Thursday, May 24, 2007

It's Done..........And It's Good!

Hot off the presses folks.........the official photos. Yes, it's true, our deck is finally (not said lightly) DONE. And here are the pictures to prove it..............
THE BEFORE.........
.........AND AFTER..........

I can hardly believe it myself to be honest. Not just that we finished, but that we finished so well. *ALERT-VERY GIRLY MOMENT AHEAD* It really almost brings tears to my eyes when I think of not only where this house was a year ago, but where I was. I am so amazingly grateful for my life and all of the wonderful people in it both new and old. Our God is good!


Okay, enough blubbering, please allow me to take you on a tour of our improved back yard, where I will highlight some of the great features!


Here we have our bamboo wind chime, that we found on sale at Canadian Tire for 40% off.
This is probably my favourite part........we got this awesome little fountain at Superstore for less than $200. Since Trev and I share a backyard fence with another townhouse complex full of screaming children, it really helps to tune the noise out, and it's so cute! This chimeroo (my own personal name for it) comes as a gift from Mum and Dad Mac and we are ever so grateful. The stones it is sitting on were actually recycled! We found them buried under all the pea gravel while we were in our digging stage and it was Trev's great idea to use them here and they work awesome.
This patio umbrella candle holder also came to us from Canadian Tire at 50% off.........it casts just enough light after dark so that we don't need our motion sensor light on that tends to be a little blinding.Another Canadian Tire Special (again, 50% off) that is a patio umbrella chandelier of sorts. We are using citronella tea lights in both holders to ward off those pesky skeeters.Alrighty......onto the flora part of our tour. We spent a little more on plants than we had planned but 90% of the plants we bought are perennials so they will keep coming back.

Here's a longer shot of the garden area. I didn't get an up-close of my hosta but you can see them in the corners of the garden. It used to be one giant plant that we uprooted and cut in two, and saved ourselves 50 bucks!
This is an up close of my favourite plant we got. It's called an American Red Lantana and it is beautiful. On top of the fact that it blooms red, orange and yellow buds, it blooms year-round! We ended up getting two because I loved them so much. They are also supposed to attract butterflies!
This is one of the 6 hanging baskets we made with my dear mummy's help and guidance. We've got this one in the back and 5 more lining the carport out front. They are full of bright orange and yellow flowers.
We got this cool planter at Superstore for my Blue Girl rose bush. It sits quite nicely in the corner underneath the living room window. Can't wait for it to bloom!
And my Tiger Lily, Save-On-Foods special. Just a simple terracotta planter and we're on our way.
I'd also like to thank a few people who gave a helping hand in this project that deserve a mention. First and foremost, my dearest Dad who walked us through each step and was the visionary and engineer of sorts for the project. My mom, for putting up with me while we flower-shopped and sharing her joy of gardening with us; we will think of you every time we look at our garden. We'd like to also thank my brothers Kevin and Ryan for giving of their time to come over and dig a hole; we love you both so much and you make us so proud! Trev's parents, for all the items that decorate our deck and make it beautiful that came from you, thank you and we love you. Also, our good friends: Tim, Nathan, Bodie, and Kevin, for coming over in the rain and dark and helping us track dirt back and forth, we own you a BBQ!
So there you have it, our deck saga is complete and we are ready to enjoy. As a matter of fact, I've brought the laptop outside and I'm sitting in one our comfy chairs as I type, listening to the gentle sound of water trickling. We've also already had Dan and Becca, Dustin, Chelsey and Sydney, and Kurtis and Natalie over to entertain in the past 2 days. We BBQ'd chicken for Kurtis and Natalie last night and it tasted that much better!
I don't know yet what is next for this house but one thing I can say is that it feels a even more like home now.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Blessings to both of you on a job well done for sure! It looks wonderful.....I love the candellier...I'm going to check out CT over here for it. Your garden looks amazing! (I remember the weed jungle of last year:) We will have to come over and see it real soon....luv you!

Anonymous said...

Way to go guys. It looks fantastic! Very impressed. Christy, you have done such a nice job with the decor,,,very homey, you little "nester". Trev (the constructor) a job well done. Accolades to all your help. You better treat them to nice BBQ, ON YOUR NEW BIG DECK!