Man of the Hour!

(He he he, he had NO IDEA I took a picture of him while we were talking plants!)

So let's just see what exactly Stephan has been up to the last several months...

This is where the cottage and courtyard is now (May)

Getting it level (May)

Cottage and Shed were delivered (June)

Sidewalks and Patio Framed (September)

We have concrete! (September)

And the fencing is going up! (October)

Earlier this week not only did he get the back fence up and the gate in, we have grass!!  You can't see it in this picture because it is still shaping up.  That will come soon!

Someone has a patio!

While Stephan was busting his butt on the back courtyard area, I was off at a Craft Fair for the weekend so I didn't get to see everything going up and in.  However, Stephan and the kids busted their butt on Sunday to get the Pergola up and set by the time I got home with Mom and Dad!

So the sidewalks are all finished!  The pathway and steps to the cottage are in!  The patio is ready for a BBQ!  Now all we have to do is put in the rest of the gravel, grass, put up the fencing and plant the pretties!

Yes, that is "all" we have to do!   And when I say "we, I really mean "Stephan".  =)   I am here to give moral support, take pictures and plant the flowers!  Oh!  And I do the BBQ'ing unless it's hotdogs, because he rocks the dogs!

Concrete is going in!

So we saw the forms being laid down and built and next we had a crew of guys coming over to put in the concrete!  Which means I didn't have to help again!  Oh how I LOVE that!  =)  Concrete is NOT my favorite thing to do!

Stephan had the gravel all laid out nicely in the forms and all that was left to do was bring in the truck full of concrete!

Parking Lot at the Moore's

So he called in our neighbor and his buddy and it was time to begin!

I am safely in the kitchen!

Yep, that would be a concrete truck in our backyard.  Our poor neighbors!

It took a lot longer than they had anticipated for the concrete.  I think they started a little after 3:30 and they didn't finish until after 8pm.  The mosquitoes were sure to keep them company (bastards!) but they did a great job!  It would have gone a lot smoother if they would have had an extra hand, so Stephan had to put in the expansion joints after the fact.

Kitty Prints

We didn't write our initials in the concrete but Blackjack did!   Stephan may have been a little annoyed at first, ok, that's an UNDERSTATEMENT, but it is kind of cute now!  he he he

Putting in the Sidewalks

To say we have been busy would be a MAJOR understatement and my honey bunny has been working his butt off!  Between school, DJ'ing and working on the house I don't even know if he can remember his name anymore!

We are trying to do the mad dash to get the courtyard finished before the looming of winter finally happens upon us and the biggest of those jobs was getting the concrete in for all of the sidewalks and patio!

Steps to the cottage

Making the new patio!

Making sure it is level

He works...I take pictures!

He is getting there

So  much framing, it isn't even funny!  But this is the part that Stephan LOVES to do!  What makes my man happiest?  Working his butt off outside, getting dirty, having to change his clothes 3 and 4 times a day because he destroys them and making life better.

What he hates?  Mosquitoes, cold weather moving in, being under a deadline, the time flying by and not having Garrett around to help.  =)

We Moved the Cottage

When they first brought the cottage over I was totally bummed since I was in Gilbert and I wasn't able to witness the monumental occasion!  This time, when we have it scheduled to move from our old house to the new, I am happy to say I was happily cruising down the I-40 away from all the activity!

Seeing the courtyard all torn up was devastating enough, but watching my cute little cottage being moved, oh that would have pushed me over the edge for sure!

I AM happy to announce that Gooseberry Cottage made it safely to its new resting place with every window in tact and not a single crack in the dry wall!  Oh ya, baby!

PLUS, my wonderful hubby took a ton of pictures to document the wild and crazy ride!

Getting ready to life her up 

Apparently, Stephan said it was even HIGHER in the air than what you see here!  Stephan even found where Barry was living!  He was happy to report that Barry had a nice little home underneath the cottage and was beyond content surrounded by all his mud.  (Barry would be the big ol bull frog we found last summer living in my courtyard!)

Ready to Roll

There she goes!

Coming down the back drive

Almost settled

There she is!

It had been threatening to rain all day long since before I left to go to AZ and it finally decided to open up on all of the guys as soon as they got it settled at the new place!

Gooseberry Cottage's new home!  Obviously the back is still a work in progress.  We weren't able to do a lot in the back this summer until we got the cottage over.  Now that she is, Stephan will be able to work his magic and get my NEW courtyard up and running!

We are planning a big Girls on the Go card retreat here next here and I am sure the courtyard will be a wonderful place to chill after a hard day of carding and playing!

The MASSIVE storm!

The Front of the House is Taking Shape

We have been busting our butts to get the house ready for the Open House and when I say "we" I really mean Stephan!  =)  He does all of the heavy lifting and I just water the plants!

So let's see if I can do a good view of the house before we moved in.

Front the day we got the keys

So here is the house when we first bought it.  Not too bad, really, just not GREAT.  Lots of dirt, lots of dust, a million ants, 10 million flies and very blah.

Now look at it!

I got my Red Front Door, because let's face it, I AM Red.  =)  My pine trees to remind me of Pine, AZ.

Bird bath, feeder and my roses

 Now I get to see my birdies again!  These are the windows in my Studio so I get to enjoy my birdies again!

Better view with the Pine tree

Whiskey Barrel of Flowers

 Can I just say my flowers are doing AMAZING!  We planted them so late in the season we weren't sure how they were going to do, but they are doing an amazing job at thriving!

Down the way and that thunder boomer is just there to piss me off!

This is the view from the front porch.  We still have about 10 more feet to do in gravel before it is all finished and knowing my man, he will have it done tomorrow!   And the dark skies you see?  They are only there to tease us, give us lots of humidity and piss me off to no end!  This happens EVERY SINGLE DAY and not a drop of stinking rain!

Tomorrow we are taking down the courtyard at the old place and starting to bring over the pergola and fencing.  Stephan disconnected all of the water and power to the cottage today and we should be ready to bring it over next week!!

It was definitely a bittersweet moment and I am not sure if I am going to be able to watch my old courtyard be dismantled.  I know I am getting a bigger courtyard and I have more space in the studio at the house, but the courtyard and cottage was a major labor of love for Stephan and I and let's face it, I am getting sentimental in my old age!

Back Patio Coming Together

Now that I can send pictures from my phone to the blog, a whole new world is opening up!!! 

Check and see what Stephan has been updated up to!

Flower and More Flowers

Ok, I am DYING!!!  I miss my old courtyard SO MUCH!!!   All of the flowers, my grass, the trees, birds, Barry and Baby Barry, I mean, it's horrid!

So Stephan is trying VERY hard to get a mini courtyard finished and even let me get some flowers for the interim, plus we are going to Durango so I can get even MORE flowers!  YEAH!!!!!!!

Old Courtyard

Here is my old courtyard after we finished planting all of the goodies!  Isn't it downright adorable????

But I am hoping for more of the same and HOPEFULLY the weather will stay good enough for me to enjoy a partial good outdoor season to sit, ready and enjoy the fun.

In the meantime, here are some of the new flowers I got to pick up last week!

The first of the fences!

Thank God for Garrett!  We were thinking that G wasn't going to be able to make it back to NM with his new job, but THANKFULLY he was able to take off a week and help Stephan around the place.  He is such a huge help and digs fence holes like a master!

Way to go, G!

We were originally going to fence the back patio in partially as a part of the overall courtyard, but Hedy has become her own Houdini and gets out of the yard she is currently in.  It is BEYOND frustrating so we have decided to build an enclosed patio that leads into the courtyard.

The start of the fence

 Between Garrett and Stephan, they have the first 3 panels up and will hopefully get it all finished by mid-week!

View at the patio

As you can see, the concrete has been poured and here is a partial view of my new patio!!!!

I haven't taken any good pics of the concrete work, but I will soon!  I promise!  But you can see it leading up to the front door!  It is so wonderfully nice to be able to walk around the house without getting my feet dreadfully dusty.  We will be adding gravel to the flower bed and then a cute white partial fence in front of the sidewalk.

I cannot wait to get the front of the house finished!