With help from our son, son-in-law, and nephew, Phil finished the new deck. Here are two different views of the deck. The contractor will cover it and put a new roof on the house and deck. He'll also install the new french doors leading out onto the deck and add wall sconces, ceiling fans, and outlets. Phil will then go back and add the railings and steps. The contractor recommended we wait until September to paint it and after painting we will have it screened. Phil dug each of the eight footings for the deck. It took him a little over a week to accomplish that task. The building inspector was tough on him, but we're glad he was. We KNOW this deck sits on a firm foundation! Phillip, our son, and Carl, our nephew, hauled all the lumber up the hillside to the deck. One of their toughest challenges was setting the four 16-foot beams for the deck. I am amazed at just how straight those beams now stand. These guys worked so hard! Here's one of the views from the deck. Phil's favorite view is of Mirror Lake across the little road, but I love just looking down Hickory Hill Road. So...was anything else going on during the deck construction? Yes! I bought a little bird bath for a second garden area. I almost bought a three tiered fountain, but Phil convinced me to buy a smaller fountain with just a little bubbler on top. I'm glad I took his advice. A larger fountain would have overwhelmed the little garden space I'm creating. This one is the perfect size. I haven't planted this garden yet so I have no pictures to share, but I'll give you a sneak peak of the bird bath and a little cherub who sits on the wall behind the bird bath overlooking the garden. Luke has his own on-going project. He's creating a winding path behind the little cabin. He calls it "Fallen Tree Trail" because there are several logs a walker must step over on this path. Here's Luke adding more rocks to his trail. The gas company boomed in a larger tank for our use. They slid the tank in behind a hedge of rhodies so we never even notice it. The folks at Freeman Gas have been a pleasure to work with. They will be putting in our new tankless hot water system in the next few weeks. I bought a little Ikebana vase at a craft show in Cashiers, North Carolina. I love it because I can take a couple of stems from the garden and make a cute little arrangement. And finally, here's our newest project! We're taking the linoleum tile out of the kitchen to reclaim the wood floor beneath. Here you can see the black asphaltic adhesive we're struggling to remove from the wood. It's doable, but it's tedious slow work. After we uncover the tiles and remove the adhesive, we'll be ready to sand and refinish the floor. We're learning as we go!
I am just returning from a week at Two Holt. We worked the first two days creating this sitting area which is the beginning of our cottage garden. Phil primed and painted the adirondack chairs to match the house and I bought the yellow cushions from Pier One before leaving home. Most of the flowers in this picture are annuals planted in pots, but I have planted a few more perennials in the ground since this picture was taken. I added stargazer lilies, peach blossom astilbes, caramel heucheras(coralbells), pow-wow coneflowers, and blue bead lilies. Phil had the driveway improved by adding a sealant layer of tar and gravel. It's definitely much easier to drive up and down now and it looks a lot better, too. We went to an arts and craft show held over Memorial Day weekend in Highlands. I bought this basket for the garden. It's made of chestnut and barbed wire. Phil is already looking for an old chestnut stump so he can create his own version. Our grandson, Luke, spent a few days with us so we spent time showing him Highlands. I want him to grow to love it as much as we do. We hiked up Sunset Rock and looked at the view of our little town off in the distance. Luke enjoyed climbing the rhododendrons which grow so plentifully in this area. Phil cut a trail behind our cottage and Luke spent hours just enjoying the natural setting. I brought Luke back to Alabama today and I will stay to work this week. I left Phil at Two Holt to talk with another contractor about the screened porch project and to have a larger gas tank installed. I look forward to returning on Friday of this week. We're planning to visit another arts and crafts show in Cashiers this Saturday. I'm still looking for a birdbath and garden arbor. Maybe I'll get lucky in Cashiers!
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Phil & SharonMarried 40 years and hoping to enjoy many more! Archives
December 2019
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