water keeps that area pretty moist, but I couldn't find him.

This morning, he was back sunning himself in the same place as yesterday, so Rob built him a really primitive pond out of some stuff we had on hand.  

The tub is what I normally store my knitting supplies in; the rocks are from the arroyo seco we've been building. (Hm. Should probably get some pics of that up here.)

He seems to really like where he's at, although we have to figure out how to keep racoons and cats from getting him.

Garden Guest

Rob and I always hoped our garden would be a habitat and I found this guy hanging out in the back yard this morning. Bit of a mystery as to how he got there.  Welcome!

Growth Spurt

The backyard is coming together!

Some days I think we aren't making any progress, but when I look at the picture below, taken on New Year's Eve, I realize how far we've come.

We No Longer Live in a Fishbowl

Four years after we moved in, we FINALLY have curtains!

I wanted traditional bungalow curtains, which are made from Irish linen and are designed to stay inside the window casings, allowing the beautiful refinished douglas fir to be seen.

Alas, all of our windows were custom sizes. When I totaled up would it would cost, the sticker shock nearly knocked me over.

So I did what any enterprising chick with a DIY streak would do -- I took a sewing class.

It's taking a little longer than expected. Sigh. Most of my projects do. But we are still WAY ahead on the cost side. I'm so glad I decided to do it.

Guest Room in Search of a Guest

Deviating from the bathroom tour to show off the guest room. I swear it looks like a Pottery Barn catalog even though there isn't a single thing in the room from that store.

The most intriguing thing is the ceiling fan. It's vintage and it was refurbished by a guy in Louisiana that Rob found on a web forum. It's called a hotel fan because the blades were smaller than a standard fan's, making it more suitable for a small hotel room.

These pics are actually a little bit old. There's a globe on the fan now and the woodwork has been refinished. I'm sorting out curtain rods now, so when that is done, I will post the final look.

We Could Store an Entire Apothocary Here

This is our medicine cabinet, yet to be installed. It will have a mirror on front. The casings and moldings are douglas fir and the same style as the original mill work in the house -- hopefully a seamless blend of old and new.

It's pretty big, so it should give plenty of storage!

Climbing the Walls

The majority of wall space will be covered in a light, sage green tile. It looks white in these photos, but it's not.

The tub will go directly under the window and that nook, on the wall just to the left of the window, will have shelves in it for soap, shampoo, etc.

Getting Warmer...

Floor tile is in.  We chose a classic, white octagon shape. Perfect for a 1909 bungalow.

There is radiant heat embedded in the floor, so no cold feed in the morning.

Raw Walls

So this concrete lined room is on its way to becoming our bathroom.  This is how everything looked once the tile prep was done.  A little prison-like for now, but soon to be cozy and beautiful.

This Happened Today

Demolition started today on the first floor bathroom. Bye-bye too short sink and disgusting tile. Bye-bye.

Putting It All in Perspective

Here is a wide shot, taken from the breakfast nook, that helps put all the pieces into their proper place.

Those are the pantry doors to the left, the main part of the kitchen in the center and the strip of wood on the right is the side of the leaded glass cabinet.

There is a cart that will go into the empty space to the left of the fridge.  It pulls out to give access to the cabinet in the corner and also acts as a floating island so I can have work space on either side of the stove.

Everything Old Is New Again

It's been two years since Rob pulled these out of the house being demolished at the end of the block.  Finally, they are living life as they should -- as a combination china and liquor cabinet.

Now We're Cooking!

Still a few details to iron out, but I'm just going to let these pictures speak for themselves.

Floored!

Here is the finish on the floor.  So shiny!  In the back you can see a strip of the shoe molding needs to still be stained.  And when that's done, we can FINALLY move back into the living room.  Yea!

Ensconced

We finally got the wall sconces installed abover the window seat.

We originally bought these to use outside on the back of the house, but it turned out they were really indoor lights.  I think they've been repurposed perfectly!