Mastodon? Or Wilted Flower?

Leo came through - the Mexican Beach Pebbles (all 3 tons of them) are on their way.

It will take a few weeks because his workers have to go "harvest" them.  Yes, that's right, each pebble is hand picked off a Mexican Beach and shipped all the way up here.  It's actually cheaper to get them from the beach in Mexico than from a rock yard in Seattle.  Go figure.

I am pleased to announce the War on Green Algae is over and I am victorious.  I kept hoping I might end up with Michelle Obama arms from all the scrubbing  (don't believe the ads that say "just spray on and hose off!") but all I got was Housemaid's Knee.  I apologize to anyone who happened to catch sight of me acquiring it - all you innocent people who did wander around back to see what was happening. I'm embarrassed to admit how much satisfaction I got from all that scrubbing but, as Linda pointed out, it was something I could control, and something that gave me immediate, visible results.

Unlike the mysteries of plumbing and electricity which remain hidden, baffling and taken for granted.  Although look at this. 

                                                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                    Now that's pretty!


And when Mike explains to me the simple beauty of the grease trap interceptor he installed I can appreciate his enthusiasm.

                                                                                                            Sort of.


Meanwhile the Marvelous Ed From Upstairs has started installing the fence which is going to tart the place up no end, not to mention deter our local arsonist from making another attempt to burn down the building (I'll tell you that story over a nice cup of tea one day soon.)

Sue is helping to clear out the weeds - and discovering all sorts of interesting "objets" back there.  No more mastodon bones please, okay?

And Bob, Kevin and Andy from Marvin Painting are painting the siding out back and will start on the front of the building soon.

The good news is they finished painting.  The bad news is - I hate the color.  No, really, it's come out a buttery yellow which is not what it was supposed to be at all.  Worse still, Dan didn't like the color to begin with and I just hate having to admit he was right. The best news is that Bob, Kevin and Andy have agreed to repaint it - before Dan gets back from the east coast tomorrow night so he'll never know!   This is going to be our little secret, right?

Stay tuned   to see what the non-buttery yellow paint looks like.  And find out if we have, in fact, moved on from mastodon bones to shanghied sailor or possibly "wilted flower" bones - both were denizens of the hotel/bar/brothel that was Pippa's Real Tea in its early days.