Frugal fence.

Unfortunately our over protective big dog feels the need to leap over the front retaining wall to bark at people passing by. He never bites but he does growl and i imagine its very frightening to people who don't know he's a big licking goofus. The several foot tall retaining fence should be a good enough boundary for him, but its not. So in dh's limited free time we're building a 3 foot fence. For several months we have had a 2/3 foot wire fence on the side of the property to keep them from running into the street. Its low enough he could easily jump it or rip it down. But he doesn't. The boy just needs a visual boundary.

Fences are very expensive! Thankfully the back of our property is a very tall retaining wall, and one of the sides is already fenced. All we have to fence is the front and one side. We looked at some of the pre-made panels, the one we liked was $70 a panel. We would need 4 on the side and probably 6 in front. $700 plus we would have to buy concrete and corner posts. I'm almost positive we've bought everything we need to build the fence.

Its a very simple fence, we used 4x4s for the corner posts 8-10 feet apart,cemented into the ground, then screwed 2 2x4s between the corner posts. For slats we're hoping to use the wood from pallets. Its the right height. The only issue is when we try to hammer them apart we end up splitting several boards from the pallet. Or all of them. lol We're going to try taking it apart with a saw. If we have to buy the slats it will greatly increase the product cost!

So far our fence total is $276. Including a post hole digger, brackets, and cement mixer for the drill.

Planting with purpose

On a recent trip to Lowes to find a peach tree I was elated to find a Rainier Cherry Tree. I ADORE rainier cherries! And they are very very expensive. Last year I drooled over and seriously considered buying some at $8 a pound! My tree cost just $14.99. Two pounds of cherries will pay for the tree. How cool is that? I think we need another tree so they can pollinate but i haven't found anything for sure yet. Right now its sitting on our porch waiting to be planted. I have the perfect spot for it but theres already a prickly most awful plant in the way. We're slowly but surely clearing the area yet.

Homey Home

We purchased our home in July of 2007. I wouldn't call it a fixer upper so much as a plain jane. The outside was painted pink, and the paint was peeling. The yard is overrun with brush and weeds, well the parts that aren't pure dirt are. The inside is all white, with horrible cheap blue carpeting. The living room has wood laminate, the bathroom and kitchen white laminate. Nothing wrong really, just plain and somewhat ugly. Not the way I want to live! of course we're on a budget but there is still ways to improve it.

We've started the outside painting,($300) hopefully we can finish soon (get warmer at night WA!) which will really improve the outside. I've been working on clearing out the brush. (free, if you don't count the electricity) Last weekend I dug a flower bed the length of the house. I planted 12 primroses, and the Narcissus bulbs i bought on clearance last year. I lined the bed with rocks from the property. It looks great and only cost me $3. (I had a $10 rite aid coupon and they had primroses on sale for .99 each) I spent 2 half days painting the kitchen a bright sunny yellow. (cost $4) It looks awesome and really brightens up the space! We have lots more to do, including installing a new window, installing an already purchased chandelier, paint the rest of the inside, install flower boxes, build front porch, make paved nook in property, build garden, and sow grass seed. Phew! I'd better get busy!

Envy

Yesterday dh and I drove to a small semi rural area about 20 minutes from us to pick up freecycle stuff. That area is pretty much our dream area, close enough to stores to be convenient, about 30 minutes from the area's major shopping center, and probably 20 minutes to base. Its a quite area with pretty homes, old trees and plenty of land. Exactly what we want. Well i think dh would really like to be on a lake as well, but the area is very close. The whole way to the freecycle house we were quiet or occasionally sighing over a big beautiful house with tons of old growth land. It made me start to compare my little inlet house to those big beautiful houses. And my little house was coming up short. In till I remembered one simple, solid fact. I truly love my little house.

Sure it doesn't have several acres of land, or a massive house with 5 huge bedrooms, and 3 grand bathrooms. Yes we do live in the city, behind an auto parts store with not a not so nice neighborhood behind us. And yes the city has been annoying the snot out of me for the past few months, beeping and tearing things down. But i LOVE this house.

So what if our yard is not huge? I've spent the past 5 years without a yard. Theres plenty of room for a rousing game of puppy football, room for flowers to grow, and possibly a small garden. Right now its overrun with growth but that's one of the reasons we bought this house for a good price. And I really enjoy chopping away at blackberry bushes, and annoying branches. I spent 4 months taking big dog outside while he was a little puppy in a second floor apartment. I am very grateful for my fence and yard!

Yes 2 of our 3 bedrooms are small. But ours is huge! :) To me anyway. The downstairs bedroom will make a perfect nursery and fits a twin bed with room for a dresser and desk. The upstairs bedrooms is a bit smaller but it still fits a huge rabbit cage, daybed, small entertainment center and a cabinet. All 3 of our bedrooms have a view of Puget Sound.

The upstairs bathroom is tiny but that's ok all we needed was two sinks and two toilets. I've seen shows with people that have 12 kids and one toilet. No thank you! The downstairs bathroom is roomy, but the tub is small. That is just fine. I have remodel plans thought out! :)

I really, really love my kitchen. I plan to replace the linoleum at some point, get a better fridge, maybe remodel the counters but all that is stuff that can wait. I love it just the way it is.

Our living room is wonderful, i wish the table did not have to go into it but it doesn't cause a problem. Its off to one side, the living and dining areas are clearly separated. The living room has some of our best water views, and plenty of space.

In addition to that we have a small laundry/mud room with a stacked washer dryer combo, with room leftover to fit the dog's crates. Big dog's crate is so large he can curl into the back and have room leftover for another 65 pound dog. Upstairs we have a computer nook with a pretty wide hallway we're currently storing things in.

Our street is great, its quiet and currently mainly unoccipied. We have two sweet old ladies for neighbors, and occasionally our next door neighboor comes home. Our street was made into a cul-du-sac and all the power and phone lines are going under ground. The city is improving lots next to us. And the not so nice neighboor hood is behind us they dont bug us down here.

I have so much to be thankful for, and that's just my house! It doesn't include my husband, family, friends, and animals. Next time I drive past those big houses with lots of land I'll think about my 'little' house and smile. Because I love it here.