Ready for the rain

"For the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock." Matthew 7:25
Boy, did it rain! But, we got the area filled and leveled before the rains hit!! As you can see, everything leveled out quite nicely. In this case, I was thrilled to have two days of rain.

This photo shows the patio as we come down the driveway. We've added solar lights along the walls that don't serve as steps. Eric now calls the patio the runway because there are four rows of lights running parallel to each other. It's much more noticeable from the front door.

Next thing on the agenda is to get the soil ready for grass! Finally!! After living here for over a year, we're going to have grass in our front yard!!!

A major milestone

"So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days." Nehemiah 6:15
Wall? No - patio. Elul 25th? Close - July 21st. Fifty-two days? HA! Not quite - I'll let you calculate!

But...the largest part is done!! It's finished!! Woo hoo!! This day was a long time coming. I know the entire patio is not finished, but the most difficult and labor-intensive section is complete!!!!! And all joints and muscles are still functioning quite nicely. :)

Here's the view from our front door. Quite a lovely sight!

Giants of Flagstonia

Another Friday and that means Show & Tell. When you were in school, don't you remember how excited you got when that day rolled around? Kelli has restored this timeless pleasure - check out everyone else's Show & Tell.

"(For only Og King of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bedstead was an iron bedstead; it is in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits [13 1/2'] and its width four cubits [6'] by ordinary cubit.)" Deuteronomy 3:11
Look at the size of these stones! Not quite as large as Og's bed; but giant, nonetheless!! No wonder it we only got half way the other day.

I'm 5'6" and both of these guys are taller than me and 90% of the rocks are taller than them!! If it wasn't for that tractor, who knows how we'd get those rocks moved into place. You should hear the grunts and groans when the rocks need to be lifted for leveling! Each lift takes a moment of mental preparation - for the guys. Of course, I can't help. Who would take the pictures?

(Just kidding - I think Eric would wring my neck if I didn't help.)

Hitting the half-way point!

"So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work." Nehemiah 4:6

Paula's paraphrase:
So we built the patio and the largest patio area was joined together to half its design, for the people had a mind to work.

Here's a shot of a hard day's work. If you look closely, you can see the drains which I've already posted. Now turn around and look the other way.

Yes! More gravel and more sand!! Apparently we did not order enough. Actually, we did order enough for the initial lay-out. But you know how it goes. You get started and realize, "Hey, if we did it this way, it would look so much better." Ideas are spilling out left and right and before you know it, you've run out of supplies. But one thing I know - when it's all said and done, you'll know it's a patio! That's for sure!!

Listening to the rain

"Now with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God...onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony, and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones, and alabaster in abundance." I Chronicles 29:2
It's raining here in the NW. Imagine that! But what a great opportunity to show you the beautiful rocks we find in the dirt. When everything is wet, the true colors really come through. This is one of the drains we put in the patio. If you look closely, you can see water dripping off the end of the rain chain.

It took me nine months to realize this, but God still shows Himself in the rain. Sound funny? Let me explain. When we lived in KS, we got rain once in awhile. The thunder storms were incredible, to say the least. In fact, thunder storms are my all-time favorite weather phenomenon. To see the awesome, controlled, deliberate power of our Lord would certainly make me appreciate His grace and mercy.

Thunder storms have a beginning, a middle, and an end - just like watching a play performance. The rain in the NW has a hard time figuring out which act we're in. It seems to be perpetually caught in the first act. There is never any climax. Occasionally, I will hear bits of thunder and get all excited that we're moving on to the second act. Then I realize it was just an airplane! So, I settle back into my seat prepared for a long performance.

Since being in the NW, I have come to realize a longer play is OK. An anti-climactic play is OK, too. Not preferred, but OK. God still shows Himself from the treasures found in the dirt to the numerous bird calls to the long-lasting blooms that seem to be frozen in time.

Back to Work

"And the rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights." Genesis 7:12

We're not anticipating that kind of rain. However, we are getting the drains ready on the patio.


Breaking the stones allowed us to have smaller pieces which worked perfectly for the small areas around the drainage grates.

I wanted something to hide the grates without obstructing the flow of water coming off the rain chains. Since we have a never-ending supply, small rocks found in the dirt became the obvious choice. Works pretty good! I really enjoying seeing the contrast between the large flat stones and the small round rocks.

Decorating the front step

"Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity; and clothe yourself with honor and majesty." Job 40:10

We haven't had closure on a project since finishing the raised bed. It was time for closure again.

Hence, decorating the newly finished front steps.

Rather than sand, we chose ground cover to fill the gaps. Sand was too messy.

We decided to fill the space on the front porch with a large pot.




My neighbor suggested using a ground cover called wooley thyme (aka: elfin thyme). In her yard it grows in the sun, in the shade, in the dirt, and in their gravel driveway. It seems to be virtually indestructible! Eventually, it will grow together and fill all the gaps. At one inch high, it lets off an oregano aroma when crushed. The little purple flowers are so cute!

[Correction 1/12/08: Wooley thyme & elfin thyme are not the same, but we did plant both between the rocks.]

This planter was fun to fill. Draping down the front is Myrtle - Bowles variety. On either side of it is Coral Bells - Caramel on the right and Color Dream on the left. Way in the back is Liriope - Marc Anthony. But the crowning jewel is the Cypress - Cyano-viridis. I loved this tree from the get-go. It's one of those plants you just have to touch. It's so soft and just beckons to be scrunched!

OK. Now on to the other and definitely larger part of the patio. But that can wait until tomorrow!

Up from the ruins

"They in turn gave it [money] to the carpenters and to the builders to buy quarried stone and timber for couplings and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had let go to ruin."
2 Chronicles 34:11

We're not exactly repairing ruins, but we are converting an over-grown yard to a front patio.

With the front step finished, it's time to work on the middle step. See this post to figure out what I'm talking about.

With the help of our trusty orange steed, we had no trouble moving the rocks from the pallets to the patio.

Making the stones fit was another matter. As you can see, Eric had to try several different maneuvers before getting it just right. Those stones can be quite stubborn when it comes to cutting them.

Since the span was only 6', a 2x4 worked great for leveling the stones.


I'd say this day is done!

And a good day's work it was, too!!

We're starting to dream!

"And they said to one another, 'Here comes this dreamer!'"
Genesis 37:19
Yes, we're finally able to move on from clearing the land to developing the land. First things first, though: patio leading to the front door. But where do we put the excavated dirt? Of course - in a raised bed for vegetables! But what materials will we use to build the raised bed? Of course - landscaping timbers!

We ordered the materials: 2 bags of sand, 3 pallets of flagstone, 1 pile of quarter minus gravel, and 7 units of landscaping timbers. Yes, 7 units of landscaping timbers. Half a semi. 420 pieces. Why, you ask, do we need 420 pieces of landscaping timbers? Simple. Not only are we building several raised beds, but we plan to use the timbers for terrace walls, as well. (You only see 4 units in this pictures.)

It really doesn't matter that we ordered the materials first because the patio is relatively small and won't take that long. Right?

And another thing. Some of those rocks are pretty large - taller than me. How are we going to handle those without breaking each one? Of course - the new tractor!