Every home I grew up in had a pretty good sized backyard. It was great to spend so much time outdoors and have all that space. So when we decided to buy our first home, a decent sized yard was on our list of must-haves (especially for the hubby - that's why he gets to mow it). Considering we live in the city, almost a quarter of an acre is pretty good in my book. However, here's what we're working with:
(This is after an exciting round of Olive's favorite game, chase the hose. There's nothing better than the smell of wet, extra-furry dog).
So yeah, the yard is plenty big and also plenty uneven. Yes, the camera is on a flat surface, our lawn really slopes that bad. And we don't have much privacy in the back. Plan is to add some fast growing trees, perhaps Leyland Cyprus, to give us some separation from the lot and street behind us. We'll also need to replace or remove the shed. You can kind of see how the doors don't quite close all the way. Well, that's thanks to some neighborhood crackhead who decided to kick it in and steal our mower. Thanks, crackhead.
And the deck? Well that's another fun story.
It doesn't look sooooo bad at first glance (besides needing a cleaning and some stain) but follow me for a closer inspection.
Bah! What is that? Oh, that's what I like to call the danger plank. It's what you step onto as soon as you walk out the back door. We've tripped, cut and maimed ourselves in many ways on this board. I could just replace that one board and be done right?
Nope, the rest of it has deck leprosy as well. Apparently whoever built it didn't realize that shoddy craftsmanship and a sunny (scalding - the doorknob burns my hand) Western exposure don't go well together. And here is where we must decide what to do. Do we take down the whole deck and rebuild (something with some shade-providing cover)? If we do that is it worth grading the yard? Not to mention the yard slants toward our home and we're overdue at adding a french drain. We'd need to redo the fence then as well. Maybe we can just replace the bits and pieces that are falling apart - it might not be worth it to build a whole new deck or add a patio or grade the yard - especially since we don't plan to stay here forever. In the off chance that someone stumbles upon this, anyone have suggestions out there? How much value could those changes bring?
Even though the backyard is one giant work in progress, we still needed a place to sit out there. And I've actually kind of spoiled this with the first deck pic above but oh well. We finally got patio furniture!
(Somebody did not feel like moving for this picture. I never thought that I would end up with a dog as stubborn as me.)
And it's neutral and easy to clean and BORING. Well it was boring until I stumbled upon some pillows on sale at Home Depot... or Lowes... dang, I can't remember. The important part is they were on sale. And now it's less boring! **Update: found the receipt, it was Lowes and I think they were $7.50/piece**
They only had three of each pillow and I needed four (two for the love seat and one for each chair) so I got two of each since they seemed to complement each other. I had been thinking of something funkier/brighter but these have grown on me.
Now that we've got seats, we're able to enjoy grilling and drinking some delicious beer outside in the almost-cooling-down weather. Speaking of delicious beer, has anyone been to
The Beer Growler in Avondale yet? Um, yum - 40 taps of crafty, tastiness. We picked up two growlers last night - Peak Organic King Crimson and Southern Tier Crème Brûlée (possibly one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted).
Oh and if you're wondering what was behind door number 2 on the birthday calendar:
Fro Yo! I love Yoforia because they have taro flavored fro yo and sometimes, if I'm really lucky, pomegranate seeds for toppings. Yum!
