Back Yard: Phase 1

Album | Slideshow

When we built the garage two years ago, the schedule got very tight and I was grading and preparing the base for the garage the day before the concrete was poured. I had no time to figure out how to get rid of the dirt I removed for the garage foundation and slab. So I had to pile the dirt in the section of the yard between the house and the garage and the dirt pile (approximately 14 yards - about 20'x10'x4') has been sitting there ever since. Audrey and Charlotte have enjoyed it greatly, but it was a major obstacle between us and a "finished" back yard.

This week the stars finally aligned and Frank and Tricia were able to bring up Frank's tractor with front loader and grading blade. I prepared by demolishing the concrete terraces on the patio (probably built 50 years ago, and very ugly) and moving various stuff that would be in Frank's way.

Another piece that fell into place was that Frank learned that one can rent a "small" dumptruck without a commercial driver's license. I called United Rentals and we were in business.

So Tuesday morning I loaded about two yards of broken concrete by hand and took it to a local concrete recycling facility (they grind it up and use it again as aggregate). Then Frank arrived and the real dirt moving started. It's fairly difficult to find people who want fill dirt in the city of Seattle. Many people want to get rid of dirt. But I found one guy on the other end of town who would take two loads (the truck holds 5 yards). That barely put a dent in the pile and the dirt generated by grading the yard, so I scrambled and found another guy very near our house who took two more loads. Yet another load was all sod, which I had to pay to dispose of at a topsoil company (they compost it and mix it into topsoil).

After all that (and at 8:30pm) we still had a pretty good pile to get rid of. We loaded up the truck and Frank's dump trailer and headed to their house in Puyallup where we dumped the material in their horse pasture. Frank will spread it around later. I got home at 10:20pm, but we had made huge progress. None of us can believe that we removed approximately 35 yards of material.

Carol and I had no plans for this weekend so we dedicated the whole weekend (and the next several weekends) to trying to get the back yard done in one big push. We've been thinking about this project for two years, so we have pretty clear ideas what we want to do.

Yesterday wasn't the most auspicious day to begin. We've had colder than average weather for all of 2008 except for two weeks in February, but suddenly Friday and Saturday we had a heat wave. Saturday it was 90 degrees. Our thermometer, which is in a spot that gets heated by the house, read 108 in the afternoon. But we toiled away digging out the weeds and sod along the edges of the yard where Frank couldn't reach with his scoop. After two fulls days of work we achieved our initial goal: getting rid of everything green except the lilac bush and the birch tree (everything else was weeds or overgrown grass).

Today we staked out the flower beds along the house and garage and the raised beds for vegetables in the north part of the yard (former home of the dirt pile). We still need to stake out the play area, which will get a bunch of bark for a soft landing zone. We will install a play structure with at least swings, plus a playhouse, in that area. The main part of the yard will get new sod. Finally, a fence to close off the back yard from the alley will allow Carol to let the kids play in the yard without worrying about the occasional speeding driver in the alley.

I think if we keep at it (and we don't run out of money) we might be able to finish by mid-June. Stay tuned for updates.

Mid-May Miscellany

Album | Slideshow

My last post was about the tulip festival. It's only been a month, but that seems like ages ago!

Not long after that post it was time for me to start studying for the final for my Spring semester course. I thought I had received a B in my second course (I got an A in the first one), but discovered that I had actually received an A. Therefore I was extra motivated to get another A so I could complete the three-course certificate (in Bioinformatics) with perfect grades. I studied pretty hard for the final, but alas I only earned a B. Some of the final exam questions really surprised me. I'm continuing in the program: four more courses and I'll earn a Master's degree.

The first Friday in May was the annual fund raising auction for the Phinney Neighborhood Center where the girls go to co-op preschool. Carol donated a hand-painted foot stool. This time her theme was "ABC's" with those letters painted in large print and apples, bees and cookies as representative words and pictures. It came out great. I'm always in awe of Carol's artistic talent.

My parents made a brief appearance in Seattle at the end of April. They came home from their winter hangout in Palm Desert, CA, but only for three days before jetting off to a Mediterranean cruise. They get back this week. We squeezed in a whole-family dinner together while they were in town. The girls are anticipating their visits to the Greenlake wading pool and playground with Grandma and Grandpa.

On May 3 Carol and I took Audrey to Busytown at the Seattle Children's Theater. It was Audrey's and my first time there. Busytown is based on Richard Scarry's wonderful book "What Do People Do All Day?" It is one of Audrey's all-time favorite books and we have read from it a million times at bedtime. The production was really good and we all enjoyed it. Most of the productions at SCT are for kids older than ours, but we look forward to seeing more performances there in the years to come.

Carol's parents returned home from their winter haunts (Tucson, AZ) during the first week of May. We drove over to see them on May 9, spending the weekend. Their return tends to coincide with a 100-mile bike ride I like to do called the Inland Empire Century. This year I rode it with my friend Jason. We both prepared for the tire-puncturing tackweed with tire liners and, in my case, "slime" tubes, and it paid off. Jason got one flat due to thorns and I got none. It was a perfect day and I felt very strong all the way through the ride.

The girls were very happy to see all of their grandparents. All the way to Richland Charlotte was saying "Grandma's home!" and of course Audrey was asking, "Are we there yet?" And they were very sad to leave on Sunday when it was time to come home. Carol plans to go back over for five days as soon as the girls' preschool finishes in mid-June. The girls have a wonderful time there frolicking in the yard and playing the two pianos.

Audrey and Charlotte have also been enjoying time with their aunts (my sisters). Elizabeth babysits for us almost every weekend and Carol and I get out for a date. It's special for the girls because they get to stay up late and they really look forward to seeing her. Also, a few weeks ago Tricia and Frank took both girls overnight on a Thursday. Tricia had a full schedule of activities planned: pedicures with fancy polish jobs, make-your-own pizza at a restaurant near their house, ride on the Frank's tractor, playing in the hayloft in their horse barn and helping Tricia cook. They also got to "camp" in the living room. Since Tricia collected the girls in the morning Thursday and brought them home in the evening on Friday Carol had two full days off. She was in heaven. Tricia and Frank got to enjoy being awakened at 6:00am instead of us.

When I started writing, I thought the start on the back yard was the big news and I didn't have much to say about general family happenings. I was wrong!