More Than I Could Chew

You know that saying? The one about biting off more than you can chew? Yeh, that pretty much sums up my adventures in landscaping.

Last summer, Mr. Mel and I did alot of work, ALOT of work by ourselves. I did my own landscape plan, we hauled, shoveled, lifted, dug, mulched....but there is still plenty of work to be done to get the yard to a place that I'd consider "done".

This project is just too big for me to get done without help, so Mr. Mel and I have hired a professional landscaper to finish what we started. The control freak in my is having a meltdown. But at the same time I think it's important to recognize when we're in over our heads, and to ask for help.

We will still be getting our hands dirty, but I'm looking forward to having a pro fix and problem solve some areas that I lack the knowledge to tackle on my own.

Our front yard has a steeper grade than I realized that must be retained and have levels built in. This is way beyond what I am comfortable handling on my own. The overall design for the front yard will stay as-is, but we will have stone edge installed to hold in our soil and mulch (which seems to run off during every rain) and to provide a finished edge against the sod.

The front patio will be moved further out from the house and will be made about 4 feet larger, and a planter and pergola will be built for shade and interest.

Switzer's Nursery & Landscaping

They'll also be grading near the road to create a more gradual ditch that will be much easier to mow.

Many of our cedars and a few other plants didn't or barely survived the harsh winter (and hungry rabbits and deer), so the landscaper will be replacing some and relocating others.

Our subdivision was pasture land for many decades and, as a result, there are some very stubborn weeds and grasses that will take a few years to permanently kill off. They'll also be hauling in yards and yards of mulch to fill up the beds and help control the weeds.

The backyard will get new brick flower bed edging, mulch, some grading work, and a stacked stone seating wall around the patio and built in bbq area.

For the front and rear yards we'll get detailed planting plans that we can follow over the next few years to fill in our beds as we kill off our wild weeds and grasses.

I'm excited to share photos as this project gets underway.

Time to get out my Sharpie

Completion of the house is delayed. Postponed. Put back. Rescheduled. Deferred.

I suppose it's time to circle a new date on the calendar.

It came as no surprise to find out tht we will not take possession of the house May 1st. One delay has caused another, and another, and so on...until, before we knew it, 2 weeks had been added to the schedule. Bummer.

Since Dallas and I will be in Mexico from May 9-16, we likely won't take possession until the 18th. Double Bummer.

This whole process is starting to wear me down, physically and mentally. I'm trying to stay positive and optimistic...so here's hoping that this is the last word on a possession date!

Hurry up and wait

Our new builder quickly got us on track. The plan is now finished, and has been approved by the developer. The lot is not ready for construction yet...so now we anxiously wait for their “go ahead”. The general mood out in White City right now both at the developer's office and at the Town Hall is one of confusion. No one seems to know what's going on when, or who is in charge of anything. We're stuck in the middle.

Let's get this party started!

We had a lot, we had a floor plan, it was time to interview for a new contractor. I was still bitter from the bad experiences with our first builder so went into the process with a huge chip on my shoulder. Reluctantly, I agreed to speak with a good friend of Dallas’s who had partnered with a general contractor and their company was looking for new projects. Long story short, we hired them. They have been awesome to work with and they are as excited as we are about the project.

Ah...it's good to have land!

Dallas got a crash course in real estate speculation and set off to acquire a lot. Without a builder to represent us, we were on our own in every respect. We were sure that we wanted to build outside of Regina, for both financial and esthetic reasons, and White City fit the bill. Because of the stiff competition for lots, the process is much like a lottery, if you get picked, you get a choice –often not you first choice – but a choice of lot none the less. We were lucky, we had 2nd right of refusal on our first choice of lot, and 1st right of refusal on a second lot. When it came time for us to select, we actually decided on our second choice lot! And just like that, we owned a rather large piece of, well, dirt!

Baby Steps...

There were some minor changes we wanted made to the original plan so we took it to our builder to have it re-drawn and to get a price quote. After much frustration, we chose not to pursue a relationship with the initial builder...but we did end up with a preliminary drawing that contained our changes...progress? It's hard to say if we're any further ahead than we were a month ago.

And so it begins...

Welcome to our site! Almost from the day that Dallas and I moved in to our first 800 sq ft apartment, we talked endlessly about the day that we would build our dream house...what it would look like, where it would be. When we moved to our 1900 sq ft condo, the conversations continued. We had big dreams, and knew that one day we would make it happen! After much thought, we’ve decided that now is the time to fulfill our dream and build our house!

Keep checking in, I promise to keep the updates coming.