Dustin and Alisa, remember us?

Hi all! Remember us?

Yeah, we haven't sent around an update in quite some time, so we decided we'd best remedy that right quick.

One of the main projects of this past year was the lawn. Our lawn was lumpy and bumpy with sinkholes and other issues. So Lyle and Diane took a month out of their year to move in with us in late August. The process started easily enough, a bit of roundup, water and a sprayer.

See if you can guess which one is ours...

People would actually stop on their way past to ask us if we'd used too much fertilizer. We just told them it was a fungus that was spreading rapidly!

With a blank canvas like that, I couldn't say no to letting Tug have a little fun.

After the death of the lawn, we rented a dethatcher to break up the lumps and bumps.

After a bit of raking, we're ready for seed!

Lyle took charge of spreading it for us.

Diane and I were on topdressing duties. Added some peat moss to the top to keep the seeds moist.

Then it became a mission to keep the seeds wet throughout the day. Lyle was willing to oblige.After a few days we had some sprouts!

We had some more growth after this point, but then it was time to go dormant for winter. Now we're playing the waiting game until the snow melts... We'll report back with the final outcome of the grass. Stay tuned.

Now we move on to the "Remember that old thing!?" with Dustin and Alisa.

Remember that gaudy gold chandelier that lived in the dining room? It looked like it had been salvaged from the Von Trapp household? No?

Here it is:We picked up one that matched the front entryway light we'd changed out, but after much effort decided it wasn't the right one for us.

Diane, Dustin and Alisa worked for days to get the new one installed.

It was a pretty straightforward installation, but everytime we flipped the switch, it wouldn't work. We reinstalled the Von Trapp model, still nothing. Finally after much thought and discussion, Alisa suggested that we remove the dimmer switch and replace it with a simple flip switch. GLORY BE! We had light.

A few last minute efforts to remove the extra chain links and we are in business!

Next on "Remember that old thing!?" Our guest room. If you don't remember it, here is a reminder:

It looked vaguely like a set from The Shawshank Redemption. Not terribly welcoming. So Diane and I got a jump start in sprucing it up while they were here for their month long siesta. The finishing touches were done just today! A crackle finished dresser and mirror, two curtains and one bedskirt later, it is fit for guests!

Another addition was a ceiling fan, put in masterfully by Dustin.

The last but certainly not least addition to our house this year was our veggie patch. Dustin and Stefan worked extremely hard one steamy afternoon this summer to turn over a portion of our lawn so I could transplant my veggie seedlings I'd been growing since March.

We grew cucumbers, carrots, onions and bell peppers. We had great sucess with all except the onions. But we know how to remedy that next year!

That wraps up this edition of "Remember that old thing!?"

One final question though, do you want a carrot?