And for those of you wondering

if I ever did get moved into the new sewing room here is a view of the tidiest part. I have stuff to put away in the new closet before I can take the "real" photo.

In the foreground to the left is my new cutting table. It was constructed using two of the units that were previously in the family room but had to be moved to accommodate the elevator. Pat decided to work on this on the Monday that I was leaving for NZ which meant I could not do some final sewing (of my lily top) that I had planned to do and the packing of my sewing items for symposium was very hurried as I grabbed them out of the way while Pat was outside cutting the wood for the top.

But it will be so much better to be able to cut fabric right there in my room and not as I have done for many years and dash downstairs to cut on the kitchen counter. And once I retrieve the iron from exile in the bathroom and put it back on the ironing board things will be much more efficient.

And finally

Spring did continue, unfazed by all the upheavals in the back yard. Above you can see the pretty white native dogwood tree. In previous years it has been overshadowed by a native wild cherry but I had that taken down last year. So now it has room to breath and be admired.
And here is one of the pink dogwoods that were planted way back in 2001 (I had asked for white but this is what grew!) Not that you can see in this photo but there is a second pink dogwood along with another native white one behind this tree. When I looked out the window to take the photo a bright red cardinal was posing nicely on the birdbath but in the time it took for me to grab the camera he flew away.

Please note the rhubarb plant just to the left side of the bird bath. When I left for New Zealand on April 6 it was barely poking it's head above the ground. Now on April 26 it is already sending up many seed/flower heads. I'll have to try to remember tomorrow to go out and pick some stalks to see if it is worth trying to keep this plant growing in the garden!

Survey question

I wanted to block of the ugly view of the air conditioning units from the pretty new patio and from the rear yard. So while I was away Pat has built this lattice screen. I think it should be finished off with a coat of opaque stain (as the pergola was) but I am unsure about the color.
So I invite your input. Should the screen be colored to match the pergola (which was colored to match all the woodwork) or should it be colored a reddish color to blend into the brick back ground. Or perhaps you think it should be left as bare wood to weather? I'll look forward to your comments.

And after a little while I'm hoping those ugly scars where the bob cat drove over the back yard will have grown over and disappeared.

In another few weeks I will begin in earnest the hunt for a water feature to place on the patio opposite where the steps come down. And I will work on redoing the garden beds around where the new construction work has destroyed what was there previously. Earlier this afternoon I did discover that one of the clematis plants that used to grow over the black iron archway (that was taken down in November) has endured and is growing up through the matting that was put down to cover the grass seed. So tomorrow I will be out there with a pair of scissors to cut away the mat and let that clematis go and grow! There is no sign of what I always thought was the stronger clematis plant on the other side.

Grow grass, grow!

Here I am showing you the outdoor view. As you can see we do need for the grass to grow back in.
And for the sprinkler people to get back on site to repair the broken line. Once that is done it will make it a lot easier to water the seed that has been laid to fill in where the piles of clay and construction debris have been these past many months.

What it was all about

I am at home once more after my "time out downunder" in New Zealand for the Quilt Symposium and a visit with my family there.

As I left home on Monday April 6 the elevator inspector was here doing his job. On the following day the County Inspector came to do the final inspection on all the other works.

Both inspectors gave a "pass" to their inspections so Larry and Casey have been able to use the elevator in my absence.

And this was the principal reason for all of the upheaval these past many months.

Is that the end of the tunnel I glimpse?

Something slightly weird is going on here and I see nonsensical words instead of the photos that I thought I had posted. But let's give it a shot and see what happens.

This week has been somewhat...shall we say, challenging. We are almost to the end of the project and I am almost to the stage of heading to the airport and fleeing the country. Don't get the wrong idea - the latter is my long planned trip to the New Zealand Quilt Symposium. The final inspection for the elevator (and only after that can we make the maiden trip in it) is scheduled for Monday at 2:30pm. My departure for the airport is scheduled for 2:45pm. So Larry and Casey will be left in charge!And they will get to make that maiden voyage without me.



Here you see the new cabinet in the family room which is adjacent to the elevator door. All it needs is some knobs...oh, and that big screen television it was designed to hide.

Now here is the new patio. The brick layers have been busy all week long laying the pavers. But rain has also been predicted all week long and so they have kept their work covered up. All will be revealed to those who sit and wait!
And finally, a little touch of spring. Right on cue with the cherry trees in the tidal basin in Washington DC, our two front lawn cherry trees burst into bloom this week. To show them off to their full advantage they need a good blue sky but with all the dull weather we have had this week I have given up waiting.