Eat. Drink. Live.
Gin gin mules. For Mother’s Day. And to think, a year ago, when we broke ground, we had no idea what we were in for: Patio Project 2012. The recipe for Gin Gin Mules is here: Gin Gin Mules.
After months of patio-project hell, we finally have a new backyard. Just in time for snow. But oh! When spring comes? We’ll be sitting pretty. Finally. Thank goodness! A look at the installation, after the jump.
After a long hard summer working on Elizabeth’s Folly, enduring a pit in the backyard, jackhammering a boulder to the ground and laying more than 1,000 bricks, the patio is now done. We are beyond thrilled. More photos, after the […]
We are 20 bricks shy! Can you believe it? Almost done, though!
I’d say about 3/4 of the way done.
By 5 p.m., quitting time and cocktail hour, both, we had mad much progress: This included measuring and leveling several jagged corners: And also tamping and leveling the sand underneath the brick: What a pain that part is, let me […]
After tamping the rock, leveling the sand and checking our measurements, Greg lays the cornerstone of the patio. By the end of the day, this is what we’d accomplished: We are on our way, folks.
The tamping continued. Not much more to report:
The big pile of gravel in our driveway is known as Item Four. Greg hauled it wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow into the pit, and them tamped it down with a special tool. It is, if you’ll excuse me for saying so, […]
The finishing touches have been put on Gregory’s Portico. Admire, all ye:
One problem we faced with our new patio: an enormous boulder in the center. We thought about building it into the design. (Maybe a water feature?) But in the end, we decided it was right smack dab in the middle […]
Why yes, of course we’re adding more onto the patio project, which is already way over schedule. This is called “Gregory’s Portico,” and is meant to relieve the rotting problem where the dirt meets the wood at the foot of […]
We have completed one full part of the patio project. Whoo-hoo! It’s so nice to walk on brick now, rather than dirt and mulch. Go Greg!
We have one part of the patio finished: one of the brick walks between the garden beds in the front yard. Hurrah! Here’s a look at Greg’s excellent craftsmanship. I’m so proud.
Here’s what we’re looking at when it comes to our materials. Multicolored brick and Belgian block: Looks heavy.
I’m sorry I missed capturing video or even photos of this, but Greg rented a jackhammer to try to work down that enormous boulder in the center of our patio. Alas, after 4 hours, it’s still not below the sand line […]
The Bobcat has arrived. Yes, Greg is moving all that dirt into a dumpster. Here he is in action: And here’s the dumpster that received all the dirt. What a project this has turned out to be!
Greg we have dug 60,000 pounds — or 30 tons, if you like — of dirt out of our back yard. It’s all in our driveway at the moment. Once the pit was dug, we also realized that the ground in […]
Framing is coming along. This is starting to take a long time, though. Right, Sam?
A big rainstorm shows us where our pitch is at the moment. Hmmm.
Update on the patio. Most of the pit is dug out. Greg is starting to lay the leveling frame in the pit.
Srimp and Daddy go get 2-by-4s for the patio. Think she has a future career in homebuilding?
As of June 16: A horrific mess. Let this pass, soon, please.
Here’s where we are on June 12. Progress, I guess!
We started by moving the bluestone. Then we just started digging.
A couple years back, we lost power to the garage. Turns out, the line had corroded. Time to put in a new one. In order to do so, we got the biggest piece of machinery yet seen at the farm: […]
I’m told we will be building a patio. We have the estimate in hand, and have marked out our borders with string. We moved the furniture around a bit to see how it would fit. So here are our “before” […]
My husband, Greg, and I are co-founders of SCF, which chronicles what we eat, drink and grow as we raise our daughter on a tiny plot of land in the Lower Hudson Valley.
