09-28-15 Phase 3 of driveway "redo"

Here in this post we pick up on Phase 3 of my driveway "redo" project which is explained in the post about Phase 1 here and then you can check out what I got done just before this in Phase 2 here! I spent the majority of the day working on this project because I wasn't able to start until mid-morning and by then it was already hotter than I had expected. We were blessed with a few mellow days with temps in the low 90s after the rain we had gotten and on THIS day it decided to get back up around 105-110. But I was at a point in the project that I was very eager to continue and pick up on, excited to be reaching a point where it looked near done, at least to the level of done I plan to get it to for now. So I would work and take breaks and then work some more, using up the better part of a day.

I decided to start with the new driveway part that branches off to the right from the main driveway and leads to that double gate to the future pasture. You can see from this picture that those rocks weren't necessarily in a good place so they had to be moved again. But what you can't see is just how many weeds there were up by the fence and to the left of it. I wanted to go ahead and get rid of all of those. 

I began by raking all the loose debris and small weeds from that burn pile over to the gate, raking them up towards the new line for the driveway to "clear the path" if you will.

This took awhile but I do actually enjoy work like this because I'm one of those people who enjoys raking, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, etc because it feels like happy work for an OCD person. =) And then the result was pleasing which was what appeared to be an "intentional" path big enough for 2 cars or a large truck or even tractor! Success!

Here is another view from the other side of the debris and junk ALMOST raked away...

Me, happy to be working outside but it was pretty hot!!!

I am a huge fan of before and after's and even before and now's because it is a visual reminder or gratification for me of the progress that has been made. It gives me that jolt of contentment that refuels me to push on.

Once I got the rocks placed where I wanted them to remain, I got all the weeds up to the left by the gate removed and the only thing up there now is that bamboo, which will eventually be removed as well. And then I got everything raked out of the way.

This made me happy and was about the most I plan to do with this area for awhile, other than removing the bamboo and adding gravel. We won't have a need or use for that gate until next year some time so for now this is what I set out to accomplish and from now on I'll just keep the road way clear of weeds until the gravel goes down.

Here is a good before and now! I say "In Progress" because obviously this area of the project is not finished but it won't be awhile and that is alright by me! For now!

Once I got the gate area cleaned up on the far side of this photo I just had to do an In Progress photo of this area, too! But the top photo in the collage above is from the other day before I got all those weeds removed.

Here is a great before and now photo collage of the work done just in front of the house, where the driveway splits left and right and where there will soon be visitor parking room by a new front gate (after the bamboo is gone)! I love this photo collage!!!!!! <3

Then I moved over to the driveway. The other day I had gotten the rocks placed and some of the weeds on the left knocked down but not all of them. So after that side gate area was cleaned up I focused my energy on getting all the weeds off this left side so you can see both rows of rocks and it look like an intentional driveway.

Here I had gotten the weeds at the end of the driveway taken care of and just had a few smaller ones up at the front to tend to.

I got ALL the weeds out of the driveway! Except you may notice that small little bush RIGHT there. Haha! I must say, when I was chopping down weeds I saw this little weed/bush of wild flowers that were blooming  beautiful yellow and I just couldn't! I thought "Maybe it won't be too much in the way". So I get all the other weeds down, I put UP my weed eater and TWO extension cords it takes to reach this side of the yard, haha, and then come back out and spend an hour RAKING the entire driveway end to end. I raked from the middle off to each side to clear any other debris, small weeds I had missed and level out the existing minuscule gravel. So then once all that was done I came and stood back here to take my "after" photo, Yay...only to find just how much that little bush really bothered me. Again...OCD much?!?! So...I had already put away all my tools to get rid of it with AND I was tired and hot and felt just annoyed with the idea of getting everything back out, throwing my cords around and all that fuss just to come remove that one plant. Talk about slapping yourself for wishing you had done something the first time around.

When my pants and boots are this dirty and covered in dust, I know I'm getting something done and working with my body and it makes me feel proud, happy, capable, able and content! <3 Who said a single Mom can't setup a homestead mostly on her own? =)

View of the driveway "done" for now from the south. I still need to remove the debris from that burn pile and, of course, remove that little bush...and then I'll feel like it's truly done until I move onto the next phase in a couple of months. And that next phase is gravel, trees and water lines.

View of the driveway BASICALLY done from the north. (That damn bush!) Ahhhhhh! 

People often know me as Elizabeth, the Realtor, single mom, woman who loves her aviators and who has very long, thick curly, wild hair. And the majority of the time when I'm out and about being social or working they'll see me with my hair down and I'm typically in a long summer dress and sandals. It is my go to outfit, my "make me feel pretty and girly" outfit. But what most people don't usually see (only a handful have really) is me when I'm the happiest which is when I have no make-up at all on, hair up in a knot, jeans on, boots on, sweating my butt off, calluses on my hands, bottle of water in my back pocket, etc. Being raised in Arkansas you might think I grew up this way but I really didn't. We lived in city limits the majority of my life until I moved in with my sister when I was 12. At that point we lived in the country. Prior to that I had summer's with my Dad or his parents and those were the real boonies and times when I spent as much time outside as I could, being a lil country girl playing in the mud, climbing trees, riding four wheelers, hanging out with my boy cousins! But throughout life I have come to find I am happiest outside. Being raised in the Phoenix metro from the age of 15 to 21, some "city" rubbed off on me but when I started hiking the local mountains for exercise, I realized how much I loved it. That grew and fostered a love of the outdoors in Arizona, even though it is insanely hot. But hiking and running outdoors even in the summer, over the years, I came accustomed to the weather we have here. And so this all brings me now to where I am 30 and I've been itching the last few years to raise my son in the country so he may have a childhood covered in mud as I did part of mine. And I do think if I never had a reason to dress up ever again and spent every day on this property working on clearing land, growing a garden, tending to animals...I'd be just fine with that! <3 I have finally found what makes me the most happy in my life and that is being far away from other people, tending to everything myself and learning a lot along the way, teaching my son useful skills he needs to know for adult life!

For good measure, I can't forget the progress photos of the driveway!

And of course, lastly, the final before and now photo of the driveway from the gate to the house! To some it may not look like a whole lot was done but this took me probably a good 20-25 hours total over the course of numerous days to get this work done being as I did 90% of it on my own. Riley helped with the fire and hauling around some rocks and firewood but for the most part I knew he didn't need to be working outside in 110 degrees weather because he isn't used to it like I am.

I am excited for the near future when I can share with you the next phase of this project. As of now, there isn't a planned date for what we'll do next but it will include; gravel, 6 new trees and running irrigation lines from the well to said new trees. Until then...

XoXo,

Elizabeth

09-27-15 Phase 2 of our driveway "redo"

Phase 2 of our driveway "redo", (you can find the info and photos of phase 1 here) picked up a few days after we had some rain that caused us to not be able to get anything done.

This is where we left off, after placing the rocks everywhere they needed to go to create the shape of the new driveway.

My main focus on that day was to clean up this "visitor parking area" which sits right in front of the house against that line of bamboo. The bamboo will eventually be removed to expose a chain link fence that lies inside all that mess. I will have to hire out help to remove the bamboo as I've done extensive research on it and it needs to be pulled out by the root which will require a tractor, at the very least. This bamboo was chopped down and burnt out about 18 mths ago and it returned like nothing ever happened. So once that is all gone and I get to repairing that fence I'm going to put a front gate there right in front of the front porch so that there is an obvious entrance for visitors which is THE reason I'm calling this area the "visitor's parking area"! =) So it had all these wild little desert weeds everywhere and I still had that tree to contend with that I had cut down a good 2 months ago.

First, I knocked down all the weeds with the weed eater and then got to work on chopping up the tree for firewood, kindling and excess to burn and dispose of what was left.

After the firewood and kindly was hauled off to the shop for storage and the fire was going, I got to raking this area to remove all the loose weeds and just clean up the area.

Riley helped man the fire...his way (playing in the water hose, haha!) while I was working on another project so we could have a set of eyes on the fire.

Me happy and sweaty after a half days work on the driveway project again!

That was all we had time for that day as dark approached. I got a lot more done the very next day to wrap up that phase 3 of the project and now you can see that here!

XoXo,

Elizabeth

09-19-15 Creating a new parking area

One day I met a woman via Facebook who has a property nearby that she said they might be interested in selling. After a few phone calls I setup a time to go meet her husband out at the property to evaluate it and let him know what I think the current market value of his property was. While there I noticed he had these beautiful river rocks (some white and sparkly) all over his property purposely placed along the driveway and around trees. I told him how beautiful I thought they were and we quickly found ourselves in a conversation about my little farm and my homestead dreams. This gentleman was older and said property he had inherited years ago as 5 vacant acres and throughout his young adult life and into married life and having children, he put a mobile home on the property, brought in utilities, planted trees, had a garden, raised a family, had horses, etc. Now that time in his life had passed and his children were grown and him and his wife had moved to a different smaller property nearby. One or two of his children had lived in the home as adults as needed on and off again and now the home sat empty and he was contemplating selling it. To be frank, my goal as a realtor is to get the listing to sell the property but in my heart of hearts if I myself had spent 30+ years starting and growing on a property like he had, I can't imagine I'd ever want to part with it myself.

Our conversation about the river rock though lead him to tell me that there was river rock all around this area in ditches and dry creek beds that if I was ever out that way I should just stop and load up some and that people do that all the time. I made a mental note to do just that.

The next day he called me and asked me if I'd like a bunch of free river rock because at his work they were removing a ton and he was responsible for "getting rid of it" and so as long as I could meet him there THAT day then I could have however much I could take. I was super excited and free that day so I started getting ready. A friend was in the area checking out antique shops and had contacted me to see what I was up to that day. I told him about the rock and since he was in the area he offered to stop by and help me load it up. I threw on my boots, grabbed my gloves and out the door I went. Ten minutes later I was in an RV park and my friend was there waiting and we found the nice gentleman. They helped me load up my trunk and most of what was in that pile fit but there was a second pile that I just wasn't going to have time to come back for today.

In talking with my buddy I had told him how I was leaving there to go straight to Home Depot to buy a wheel barrel because there was no way I wanted to start working on any sort of project like this (the one brewing in my mind) without a wheel barrel. I didn't want to be that "old school". He told me he had a super old one at him that he uses maybe 2x a year and if I wanted it I could have it, I just needed to come get it. Score!!!! He warned me it was really old and not pretty and slightly rusted and my thoughts were "It's free!!!" And...it will be a back saver on the farm. I've already found myself amidst numerous projects wishing I had a wheel barrel but hadn't made it a property yet.

So after getting home with the river rock AND my new free wheel barrel, I was super excited! The journey of awesome, friendly locals took about 4 hours out of my day but so well worth it!

This is how much free river rock I was able to load! When I got home I thought it really didn't look like a lot but hey, free is free and so I was eager to unload it and start placing them along the driveway!

MY IDEA!

My idea was to use these as a phase 1 border for my driveway and parking area so that eventually as I have the funds, supplies or time then I will add in some top soil, mulch, add a few ground cover plants and maybe some pretty bushes. And with my recent research into permaculture I just knew I could add a few berry bushes throughout this side area under the trees for color AND purpose!

A few days previous to this not knowing I was going to find myself with a heap of free river rock, Riley and I found this old railroad tie on the property and I thought it'd be a cute feature as a "parking curb" to add where I always park under the trees. So it took us a solid 10 mins to lug it from one place to the other and not sort of any complaining from my little "City boy in transition", haha! So this photo shows where that railroad tie is and then where we laid the rocks in a half circle under the 2 mesquite trees. I think I'll have to start calling these trees the "Married Mesquite Trees" because they are so lovely there together, complimenting one another yet growing in opposite directions to create this beautiful canopy shaded area! <3 

A quick before and after of the area from in the driveway.

A more close up before and after on the Married Mesquite Trees.

Then we ran them along the line of 4 trees that border the fence line from the driveway to the front yard. This is where I hope to have many beautiful flowers and bushes one day, welcoming me home each time I pull up!

 

A before and after of the entire parking area of the driveway after just adding the river rock. I love that it adds some structure or definition to the area that was otherwise just wide open dirt. I like structure.

XoXo,

Elizabeth

06-05-15 Moving in weekend, alas!

Contrary to most people's beliefs, my ex-fiance and I have managed to stay on friendly terms! So much so that he helped us move! Getting everything out of storage was a HUGE accomplishment! Because not only had we put 90% of our belongings into storage when we had left Maricopa the year before but I also personally had had maybe 30% of my personal belongings in storage for the last 5 years!!! Due to just having so much STUFF and not wanting to keep it at home or move it with me. So since I have more storage at the farm and I wanted to cut the expense of a monthly storage bill, we got it ALL out. I knew I'd have a bunch of sorting, sifting and selling on my hands because I can't stand for anything IN my house to not be organized!

Riley was working so hard! Lol!

He actually did help but he's also a regular 10 year old boy who "requires" frequent breaks to play games on his cell phone. That is something we need to work on!

Loading the storage building took much longer than we expected. Plus we had some stuff in Apache Junction and some stuff at the house in Maricopa where we'd been staying with our roommate. So, this venture took ALL day long. And I had planned for it to take like 4 hours, haha! So we dropped Riley off at his friends house for a sleepover and headed to the farm. We unloaded in the dark, got everything IN the house or the storage items in the shop and passed out!

Then, Riley and I spent the weekend placing furniture, starting the unpacking process, etc. This is my old record player inside the front door.

This flag goes with me everywhere. It is old and tattered so it is only for indoors.

This damn giant bean bag that apparently we have to take with us everywhere. Once we got TO the farm I realized for sure that there was nowhere this would fit in the house. Riley briefly said he'd use it in his room instead of a bed but I didn't sign off on that! So it stayed on the front porch where it (sadly!) still sits today. I have recently concluded I'm going to sell it or give it away.

 

I'm a very organized mover/packer/unpacker. So when we brought everything in off the moving truck all furniture went, at least, IN the room where it belonged. Then all the other boxes that either didn't state what room they went in or we were too exhausted to care, went into an organized pile of rows here in the dining room. This was my "working pile" to start with the day after moving in. Each of these had been in storage 1 to 5 years so EACH had to be gone through. As well all dishes and glassware had to be washed. It was a tedious process. I had hoped to get it done in about 3 days (as I had work stuff to get back to) but it took me about 2 weeks!

The third "bedroom" in this house is super tiny. And by super tiny I mean, SUPER...TINY! This picture is of my executive style desk and it has about 6-12 inches of clearance on each side before it touches a wall!!! On the other side of this that entire wall is floor to ceiling closets or cabinets so that's great for storage. But I knew from the beginning this room would either be my office or a small guest room with a daybed. I used it for my office for the first few months and now I'm leaning towards getting a daybed for it and making it a cute room for visitors.

Tiny house storage tips! The hall bath that Riley and the visitors use is small BUT efficient! The only storage in the bathroom is under the sink and that's it. So while sorting through all my organizing treasures that had been in storage I came across this contraption I once upon a time used in my pantry. I hung it over the back of the bathroom door and put rolled up towels in it. Then I found this other little guy that I had used in the pantry to put spices in so I hooked that to it and what goes in there is Riley's items you would normally find in a medicine cabinet (b/c that bathroom doesn't have one) like his deodorant, body spray, tooth paste, etc. This way the counters are kept clutter free, there is room under the cabinet for excess towels and actual storage.

We did have a Scentsy in there but that has since been moved. I always keep a small basket on the back of the toilet for extra TP because I don't like those TP holders that sit on the ground...because they're on the ground. And after this photo I hung a cute picture up behind the toilet that reminds Riley of his morning and evening routines so he doesn't forget to brush his teeth! In the future I'd like to paint this cabinet white because the wood is super dated and worn out but for now it is totally doable.

The living room barely put together. We had this giant sectional that we had gotten when it was myself, Riley, my ex and his 4 kids and it worked perfect for a large family. It seats 8 comfortably with a chase on one end, breaks into 3 pieces and has an ottoman. When I first brought it into our small living room we left the ottoman on the porch knowing it just wouldn't fit. After this photo was taken I actually removed the chase as well so now it is just L-shaped and seats 5-6 which is still more than we need. This is an odd shaped couch for me to attempt recovering it myself so in the near future I'll be replacing it with a sofa and either a love seat or an arm chair. We don't need a ton of permanent seating and we do need floor space so the furniture itself doesn't make the room feel tiny since it's where we spend a majority of our time. I have long had a vision of a dream living room having hard wood floors, white baseboards, white window trim, painted pale walls with white furniture and white distressed wood furniture. Then the color would be infused in the room with rugs, curtains, pillows, paintings, etc. So...the sage green sofa just won't do for long. Since my home decor redo is a slow process...(still not done to date) it will be replaced when the time is right.

Some before and during pictures of the unpacking process. I'm a visual person so I often take photos of projects midway through to compare to the before's to remind me of how far I've come, thus motivating me to cross that finish line. I've done that A LOT here at the farm!

Making progress! Dining room table put together, half way through the boxes!

This was once I got ALL the boxes unpacked, the buffet in place and just had a few tubs left to sort through. I hadn't found any curtains yet and midday in June in Arizona the sun was beating through those windows like crazy. So I found sheets and blankets and threw those up over the windows for the first few weeks. It looked super corny but being IN the house and not sweating...it did the job for the time being!

Ahhhh! A complete before and after of the dining room unpacking process! Wow! I think it was 10-14 days about.

Riley man...has enjoyed exploring the property. Due to the size of the 8 acres and how so many different types of people have lived here, some with horses, some without, some with goats...oh and the fact that we don't have city or county trash out here at all so you have to burn your trash, Riley keeps finding interesting items all over the grounds. That day he had found a wood pole and wrapped a chain around it like some gladiator or something and ran around the yard swinging it at things, lol! I was just glad he was reminding me of when I was a kid growing up in the country how we'd just go outside and FIND something to do, explore, wander around. I will be glad when that is what he eventually spends the majority of his free time doing, once video games are more a thing of the past. However, since it is 2015 and I have no desire for my son to hate me or hate living in the country I am planning a slow, gradual progression for him to adjust and learn to love the country life!

After we got everything out of storage and put the items that I knew were "storage items" in the shop, this is what we had in there. Much more went in there after the unpacking was done inside because we have a lot of camping, sports and holiday decorations which all found a semi-permanent home in the shop.

This is all for now! Many more posts and photos to come as I moved from unpacking to working on the house and ever continued work on the grounds!

XoXo,

Elizabeth