 |
Nephew visit: It has been over 10 years since we last saw him, his wife and older daughter. At that time they lived in Kenya and live in Taiwan now. We haven’t met his younger daughter and only he made the trip this time. It was great to catch up in person and he got to meet our son’s family for the first time.
Home Improvement Projects: We are near the finish line with our yard project. This week lots of plants were put in the ground including the beautiful silver sheen in the corner. Our son and DIL gave it to us as it was already too large for their yard.
We still need to select and purchase the smaller plants and get them in the ground. Then the drip irrigation will be set up and bark mulch put down.
The yard is looking great and the pup is enjoying it both for running and sniffing. It is mostly an adult space, but future owners could easily convert some areas into play spaces by replacing gravel with real or artificial grass.
We bought 3 of the benches in the top photo which are very comfortable. We will be getting a small black metal patio table back from our son and have some chairs and a patio umbrella. Also an outdoor rug that was left with the house. We ordered hoses for the front and back even though the plants will be on drip irrigation as there will still be uses for them.
The railings for the old concrete patio stairs still need to be selected and installed. We are holding off on repainting the old patio until we see what it is like during the rainy season this winter after pressure washing.
We have been diligent about returning any items we don’t use for the yard project within the return window, giving things away and patiently putting trash and green waste out each week to minimize our dump hauling cost. The dump haul won’t happen until we are sure no more waste will be generated by the project and we hope to share a load with a neighbor.
Taking care of our stuff: I washed and put back together the dog’s favorite bed which will probably last another 6 months or so as he digs at it trying to bury his favorite toy and that is destroying the foam inside. It was a gift from former neighbors after their cat rejected it. We will look for a similar bed once it falls apart as he likes it so much.
Discretionary expenses: I replaced our king size down comforter by purchasing one from The Company Store during their 30% off sale so the cost was $300. The king size one we have had for 6 years doesn’t have fill in some areas anymore as it seems to have migrated! Made for not so cozy nights. We really like the queen size one we purchased from The Company Store so I called and made sure I was buying the same weight. They were able to look it up even after 3 years.
Food, household, toiletries & alcohol purchases: Very happy with our total three quarters of the way through the month. We did go out for pizza one night with our son and the baby which was a nice break and our treat but is a separate part of our budget. We also had dinner at our son’s house the night our nephew visited which was our son’s treat.
October week 3: $127.38 & Month to date: $437.06 vs $948 for all of September with one more week to go.
How fun that your nephew visited you, it had been a long time since you last saw him. Your patio is looking good, it was fun for me to design my front patio and selecting plants is a treat.
ReplyDeleteI just bet that it was great to catch up with your nephew after so long. The yard is looking just lovely.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
You have come so far on that back yard. What a special space. Hope you can enjoy it all year long. I am happiest in my home, and in my back yard. My own bit of paradise.
ReplyDeleteHow nice to have caught up with your nephew. And for he and your son to see each other, too. I don't get to see my nephews and niece often enough but I am thankful for Facebook and IG contact.
I was our kitty beds routinely. Notice one of the little $3 soft blankies I bought to cover the beds has holes in it. It will probably get her through winter and then we will need to find a new one. I think it is really a baby throw in the softest fabric.
When I went to the commissary for groceries a week or so ago, I noticed the packaging of everything was smaller and the prices were the same or higher. I imagine the fixings for Thanksgiving will be really expensive this year. Hope we see economic relief in the near future.
You have accomplished so much! The yard looks fantastic and like it will be a very pleasant place to spend time for all of you.
ReplyDeleteRudy digs at his bed some too. I keep threatening to cover the pad with sandpaper so he can at least be filing his own nails while he's at it. :)