Outdoor Living in Texas

I started this blog at the urging of a friend and because I thought I had a lot to say.  Judging from the frequency of my updates I didn't have as much to say as I thought.  I guess I have just been too busy living the good retired life. 

Spring comes early to Texas.  It is mid April and has been in the eighties and nineties for a few weeks.  And the weather reports refer to that as being "warm".  My Northeast friends will laugh at that!  We have been busy since November with our big pool remodel.  After 20 years and one poor re-plastering job it was looking pretty bad as you can see below.  And I hated the pebble deck finish since it made my feet itch.

We drained the pool and spa, had them re-plastered and re-tiled, and did a spray concrete overlay on the entire decking.  We also had a slab poured for an outdoor room.  Here is what it looked like in progress.

The finished product is like having a whole new backyard!  We've all enjoyed the new pool and spa already, but this time of year the spa is still the way to go.  We got in the pool this week but the water was only 74 and that is really cold to us now that we are used to heat. 

Except for the shingles on the outdoor room and one day of help from James and Grant, Rich constructed the whole thing by himself.  It was hard to watch him on the high ladders and see the pulley he rigged to get the plywood and beadboard onto the roof.  Not sure how he managed but was thankful he decided not to do the shingles.  Ten minutes into the job while we were having lunch we heard a "rolling" sound, a thud, and a yell.  One of the two roofers rolled down the roof and landed on his feet on the concrete.  Luckily he was OK and was able to finish the job.  I just looked at Rich and said "that would've been you!!" and he agreed.

We bought some "wicker"outdoor furniture and moved in the table and chairs.  We had a footer poured in the back right corner for a fireplace that we will probably add some day.   We also bought the biggest grill I have ever seen in Costco one day.  It has 8 burners, a sear grill, a griddle, an oven and ice chest.  We were thinking of building counters with an inset grill but liked this better.  If we ever decide to move we have the option of taking it with us.

We've also been doing some gardening since we have the time.  I thought I could do more but when I mentioned to my knee surgeon that I was trying to perfect kneeling so I could garden he about had a panic attack.  Apparently kneeling is not something I should ever be doing.  I was disappointed but it is really more fun to sit on my stool and tell Rich what I wanted done.  He might not agree!  He put a garden on two sides of the new outdoor room.  We added roses, salvia, ferns and elephant ears (not sure if those bulbs will grow).  This year I planted vegetables in my 2 large pots instead of flowers.  I can do that myself!

The front gardens were in desperate need of weeding some TLC and new mulch.  I have a few perennials which seem to be doing pretty well.  We've planted zinnias but need some more annuals.  It's still a work in progress but at least we shouldn't get "weed" letters from our HOA this year!  I am not sure what the yellow "mystery plant" is.  I planted it years ago, it is large with fuzzy leaves and gets these weird flowers every year.  If anyone can identify it I would be indebted!

Well, not very exciting, but at least you will all know I am still alive and well.  Hopefully I will have more exciting things to write about in a the future.