Yay! The Patio is Finished!

As some of you may know we did pour the patio concrete on December 23rd ... Oh I know, RIGHT before Christmas ... cause you know, I didn't have anything else to do! I have my husband to thank for that timing.


However, even though it was stressful, it was really nice to have it done before Christmas - a nice way to wrap up the year with a project checked off the to do list!




Thanks to some really nice weather after Christmas I have had coffee sitting in my chairs at the little table. I can't wait until spring to put some plants in all those pots and get the garden areas on each side done! And, thanks to my wonderful mother, I have a nice gift certificate to a nursery to buy plants in the spring! Isn't it awesome how mom's just know the perfect gift sometimes! Although my Dad gave me an equally awesome gift ... a gift certificate that can be spend anywhere since it was cash!



So earlier this week I checked out this book from the library, but decided that I needed my own copy to dog ear pages! I have a feeling that the gardens are going to overflow again this year!

Patio, aka Mud Pit, Update

So, way back on May 19, 2011, I blogged about our mud pit ... soon to be patio ... Well maybe not so soon!

I am happy to report that there has been progress on the patio! We are almost ready to pour concrete, and the truck is (and thankfully small crew) is scheduled to be here on Friday! Woot! Woot! It only took 7 months!

I am quite happy that the digging, filling in, tamping, and form building is finished!!



I am looking forward to having a nice big space for a table and chairs!

Also, a walkway from the car!

















And, hopefully less muddy shoes to track dirt through the house ... although that might be a little dream with a husband and 3 boys tromping through!













I'll update you on the final days in a later blog post, but I hope you enjoyed this peak into the happenings around the MooreMagnets household!

Now ... off to swing and have an ice pop on this lovely December day!

DIY - A new Patio! Well ... maybe a mud pit!

Here's my new patio!

Ok ... well, it isn't a patio yet! I really wish I had taken a picture before we dug up the bushes, moved all the bulbs, and replanted the flowers! But ... I am not re-doing all of that work for the sake of my blog!

Anyway, we have no outdoor space for a table, chair or anything else! We have plenty of grass, but it is really a pain to move table and chairs all of the time to mow. Our front porch is tiny only about 4 feet x 8 feet and really not enough room for even a chair. So, my husband and I are putting in a small patio!

Now, I will say that pouring concrete is NOT for the faint of heart! It requires lots of digging, planning, tamping, prepping ... In the end it will probably cost less than if we were to build a deck the same size, but only because we are doing most of this work ourselves.

I'll try to be better about taking pictures so you can see this process ... in the mean time you can see a picture of the flower bed where I moved all of those flowers and bulbs. The bulbs are all buried though ... so it will be spring 2012 before you see those!