The long awaited Diesel donor for the COE is here!

Picking up the donor in Fontana California.  As a wise man once said "I love it when a plan comes together!"

It's taken years but I am finally a real (Utah) man with a diesel truck.  And a dually no less...

Chevrolet Cab Over Truck

 

Bagged the COE

I've been tracking this elusive COE for 7 years now, bagged in in the wilds of Wyoming with my trusty scent hound Kipper. I dropped him with one shot to the right eye from 500 yards with a .22LR round, no scope! Sure he's an endangered species but he will enjoy a second life as a rollback with an updated Duramax engine. Stay tuned.

The Pandemic Project: Plugs and Pizza Oven

The pandemic gave a little extra time to work on a giant project: The Pizza Oven!! Brent researched online and followed lots of YouTube tutorials to build this big beast. Years ago he built this concrete base and started to lay out the brick oven floor in the basement of the garage. We also decided to add the grass to the north side of the backyard using teeny tiny drought resistant plugs. So, in the following pictures, watch the progress of the plugs--it's like a mini time lapse! 

Brent had a bit of engineering to figure out with the shape of each level of bricks. He cut and cut and cut! 

Little side note: the 2019 steel retaining walls are looking nice! So fun to plant pretty zinas! 

Each layer, a different size of brick. 

When Brent finished the bricks, we wrapped the entire oven in 3 layers of thermal ceramic blankets. Next, the entire oven was covered in a mixture of crushed styrofoam and cement. It's kindof the texture of stucco. 

The maiden voyage was on Estee's 16th birthday. Boy, that oven can heat up and retain heat like crazy! The pizzas were delicious and we're working on our techniques. 

This past spring Brent added the black chimney and the girls helped to finish the base. Just look at those little grass plugs plugging along! 

Almost there! The steel will turn a pretty rust color (I love that look) to match all of our garden beds and retaining wall. The final touch will be to cover the oven in a black stucco for a very dramatic effect! The projects continue. Next in line is the seating and gas fireplace, all designs by Brent! And look at that grass--it's working! 

 

Then and Now

ARTIFACT #1

Then...

and now!

ARTICIFACT #2

Then...

and now!!!

ARTIFACT #3

Then...

and now!

ARTIFACT #4

Then...

and now!


THEN (from close to the beginning) and NOW (Sept 2019). Sometimes it's just important to see how far we have come. It's been a decade long family project and more work to go! 

Summer 2019: Steel Retaining Wall and Stairs

We have been in Our Concrete Home for almost seven years and we are still working on our vision. Jean-Jacques Rousseau sums up how I have felt: “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”

We have waited years to figure out and finish our final retaining wall and stairs between our house and garage. It is one of the largest projects Brent has tackled at the house. But the result is OH SO SWEET!!! I can’t wait to see the walls and stairs rust up, soil perfectly amended, and beds filled with beautiful plants. It will be gorgeous!

The following pictures span approximately three months: 

This gives you a fairly good idea of what was originally there. Before starting the stairs and retaining wall, we had to put up more boards on the house. We still had exposed foam from the ICF blocks.  We need to paint the boards, a project for spring or sooner. Brent built another raised bed along the side of the house. I have been composting directly into that soil and the worms have come to fix my dirt! I am excited to fill that bed with something beautiful. And P.S., look at those lovely solar panels on the garage roof. We absolutely LOVE our solar power! 

Brent placing the steel for the stairs. He dug multiple holes for posts that were anchored with pounds of cement. These stairs are solid and won't go anywhere for the lifetime of this house! Check out all the rocks in my dirt in the raised bed. That give you a good idea of what I have to work with to make soil. 

 Nice view of the raised bed (and of the awaiting painting job on the house)...

  The stairs are all welded in place. Brent and his brother Bob are welding in the raised beds. It was an incredible help to have Bob here to help Brent. Steel is heavy and awkward to handle and it took many hands. 

 We had one very large panel of steel to drop in place. It involved our Mazda Cx-9, Brent and Bob at the base and me with a rope attached to the steel and then tied to my waist to get this beast positioned for welding. So, no action shots of that. Brent braced the large pieces of steel with multiple cross beams. The one important piece that I did not get a picture of was the deadman brace that Brent made to secure the entire project. It was another seven foot beam fastened to the steel that is now buried in the ground perpendicular to the wall. 

 Brent and Bob placing and welding the raised beds.

While I was gone on a church youth camp, Brent rented a skid-steer (his favorite) and backfilled everything. I came home and it was done!!! Amazing surprise! 

 Brent designed and welded the fence on the top. It matches the ones on the outside and inside of our home. We chose a very colorful stone to fill in the stairs. In a year or so the beautiful rust will cover the walls and stairs and everything will match. It looks very spotted right now but that's temporary. 

The view looking down. In sight is Brent’s next project: Finishing that pizza oven! I LOVE my new stairs and beautiful steel wall! Brent is the original “Man of Steel”! 

Above the wall and beds we placed a stone path and beds for planting. 

I love turning the dirt into soil! In the foreground is a HUGE bag of FREE coffee grounds from Starbucks (thank you!!! You are making my yard beautiful). I don't overwhelm the soil with the grounds but I do use them often. 

Our dirt is filled with rocks so I spend a lot of time sifting and sifting and sifting and harvesting rocks. So dumb. I compost DIRECTLY into the soil and the worms love it! Nothing makes me happier than coming across a bunch of worms who are making my soil amazing! This is also a great shot of the fence that Brent build on top of the retaining wall. 

We took a well needed, well deserved vacation at the end of the summer. This is one of  my favorite shots. Brent is proud of his biking calves :)  I told you, man of steel! 

I was inspired by the many gardens we saw while in London and Florence. I'm ready and excited to dig into my own gardens! 

I am so very happy this project is DONE!!! It has been hanging over our heads for years. Thank you Brent!