Changing the Street View

The mother was clearing out a storage bin during our Saturday night pack and purge downstairs and came across some old photos. One was a partial exterior shot of the house from around 1988.

We didn’t even have the columns yet. Either side of the porch overhang was supported by black wrought iron. And if you looked really closely, you could see that the white cast iron furniture on the porch today was once black. (I had even forgotten that –as had the mother who painted it – ‘til I pointed it out. When we bought the house, it was white with black shutters.)

I wish that I had pictures of the progress of each change the exterior of this house has undergone in the past 18 months. In 2007 alone it had scalloped siding added to the front and to the eaves on either side, a ceiling fan and outdoor outlet were added to the carport, and the entire house was repainted – twice.

And this year? Well *modesty mode* this is the year to end all years where outside was concerned. The porch. The partial removal of Hell’s shrubbery. The walkway. The new railing. The sealed driveway. But most recently, the complete removal of Hell’s shrubbery.
You really notice all that at the front of the house. Remember back at Halloween, when I had yet to dig up the last of Hell’s shrubbery? Just in case you forgot, here’s another look.

And, all those bricks in the Halloween photo? Well, now you can see part of what was done with them. They’re serving as planter bases for the planters out front, now that all of Hell’s shrubbery has departed! (This shot is from pre-sunrise this morning. Minus any real light – natural or flash – the house color is a little distorted, but otherwise, this is the house as it looks now. )
And see all those d*mn leaves?! That’s just since last night. And I have no trees.

So, that’s what I’ve been busy with lately. We put lots more rock down, too, to make it all sparkly. It looks a little sparse, but that will change once the gingerbread gets put back in place. (The mother has yet to paint most of it.) That will give it a little more color and depth. She was just lamenting last night that it's not up yet.

Even so, I can't help but be a little excited because it has come such a long way in a relatively short time. (Especially when you consider that the mother and I did almost all of it. We brought in Lawrence for a few of the jobs, but mostly it's all us -- with some pitched in efforts by good friends like CD and the Monkeygirls.)

The mother didn’t get to put any flowers out yet. (She was going to do fall, but I said at this point, go with Christmas.) Those might show up mid-week when we’re expecting a slight warm-up outside. (Close to 60 degrees.) We’re also currently pondering just how much holiday decorations will go up, too. (Hell, we just got Halloween put away over the weekend!)

With all the work that’s still on tap, I’d hate to have to deal with taking down a lot of decos, too. But, it does only come once a year ...