Long distance renovations...

My brand-new "Little House on the Edge of the Woods"....

Pickin' WEEDS... not flowers! And all that mint on the left? I'll bet it smells just awesome!!

Don't know if you can quite see it, but that's a pond down on the left...


Looking back up, towards the house...



Not sure what was goin' on here... but we'll git 'er done!


The garage door that is going to be converted to a powered lift up door, leaving this side as a garage... and the other side will have a window put in... because it'll be turned into either a living room or master bedroom.


Future home of the infamous "killer swing"! HA! And Donovan there? Well, he will work for just pizza and beer... how cool is that? Becky will just do it for love...

Can you see the goldfish and koi? Me either, but give it 2 months!
Or maybe in the light of sustainability and growing my own, we should put crawdads in there! lol!!

The field fence will be pulled out, and good ol' white picket will be put in...



Yep, all the flowers are there, none were picked, plucked, or stolen. All accounted for.

He's done a pretty good start all around, with the landscaping! And can't you just see that porch rail all repaired and purty-fied?

It's going to be sad to see the Bay Window go, but it's not as nice as it looks in the photos.
I'm hoping we can either find another greenhouse window like it or a slightly larger Bay window - white, and double paned.


First pond back near the top of pic in the center behind the brush. A lot of promising rock work started... and more that's still buried under years of growth.



End of uncovered path, with another one through that sea of green somewhere.


Part of the reason why this place was listed as a diamond in the rough...


My son said : "Mom, we'll get these cleaned out and probably seal both ponds with a pool type material that can be sprayed, once we trench in a drain. This one has a cascading waterfall that will pump the water back into it shown in the back there under the blackberries."


It's gonna look real nice once we get the irrigation goin', to keep it nice and green.


The background is pretty much solid vinca minor, ivy, and ferns.

And probably some mountain misery, with poison oak thrown in for good measure.

He plans on a stone veneer beneath the fiber cement board siding to cover the ugly footings.

Josh said : This was the shallowest septic I've ever dug but the good news is it's all good!


This is about the property line in the back corner of the little section that needs the siding.... which will come once all the windows are done.
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Oh wow...I'm really loving this "long-distance renovations" thing!

My son got in touch with me last week and asked about installing a couple of security cameras down at my new house, so that he (well, we, because I want to see too!) could keep an eye on the place. And I agreed...
We'll go in halves - with me supplying the materials, and him supplying the free labor... and if that isn't a good deal, I don't know what is!

There will be cameras front and back; basically so that they can watch out for break-ins or those damn squatters coming back. But the beauty is, that not only does he get to keep a watch on things when he's at work or at relaxing at home, but I can see it too. (it's accessible by anyone with the password)

I can watch him working on the house, I can watch the wildlife (which also includes the grandsons ;) wandering around, and I can see - and hear - everything that goes on. I can even get on the mike and say "son, is that your second glass of iced tea in 20 minutes? Get back to work... NOW!"
Now really... I ask you - how cool is that?

Josh has been busy as a bee, sourcing materials and supplies, and I can't believe at how fast it's all coming together! I even got a message asking me if I want a dishwasher installed, and pumps put in for the two fish ponds, because he's got an electrican friend in to check what needs to be done wiring-wise.

He's already found me several appliances, (burnished steel) but at this point we just have a white side by side fridge with water and ice-maker.... Handy for those glasses of iced tea on the porch... Know what I'm talkin' about?

And the cost for the electricals and the electrician friend? We're gonna trade for his labor costs, with some extra chicken wire that my son has laying around the place.
The good ol' "barter system" is alive and well!

I am just thrilled to pieces with this place... and although I know it's not everyone's cuppa tea, I can see the potential just sitting there staring us in the face... and I believe it's going to be a wonderful project.

Oh... and the neighbors are wonderful!!! lol!