I am a Victorian Soul, who lives in a small townhouse that was built in the mid 1970's, not a huge Mega Mansion!! I just recently lost my Hubby Joe, who was a Retired Letter Carrier. I worked night shift as an RN on a Hospital based Rehabilitation( Physical Medicine) Unit for 37 years before I had Knee Replacement Surgery and officially Retired in 2019 after 41 years working in Direct Patient Care ... I am so glad that we retired at 62 years of age and got to spend that time together before he passed....I still do love Retirement!!!!

I DABBLE IN A BIT OF THIS AND THAT!!!!

" IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO BE WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN"
George Eliot
George Eliot was actually a pen name for a woman named Mary Anne Evans......

BLOGGING FOR FUN AND FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!

Sunday, July 25, 2021

And the Landscaping Continues......

 

 

  Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!

 
I am so happy you decided to stop by!!
 
Today, I will be sharing the finished Landscaping project we did for our new next door neighbor which included the small flower bed under her Living Room window.....
 
  But first, I want to Thank Bev, over at Eclectic Red Barn, for choosing my post, Lady's Boudoir Powder Room, as one of her features from last week's Thursday Favorite Things Link Party!!
 

Thanks so much, Bev!!

 Please stop by and link up to this great party....... 
 
 
 
And now for a few Personal Notes...
 

In my previous post, I shared how we landscaped the slope in front of my new neighbor's townhouse.....
 
Changing it from this......
 
 
 
To this......


Click HERE if you missed that post.....

 I also shared that we put "crime scene" tape across the top......

 To prevent the guys that were coming to clean out the attic from going down the slope like they did when they cleaned out the whole house before.....

The former owner did not look up in the attic and took his crazy niece's word that it was cleaned out.....

Of course, since she ripped the attic stair pull down right out of the ceiling, how could anyone go up the attic to see what was there!!!!

 Yes, you read that right.....

Again.....

NO WORDS!!!!

They left this container out front to put everything from the attic in it, thinking it could be used for several more jobs......

They underestimated the amount of things that our attics , when fully floored, could hold!!!! 

This included 4 more flat screen TV's smashed to pieces in addition to at least 6 others they had to throw out because the screens were smashed the first time they were here cleaning out the house!!!!!!

Again......

NO WORDS!!!

They did find about $400- $500 worth of good lumber up there from the original owner so I told them to leave it in the house for the new owner......

She greatly appreciated that as she sure will be using it.....

 

My son Jim was constantly being asked to join the Track Team while he was in High School which he refused because he wanted to work after school instead of having to go to practices and Meets....

Here he is jogging on our huge hill the other day.....

He always said that he wanted to run for fun and not be told when and how to run.......


 I always think that that is the reason why at 37 years old, he still enjoys running......

Speaking of Jim, I just want to make a comparison here......

This is Joe, who at almost 67 years old, puts off getting a hair cut as long as he can.......
 
 
 
 I think he is trying to relive his glory days when his hair was down to his shoulders when we first met.....

And then we have Jim, our youngest son, who at 37 years old, has his wife Danielle shave his head and has done so for about 6 years now!!!!


We think it is funny that the Dad, who is 30 years older, has more hair than the son.....

Joey, our oldest son, has his hair almost shaved off too!!!!

Joe is scheduled for a hair cut today, Sunday......



5 mornings a week, since Jim and Danielle go to work for 3:30 am, we go to take out our Grand Pup Faye......
 
After her first quick trip out to pee, she is anxious to get back inside to give kisses!!!!

She takes a flying leap up into Joe's lap to lick his ears.......


Then she will jump up on the sofa and get belly rubs and back scratches from me along with licking my ears too!!!

She then takes Joe out for a second time and takes him for a walk around the apartment complex in which they live......



She saw me in the door of their townhouse taking pictures.....

She is bringing Joe back home......

 When they come back in, she plays Tug of Ball with me.....

 

She puts all 8 pounds of her into trying to pull that ball out of my hand.....

 

 She also loves playing fetch the ball when I occasionally manage to get it out of her mouth!!!

 

 When Joe got up to use the bathroom, she decided to take a break.....

I love how she lays with her paws behind her......

She is looking at Joe to take her out for another time!!

She usually takes Joe out for a walk a total of 4 times.....

After that, he carries her in , takes her harness off and it is time for her to go back into her crate......

She waits patiently for her cookie!!

And she looks like she is smiling at us as we leave because she will go back to sleep until her Mom and Dad come home between noon and 1 pm......


 We usually visit with Faye for about 45 minutes to an hour......

While we were there that day, I decided to take pics of the mountains that are directly behind us......


You can see some of the rock formations......
 

Since Jim and Joey live in the apartment complex that we have to drive through to get to our townhouse development, I thought I would share our 2-3 minute drive home.....

 As we drive down the hill and out of the Apartment complex, to the left is the play ground and the pool that my sons spent a lot of time at while growing up.......

Our development is no longer allowed to use them for liability reasons.....

70 townhouses in our development to the left and the back of Lowe's in the Arena Hub Shopping Center is to the right........

Driving up our hill.....

There is only one other row of townhouses behind us at the top of the hill so the only traffic we have are those people who live in the row behind us......

We have no through traffic.....


 It is very private and quiet but yet, there is shopping, restaurants and entertainment only 5 minutes away.......

 

And you know how I love to take pictures of the Sun Set from our front porch......

 


 So pretty!!


 After we finished landscaping our new next door neighbor's slope, we still had the flower bed under the front porch to do......

This is how it looked BEFORE......

 

 2 overgrown yews.....

Weeds, overgrown hostas and a scalloped brick border that has sunken down in the flower bed after many years......


Joe started to trim the yews.....

 

Joe wanted to keep them and trim them and I thought that maybe we should cut them right down to the ground.....


 Joe called them "Palm Trees" when he got done with them......

At least they were not blocking the window anymore.....

Now it was my turn.......

I was able to thin out the hostas and made 4 bunches of hostas....


 I had to pull the scalloped brick border out with a crow bar like tool because I swear the roots of the yews were wrapped around them.....

I then put the scalloped brick border back in and leveled them using my mallets....

I planted one bunch of hostas that I thinned out in the middle of the flower bed......

I forgot to take pictures of how I leveled the red rock and covered it with weed block fabric.....

Then I put the mulch down......


 I think it looks so much better......
 
 

My neighbor wants to see if cutting back the yews will promote new growth and if not, we will cut them down next year....
 
 
 
 

How it looks walking up the steps.....


 I planted another bunch of hostas at the top of the incline of the slope.....

 

  And another bunch by the top of the steps.....

 

 

 

 I planted the 4th bunch in the bare area on the right side of the slope down by the retaining wall.....

 

And this is how the slope and the flower bed under the Living Room window looks......

 Before, you could not even see her Living Room window.....

 Now I am no longer embarrassed at how the yard next to mine looks.....

We need to have the ground cover on our part of the slope because our yard is the steepest part of the slope and it is too hard to climb to mulch.....

We did plant some phlox and sedum on the left side where Joe used weed killer last year trying to stop the onslaught of weeds from my neighbor's yard.......


 Of course, after finishing this project for my neighbor, who was thrilled with how it looks and was taking to pictures so she could show everyone, I got a case of the Might as Well's.....

You know how that works.....

You do one project and then you look around and see something else so you think " I Might as Well".......

And then you start another project.......

In my next post, I will be sharing all the changes I made to our front flower beds and front porch......





So I hope you will stop by to visit again soon!!

Stay safe, healthy and most of all, HAPPY!!

Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!

If you do not have a blog, PLEASE  give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment.  If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......


I am linking up to these parties:
 

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19 comments:

  1. Gail @Purple Hues and MeJuly 25, 2021 at 8:40 AM

    Debbie, you and Joe did a fabulous job in landscaping your neighbors' home!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Miss MerryJuly 25, 2021 at 2:59 PM

    You are such a blessing to the new neighbors - I don't think professionals could have done such a great job!!

    There was an elderly couple at our church with a very large family. The husband, even in his 80's had a full head of gorgeous curly hair. Every one of their sons (I think there are six) went prematurely bald by the time they were 35 - just like her father, their grandfather!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Melisa- pinkernpunkinquilting July 26, 2021 at 2:26 AM

    It is beautiful, Debbie and such a transformation. I love your front patio too- so cozy and inviting.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sandi MagleJuly 26, 2021 at 10:36 AM

    Debbie what a lot of work in such heat. But, you sure have a little piece of heaven where you are, and the sunsets are beautiful...hugs, Sandi

    ReplyDelete
  5. Judy at GoldCountryCottageJuly 26, 2021 at 3:32 PM

    Debbie, I bet your neighbor is glad she moved next to you. What a great job you guys did for her. That little furrzie baby is just too cute. It looks like she is just full of personality. I used to only love big dogs, but since we got Robin I would just love to cuddle every little I see..Happy Summer..xxoJudy

    ReplyDelete
  6. JunkchiccottageJuly 27, 2021 at 12:10 AM

    Oh Debbie this is amazing. What a difference you made for your neighbor. Little Faye is so cute with her box of toys in the one pic. She has toys bigger than her lol! She is such a cutie. Happy New Week. xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  7. ConniecrafterJuly 27, 2021 at 10:47 AM

    your landscaping looks fantastic, I am sure your kids are happy that you are able to come and take their little furbaby for walks and has a little bit of companionship while they are at work!

    ReplyDelete
  8. JeanieJuly 27, 2021 at 11:12 AM

    I had to laugh about the haircuts! Made me smile big! And boy -- those dumpsters fill faster than we think they will. The garden looks great. Fabulous sunset, too. Happy week!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Karren HallerJuly 27, 2021 at 1:31 PM

    I can believe how your Hosta's grow, I dont think they would make it in the desert. Funny about the hair, my 46 year old is losing his too, it sucks. He finally cute the length off, took me a couple of weeks to get used to it.

    Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Joanne July 29, 2021 at 8:16 PM

    Wow! Those gardens look amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Charlene@APinchofJoyJuly 31, 2021 at 4:27 PM

    Faye is doing a sploot! It is a stretch for an animal's hips and back legs. Rocky the Rescue Cat at our house does that too! That's also what I would be doing if I were to do all the landscaping you did in the heat!! The neighbor's yard looks much improved!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Linda @ Life and LindaAugust 1, 2021 at 11:42 AM

    What a difference. Everything looks great. Hostas are so lovely. I wish I could grow them here. I am happy to feature the landscaping makeover at Love Your Creativity.

    ReplyDelete
  13. My thrift store addictionAugust 1, 2021 at 1:26 PM

    Looks great, Debbie! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Melynda@Scratch Made Food!August 1, 2021 at 5:50 PM

    Congratulations! Your post was the most viewed from Funtastic Friday #343! Thanks for sharing such great content and please come visit the gang again this week.

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnnAugust 1, 2021 at 7:45 PM

    You did a wonderful job! That sure was a lot of back-breaking work, Debbie. Thank you for sharing at Party In Your PJ's.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Debra@CommonGroundAugust 2, 2021 at 5:59 PM

    Your landscaping project is looking fabulous, Debbie. You and your hubby have done a wonderful job. I have to laugh at the hair situations we have to deal with from our husbands. Same thing with my hubby who is 68. When we met he had gorgeous longish wavy hair. He's not wanted to get his hair cut since he's retired, only thing is now it's turned more toward "frizzy" and not quite so fabulous. I have to nag him and show him unflattering photos to get my point across. EEEECK!! Your grandpup is so adorable. you've been busy this summer!

    ReplyDelete
  17. PamAugust 3, 2021 at 12:00 PM

    Wow, Debbie, the landscaping looks amazing. And, oh how cute is Faye!! I just love her. I enjoyed the drive through your neighborhood - what a peaceful setting. Thanks, as always, for sharing at TFT!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Niky | The House on SilveradoAugust 5, 2021 at 6:10 PM

    Great project. It looks much better after all your hard work. Love the pics of yoru sweet little pup too.

    Niky @ The House on Silverado

    ReplyDelete
  19. French EtherealAugust 10, 2021 at 10:20 PM

    Debbie, I am sooo glad that your new neighbor is wonderful, and friendly, and loves having neighbors who garden!!! Great job on the do over for her and wow, what a score with $500 of lumber left in the attic. Those people must have been totally schizophrenic... All those televisions broken... I KNOW you and Joe are so glad they have moved on. :) <3

    Happily shared your post at last week's Share Your Style #312 for you,
    Hugs,
    Barb :)

    ReplyDelete

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