Life of Wry

Which is to say, little by little the yards are coming along. Yesterday the irrigation crew dropped in and completed the front yard drip system. My remaining to-do list is feeling attainable, and I’m allowing myself to imagine that the great screened in porch project (*) is coming to a close.

Here are a few shots of that front yard irrigation checked box:

There are more, but you get the idea.

(*) What started as a lark about screening in the porch for maximum bring the outside-in enjoyment, morphed to strategizing a way to move the piano safely into such a space (wow, a less crowded living room!), which required that potentially new space to be “conditioned,” thus having real walls and windows, which begged the question, “if we’re extending the living room 12′, why not the entire west side, which would give us space for a utility/pantry off the kitchen and expanded space for a garage workshop,” thus necessitating a new (very complicated) roofing design, and if a new extended roofline in back, why not a whole new roof for the entire house (it’s time) and therefore a good time to replace the solar panels…. which all lead to a new back yard (since we stole 12′ along the entire property line), so why not a whole new front yard while we’re landscaping… and new siding for most of the house, as long as we’re improving things, and a whole new paint job, and hell, let’s replace the entire west fence, since the neighbors to the north had replaced the north fence, and while we’re at it, let’s build a new deck, stain all the fences to match and about a billion details, design decisions and a gag-worthy wad of dollars later… voila!

Did I leave anything out? We gained things we had no expectation of ever having.. Jim’s insane new workshop and storage annex that he’s reluctant to be away from (like, ever), attic space galore, new furniture to fill the spaces (including that charming custom tile coffee table), a nice guest & media room (sorry honey, it happens to every kid who dares to leave home), a laundry & project room to die for (yes, really), multiple spaces in the back yard to hang out in, and raised beds to garden. I mean..

I’m not sure whether or not to count the bathroom remodel that took place a year before (with soaking tub and wi-fi-enabled shower head). But sure, go ahead and add that, why not.

All because we thought… hey.. how about a screened in porch?

I hope we are both alive for at least three more decades in order to enjoy all this. So far, we sure are.