Thursday, May 28, 2009

A little of this, a little of that...

I thought I would update the blog while I watch the National Spelling Bee. These kids are amazing!

Here is a photo of one of my Hot Cocoa roses. Isn't it gorgeous? It almost doesn't look real!
I have another blossom on my Lollipop Gerbera daisy. It is a variegated pink color with some very deep pinks when it first blossoms - then it begins to fade...
This is the second garden bed near the pool/patio area. It is where I planted the hot peppers, sweet peppers, banana peppers and peas. The supports along the wall will (hopefully) keep the pea plants in line...
Here is my flower bed. This is also in the pool/patio area and has mostly perennials, with a few annuals thrown in for good measure. The plants really shot up the past couple of days with all the rain we've had. I've had a couple of my coleus die, but mostly the plants are doing really well...
DH has been working on installing a TV out by the patio/pool. It will go under the garage overhang so it will stay dry. The TV will go on this pole; the hole behind the pole is for an outlet...
Here is the view of the TV pole from the hot tub...
The bench for the half bath arrived today and I assembled it. The half bath is near the pool and will also be used as a changing area. The bins on the bookcase will provide places for people to store their clothes while they swim. I still need to purchase some large bath towels or beach towels for this bathroom...

The Pens are in the Stanley Cup Playoff game against the Detroit Redwings. The best-of-7 series begins Saturday night, so LET'S GO PENS!!!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Progress on the homefront!

The hot tub is up and running and we love it! This is a Bullfrog spa with jetpaks.

The Jetpaks are interchangeable so that you can move your favorite jets to your favorite seat location. The Clusterspray jetpak is in the left in this photo; the Oscillator jetpak is on the right...
The jetpak on the left is Cascadia (it has a waterfall at the top); the jetpak on the right is NeckMasseuse...
The last jetpak is the Rainshower and it is currently located on the lounge chair in the spa. If you want a good laugh, take a look at this video on YouTube.
DH finished stringing up the lights between the trees on the far side of the pool today. They looked really nice after it got dark out. You might be able to see them better in this photo if you click on the photo to enlarge it...
DH ordered 10 blueberry bushes online - 2 each of 5 different varieties. Some of them look like they will survive...
And some look like they are already dead...
This is another rose bush that has blossomed. It smells wonderful! I can't remember the name of this one off the top of my head...
We planted a Clematis near the pool fence. We were amazed at how fast it attached itself to our fence...
I love the color of this rhododendron. I'm used to seeing the pink varieties, but love the deeper purple color of this one...
I don't know what this plant is, but the blossoms are pretty...
The dianthus keep putting out lots of blossoms...
I bought this cute pair of boots at Target and had DH drill some holes in the bottom for drainage...
I planted mini sunflowers in the boots. I hope they continue to grow and eventually flower...
DH ordered a lawn mower online and the delivery person left it in our driveway. It is a Toro TimeCutter Z...
I used it to mow the lawn last week and it is really fun to drive!
DH spent yesterday planting 18 more trees/bushes. This time he planted out near the pool. He also put stepping stones from the pool to the shower using leftover travertine from the patio. Today he finished up the shower - added the stones and the wood tiles for a platform...
Here are some more of the plants he put near the pool...
Last weekend DH re-sealed the deck. Today he worked on the light over the French doors...
Here is what the light looked like after dark tonight (ignore the clamps on each end - they are only temporary). The lights face up and reflect back down off the metal conduit...
Last week, my 2 sisters and a friend were down for the International Quilt Market in downtown Pittsburgh. While walking in the woods we came upon a mass of May apples. The flowers grow down under the large leaves and are difficult to see unless you are looking for them...
I planted some flowers out front by the driveway and sidewalks today, but didn't get any photos of them yet. I also bought 5 lilac plants at the nursery, but DH is too sore to dig any more holes for a couple of days. We'll just keep them watered in their pots for a while...

Let's go PENS!!!!!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

The to-do list never seems to get any shorter...

Last weekend, we were able to get the pool cover off the pool. It was a lot more work to get it off and get it cleaned up than we thought it would be. Here are DH and DS emptying the water out of the bags that weigh the cover down...
We started up the pool vacuum and it did a pretty good job of cleaning up the leaves and dirt...
And we have more critters in the pool. I found 2 adult toads and 2 young toads. Here is one of the adults and one of the young toads...
On Thursday, the weather was fairly nice, so I ran the pool cleaner again and used the hose to spray all the dirt and leaves off the concrete around the pool. One of the adult toads disappeared while I was working out there and I was afraid that it had gotten sucked up into the vacuum. I couldn't figure out how to open the pool cleaner debris compartment though. Today DH opened it and found the toad inside the bag - he was alive and hopped away! Doesn't that pool look inviting? The water temp was only about 60 degrees though!
DH has been running the electrical wires for the hot tub. The hot tub has arrived at the dealer's and is supposed to be delivered on Wednesday. DH installed the electric panel on the far side of the deck today (I didn't get a photo of it) and here is where the hot tub will be hooked up...
I found another little critter in the garage on Thursday. Fortunately, DS had already seen it and warned me that it was there, so I didn't flip out. He's actually very cute. I used to have pet mice when I was young, but I don't like to be startled, which the "wild" ones always seem to do to me...
On Friday, the box of tiles that we needed for the outdoor shower arrived. I think they will work well and I like how they look...
Last Saturday, I went to the Oakmont Garden Club sale and came home with a lot of perennials and a few annuals. Today I planted them in the flowerbed underneath the kitchen window, out near the pool.
Here is another shot of the flowerbed...
DH planted roses out by the pool a couple of weeks ago. He planted 3 different kinds. This one is really prolific and smells wonderful! It is called a Knockout Rose...
The trees have really leaved out recently and we are quickly losing our view of the river. You can just barely see it through the trees now...

Oh, and "LET'S GO PENS!"

Friday, May 1, 2009

Projects between the raindrops...

Even though it rained a lot today, DH was able to get a lot done around the house.

The pool pump has worked wonderfully to remove the 2-3 feet of water from the pool cover and even ran all night without being plugged in. I didn't realize that the pump would continue to siphon off the water even after I pulled the plug. That was actually an ideal way for it to work however, as we didn't have to worry about whether the pump remained under the water. We were a bit worried that the pump would break if the water level dropped below the pump, so I went out every hour or two to make sure the pump was still submerged. With the pump unplugged though, if the water level went below the pump it wouldn't matter. The poor little tadpoles, however, were not so thrilled about the water being pumped out of the pool cover. Sorry little guys... :-( While I drove up to Slippery Rock University to pick up DS today, DH worked today on installing the outdoor shower by the pool. This is what it will look like when it is installed - it is a stainless steel thermostatic shower panel from Wind Bay...
This is the 8 gallon hot water tank that he mounted inside the garage to connect to the shower...
Here he is soldering the connectors onto the pipes where the shower will go. He loved the hammer drill that he bought (refurbished/reconditioned - are they the same thing?). It went through the brick like a knife through butter!
Underneath the shower, he plans to put a drip pan intended for a washing machine, covered with these snapping deck tiles. They will completely cover the top of the drip pan and allow the water to drip between the tiles into the drip pan which will be connected to the drainage system. He will put a wooden moulding of some kind around the edges to conceal the sides of the drip pan. The sample the company sent has 4 slats per tile, but we ordered ones with 6 slats. They are also available with 8 slats or diagonal slats. The slats are made of "pre-treated, expertly kiln-dried, extremely durable hardwood. Mold, mildew, fungi, termites, rot and decay resistant."
Here is what the back of the tiles look like - the "plastic feet elevate for drying airflow." The tiles just snap together. We ordered tiles made from eucalyptus for our outdoor shower. Stay tuned for photos of the finished shower...
Here are some more shots of some of the plants that we put out in front of the house...just don't ask me what they are. I saved the tags off them, so I might be able to figure it out, but certainly couldn't tell you off the top of my head (although I do know that the one on the back left is a rhododendron).
I believe the tall tree is a Japanese red maple and there are some butterfly bushes in front of it...
The 5 plants to the far right are dianthus. They were all marked alike on the tags, but 4 turned out to have red flowers and 1 has pink flowers. They are still very pretty, and luckily, the pink one ended up in the middle.
Our builder has started work on the punchlist for the house. It doesn't seem possible that we've been in the house almost a year (it will be a year at the end of July). Yesterday, today, and next Tuesday the drywall guy was/will be here to fix the places in the walls and ceilings that have settled or have nail pops. He is also fixing the area in the kitchen ceiling where we had the leak from the second floor furnace...
He informed me that he hates our stairs. He just knew that the way the stairs were open up to the top floor that the house would settle all around the stairs. There was a lot of repair work for him to do around the stairs... The other place he had a lot to do was in the great room. Some of the seams in the walls are very obvious, especially when the lights behind the valance shine up or down the wall and illuminate all the little imperfections. He suggested we just leave the lights off. :-D
It's pouring rain out now, with lots of thunder and lightening. I hope it stops before the plant sale that I was planning to go to in the morning...