Rach's bday gift: Label maker

This lovely gem is a contorted mulberry bush. More importantly, this photo showcases a stainless steel tag made from my new label maker. I've started to replace all of the plastic info tags that accompany plants with Latin labels made by this gizmo. Thanks, Justin!

The other side of the path: South side of house

Here you can see the silverberries, strawberries and seaberries. Yum!

South side of house looking east

Our "berry lane." 4 varieties of Blueberries along with golden raspberries, 3 types of seaberries, a silverberry, numerous strawberries, a goumi tree and a dwarf contorted jujube all grow along this path. Hidden from view: our Obama Sign. Novick is getting all of the play on this blog.

Kiwi trellis takes shape

Looking west along the south side of the house. The kiwi trellis will support our Issai kiwis - kiwi "berries" that are hardy in our variable winters. We have four plants, three female and one male. The trellis is made from Ipe, the same material we used for our decking. We'll lay 4"x4" beams across the top and below that more of the stainless steel cabling (the same stuff we used on the deck.) You can see one of the kiwi vines growing behind the front post.

Soaker hoses

These hoses require muscle to master; they want to twist and turn and go their own way. Once mastered they do, however, make watering significantly easier. Far less H2O is lost to evaporation as it is delivered directly to the roots. Blueberries, seen here with golden raspberries and peas, require copious amounts of water. For more on blueberry growth and management, visit our lovely friend Clair and Beverly Klock at Klock Farm.

Front of house looking NW, May '08

Notice our "Steve Novick for Senator" Sign. He is amazing. He is also the first 4'11", hook-armed, left of left candidate to run a viable senatorial campaign. In front of the sign: 6 of our 10+ heirloom tomato varieties.

Front of house, May '08

In the last 1 month we have: Built a bioswale/dry creek bed used to to capture the rain from the downspouts, cleared and planted a parking strip including pavers, placed a gravel sidewalk (previously we lacked any formal walkway), finished 3/4 of the stainless steel deck railings, significantly trimmed the very large birch tree, removed the lilac hedge from atop the rock wall, planted and irrigated (using soaker hoses) the newly cleared areas, started our veggie gardens in front and back, prepared the water troughs for bamboo, partially built the kiwi trellis and removed the brick path beside the rock wall. Our plan: To take July and August completely off. We'll see.....

Water troughs - temporary bamboo containers, eventual raised beds

Last May our neighbors to the North cut down the laurel hedge separating our driveway from their yard, leaving our backyard and whole N. side very exposed. We weren't sure when they were going to begin their remodel, and didn't want to build a fence until their updates were complete. We purchased these water troughs to plant bamboo in as a way of insuring summertime privacy. Rachael T. is providing the (very invasive) bamboo, while our favorite wood salvage yard supplied the wood with which we built the platforms. The locking casters on the platforms will enable us to move the the troughs around. We will eventually build a fence there, return the bamboo to Rach and use the troughs as raised beds for veggies.

The back yard fills in, part two

Looking NW from the deck. The soaker hoses are subtle, but a huge help in this nearly 90 degree May weather.

The back yard begins to fill in

Looking SW from the deck, complete with installed, though not tightened, stainless steel rails. This shot gives you a general idea of the layout of the back yard. Notice the tall post on the left side of the photo: The kiwi berry trellis begins to take shape!

The backyard part deux

This is the reverse view - looking from the SE towards the NW. The paths are wide enough for two people to walk abreast, though that width may decrease as the plants become more established. You can also see the "island" bed in the upper left corner. We planted a fuyu persimmon for Deb and Vic (who helped me plant it) and Dan/Noa/Luca/Enzo. This shot also illustrates our affinity for contrasting foliage, specifically those with yellow or purple foliage. We promise to update the garden photos come spring when things have grown.

The backyard

This view is looking from the NW corner towards the SE corner. You can see a fig leaf, part of the pear-apple tree, a blueberry twig, many herbs and a few varieties of drought-tolerant grasses. Also visible are the gravel paths, which were dug out with the help of Rachael's student Caitlyn. This is the same type of 1/4"- unsorted gravel used in traditional Japanese gardens. It compacts nicely and doesn't migrate into the house, all the while allowing water to permeate.

Landing 1.0

We've established our own language for talking about certain, easily-confused areas of the house. For instance, we refer to the stairwell landings as .5, 1.0 and 1.5 (the landing between the basement and first floors, the first floor, and between the first and second floors, respectively.) The 1.0 landing includes a broom closet and mail sorting center. We stole the last idea from Sarah Susanka's Not So Big House series. We used to sort our mail and drop our things in the kitchen, a practice that added to the clutter of the area. We now sort our mail, post important items, store letters and reference papers and the like at the sorting center.

The sorting center is comprised of an old school desk (formerly my sewing table). It's located near the back door and above the basement, which also has a entry. We intend to use this basement side-access door as our primary entry in the winter as the basement is spacious and has an unimproved concrete floor which will be great for muddy boats and wet coats. We can drop off our papers and mail as we pass the sorting center on the way up the stairs. It's all about location!

Switchplates and Switchplate Covers

Adding to our modern aesthetic are our Cooper Lighting "Aspire" series light switches and switchplate covers. The large rocker-type switches are easy to find and use, even in the dark. Certain switches are illuminated and/or dimmable. We tried to gang them up when possible to avoid too much "wall acne." The covers are sleek and streamlined and are made of flexible, crack-resistant grey plastic that looks like unpolished metal.

Bathroom Hardware

A remodel can be roughly split into big projects (demolition, framing, systems, cabinets, flooring etc.) and less-big projects (painting, door hardware, switch plate covers and so on.) There are no small projects, especially as you reach the point of burnout. Every job seems enormous, and every achievement monumental. One such example can be found in our downstairs bathroom. Just recently have we (Rude with some help from Justin) installed accessories like towel racks, a toilet paper holder, a mirror and even a few photographs on the wall. It's little things like this that make the house feel lived in.