With barely time to catch our breaths, we had another parental visit last weekend. Heather's mom Arlene and her boyfriend Mike came out for a working vacation. We had a great time with them, though it probably wasn't very relaxing for them. We did have a couple of great meals out on the town, though. The picture above is from Salty's on the Coluumbia. Arlene also treated us to her favorite Portland treat - bone-in filet mignons at the Ringside. Mmm-mmm. We all four got them and it was quite a treat - especially for me, who ate all the leftovers the next day.
Arlene and Mike came prepared with a chainsaw, gardening catalogs and lots of good ideas to help us beautify our lame backyard. On Sunday I helped Mike cut down the nasty pear tree that was making us miserable every summer.
I hate to cut down a tree, but it dumped so many pears in the yard at the end of the summer that it was a major hassle every day to go out and pick up the rotten pears. We tried to eat the pears, but they just weren't that good. And it was pretty sickly anyway. We plan to replace it with a nice maple or really any non-fruit-bearing tree.
Mike and I cut down the tree on the Sunday while Heather and Arlene worked on the garden. Surprisingly, the whole thing went smoothly. No chainsaw accidents, no limbs falling in neighbor's yards, no tree falling on roofs. Ironically, I did injure myself - not with the chainsaw or dropping branches, but when I was dumping a load of brush at the composting center. I was tugging a thick branch which suddenly popped free, and I basically hit myself very hard in the face. The result: one hell of a shiner...
We cut off most of the branches, but as the day was coming to a close we decided to just go for it and cut the sucker down, even though it was still pretty tall. For the final cut we tied the trunk to the back of the pickup. Heather gave it gas while Mike made the last precise cuts and it fell perfectly in the middle of the yard. Cue applause from the neighbor's yard, who had been watching the whole process.
I had to go back to work on Sunday, but they kept at it all day Monday and Tuesday. As you can see below, it turned out wonderfully. The ladies really did a great job and Arlene wowed us with the layout of the plants. My one contribution was the idea of keeping the tree trunk there and hanging plants off of it. Plus, the top was perfect for the birdhouse they made for us. The yard looks really beautiful, especially when we light the tiki torches and candles at night. Thanks, you guys!
Oh, and the ladies also did some work on the baby room, painting blue sky and clouds on the ceiling, Heather's back is pretty sore from all the work, so we are taking it easy this weekend. Besides it hit 106 degrees yesterday, so we had to bust out the kddie pool...
Mike and I cut down the tree on the Sunday while Heather and Arlene worked on the garden. Surprisingly, the whole thing went smoothly. No chainsaw accidents, no limbs falling in neighbor's yards, no tree falling on roofs. Ironically, I did injure myself - not with the chainsaw or dropping branches, but when I was dumping a load of brush at the composting center. I was tugging a thick branch which suddenly popped free, and I basically hit myself very hard in the face. The result: one hell of a shiner...We cut off most of the branches, but as the day was coming to a close we decided to just go for it and cut the sucker down, even though it was still pretty tall. For the final cut we tied the trunk to the back of the pickup. Heather gave it gas while Mike made the last precise cuts and it fell perfectly in the middle of the yard. Cue applause from the neighbor's yard, who had been watching the whole process.
I had to go back to work on Sunday, but they kept at it all day Monday and Tuesday. As you can see below, it turned out wonderfully. The ladies really did a great job and Arlene wowed us with the layout of the plants. My one contribution was the idea of keeping the tree trunk there and hanging plants off of it. Plus, the top was perfect for the birdhouse they made for us. The yard looks really beautiful, especially when we light the tiki torches and candles at night. Thanks, you guys!
Oh, and the ladies also did some work on the baby room, painting blue sky and clouds on the ceiling, Heather's back is pretty sore from all the work, so we are taking it easy this weekend. Besides it hit 106 degrees yesterday, so we had to bust out the kddie pool...
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