Progress!

Northern fritillary on zinnia.

 Yesterday's shopping trip for a hot tub turned into purchase day too. I settled on a salt water system for several reasons - no chlorine smell, better water feel and buoyancy, easy to maintain, only drain and refill once per year. The down side is extra cost - but when it comes down to it, this is just one big, extravagant splurge for me, so I'm not going to cheap out on the details. 

Concrete pour day. The garden has become overgrown and unkempt as the summer peak has passed.
It will get a make-over this fall and next spring.


Concrete pouring.

The concrete is being poured as I write this on an unexpectedly rainy morning. The rain has stopped and the concrete is being pumped up from the street. 


Concrete poured, all done by 8 am.

Stamped to resemble natural rock. Tomorrow stain will be added, then sealant,
then wait for it to cure. That little pipe is the conduit for the electric line to the hot tub.

As soon as the concrete guy gives the word that it has hardened adequately (a week?) the hot tub can be placed and set up. Then on to the back yard fencing portion of this renovation. 

If I'm going to remain living in the northeast, I have to enjoyably endure the 4 months of frozen north weather from December through March.  Between a bit of travel, snow sports, and the hot tub, I should be very happy in my cozy home all year round. Thank you Mom & Dad, and Aunt Pat. 💗

A last minute plan to meet for some local music led to an enjoyable evening with Susan and Sheila to watch Hair Of The Dog perform some Irish folk music. We chatted and caught up in the open air venue on a chilly evening. It is barely reaching 70 these days.

Small town entertainment venue.

A beautiful late summer evening.





Stained, sealed and set for curing. The natural stone look reminds me of the rock at the top of Hurricane Mountain.  The hot tub comes next week and the fence after that.

Today ended with a visit from Amyjean to pick up some of my excess day lilies and a hibiscus. I made her a dinner of creamy fettucini pesto, meatballs, and salad. She brought ice cream for dessert. We chatted about lots of things but mostly about the Democratic National Convention which is giving us lots of hope, but cautious hope. I especially loved watching the Obama's speeches. 

Comments

  1. MargaretAugust 22, 2024 at 1:09 PM

    I love that stamped concrete! If I ever go from a wood deck (mine is ancient!) to a patio, that's what I'll want. Not so much upkeep either. My attitude is that since you're not going to get a new hot tub every year or even close to that, get exactly what you want--no regrets. We are sitting at 70 or a little below with some rainy weather. Great for the plants but not so good for lawn mowing.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Another Rainy Weekend

Image
Another rainy Saturday to contend with, so I decided on a Van Morrison playlist while I cleaned out the garage and danced and sang. My gardening supplies and planters and pots that need sorting and recycling  were cluttering up my space. They are now sorted and the garage is cleaned out for at least another week or so. I think the shed in the back yard needs to be a project to get it into a more useful state.  The amount of rain we've had is remarkable. May was one of the wettest months in eighty years and June is starting to look the same. I would rather have too much rain rather than a drought though.  After dropping around 3 inches of rain, the skies cleared up later in the afternoon. I loaded up my bike for an impromptu ride on the Electric Trail with the thought of dinner or ice cream at Samascott's.  The first of many turtles on the bike path. Now I see just how rough the path was and how I had no business riding on it.  The trail was very wet on the way s...
Read more

Summer Solstice

Image
Vroman's Nose overlooking the valley. Summer has begun! To mark the solstice, my hiking group held a picnic at the top of Vroman's Nose, which is a short little hike up a 657 foot hill. It overlooks the Schoharie Valley and has a beautiful rock 'dance floor' that easily accommodates our group of forty. The weather was a perfect 74 degrees with a breeze to keep any bugs away. A pleasant gathering on the dance floor near sunset. I drove Sue Ellen who had her gall bladder removed last week, and we hiked up with a guy who has spinal stenosis. As I listened to them discuss their ailments, I silently gave thanks for my health and thought about how 'mature' our group is becoming.  Once at the top, the party began with burgers and dogs, salads and desserts, and great conversation.  Most of our group made it into this sunset picture. Saturday started with me being woken up by my neighbors chatting down below in the street - it was garage sale day. I didn't join since...
Read more

Random Thoughts In My Little Life

Image
 The orchids I bought in February (!) catch my attention each day and I have to marvel at their longevity. Four months of continuous flowers? What other plant does this? I just may become an orchid collector. A new stem with buds is forming on one of them too! This long horn beetle was inspecting my snow peas. They have blooms, so peas are not far behind! I drove up to the Plateau to meet a friend for a paddle. The wind picked up for awhile so we got a nice upper body work out paddling into the wind. Then we just floated near the dock when the wind died down and the sun was shining.  This wetland was covered in yellow flag (iris) on the way to the Pond. Enjoying the calm water after the gusts. This is not proper paddling form, but it was so relaxing. This angle makes my kayak look tiny! Thursday was a nice dry day - perfect for lawn garden work. I'm diligently putting the plants I keep buying into the ground. I have a dozen sunflowers I grew from seed that need planting, but t...
Read more