Landscaper Done

We finally have the backyard done to where the landscaper was sent on his way. He didn't show up until 11:30 after saying the day before that he would be here at 8 AM. Of course, he arrived in time for the storm to arrive and he completed the work during a .75" rainstorm. I settled up with him and he packed up his tools and the trash and left by 4 PM. I have some shots that show the transition. These are before and after shots of the areas we changed:

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

 

 

 

I'm not happy with the shots we have so far, so I will get some better ones today when we get it all set up the way it will be. There are still some modifications that we want to make, especially with the grass. The important thing is that the hard work is done and the landscaper is gone.

 

Our scorpion treatment had to be rescheduled for later this week as the rain washed out that activity. There was no sense applying the chemicals in the rain and taking a chance on them being ineffective.

 

George and Cheryl are coming over to the house for the first time on Thursday. Between their trip over the summer to Oregon and my surgeries, this is the first real chance we've had to get together. It looks like the weather will be fabulous, so we look forward to a nice visit...







Dodged a Bullet

The Seahawks dodged a bullet last night on Monday Night Football. They barely beat a huge underdog Detroit Lions team, 13-10. Their defense is superb, but the offensive line is not up to championship quality. I'm afraid that if the offensive line doesn't improve its protection for Russell Wilson, it will be a long season for the Seahawks.

Our landscaper has just about driven us crazy. He once again showed up toward the end of the day - when neither of us was home - and did practically nothing to our yard. We are so disappointed in the way this has turned out and are sorry we gave this guy a chance to start his own business. He works hard - when he works. His quality of work leaves a lot to be desired. Our goal now is to get the job as close to being acceptable as possible and settle up with him to get him out of here. Our yard will still look 100 times better than it did, though.

I had a recurrence of my "check engine" light problem on the Jeep which is where I was yesterday afternoon. The problem this time was the battery, and after a $125 battery replacement, I was on my way. The Jeep only has 64K miles on it, so I hope to get some more miles out of it before making a change.

Our second - and final - scorpion treatment is scheduled for today between 1-4 pm. We hope that our landscaper can get all the trash and debris out of the yard in time for the treatment. This is important for our sanity...

Home Show

The Maricopa County Home Show was at the Fairgrounds in Phoenix over the weekend. The only chance we had to go was yesterday as Josie had to work on Friday and Saturday. We could have stayed home. First of all, I cannot believe that Phoenix, as hot as it is, conducts any kind of public show in conditions without air conditioning. We found ourselves hurrying through the buildings and exhibits in order to get outside for some air, and eventually, back to our car and air conditioning. The vendors and the customers were all fanning themselves and  trying to find where the fans were located and where the "misters" were located. Also, the exhibits were mostly the same as there were many vendors selling the same stuff. It was a large show, and one that should have been held in air conditioned facilities, or during the cooler winter months.

Our "flakey" landscaper showed up in the morning to water down the pavers and to inform us that he wouldn't be working yesterday. He needed to pick up a check from us to buy some materials to complete the grass portion of the project and to finish the coating on the pavers and run some water lines to new plants. It is really going to be nice when it is all done. We are hoping that today is the final day for this project.

We had another episode with a scorpion yesterday afternoon. It seems that we are being treated every day to a visit by these creatures. All of our neighbors also have the problem which is a huge mystery. There are no mountains or foothills around us which is a natural place for them to be. There are some agricultural areas which must be the explanation. All we know is that the number of episodes is beginning to wear us down. The one yesterday was discovered in our bathroom near the closet door. Most of the ones in the house have been in our bedroom and bathroom area. At any rate, we have decided to "freeze" any more improvements to the house until we get our arms around this scorpion problem...

Nearing Completion

We made some strides yesterday toward completion of the backyard project. It has been a real experience working with this landscaper and I will be happy when it is all done. It becomes more obvious every day that he is new at handling these projects, but he has to begin somewhere. He is a very hard worker and is gaining the experience, but I have to watch every step he makes. Here is a  shot of the extended patio area that is nearly complete:

 The grass area at the other end of the pool will also be completed today following the completion of the patio. I'll have shots of the entire project - probably tomorrow. In addition to the hard-scape that is being done, we made some changes in the plants and the water lines have to be installed for those changes when everything else is done.

Along with standing watch over the backyard project, we have football on TV today to occupy our time. Josie isn't crazy about the football, but she is also anxious to get the back finished so that we can finally spread out our furniture and enjoy the outside.

There were no new sightings of scorpions yesterday...

Stirring the Nest

I neglected to mention that the other day, while the landscaper was picking up the pavers that we brought from Lake Peasant, he saw 4 scorpions under the bottom pavers. The treatment we had obviously didn't include the underside of the stacks of pavers, so it was not unexpected. What was unexpected was the one that I discovered on our ceiling by the back door yesterday:

It wasn't more than three feet from the doorway and I have no idea how it ended up where it did. I sprayed it with the scorpion liquid we bought at Lowe's and it dropped to the floor - dead. I'm sure that the activity outside has probably resulted in the scorpions that are remaining to move around and find new homes. We are sick of scorpions.

The work is progressing in the back yard and there is one small problem that was discovered. The new pavers I bought to make up the difference in what we had versus what we needed to finish the job are a different shade. They are the identical pavers except the ones we brought from Lake Pleasant are sun bleached from sitting outside for the last two years baking in the sun. The new ones will eventually fade to the same color, but in the meantime, it looks strange having the two shades of pavers. This is the status of the project:

I will get some shots of the total project when it is completed which will be either today or tomorrow - hopefully. The landscaper comes and goes on his own schedule, so I never know when to expect him. He needs to bring in another two tons of sand and I already bought some extra grass for him to use. The end is in sight...

Landscaper Experience

The landscaper we hired to perform the improvements in our back yard is a piece of work. He was part of the crew that we have used to get our plants and trees in shape after we moved into the house and he "broke-away" to start his own business. He gave us a terrific deal for the work, and, as is true with most terrific deals, there are hidden concerns. The main one is that he is not dependable and we don't know when to expect him to show up to work. So far, every day that he has worked he has missed the target start time by hours. He is Mexican and is obviously struggling to survive in the U.S. Without getting into a lot of detail, he has not done the highest quality of work. I already had to have him tear out the pavers and start over as they were no-where near level. I'm sure that eventually the work will be completed as desired. He doesn't get paid until it does. My understanding is that he will have another person helping him today, so maybe we will see some real positive progress. He is a hard worker, but not the highest quality.

It appears that, finally, we are out of the 100+ degree days. Yesterday was 107, and the high today is only suppose to reach 98. We'll see.

Next up on the schedule is Halloween and we are taking out all of the decorations that have been in storage for the last 7 years and putting them around. Then, we will do the same for Thanksgiving and then Christmas. I am beginning to miss the simple life we had while traveling...

September Burns Out

September didn't end with any clear sign that Fall was here. It went to 108 here in Glendale yesterday and it was not a "refreshing" day. I believe there is one more 100+ day in the forecast - today - before we finally say goodbye to summer.

Our landscaper was busy digging out and moving plants in that heat and good progress was made in our backyard. We expect to have the sand spread today for the pavers and the (artificial) grass and he may even wrap up the changes today. With all of the work done in the yard yesterday, he stirred up a scorpion that somehow ended up in the bottom of our pool:

We aren't sure how it ended up there, but it was most likely in the rocks around the pool before the landscaper disturbed him. Anyway, it is one less we have to worry about. The good thing is that we haven't seen one live scorpion since the treatment was done.

It looks like I will need to buy 70 more pavers in order for the landscaper to finish the job in our yard. Lowe's has those in stock, so I will pick those up this morning. Once the yard is finished, we will be done with any improvements and/or upgrades. Then, we should be ready to put the house on the market - Ha ha...