5/15/10: Grass in the backyard, thanks to the family!  Need to level the patio stones and add the thyme ground cover between the stones.  Would love to start planting the beds in the backyard, but the front beds need work first.  Will have to do weed control in them and then wait to plant until later this year, which is the hard part because this is the fun part of doing the backyard!  Also need to build the two 5' wide short retaining walls on the sideyard and think about the pathway up to the gate (unsure if will be doing stone steps or gravel pathway at this point).










09/20/10: Got mulch?  We do!  We spent about a week putting a thick pile of mulch in every bed in the frontyard, sideyards, and the backyard.  It looks so much better now!  We also finished restaining the deck and got most of the unstained fence that our neighbor put up before we moved in stained, finally.  It still needs some touchup along all the edges.  We're pretty much calling it a year for the outside except for the little fall cleanup things that always need to be done.  Next spring I will be concentrating on filling up the front bed with perennials and bulbs, and getting the thyme ground cover planted in between the patio stones in the backyard.  I also need to work on filling up the huge beds in the backyard.  Darn, that's gonna mean more shopping and planning for the gardens!
On to the basement....