Preparing for the change of seasons

The past couple of weeks have gone by very quickly. So quickly, in fact, that I am amazed that we are nearing the end of September, and transitioning into fall. Around these parts, I've noticed a change in the air, and the sunlight seems different somehow. The nights arrive a bit earlier and crisper than the warm summer evenings that beg for windows and doors to be opened late into the night. Now we've taken to double checking that a sweater or sweatshirt is in hand when leaving for an evening out. I am eager for the leaves to change color and begin to drop, though I know that with the temperate climate of the Bay Area, that change is still weeks away.

Mike and I have been taking advantage of the last of the long summer days. Each day the sun sets a bit earlier and the hours for getting work done in the garden are fewer. Mike continues to work with the hot tub, which required extensive structural and electrical repair. The majority of the work is now done, with new siding, new support beams, and new electrical that meets safety code.

The siding is brand new, and the steps just received a fresh coat of paint today!

We've enjoyed soaking for the past two nights in a row. The water is not too hot, at 96 degrees. It is just enough warmth to loosen the muscles. The heat, combined with the jets is the perfect end to a work-filled day outside.

While Mike worked to finish the hot tub, I continued with my work to clean up some of the existing garden in the backyard. Previous owners had an affinity for gardening, primarily channeled into the propagation of roses and geranium. Geranii (would that be the plural?) - ha.
There are roses and geraniums everywhere. In pink. Really. Here is an example of a geranium that I haven't touched yet:


The geranium is the large plant on the trellis, on the left. The geraniums add a nice touch of color throughout the entire yard, and they don't require a lot of care - if they have been receiving some regular attention. The geraniums in our yard have not had a lot of attention in a while, so there are a lot of dead flowers, spider webs, and overgrowth. There was another geranium, identical to the one featured in this picture, that lived just to the left of this one, behind the cherry tree. As I tackled the monstrosity, I discovered that not only was there a monster geranium growing on the trellis, but also morning glory (the horror! invasive little beast!), and some sort of vining rose. I think there may have been a fourth plant that perished years ago, because I found a stump back there too - maybe a bougainvillea? This is the craziness of our backyard. Four plants in one spot. Not to mention that as I tore out the morning glory, I found a potted ornamental pomegranate plant that had been hidden by the overgrowth. It was in a small plastic nursery pot, and when I tried to pick it up I discovered that the plant that actually grown into the ground! It took Mike and a shovel to get the thing out of there. I also did a lot of cleanup of other plant debris in one corner of the yard. Here are a couple of shots of the cherry tree, after I removed the trellis, and the tidied up plants in one corner of the garden.




Unfortunately, the cherry tree is sick with something right now, so it looks pretty pathetic in the picture. I think it may have some sort of canker bacteria, from some of the sleuthing that I have done.

There is still a lot of work to be done in the garden, and once all the cleanup is done we will start planning for next spring. I love knowing that as homeowners, we have all the time in the world to work on this project. I love knowing that our garden will evolve as our own roots dig deep into the earth and we settle into this cozy home.

As I wind down my evening, I realize that I am really starting to feel "normal" again after all the craziness of the past couple years. December 30, 2006 was the night that turned our lives upside down. We had no idea that the house fire would mark the beginning of six moves in the course of 18 months. Six moves, a wedding, a miscarriage, two changes in jobs for me, and the purchase of our first home. I stopped asking why a long time ago, and now just focus on finding peace and trusting that everything unfolds for a reason. Sometimes I wonder if we would still be renting at the 9th street house if the fire hadn't happened. I wonder if the fire was, in a sense, a cleansing and a purification that needed to happen for us to move on. I will never know, and really it could be just a string of unfortunate events. Whatever it is, I am grateful that this path had lead us here, to our home and to a small piece of stability.

If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.
~Author Unknown

A visit from the 'rents

My folks came up from Southern California to visit for the weekend. Only a couple of months passed since their last visit, but they hadn't seen the "finished" house yet. They saw the house when we first got the keys, but not anything beyond the initial paint on the walls. They loved the house and we loved having them here for the weekend!

Saturday we spent the day with my parents and Mike's dad at the City of Santa Clara's Fall Art and Wine Festival. I anticipated that the festival would be small, but was pleasantly surprised when we arrived and saw that it was actually pretty big! They had a lot of food vendors, a ton of creative and unique craft vendors, beer and wine booths, and some bootie-shakin' live funk music to top it all off. The weather was beautiful and the beer was cold.

One of the purchases I made was a pot hanger for the back porch. Our backyard is a good size, and much of it is overgrown with geranium and untended roses. It actually looks pretty good, though, what with all the colors from the flowers. My point, however, is that we haven't done too much gardening apart from general upkeep, because there is so much to do to just get the landscaping under control. So, when I saw this hanger, I was excited at the prospect of having a small herb garden without having to do a major overhaul to clear out some of the existing landscaping. Click here for more information on the product and the folks that make these pot hangers.

Today we spent our morning at the Campbell farmers market, where I was able to buy the herbs to put in my new hanging herb garden. I purchased basil, oregano, thyme, dill, garlic chives, and spearmint from a vendor at the farmers market.

This is the end product, hanging in its temporary new home on the back porch:

Herbs, herbs, and more herbs!

What's up, party people?

Mike & Jon, kickin' it on the grass

Me 'n my peeps

Me 'n Zoolander

That last picture was actually taken last weekend, when Mike & I were out to dinner. I just had to throw it in, though. I mean, how could I keep Blue Steel from the public?

Hot Tub Hijinks

When Mike & I saw this house, we were pretty excited about the hot tub that was in the backyard. It looked like it was in pretty good condition so we were hopeful that it would run well.

Mike has been working for the past couple of weeks to get the hot tub up and running. We first had to figure out what the make and model was, since it was about 10 years old or so. After a bit of investigating, Mike figured that one out. In the course of doing that, he was also able to get an instruction manual and a filter.

The first week that we had the house we noticed that the hot tub was a massive breeding ground for mosquitoes. Yuck. So, I called county vector control and had them come out to treat the water. We refilled the tub and treated the water, running it intermittently. This was before getting the new filter, so we still weren't using it yet. Just recently we noticed that it yet again had some little swimmers wiggling this way and that, content with their little home. Boo. So, Mike drained the tub - again. This time we were a little more prepared. Mike was able to open up the front of the surround where the control panels are located and really inspect everything.

He also cleaned the interior of the spa out while it was empty and put in the new filter. He had to troubleshoot some of the system and I am happy (and proud) to report that he has so far successfully fixed each newly diagnosed problem as it arose.

When we originally had the spa inspected the tech said that the spa was in good condition and then proceeded to charge us $175 for his time. The whole experience pissed me off a bit, because he came highly reviewed by Yelp and originally quoted me $75 for the inspection. I was not home during the inspection and somehow he talked his way into a final price that was way higher than what he quoted me, without doing much of anything except for telling us to move the electrical box and give us some chemicals.

This was during the first week that we had the house, so we were so busy with a million little projects that when I found out about him overcharging I just decided to let it go - that was a battle I just did not have the energy to pick at that time.

Now, about the electrical box. Mike consulted with an electrician at work about the necessity of moving the box due to risk of shock/electrocution, either of which would be very very bad (how's that for stating the obvious?). The electrician at his work informed him that the the box is rated for outdoor use, which means that it is made to withstand the elements - rain especially. He also explained that the circuit breaker is extremely sensitive and made to trip in the incident of some sort of water exposure beyond what it is designed for. So, we haven't decided if we are going to move the box or not.

There are other bits and pieces that Mike is working on with the spa, but really, if you made it this far in the post you are a trooper. I mean, how interesting can this be to all of you, my 2.5 loyal readers? (BTW, the .5 is accounted for the person that makes it at least part of the way through the post before navigating away from the page!)

Long story short, we refilled the tub and revved her up. This morning was the first run, and our first dip! The water took a bit to heat up and I had a hair appointment this morning, so I got in before it was completely heated. The water was about 93 when I was in the tub, and it was wonderful!

The jets are the best and my back felt great after my quick dip! By the time I got home from my appointment with my rockin' new 'do, the spa was up to 105! Granted, it is a million degrees outside today, so it isn't too tempting to get in. Once the cool nights come creeping in, however, we will be so spoiled!

By the way, gold stars to you if you read all the way to the end of this titillating post. :) As a bonus reward (apart from the gold stars, duh) here are a few pics of the tub, Mike in the tub, and my new look.

My dashing husband, striking a pose.

Sharkie (We are home of the San Jose Sharks, so how appropriate is this??)

The Tub
(you should be hearing "hallelujah, hallelujah" in the background right now)

I am so stylie!

Update! Update! Update! Update! Update! Update!

Just a bit after I published this original post, Mike was working on getting the spa surround ready for repair, when he stumbled upon this hornet's nest! Yowza!

A New Baby!

Congratulations to my good friends Hosanna and Michael Hannaford, who just welcomed their second child into the world! I spent some time on the phone with Hosanna last night, and she sounded absolutely wonderful!

Closed for Labor Day

My sister is here visiting for a day while she is here on business. We tried to take her to some of our favorite places to eat, but nearly everything was closed. After finding a place for lunch, we wanted to check out our favorite frozen yogurt gig, but alas, it was closed too. Here is a picture of their sign that they posted, notifying folks that they would be closed today (hopefully you can see it okay, I took it with my cell phone):