We’re currently… well, what’s the best phrase for it? ‘Considering our options’, I suppose you’d say. House hunting. Sniffing around. Then, every so often when we do this, we get scared and stick our heads back in and are completely happy with our lot, which may be what happens here again.
In that spirit of mind, I’m re-posting the below from December 2007. Yes, 2007. YE OLDEN DAYS.
‘Are you sure you want the ‘brick red’ tint added to the concrete?’ asked the landscaper.
‘Sure,’ said Adam. ‘It will match the bricks to the house.’
‘Are you positive?’ The incredulity was starting to tell me he did not agree with our choice.
‘Yes!’
‘Okay then …’
On the morning of the job I had to take the kids out, thus leaving the men alone to get to work. When I got home I discovered that concretors are a breed of messy human being I have never witnessed anywhere except in the bedrooms of teenage boys. The red wet, sloppy concrete trails over our driveway looked like the Saw movies had all been shot there five minutes ago. When I went to inspect the progress, my eyes were immediately burned by the brightness of our new backyard.
‘Don’t worry,’ said the landscaper, with a wry little smile (I swear) playing on his lips. ‘It will dry lighter than it looks now.’
Later I took Riley in for his afternoon nap. His room is above the backyard; the bright red glare trimmed the edges to his curtains and then bled into the room at large. It was eerie. It was positively Martian.
Behold our Martian environment! It may be cold, but at least the humidity is right.
I looked at Riley; Riley looked at me. As I went to put him down, he began to protest with a face much like this one:
No, mum! I don’t want to be an intrepid intergallactic explorer! Don’t leave me to fend off foreign beings alone!
Don’t worry – he slept fine, in the end. But still, it’s been a few weeks now since the job was completed and I walk into the bathroom on a sunny day and get a shock when I need to blink away the redness. I’m sure I will get used to it too…eventually.
Before
After
The ‘after’ shot could’ve been staged and shot a bit better, but you get the idea. Along the side wall we’ve planted star jasmines and liriopes. At the back fence (which you can’t see here but you can if you click on the bigger picture) is a japanese maple, which in autumn will turn a beautiful orange colour. We’ve ordered the water tank and it will be installed behind the steps just before Christmas. The cubby house, which will go directly behind where I stood there to take the shot, is still on our ‘To-Do’ list.
Still, all in all, I’m happy with it. The kids will be able to ride their bikes or play hopscotch.
(Postscript: Have the kids ever ridden their bikes or played hopscotch down there? Of course not. Is it as red today as it was then? Yes – underneath all the leaves, debris and possum faeces. See the ‘before’ picture again. Although the jasmines are magnificent. The cubby house never became a cubby; instead our vegetable garden.)
