In Which We Get A Bit Carried Away

Since our deck demolition today was cancelled, I spent a good portion of the morning designing the new deck for our backyard.  Or rather, I started off designing a deck, and then I added a patio and we needed a walk around to the front of the house and Jeremy suggested that maybe we should add a patio up there too and then I got a little sidetracked figuring out where I would put in some raised beds and four hours later I realized that the day was half over and I had yet to do a single iota of housework, which was what I was supposed to be doing this morning.  I used to laugh at those people who decided to renovate, say, a spare bedroom and then eight months later had a totally new house, but I'm starting to understand how that could happen.  This stuff is kind of addicting.

I think we'll probably end up doing most of these projects, though, because we're really committed to making the backyard as accessible as we can.  We crunched the numbers and since we're going to be doing most of the work ourselves it's more reasonable than you might think.  As things stand right now it's extremely difficult for me to get Connor farther than about fifteen feet into the backyard because the steps on the deck are rotting through and there's no hardscape farther in.  It's been interesting trying to figure out where to put the ramps off the deck (one down the side of the house and one onto the patio) because they have to be at least sixteen feet long in order to not be too steep, and we want things to be not just accessible, but beautiful too.  I think we've finally hit on a solution, and I'm excited to get started on it!  When we're finished, hopefully we'll have a yard that everybody in the family can use.  And also by the end I'm going to have a whole lot more experience in using power tools and shoveling concrete.  No doubt this will come in handy at the most unlikely moment. 

We ended up deciding to make one of the ramps run parallel to the deck (with a large landing at one end complete with bench) so that it doesn't stand out in the yard.  It will lead down to a large patio level with the ground and perfect for a barbecue area or a table.  A pathway from the patio will lead around the side of the house to another, smaller patio in the front yard.  The other ramp will go straight down the side of the house and end in a short path which will connect to the concrete pad already poured on that side.  We've also talked about putting in a couple of raised beds-- I can use one for a water table or sensory garden for the kids now, and as a vegetable bed later-- and possibly replacing the grass lawn in the back with an herbacious lawn mix like Fleur de Lawn.  This will be enough projects to keep us occupied for the next year or so, and then I'm sure we'll figure out something else we want to do.

We're looking forward to having a space that everybody in the family can use!

~Jess