Hardwood floors are cool! (Literally!)

Welcome to Daylight Savings time, and for those of us who like getting off work before dark, the reminder that Winter is just around the corner.
So the rains have indeed come, and still no gravel in the driveway. Sigh. No matter. At least I don't worry about dirt getting caught in the carpet.With all this hardwood the dirt can't hide! But baby, It's cold! We must get some throw rugs and soon. Still trying to warm the house with the Franklin stove. Robin doesn't want to turn on the heater. At the rate I'm burning wood, we will run out of wood before the cold is done.

The Franklin will in fact warm up the living room, and some of the hall, maybe even eventually reaching the bedrooms. it does take hours of burning. Yesterday I burned all day, and the house was indeed toasty. But I haven't figured out how to stoke up the fire, close the door and have it heat thru the night. I know it can be done.I will not give up.I may have to call my Aunt in New Mexico, who hasn't used her furnace in years. She uses a pot bellied stove.
The garden is being invaded by gophers, and they are eating the squash from the root up I am not pleased. Ive been baiting them with Juicy Fruit gum. But I think there are too many families in the yard.I think im going to have to resort to Poison Peanuts. The gophers seem to only like the squash, so my broccoli, green beans and shell peas seem safe from them. (but I did find that snails like the broccoli!) That being said, the vegetables in the green house are doing wonderful! We have had Strawberries, and will have two different types of tomatoes, anaheim chilies, eggplant, lettuce, cucumbers and potatoes!

I've been watching that crazy grapevine popping up all over the part of the yard it had covered. Robin and I couldn't figure out how to control it until we went to a concert at a winery in Temecula,  and saw what they had done, and plan to copy it. Will write more on this later and will post pictures. Last but not least, Robin planted berries along the lower fence. We now have two Blackberries,  two Boysenberries, one Raspberry vine and a Blueberry bush!

Rome wasn't built in a day.

My apologies readers for taking so long to send this up. Alot has happened and I have been so very busy. When it comes to this house I have to remember that Rome wasn't built in a day and this house will take some time as well!

First, that old, crazy grapevine that has been the bane of me. A few weeks ago my husband had a team of landscapers come in to help around here. These gardeners, four of them, Worked very hard around here to try and get the back garden area under control. The first thing they tackled was the old vine. Out of the trees, out of the flower beds, off the grass it went. They were relentless in the way they went after it.
 The poor thing didn't have a chance.
These guys were in such a focused frenzy to rid the yard of the monster vine that they didnt stop until they had taken the trunk of that old vine that Mrs. Broadbent herself had planted all the way to the ground.
When I came home from work I was shocked at the devastation in my yard. what had been a crazy amount of greenery became a barren landscape.

Before gardners.....

And after.

I stood in the yard and wanted to cry. So much destruction. I never meant to have it ripped to the ground. just wanted control of the wild thing. As I wandered around in the yard that now seemed so large, (we gained alot of ground back.) I found something I had never seen before. A bright yellow grasshopper. He had been living in the grapevine and now was exposed.

So the old trunk of the vine is gone. but some young ones have now been uncovered in a couple of different places in the yard. So not dead completely, good. We will start fresh with the new growth and train them properly. All is not lost!
Our house warming party was a hugh success. Around 50 or so friends came to see the new place and wish us well. The yard looked great. Robin's crew showed up the Friday before the party and whipped the other yard into shape just in time. Thank you guys.
This week my very dearest and closest friend Gloria came down from South dakota to see the new place and spend time with her mama for her birthday. She took us the the nursery and told us to start picking out plants and trees for the house. The three of us had a wonderful time! i've been in the mood to plant things for about a week!
We came home with two different kinds of lime trees, four Bougainvillea, two pink, two dark red, a Night Blooming Jasmine, a Fragrant Snail vine, (smells amasing!) Some Eveing Primrose, a Hemp Plant and a hanging Fuchsia. A very big thank you to Gloria and her man Dennis! we love you!  I would also like to thank Elizabeth Durst for bring us a beautiful hammered brass tray and a poker table from her man Dave to my man Robin. Also to Bill the Reliable, who brought us a beautiful hallway table. We love you guys!
Im thinking that the next project needs to be to lay down the gravel in the driveway. Much dirt comes into the house on a regular basis.

Face your fears and dive right in!

So much to catch you up on intrepid readers! For starters, I found the main trunk of the old grape vine! I now thought I would Finally get a handle on all the crazyness! So I phoned my amasingly talented Father inlaw and told him. His answer was, "I'll be over at 4PM". When he got here I was already wacking away at the vine, feeling that controling it was soon going to be within my grasp. Old Mrs. Broadbent, the former owner of the house, had planted in right next to a fence,  My dad inlaw just started cliping away, with mom assisting him.  I was in high spirits, going along the fence and pulling and clipping that vine. Telling the old girl it was for the best. We worked on both sides of the fence, and I started to notice that some of the vines were REALLY large, and ran along the ground. I pointed this out to Bob, who proceeded to crush my high spirit to the ground. He told me that vines like the grape send out runners, sometimes underground, sometimes on top, and come up in other places...wait...NO! So my simple plan of cutting around the trunk and effectively killing all the vines taking over the yard wasnt going to be so simple after all!

That being said, we did make a dent in it, but its still very much a "work in progress". Little by little, im cutting that vine, but now im concentrating on freeing the trees from its choking embrace. The vine drapes across all the trees and shrubs, making in effect a living blanket of green! It covers everything in the yard . Well, half the yard. Im not really too worried about actually. I realized the other day that when Autumn arrives, the vine will naturally die back. Then we can start training it come spring!  Grapes will be produced! I should learn how to make wine!

The old Philco stove, built in 1952, has moved outside to be cleaned. The many cats the former tenate had owned made use of the old stove, and not in a kindly manner! Every part that Robin could get off the stove he power washed! It took Robin, Stephanie and I working together to get it outside. Its almost ready to move back in the house. All that will be left is running it and testing the oven and coils for heat accuracy.

We worked in the yard for most of the day Saturday, and I found the first rip fig that big tree produced! Delishious! Reminded me of my grandmother! We also had our first official bonfire last night. I think the neighbors might have been a little surpirsed. They arent use to seeing so much activity at the old place! That bonfire was my way of saying  "Were here to stay!"

Dog Days of Summer and the ant invasion.

I don't know if we're in the "Dog Days" yet, but this week sure seems to be close! Its hot outside, and hotter in the warehouse!
 Everywhere I look this past week I seem to be finding ants, lots and lots of ants. Robin doesn't want us to use pesticides, but I am thinking maybe we will at first to get a handle on the motley crew!
 Sad news, I had Robin remove some of the green house panels to let some heat out the other day. So he lowered about 3-4 of them. apparently a Hummingbird flew into the green house and couldn't find his way out. Stephanie and Robin found him yesterday. He was blue and green, really beautiful. I felt so bad! But, on a lighter note, today I worked in the yard alittle bit and discovered a small peach tree! so covered with that crazy grape vine that most of it's branches were lowered to the ground! I began to pull the vine out of it, being careful not to rip the small branches of the tree as well. As I pulled the vine away, I also uncovered a small blue chair that was completely covered with the vine!

I am really jazzed about both the peach tree, (its the second peach tree I found now) and the blue chair! The little guy was trying hard to produce peaches; I pulled them off so it would concentrate on surviving. It looked sickly from the vine hanging all over it. I also deep watered it. I cant wait to look at it tomorrow. I hope its better.
So the yard and the house are changing every day. Robin has been working almost every day in the yard, and Stephanie and I inside. Garrett wherever he's needed.
We noticed that the neighbors have been watching all the changes going on. They have finally started stopping by to met us and talk about the old place. I'm really glad to be here.

A picture paints a thousand words.

Friday night I sat in the old house; my feet stretched out in front of me and my hands in my lap. I was sinking into the feeling of despair and being overwhelmed. So Much to do and so little time! I did the only sane thing a girl does at a time like this. I called some of my girlfriends.  who made me feel so much better that I want to name them first in this blog dear readers. I want to say a very big Thank You Elizabeth Durst and Lolly Frykenberg! You two amazing ladies rock! Also a very big Thank You to Dave Patterson, Jason Gladney, Todd Dejarnatt and Bill, (the reliable!) Without all of you the move would not have happened!

Saturday was sheer craziness! Lots of people moving things and us ladies cleaning everything we could get our hands on. Lolly brought wine and we drank and sang and laughed and Cleaned! Stephanie came later and helped Lolly in the kitchen. On a side note, my daughter Stephanie and my son Robert have been a tremendous help to Robin and I with both houses! Good job guys!
Finally we stopped for the night. Then woke to a Hugh thunderstorm on Sunday! I cant remember it raining this late in July Ever! It pretty much rained all day. And the humidity was unbearable! the rain sure made the orange groves smell great though! Now, most of everything is out of the other house. not all yet, but most. I'm trying to figure out where everything should go.
Planning on a House Warming Party at the end of the month, so I must stay focused!

The Faster I go; The Behinder I get.

Been working on the house after work two days now. Its getting cleaner but I dare say I had no idea how dirty that house was!

Yesterday I found footprints on the front porch, The former tenant was there so I showed him and he said it was a large raccoon that lives somewhere near by. The paw print was about 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide! Mentioning the former tenant reminds me. I decided that he NEVER opened a window! Many have been sealed shut with paint, or are just badly stuck. I believe he ran the A/C all the time. My husband and I are working hard to get them open. There is such a wonderful breeze that blows through the area. Some we have been able to open only to find many inhabited with spiders and such. Lots of spiders in the old house. I'm busy chasing them all outside.
Creepy looking picture, huh? This is the dead vine that the crazy grape vine is using to reach the windows! Yesterday I went into a bedroom to find that the grape vine had pried open a window screen and is trying to come into the house! Of course Robin had gotten that window open and there was that silly vine!

Good Things Come to those who Wait.

First, let me address an issue with my last, (actually first) blog. It seems in my enthusiasm I left off the "L" in the word gravel. So it appears we will be driving on a "Grave" in the driveway. My apologies dear readers, and a big Thank You to Chuck who gently pointed it out to me...repeatedly!

So the report I'm receiving is that the old  house is finally empty! Yeah! Stephanie is going over there to sweep and mop the rooms, my son and one of his buddies  have been moving things all day into the basement and slowly our garage is emptying! I think they call this crunch time!

So here's a view of the side yard which is very large. You can see the addition of the 4th bedroom on the roof.  Being able to go out and sit on the roof  is really pretty cool! The dark bumped out section is a green house they built as an attachment to the main house.  I'm standing beside a fence that divides the yard. The garden beds and fruit trees are behind this fence. (Including that wild grape vine!) There is a lot that we would like to do with the yard I'm standing in. All in due time of course! Included on the list would be an outdoor kitchen, fire pit, large spa and a Koi pond. (I just might start digging that pond right away!) Behind the fence is more like a farm, what with all the fruit trees and garden beds. I might have to get Growcology's help on this one! www.growcology.com
That's all for now. I can't wait to get back inside the house tomorrow after work!