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Enjoy the book, it helped us a lot, especially when it comes to planning and understanding all the things to consider.
Brett in Rhome, TX

Cara in Orlando, FL
133 entries to date
37 forum posts to date

This journal has been viewed 27016 times.



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Epilogue... After the dust settles

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 1/16/2008 5:58:31 PM

Cara??? Is that really you???? Yes it is, dear readers. I have a particularly virulent strain of procastinationitis that I am trying hard to work through. Lest you think that I'm making that up, here's one for you- I'm just now getting around to getting my name change on my SS card and passport (for those of you who've forgotten, I got married in November of 2006) :).

So, where are we? Well, we're living in the new house, and we love it. To those of you who are wondering if insulation and energy efficiency upgrades are worth the costs, yes they are. Our electric bill, for roughly 2,700 sf under air, is hovering around $100 (keep in mind that we have a gas dryer, stove, and hot water heater that combined cost about $15/month. That's with me taking superlong/superhot showers).

Our kitchen cabinets (and the cabs in the rest of the house) are a "minimalist European design," meaning that, um, well, they're still not done. Also left on our (Jason's) to-do list are: stain the front door, finish window molding, hang closet doors, complete closet shelving, install all crown molding, paint garage door, install kitchen backsplash... The list goes on. Not that Jason's been twiddling his thumbs. He has built all the kitchen drawers (from scratch!) and stained them beautifully. He has installed paneling on the bar, completed one bar top (not finished yet though), and just finished building a media center (our pride and joy big flat panel TV has been doing a precarious balancing act on our two end tables.

You will see pictures of all these wondrous changes just as soon as I'm home during daylight hours.

Other updates-
We hosted our first family gathering at the house on New Year's Day and the house came through like a champ. We really tested the room and seating capacity, as well as how well the design handles the kind of gatherings we like to have. We were both really pleased.

The carpet. Ah, the carpet. As if we haven't had enough issues with the Orange Store to last a lifetime... We got a very high end carpet installed in both the dining and game rooms. Only a month or so after moving, we noticed pulls in the thread, which Jason pointed out were only in the "highlight" colors, not the main body of the carpet. At first I thought just maybe it was from the dogs, but I have NEVER had a carpet run linke this, especially not a high end one. I called HD and was given to "The Expeditor." Oh how I wish I had been journaling this whole time, as in the past I've used it as a record of when we made calls and what responses we received. We were bounced back and forth from the store to the manufacturer over and over again. Bottom line, we made the initial call probably in October and only just this past week were notified- No, strike that, we harrassed them until they were forced to give us a response- that it is indeed a manufacturing error and that we'll need to reselect carpet.

Our marriage. Finally improving. Let's put all pretenses aside and admit openly that building a house is HARD on a relationship. In retrospect, I do believe that the push and pull, the digging in of our respective heels, and the interminable arguing was caused by the house. I'm only now learning how to back off and not get pissed at all the minutiae, and Jason's productivity has skyrocketed since I removed the pressure from him.

Oh, and that couch we lost to the spider? We replaced it. We went to Ashley furniture and bought the exact same couch. I'll never forget that spider.

Looking forward to rejoining the journal crew and posting some nice pics!

Cara


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Live from Quarterly Parkway!

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 7/15/2007

I am proud, no wait scratch that... Happy, hmmm, no, strike that... RELIEVED to announce that we are operational at the new house! After a nail-biting few days trying to get the power hooked up, the gas in, and the HVAC up and running, we are now on day two of our new life. I will post pictures as soon as the house is even remotely clean. We have been gradually moving things over, and finally today I think will finish that process. So all that's left now is (roughly in order of priority)...

Cabinet doors and drawers (kitchen, laundry, MBa, Ba2, bar)
Finish window trim
Finish crown
Paint touch-ups (and repaint MBa)
Build bar countertops
Paint garage door
Stain front door
Install closet doors and trim (MBR, BR2, BR3, hall)
Kitchen backsplash
Grout bar backsplash
Trim out outdoor kitchen
Finish porch and patio floors

Plus:
landscaping in 3 front beds, maintenance in remaining beds, spread mulch around
clear back 1/3 of property to lake
install permanent fence



I love the house, Jason hates it. I love the space, the serenity of the property, and the individual character that each room has. Yeah, there are some design flaws, but overall, it's great, in my opinion. He hates that there's so much still left to do, and he also gets very anxious that things are going to break, flood, etc. It's funny, because I don't think he'd feel that way if we purchased a "used" house. But somehow the fact that he watched it go up and knows what's behind the walls makes him nervous. I pretty much can guarantee that this house is better built than just about any that he's ever lived in, but there it is.

It's been a long ride. It's taken a big toll on our relationship and quality of life. We have learned a lot about building homes, each other, and can name more Behr paint colors than any sane person should. Will we ever build again? I'm going to go with no at this point. Maybe in a different state and with a better understanding of the scope of our self-work. But I doubt it.

I'll be continuing to post updates and pictures as things come together. But first, we're FINALLY going to take a well-deserved and much needed vacation. And cook in our awesome kitchen. And actually spend quality time together, not doing house-related stuff. Right after we just get a few more things done at the new house...


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More pics

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 6/30/2007

the 3rd bedroom, the dining room detail, the fridge

Photos




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Move in on hold

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 6/30/2007

Well here we are over a week later and still no permanent power. Which also means no a/c, no septic, and no gas. We are hopeful that we'll be able to finally move in around July 4th. In the meantime, we're starting to move stuff in, finish closets, and scrub floors. Here are a few pictures of the latest look. I LOVE our bookcase (Costco, $200) so I included a picture of that. It's the first "real" bookcase I've ever owned. Many family and friends reading this may recognize books that you've given me over the years. Thanks! If you look really closely you may even be able to see the good old Owner Builder Book there on the right hand side. The couple in the "I Do" photo frame is, unfortunately, the stock couple that came with the frame.
I have a few more pics which will be added in a new post momentarily.

Photos




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The Big Day

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 6/23/2007

Yesterday morning didn't start off too promising. Jason's computer showed that we had passed our low voltage final inspection, but mine showed a sad n/a under completion. Around 11 am I stopped at Environmental Health to inquire about our operating permit. They magically couldn't find my papers, nor could they tell me what to do to complete our septic process. Joy. After about 10 minutes, a gentleman came up to help me. I told him exactly what I'd provided them with and asked what to do next. He was a slooooooow talker, which I was so not in the mood for, and couldn't give me a straight answer. Fantastic. Finally I ascertained that I needed to pay a fee (surprise). Why someone didn't call me to tell me that once I faxed in my forms is beyond me. I gladly wrote the check and asked him what the time frame might be to get the hold released. He hemmed and hawed some more and told me the entire process it had to go through to get cleared (I don't care! Just tell me how many days!). Tuesday or Wednesday was his best guess. Great. I left the office feeling a little sick, as that would be cutting it very close with our loan deadline.

Around 4pm I called County, just for the heck of it. And lo and behold.... "No holds on that permit." YES! I asked her what I needed to do to get my c/o and she said it was already done. Great, but I need to physically have it in my hands. She said I just needed to go to building before 5 pm and it was mine! WOOHOO! Of course, I hauled out of my office and flew up there. I waited about 15 minutes, and there it was, a c/o in my hot little hands. This, I thought, would be a perfect opportunity to play the ultimate prank on my husband. I called from right around the corner (I didn't want him to suffer TOO long) to tell him that it would be two weeks, but unfortunately he was standing outside and could see my stupid grin from all the way up the block.

So here we are, all c/o'ed. We began moving things over, although we won't be able to actually move in until HVAC, electric, and gas are all permanently hooked up. There are also many tasks still to be done. But, we did it. We built a house. I have to say it's sort of anti-climactic. Disappointinly, I have nothing profound to say. Maybe I'm just buzzing from the disbelief of it a little too much to wax nostalgic right now.

I've attached a few mediocre pictures, please enjoy.

Photos




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more pics

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 6/23/2007

more...

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And the story of our brave young adventurers begins to draw to a close

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 6/19/2007

Carpet install went swimmingly last Friday- what a difference it made in the "doneness" of the house! We are both disappointed with the game and dining room carpet- it just didn't live up to its high expectations. This is a carpet that I'd had my heart set on since the very beginning, too. It's not terrible, it's just not... WOW. The master bedroom on the other hand is a whole different story. It's plush, luxurious, soft, just perfect for a bedroom. The color goes perfectly and looks nice leading into the slate bath, too. The secondary bedrooms are fine- we'd chosen a less expensive and durable option for those rooms, and the office came out great too. For those who are carpet shopping, I can tell you that at the very beginning, I couldn't tell the difference between any of the brands or materials. But after enough hours of perusal, I can tell a nylon from a polyester, and even can differentiate the nylon "Tactesse" from the other nylons. In my opinion, the Tactesse has the best feel.

Jason has been temporarily hooking up central power so as to add a few extra work hours in the evening. What a difference! The house does look entirely lit up, and it's sort of odd that I have no idea what all the light switches do, even though I've spent many hours in the house, because they never WORKED before. It was really neat to actually see the laundry room in all its glory (it's the darkest room in the house). Jason is using the extra hours to wrap up doors and closets, and we've hired my brother to caulk and touch up paint. This is working out really well because we can trust him and this keeps Jason focused and gives him fewer chances to get all spread out among various tasks. I have been spending goodly amounts of time scrubbing the grout: first by hand and then by machine. It has yet to be sealed, and I'm reluctant to do it as it's very volatile and evil smelling.

When I left the property the other night, I was rudely initiated into the "country living" world. Upon pulling out of our driveway, the world essentially disappears. Man it's dark. About 100 feet into the drive, a deer bounded by. It's probably only a matter of time until one ventures in front of my poor Corolla, given my luck. I keep thinking of the signs in Maine: "watch out for moose, 61 lives lost this year." Their legs are so weak, if you hit them you will end up with their full bulk across your windshield. Made a left and immediately saw a (sorry mom) rather large snake in the middle of the road. I swerved around it and then decided to go back and check it out, since it kind of looked like a snake I'd narrowly missed stepping on during a twilight run several weeks ago. The snake from my run looked suspiciously like a Copperhead, so I wanted to observe this one. I pulled a U and shone my headlights on it... Stepped out of the car and towards the snake... And man, it is SO dark out there that you literally feel like the darkness might consume you, cloaking you to the point where you can't even see your hand in front of your face. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I was more freaked out by that sensation than I was the snake, so I hurried back to my car without reaching a solid conclusion as to the species of snake.

Getting back to the title of this entry... As of today we have passed our final inspections and paid our outstanding fees. All that is standing in the way of our c/o is a paper that gets faxed to septic, and a permit re-pull and install of our alarm system. Once those "holds" are cleared, the county will automatically issue a c/o that we can look up on their website. They'll contact our utility provider and hook up our electric. Tentatively, this will happen early next week.

Notice that I've said "begins to draw to a close." Once we c/o, we still have a long road ahead of us. Among other things:
- bar top (maple, built and installed by Jason)
- cabinet doors and drawers
- closet and pantry organizers
- crown molding throughout
- fence
- outdoor kitchen (not even started!)

plus all the shopping that needs to be done
- random things that we don't know we need
- bedroom set, office furniture, maybe living room sofas, assorted furniture for 2nd and 3rd bedroom
- art and other acoutrements
- a few palm trees, if we can find the funds
- patio furniture

I'm thinking I'll probably hang in there with the journaling, until it's DONE. We shall see. In the meantime, I'll try to get some new pictures up soon (I know, been promising that for weeks!).


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The Conundrum

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 6/13/2007

Well, the punch list really turned out to be more MY punch list- he had taped it to the front door, presumably so I couldn't miss it. I painted, cleaned, caulked, and more.

The subs are beginning to wrap up- our final electric inspection has passed and we are very close to finals on plumbing, gas, and HVAC. This puts us in a position to possibly c/o next week. Possibly. The conundrum I spoke of in the title is the carpet. The installers had shown up on their scheduled date only to inform us that they couldn't do an install without central air and power. However, we can't get power and air until we c/o. And we can't c/o without floor coverings in all rooms. Hmmmmm. There is a way to "pre-power" the house, but it's a convulted process, leading me to doubt that it's a common practice among builders. Which, dear Watson, means that the problem lies with the installers. Sure enough, a little digging revealed that there was no policy at the installers' regarding power and air. They simply didn't WANT to work without A/C. After a few minutes convincing the lady that there is perfectly good power on site and that yes, I would even allow them to open windows and have a fan blowing on them, she half-assured me that they would actually install on Friday. The truth of her promise remains to be seen.

Trim and finish carpentry is moving along, Jason has been steadily making a dent in door hanging and baseboard install. The major holes at this point are our fence, cabinet doors and drawers, and bar tops.

So, that's really all there is to tell... Someday soon we will be moving in, although it's hard for me to imagine!


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A punch list for the Eules?

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 6/8/2007

Last weekend I took a little time to work backwards from this month's c/o drop dead date and figure out the requisite timeline. I reviewed it with Jason and basically said "ok, in order for so-and-so to finish their part, what happens before?" I gave him dates when certain things would have to be done in order to make the timeline work, and I think it sunk in. YES.

I can truly say we are making rapid and significant progress. This week both the electrician and the plumber wrapped up. Electric inspection was passed today, our first inspection in quite a while. I have 2 parts on order for the plumber and then he can call in his inspection, too. Phone service and the all-important DSL has been ordered, and HVAC and carpet are tentatively scheduled. If you remember, carpet had refused to install because there was no A/C and no power to the house. Well, according to Jason (which is according to the electrical inspector), you absolutely cannot get power to the house until AFTER c/o. If you want it before, you have to do some sort of pre-power thingmajig, pay a $100 application fee, and get every trade to sign off on the app. Hmmmm. Sounds very fishy to me. Because we need carpet to pass the final inspection, and the carpet can't get installed without the A/C and power (per th carpet installers). Somebody is definitely telling me a fib here, because there's no way that every builder is doing one of these pre-power applications. We're looking into it and will let you know what we find out.

I've been thrown for a bit of a budget loop by IndyMac. When we got our extensions on our loan, I sort of just assumed (admittedly my fault) that the extension fee came out of interest reserve. That turned out not to be the case, as I found out when I checked our online loan balance remaining. They pulled it from our contingency line item, bringing us pretty significantly short of where we need to be. We will pull through, but will probably need to continue floating the carpet, stove, and micro on our no payment/no interest HD card. This is another reason I encourage people to use zero int/zero pay promotions- you might have ready cash to pay now, but if something unexpected happens, the float buys you time and frees up your funds.

This weekend is bathtub scrubbing time for me- significant because I have held off on scrubbing them until I could actually run water in them to scrub them out. I also have a bit of trim and windowsill painting to do, and then I think Jason will be about set to install the interior doors. Last I talked to him, he was piling various things in the middle of the living room that were minor punch-list things with the plan to grab something new and complete that task each time he walks by. He's finished almost all of the baseboards, with my brother and I coming behind him to fill and touch up the nail holes. It looks pretty great.

The yard and landscaping is looking fantastic. Unfortunately, some of our tree purchases have been put on hold until we see how bad the budget ends up. Trees are about the only thing we can cut out for now. I am glad that we set all the planting beds beforehand, although it bothers my perfectionist side to see an uncompleted bed.

Let's see, what else? Ah, yes, note to self to pay our remaining impact fees next week (and parenthetically please let them not give me a hard time about increases since we are only supposed to owe what the fee was when we filed our permit papers).

I'd like to have some pictures for you soon, gotta remember to get the camera out there.


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Sad abandoned journal

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 5/24/2007

It's been over 2 weeks since an update, sorry about that! I've been busy with my job and also took a trip to NC to watch my brother graduate from UNC Chapel Hill (go heels!). Things have been progressing a moderate pace, and the stress on our relationship has eased slightly. We filed for a second extension, which was painful to do since it feels like money down the tubes, but we had no option.

We had a visit from Jim and Linda, who as many of you Central Floridians know regularly make their rounds and check out our projects to pick up tips and get ideas of things to avoid. It's always nice to show off our project a bit :).

Jason has been working on baseboards this week, and I am pleased to report that he's moving pretty quickly with this particular task! They look great- hopefully I can share some pictures soon. He's also completed the bar top and second bath counter with granite tile. Our master vanity top was installed last week, and while I don't love it, I don't hate it either.

I have been squeezing in landscaping when I can and am slowly making progress. This is something that would have been easier to do once we moved it, but that's just not the way things worked out, eh?

We had the carpet installers out on Monday, only to have them tell us that they would not be able to install without central A/C and electricity. Home Depot, who KNEW that our project was a new construction home failed to mention this. Now they want to charge us a trip fee, which we will of course battle them on.

Jason has calls in to both our plumber and electrician, who need to wrap up (yay, toilets!!). After that, the gas sub can tie everything in, carpet can get installed, and we could... possibly... maybe... C/O and move in????? Oh wait, we still have no cabinet drawers or doors. Ah, the life of an owner-builder- you build a house and then move into a fixer upper. :)

Because I can, I am going to put in a plug and throw something out to you all. My new job is as Executive Director of an organization called Helping Others Make the Effort, a nonprofit in Osceola County. We have a 5 acre campus that will provide apartments and supportive services for homeless women and children. The first two buildings are near completion, but I need about $200,000 to C/O. We are in the process of signing a $417,000 grant that will help, but we are short because our original budgets were submitted just before hurricanes Charley, Jeanne, and Frances (yes, it takes that long for grant funds to come through). I am searching for donated materials, labor, etc. We have pre-purchased a lot of the materials but still need things like carpet, a portion of metal roof, and more. I also have naming opportunities for the buildings, campus, and even the entry road that leads onto campus. It's a great project, so if you can think of anything that would help, please email me: ceule AT osceolahome.org. You can also email me if you would like to sign up for our newsletter, the first of which should be going out in the next few weeks. Here's more about the project (the picture attached to this post is a model picture of one of the buildings):

Right now more than 850 school-age children live in motels in Osceola County. Osceola County’s tourism industry is our double-edged sword: it attracts revenue and stimulates growth, but at the same time is kept alive by service-based jobs that keep many families on the edge.  Many of these families have no permanent home and must resort to pay-by-the-week motels.  They can’t afford to put a deposit on an apartment and have little to no savings.  If the earner in the family becomes ill, has no transportation, or loses their job, they will be just days away from living on the street. With just a little support and a decent place to live, we can empower these women to become self-sufficient and improve their family’s well-being.

HOME is a transitional housing campus that will provide a path to self sufficiency for homeless women and their children.  On our five acre campus, we currently have two apartment buildings under construction.  When the campus is complete it will be joined by six additional apartment buildings, a playground, and a community center. Families will reside at HOME for 12 to 24 months as they get help with employment, education, financial management skills, and more.  HOME is unique because it’s a social service project that offers an amazing return on investment- women who graduate will have little or no need for ongoing financial and social service support.   Instead, the tables will be turned, as the women become able to give back to their community.

The program itself is probably best understood when explained in terms of how a typical family might progress through the HOME program.

“Betty” is a single mother with two school-aged children.  Betty works in the hospitality industry and makes $7.00 per hour, classifying her as extremely low income.  Her take home pay is approximately $896 per month.  Until 2006, they lived at an apartment complex, but had to move out after Betty became ill and lost her job. Betty could not afford the deposit on another apartment, so she moved her family into a weekly motel rental, which costs $676 per month. 

Between rent and other costs of living, Betty is barely able to make ends meet.  She would like to go back to school to receive a certificate in nursing or another medical field, and also needs help with one of her children, who has a slight learning disability. Betty will be screened by HOME staff in order to assess her assets and barriers.  If she is determined to be appropriate, she will receive life skills classes, links to vocational services, and tutoring assistance for her children (among other services).  She will be required to deposit money in a savings account every month and will need to accomplish incremental goals as she works towards self sufficiency.  A case manager will work with her on a continuous basis to reassess her family’s progress and goals.  Betty will be responsible for maintaining her own apartment and providing for her family. 

The process of becoming re-empowered as a person and a parent is powerful, and Betty will take pride in her abilities and role within the HOME campus.  In 12-24 months, Betty and her family will be ready to move into an apartment in the community.  After “graduation” she will continue to receive case management services in order to ensure stability in her new environment.

Thanks everyone, stepping off my soapbox now!



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more pictures

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 5/6/2007

Uncle Larry, do you approve? :)

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last few

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 5/6/2007

By the way, I am trying to get some pictures of the interior this afternoon, but we'll see how they come out.

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pictures and the weekly scoop

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 5/6/2007

Jason spent most of this week out at the site, unfortunately doing just about everything but cabinets. Ok, not quite true, he did a bit of what he needed to, but mostly he went around fixing minor unimportant things. This is a big point of contention between us. I feel that he should be focusing solely on jobs that only he can do that are required for CO. However, I think he's just so overwhelmed that he sees something small that he can tick off his list and gets distracted. Honestly, I'll be glad when this project's done, because it's starting to wear on my patience.

We ordered carpet this week, HD is running 20% off Stainmaster (we'd been eyeing that sale for a while) so we ended up with Stainmaster in all of our carpeted rooms except the secondary bedrooms. While we were placing our order, Jason brought up the idea of carpeting the office, which had originally been slated for bamboo flooring. I thought it was a fantastic idea, since it's one less thing for Jason to do, and flooring is necessary for CO. When the installer came out to measure, he pointed out that our master bedroom really needed a 15' carpet (rather than 12', which is standard) because the seams would show. Back to HD I went to change our selection. Of course, there wasn't another single carpet in the WHOLE place that was quite like the original one I'd chosen. I settled for a similar carpet, and we're tentatively scheduled for install the week after next.

Another change on the fly: Jason's been working on cabinets for the bathrooms, but we've encountered some hiccups. For the second bath, I'd chosen a vanity top with a light color tile in mind. It's a beautiful gray swanstone (Jason doesn't care for the material, but I liked it) that doesn't match the dark tile at all. :( We contemplated ordering another vanity top when we had a great idea. The wood Jason's used for the cabinet in that bathroom has come out beautiful. What if we made the top out of the same wood and just dropped a porcelain sink in? We decided to try it out. If we hate it, we'll fix it later.

For the master bath, we have the black oak "zen" cabinet with the frosted vessel sinks. Plan "A" was to tile the top with granite, but of course, there's a problem. Jason can CUT the granite tiles for the top, but not drill the holes for the sink and the faucet. So he's decided to call our granite installer and see what they can do (I plan to do that on Monday).

The biggest news of the week, in my opinion, is that landscaping has begun. We had about half of our sod delivered on Friday, and I started planting the various beds. I'll attach a bunch of pictures. So far we have the front left "tropical" bed, the back right "hide the well/palm/jurassic" bed, and the "whimsical butterfly garden" bed. The sod was delivered and installed, the plants were transported by yours truly in the trusty Corolla, and the mulch was delivered by Jason- the best Publix has to offer. I'd visited a local mulch place and although I had doubts about the salesperson's competency, went ahead and placed an order (He had shown me cypress and told me it was pine, so I just pointed at the pine bark I wanted and said this one, please). I probably should have known when I was on the phone with him and told him I wanted the MINI PINE BARK that we'd looked at together and he said "oh, the red one?" At any rate, the delivery guy brought white playground mulch (huh????) which we hadn't even looked at!! Needless to say, I refused the delivery and will have to call tomorrow and decide what to do. I could change the order to have it blown in instead of dumped, but there's a 2 week waiting period for that. Also, there's no longer an immediate need for mulch, since the Publix special will tide us over for now.

More on the plants: I am really enjoying learning the taxonomy of the various plants. Having never done anything more than small gardens, the task at hand seemed pretty immense. I've read a few Florida-specific gardening books that also have plant descriptions, but it seems as though the descriptions vary quite a bit- one book says 24" tall, another says 6'. One says full sun, another says shade. So here's what I did. I just got what I wanted, and if it dies, I'll replace it. I've gotten 95% of our plants from Lukas, a local nursery that has an incredible selection and knowledgeable staff. I made my first trips on Friday because I knew how busy they'd be on the weekend. I planned to attack the front left bed first, and had a general idea of the layout and foundation plantings. I purchased the "foundation plantings" that were the larger plantings, vertical elements, and background hedges. Then I made another trip mid-afternoon, when the sun was at its hottest, and purchased "fill-in" plants to complete the bed.

Here's some pictures (2 per post, as usual) for your enjoyment!

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And one more for good measure

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 4/28/2007

The living room, sans grout

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More pics...

Posted to QuarterlyHouse by Cara in Orlando, FL on 4/28/2007

Jason's sister and nephew- his first trip to a bar! ;)

That's our brother-in-law working on the front painting; we also hired him for irrigation. He has a landscaping/fencing/etc. business, so if you are in the Orlando area and need work done, we highly recommend him!

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