Roots and Dirts: Garden Work Day #1

The piles of roots steadily decreased



Go, Govinda, go!



We had loaders and carriers



Ilyse tackled a load too big...



Brennan



Many loads up the hill



This is not exactly what U-Hauls are meant for



Farm hands do jazz hands

And With Velocity!

This house is definitely mourning something. (But we are giddy with homeowner delight!)



"Holy smokes!" said Mr. Hanson.


The kitchen was gutted in just one day! The ceilings are so high because the sofits were removed. The plaster and lathe is quite beautiful.



The deck was removed. Tomorrow, the floor in that room (which is the den) will be lowered 18 inches!



Greetings, pesky under-the-tub dry-rot! We've got you now...

Housework Officially Begins Tuesday, September 7th!

We have been getting so many congrats on the house and surprise when we say we have not moved in yet. You'll be able to tell from these photos (taken today, 9/6/10) why we aren't moving our boxes yet. Here is some of the work that will be done by our awesome contractor, Jeff, and his team.

This is the "before" picture of the laundry area. The water heater will be replaced by a tankless heater that will go in the lower room (in the background).


We thought that the floorboards of the den might be salvageable, but decided it was not worth the effort. This room will be a den/family room where we'll have access to the backyard through French doors and down deck steps. This room's floor will be lowered 18" in order to make it legal-height.



The basement stairs will change because the den's floor is being lowered. This means no more "follow the yellow line."



The dining room will be painted, get new windows, and have a rebuffed/stained floor.



The breakfast nook and kitchen will be totally unrecognizable when finished. Hardwood floors, alabaster cabinets with bin pulls, new windows, and appliances! Even a garbage disposal!!




The back of the house will be redone. We will have dry-rot removed and the stucco repaired, waterproofed, and painted. The deck will be redone and have steps down to the backyard. From this view, you can see where the French doors will take the place of the current door and square window.



We should be done in 12 weeks or so! Wish us luck and stay posted for renovation photos!

We're All Just Making Babies

The Aracaunas are laying! This means that there are three small blue eggs each day in a little hole they've dug at the back of their coop. We have a surplus of eggs now for the first time. It's been fun giving them away and eating them. Their small size makes two of them the perfect breakfast.

And, we are growing, too. My belly now measures a whopping 36 inches! And my belly button is getting shallower each day. This little babe is moving quite a bit. Chris has felt its gentle movements through my skin. We are ruling out all sorts of names (like Janson and Hans) and accepting just as many.

We recently were gifted a book called Boy or Girl? 50 Fun Ways to Find out!


Our favorite test so far is called Mirror, Mirror on the Wall.
This old German tale checks not whether you are the fairest mother of them all but what your eyes say. Stare into a mirror for one minute, but not more than three. Do your eyes dilate? If yes, a boy. If they don't, a girl.

Hmmmm. We'll let you know the book's prediction once we've completed all the tests. Though the truth will only be revealed in January!

Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?

Our urban garden project has just expanded to include growing a human! Wow! How do we do it, you wonder? Well, our thumbs are just that green.

We are planning on harvesting in mid-January, so keep your eyes peeled for news on this hardy, winter perennial.

The Latest Peek

Here is our HIVE VIDEO!

This is an up-close-and-personal encounter with our bees. It's the only footage we've captured while opening the hive. (Please excuse/enjoy the excessive narration.)

We're still a few months away from collecting honey. At that point, the top box (which excludes the queen and therefore, the larva) will be filled with honey that we can tap into. We will borrow an extractor from the Alameda Beekeepers' Association for the job. We will be sure to document that exciting process.

Stay tuned for more news in a few days...

The Bamboo Battle is Won!

The Bobcat was with us for 24 hours. Chris was clearly in love.


Then the painstaking task of separating root from dirt. What to do with the root piles the size of small cars, we are not yet sure.


Thank you, Pat, for the wheelbarrow!