Yesterday was a b-b-b-bear, ya’ll.
We headed down to Montebello to rent our stake truck.
Here’s what we were facing:
Get it done.
This is where the day got all National Geographic on us.
Eaten.
Sorry, lil’ guy.
We pick up every piece, put in the wheel barrow, dump it into the truck, and pick each piece up again at the recycling center and throw it.
Every piece.
Here’s the progress throughout the day:
at 0 wheel barrow loads in truck
at 10 wheel barrow loads in truck
at 20 wheel barrow loads in truck
at 30 wheel barrow loads in truck
at 41 wheel barrow loads in truck
Part 2 later…
We both got a weekday off! In 15 minutes we begin the day’s hauling!
Ya know, it sure seems like we can’t get away from this concrete stuff. On Monday, we celebrated our two year anniversary with some roller coasters at Six Flags, and just as we got in line for the first coaster of the day, we saw this:
Really? Stop following us. What gods must we appeal to? I will appeal to them.
Tomorrow I’ll have pics from today to post.
Just got this baby from a nice fella in Palmdale who had it listed on craigslist.
This’ll come in handy for many a home project down the road, but presently we’ll be using it for all of the table lamps that’ll be populating Little Orchard Home (our shop!) in July.
Here’s a lil’ peak at two of the lovelies that’ll be in our shop, Little Orchard Home, launching in July…
Left: Coffee Sack Throw Pillow. 100% jute burlap post-marketplace coffee sack upcycled into a throw pillow and trimmed in hemp braid and hemp cord. Triple washed, lined in cotton, and filled with duck feathers.
Right: Vintage Barkcloth Throw Pillow. Vintage barkcloth that once dressed the windows of a mid century home in the Hollywood Hills, crafted into a throw pillow for your warm modern home. Duck feather fill.
Stay tuned for more barkcloth beauties, reclaimed wood table lamps, and pendant lights.
Back in the earliest days of this blog I tossed around some ideas, turning this…
…into this:
Well, after getting a couple of quotes from stucco companies we found out that it’s a $20,000 job. Gulp. Also, the sandblasting to take off the old stuff would devastate the landscape – ours and our neighbors. Time for a new plan.
Fiber cement siding is a siding product made of Portland cement, ground sand, fibers and other additives. It is an installed siding, as opposed to an applied siding like stucco. It’s a green alternative due to its durability and is designed for easy installation by diy-ers.
Here’s the one that I love:
It’s Cedar Impressions made by Certainteed.
I’ll post our new idea for the front of our house later – it’s a biggie!
We’re extending the cinder block wall under this:
Any ideas on how to do so without cutting it all the way back? We’ve currently got it propped up some with a couple of 2x4s in a T. We’re extending the wall to 10 feet high.
Yes, I know that it’ll grow back, but it really gives the whole place so much life and color, I’d hate to lose it even for a year.
Help please!
We’re not far away from being able to plant something, so I figured we better start figuring out how to do this stuff. Before moving to Los Angeles we had put in a decade and change in New York City and we both grew up in cities (he, Detroit; me, Waterbury, CT). Aside from eating the tomatoes my dad had planted, I have zero gardening experience. I had two cacti in New York, Elvis and Rufus, and Mom had to be called upon more than once to save their lil’ lives. Elvis left the building long ago. Yes, I am telling you that I couldn’t keep cacti alive.
We hit up Amazon and bought used copies of these:
So many folks had told us to pick these up, and by getting used copies (in excellent condition), we go green and save about $70. Win-win!
Now to get learnin’…
More scrap!
Don’t be fooled by those who’ll insist that the Metal Gods want to be worshiped with rock. No. They want actual metal.
We are in good with them.
Behold! A Metal God!
If you are good to the gods, the gods are good to you. They’re cool like that.
Armand’s birthday and the yard were both coming along, so I got him two trees – a cherry tree to remind him of Michigan and a blood orange tree; his favorite citrus fruit.
Lookie here:
Where Fenway was very curious…
… Buddy got a case of the willies.
The cherry is going in the Upper Yard and the blood orange will go in the Lower Garden and Orchard. The LOH is finally earning its name!
Time to get these babies in the ground!
Remember bushwhackin’? Remember the 99 bottles of beer?
Well, it’s time to turn in the beverage haul from the Lower Garden and Orchard. I promise – I will have something beautiful to show you soon, but for now the trash parade marches on to the recycling center.
Check it:
To be fair, we drank the Simpler Times. We needed it. We can get another 6 pack and a half with this:
When I was a kid, my brother and I collected enough cans to pay for a trip to Disney. I’m kind of in awe of us. Nothing could get between us and a dream.
Cheers!
.