Desperately seeking ....

well, not Susan. Okay, weak joke.

Daily, I read blogs. Sometimes I'm in awe. Other times the reaction is 'nice, but not for me'. But overall, I'm impressed. I'd like to be one of those bloggers that inspire on a daily basis, but between life and my sheer laziness..... 'nuff said. Anyways, the below are proof that I'm here, plugging away, and seeking approval for a job (semi-) well-done.

Some pics to capture the past few weeks months (lo quality, from the phone)

My attempt at a gingerbread house that looks like the real thing. I didn't know what to do about the front stoop, though.

omg. these poor bushes were soooo overgrown.

nom nom Chinese New Year!

nom. nom.

Paperwhites!

No need for a workout

Spring is most definitely in full bloom. And, in addition to the years of neglect that my poor house has experienced inside, outside is just as bad.

The backyard is a two tiered terraced garden down to a flat/grassy area and then the house. It's a fairly significant slope (guesstimate 45 degrees?) and the area right next to the house is absolutely FLAT. We can all guess what happens during heavy rain. Yep, basement leakage [thankfully not flooding].

My first task is regrading the area directly adjacent to the house. And in order to do that I first had to remove the railroad tie edgers.

Man those are heavy! I think the long one (5 ft) weighs about 100lbs. It took me about 2 hrs to move these suckers from the backyard to the front. Part of the problem is that it's just lil ole' me doing the heavy lifting, and the second part - well, see those three little pieces? They used to be one, which was too long for me to wiggle around the house. So I used my sawzall to cut them up. Word of advice: get the longer blade, next time.

Part 2:

Digging a french drain to intercept the water coming to the house.