And now for a “we never thought we’d type this” update before we jump into today’s post. Remember when we shared that Instagram photo back in May? It was from the day we filmed a short segment with the OWN crew (yes, Oprah’s team). #ahhhhhh #more screaming
Well, that little short film is airing this Sunday! It will appear near the end of the Super Soul Sunday season premiere, and we’re honestly close to fainting at the thought of Oprah saying our names. Someone pass a fan, a ruffled dress, and a chaise lounge so I can dramatically swoon.
Now back to the opportunities we grabbed — and the one we missed. I’ll give you the bad news first, because I’m a “tell me the bad news first” kind of person. A few blocks over, a neighbor was mid-renovation; the large dumpster in their driveway was our first clue. One day we noticed outdoor furniture peeking over the dumpster’s rim. Chunky wicker, Restoration-Hardware vibes? Some iron chairs and a table? They looked in good shape. Why were they in the dumpster? Could this be our future sunroom furniture?
Our minds immediately imagined a trash-to-treasure rescue. Maybe a bit of cleaning or rust-removing spray paint and they’d be perfect. But perhaps they were tossed for good reason. Would it be awkward to knock on a stranger’s door and ask to raid their dumpster? And it would be a shame for usable pieces to go to waste…
We spent a couple of days debating whether the idea was brilliant or borderline insane. Would the neighbors think we were considerate or crazy? I finally decided to find out and went to ask. No sooner had I worked up the nerve than John popped my bubble: “I meant to tell you, I noticed on the way back from preschool that the dumpster had been emptied.” Cue the sad clown. It could have been trash anyway, but now we’ll never know. Time to find a different dumpster to dive into, I guess.
On the brighter side, the family two doors down is doing major landscaping with an outdoor fireplace and a stone patio. We love them, and even Burger is on decent terms with their dog — a small miracle since Burger usually prefers cats. We didn’t have anything major to do, but their project sparked an idea. Tree work we’d had months earlier left the yard with high spots, low spots, and areas where grass just won’t grow because of leftover mulch and roots. Photos hardly convey the ankle-twisting danger; some spots were about 15 inches too high or too low. Don’t let those small piles fool you — we’re talking about roughly 30 wheelbarrows worth of mulch.
We planned to wheelbarrow it out slowly, but eventually we realized this was a job for heavier equipment. We considered renting a mini dozer (John would’ve loved that), but even the smallest rental was about $425 a day. So we figured: why not ask the crew working two houses down if they could swing by and level our yard while they were in the neighborhood?
I walked over one afternoon, found the person in charge, and pitched the idea. It would be easier and cheaper than hiring a separate company to bring equipment just for us, and maybe they’d appreciate the extra cash when they had a spare moment. They were friendly and totally game. They asked that we get Miss Utility to mark the yard first so they wouldn’t hit pipes or wires, so I called 8-1-1. A couple of days later the yard was flagged and, luckily, the piles weren’t in the way of any utilities.
With the yard marked, we checked back in and soon had front-row seats. Clara was mesmerized by her own personal “digger show.”
The crazy thing: what we thought would take hours only took the pro about thirty minutes. He was fast and precise — John was a little jealous.
He even moved the overly acidic mulch into our wooded side yard and spread it out so it’s not obvious anymore. Look — you can hardly tell it’s there.
After 30 minutes of flattening, he asked “how about $60 for that?” and we were thrilled. Much better than renting equipment and doing the work ourselves. Our front yard looks so much better — sure, it’s still a bit brown and weedy, but it’s level. And flat is the first step toward new grass.
We might get a quote from the landscaping crew (their project will continue for a few more weeks) to see how much it would cost to drop off some topsoil before we seed. It’s not essential, but a fresh layer of topsoil would help our first season of grass. They even mentioned we might be able to piggyback on a delivery they’re already making to the other house — efficiency, please.
So that’s one missed moment and one grabbed and squeezed like a lemon in sweet tea. Sidenote: don’t those ends of our railings look like little hamburgers? I’m tempted to paint them in honor of Burger.
What have you been noticing around your neighborhood? Now that the weather is cooling and kids are back in school, a lot of people seem to be tackling home projects — which we love to watch. New fences are going up and houses are getting painted. Tis the season!