The original owners moved into our home in 1958 and got busy putting on extensions and gardens and then promptedly stopped all renovations sometime in the Reagan administration. It was fine for us, because we got a bargain on the home. Few buyers were willing to look past the overgrown gardens and wallpaper and the dark wood kitchen.

We’ve mostly dealt with the wallpaper problem. The kitchen and bathrooms will have to wait. The roof is happening later this year. Our biggest expenses have been dealing with the outside. We had to put in a patio for outdoor dining. Eating outside is one of the best things about living in the suburbs, so our first renovations dollars went to clearing out overgrown shrubbery and carving out a patio.

This year, we killed more trees, mowed down more shrubbery, and relocated plants. We put in a retaining wall to hold back a pesky stream. And now we’re watching the grass grow and cleaning up the yard even more.

I was up at 5am this morning to take Ian and Steve to a class trip to Philadelphia. In this cool morning, I’m picking away at weeds. Yes, we are growing tomatoes in the front yard.