Getting Ready for a Wedding--Hiding an Eyesore

        Right up next to our house on the west end is a woodpile. My husband has joked that the rest of the yard is mine, but that spot is his. The problem is that it is the first view of our house anyone coming from the west gets. And even more of a problem, that is the side of the house people will be entering from for the wedding reception. As you can see, it isn't very attractive--not exactly the first impression I want to have wedding guests have of our yard.



     I have thought of moving the woodpile, but this location is the most convenient, and there really isn't anyplace else I'd rather have it. So if I can't move the eyesore, the least I can do is hide it instead.



    We accomplished this with the help of our friend, Jeremy Bischoff of Bischoff Fencing in Boise. He visited for a weekend and helped us put in a fence. Then we installed a planting bed along the front of it.

 
 
 
     We usually think of fences as enclosing an entire yard, but as you can see, they work well for enclosing smaller spaces as well. All we needed was four 8' sections, and that was enough to get the job done for us.
 
     Inside the fence we have enough room for the woodpile plus an access alley along the front of it. We covered the access area with landscape fabric, put in a few stepping stones, and filled in with 1/2" gravel.
 

 

     Besides hiding the woodpile, this created a sheltered place to put our cats' house. Then using pavers left over from our patio project, my son installed a paver pad off the concrete slab outside the door into our garage. It extends a couple of feet into the alley created by the fence, giving us a place out of the traffic lane to put our cats' food and water dishes. As you can see from the picture below, the cats are quite happy with their new area. And so am I.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ending on a High Note

Image
This past week feels like it has been a month! The Tabernacle Choir arrived on Tuesday, though most of their leadership arrived earlier. Last Sunday evening our department and the choir leaders met together to review the plans for the VIP events we’re in charge of. From that time on, our week was a whirlwind of finalizing plans and getting things put together. We spent long hours and had moments of panic, wondering if we’d get it all done in time. But in the end, it all came together. It was interesting to be in a position to know some of what was going on in the background, things most people would never know about. It felt a bit like a duck swimming on a pond. On the surface it seems to be gliding smoothly along, but underneath is it paddling like crazy. The first Choir event we were involved with was on Thursday, when the Choir put on a performance at the cathedral in Toluca. Alfredo was very involved in helping with that event and was in charge of planning a VIP dinner before it
Read more

This is Not What I Expected to Do on a Mission

Image
  As part of the events connected with the Tabernacle Choir’s concerts in Mexico City, our department is planning a VIP reception and a VVIP dinner. Ron and I have been helping organize them. This week our caterer brought samples of hors d’ oeuvres and agua frescas (flavored water) for us to try for the reception. For a little while, our conference room was turned into a bit of a party room as we sampled the appetizers. The next day, I was working with Michelle and hermana Lima to contact a couple of ambassadors to see if they would prefer steak, salmon, or chicken cordon bleu for their main dish at the dinner. I said, “This is not what I expected to be doing on a mission!” That made us all laugh because it’s so true. I’ve done a whole lot of things on this mission that I never expected to be doing. I didn’t even know they were in the realm of possibility for a mission! Planning such high level events can be stressful. I don’t feel stressed, but my sleep patterns are telling me I am. I
Read more

It's Too Early For Farewells

Image
I know it is too early for us to be having “farewell” parties, but that didn’t stop us from having one this week. About a month ago, Mary Ann Grant contacted me and said they’d like to get together for dinner before we go home. The Grants are the leaders of the Mexico City West Mission. The relationship between the Teca Once missionaries and the Mexico City West Mission is a little complicated. That is the mission we live in, and it is responsible for taking care of our temporal needs—paying our rent, helping us get our residency cards, arranging our flights home, etc. However, that mission doesn’t get any of the benefits of having senior missionaries, because we all have Area assignments. The Grants don’t seem to mind that, and they like to get together with us every once in a while so they can talk with actual adults—not young adults, which all their missionaries are. They are really busy as mission leaders, so I told her we would plan it around when they were available. That happene
Read more