Ta-Da!

I stood on a chair so you could see more of the completed rough draft paver patio, including the shrubbery that has been waiting for several weeks to be included in the finishing touches. It's overcast again, so I'm hoping it will rain and water in the new plants, as well as settle the pavers.

There are some high spots, and some low spots, and other pavers that are just right, so I'll be fine-tuning the project for several weeks to come as the sand settles beneath and around the pavers. I am going for a rustic, been there a while look, so am not overly concerned that it's perfect, but the low spots will collect water, which I don't want.

At the back of the patio, where I was standing in yesterday's photo, I put 2 bushes that will grow up and around the 2 big rocks. The smaller plants are more salvia, which I love because it grows well and has purple flowers that attract the birds and the bees. What's going to also happen at that end of the patio is the rocks outlining the oleanders along the fence are going to curve to match the patio planter and meet at the far right end to "finish" the look. At the front, the left corner of this photo, I'm putting in a step-down and a narrow path to the pavers -- then calling in the truck filled with crushed rock and topping the whole backyard with sand-saver!

When I get my Lowe's bonus gift cards ($300 total), I'm going to buy the chiminea and a chair to sit in front of it, something that will not blow away when the gale-f0rce winds come through the valley. I've looked for a cement round table and benches for the middle section, but I can find benches and no table. One of the salesmen told me that the tables are "too heavy," so they don't carry them at the big box stores. We have a lot of those places that sell pottery and cementware brought in from Mexico, so maybe I can find a set at one of those vendors.

The built-in barbeque will wait for Mr. He'll Do to enter my life and justify the time, the treasure, and the aggravation of adding that feature! (Which is another way of saying it ain't gonna happen!)

So, having met this goal in the grand scheme of things, I'm ready to drive to Canada as soon as the doggie door is secured.