Catch up post

It’s been quite a while since we posted anything so here’s a catch up post.  

Picking up from where we left off with the back yard.  The wall got replaced and is now better, faster, stronger.  It’s crazy how much codes have changed over the years.  The previous wall used 6” wide empty cinder blocks and went a couple feet beneath the surface.  The new wall uses 8” blocks, goes 4 feet down, 3 feet out, and is rebar reinforced and filled with concrete.  This thing is immortal.

In other back yard news our stephanotis vines are working out nicely. 

We originally wanted to replace the rear chain link fence along our back  wall with a solid fence for greater privacy but given that the solid fence catching the wind is what broke the side wall decided against it.  Our neighborhood nursery recommended stephanotis vines since they’re shade tolerant and will climb and spread. 

I made some planters out of redwood fence panels and the vines have indeed climbed and spread over the last couple of years.  Our first winter it dipped below freezing a couple of times and we had quite a bit of die back.  Our second winter I covered them with tarps when it got cold and we did a lot better. We actually got a seedpod which, from what we’ve read online, is rather rare.   It took about a year for the pod to mature but now we’ve got a bunch of seedlings.

And we now have two more seedpods, so I'll guess we'll have more seedlings in another year.

In even more back yard news we had to cut down a tree which had been placed directly over the trench that the water, power, and sewer lines run through.  Its roots had cracked the sewer lines and were causing back-ups.  Eww. 

To save time and money I cut the tree down myself rather than asking the plumbers to. Even though the tree wasn’t particularly thick I had to do it in stages since it was about three stories tall.  I disconnected a handsaw from its handle, rigged up a new 8 foot long handle, climbed on the roof, and got to work.

But enough about the backyard.  The other big highlights since the last update are we went to Japan

Deanna finished her second bachelors

We went to Europe

We got engaged

And we got married, more on that anon.

Rubble Rubble

Well it was threatening to fall since the winds last December but it finally came down. It came down in the middle of the night with a great thud that was loud enough to wake me and our neighbor up.

Here it is just after the winds:

And here it is now:

Steven decided to pile up the blocks where the grass doesn't grow so that it doesn't kill the little amount of grass we have.

It fell so hard it actually dented the dirt underneath. See the little trench it made.

Projects

Steven and I have been very busy bees with our projects. Mine are sewing projects and Steven's been doing some wood work.

Check out our latest projects:

My new Spring dress! I apologize for the uneven hair and goofy face. I had just gotten back from yoga.

My new jacket. I can't wait for next Fall to sport this thing more often. I think it looks very Sherlock Holmes or maybe 70s Dr. Who. Note the jacket is being modeled by my new DRESS FORM!

Demonstrating the hood...

It's cinched in the back for a more feminine look.

The jacket pattern is from Sewaholic.

And Steven's project is a spool holder for me!!!

Steven also made us a mail holder/organizer since our mail always ended up everywhere. Now we have a place for it and our keys. Isn't he talented?!

We bought a mattress!!!

Since Steven and I have been together he's had this terrible hand-me-down mattress that I absolutely hate. It was handed down to him by his brother and who knows who or where his brother got it from or how old it is. It's super firm which he loves and I hate and it has springs poking through which I can feel but Steven can't.

It was time for a new mattress so when a Groupon deal came around, we jumped on it. It was $50 for $200 worth of mattress at Sit N Sleep.We went in last night to check it out.They had a fancy machine that determines each person's perfect mattress type. Of course, Steven was far into the "medium firm" region and I was in the far "medium soft" region. So we tried just about every (reasonable priced) mattress in the store and we couldn't agree on any. The ones I loved, he hated and vice versa. Though they also had the super fancy section of mattresses that have half of the mattress firm and the other half soft. Perfection. Except it was also $3100.

The kind salesman at the store said they were selling out that item and that we could have the floor model for $1300. We somehow accidentally talked him down to giving it to us for $1150. We got $100 off because we mentioned a Sit N Sleep promotion which actually didn't apply to the mattress we were getting but he gave it to us anyway. Plus, we mentioned that we had a Groupon which also didn't apply to the mattress but he said he would give us the same $50 off that we paid for the Groupon AND we could still get our money back for the Groupon. He also threw in a free set of sheets!!! The delivery is also free as is the removal of our old mattress.

So yeah, on Sunday our fancy new dual sided mattress gets delivered. I can't wait!

Zip lining pictures!

Happy New Year everyone. Despite having all the time in the world to write updates during our near 2 week holiday time off, we just didn't. Ha!

At the very least we do have something to share with you all. We finally got the pictures from our zip lining tour.

This is our training session. It was just the 4 of us on our tour. As the day got later the groups got bigger so we were glad we did it early. They made the training fun by adding some silly jokes. Always appreciated and the outdoor classroom wasn't bad either.

Steven is first up. They trained us to lift our leg so that they can attach you. Steven didn't need to.

And away he goes! In perfect form too. Feet out arms straight. They wanted us to have feet out first so that we can get used it it. You assume cannon ball position when you want to go faster.

This is what everyone else had to do to have our harnesses reach the cable. One leg up, and for super shorties like me you need to hop a little.

Here I go!

Next line. The photographer gets me waiting my turn in the background.

One of the lines went through a tunnel. That was pretty cool and exciting. The camera man magically appeared in each location before we did even though he left his position after we had all passed. It was very confusing.

This next picture is cool because you can see how long and how high these lines actually are. I don't remember seeing much jungle floor during our whole time there. There were a bunch of platforms built for the lines.

Half way through they had a rest stop with cold water. Not a moment too soon.

Now that he's refreshed, Steven goes super fast!

Another group picture.

The final line was the racing one. It wasn't so much a race as getting to go in pairs. But if you're keeping score, I won.

And the after picture.