Local Winery One Year Anniversary

 A winery about a mile from our house had its one year anniversary this week.   They had the Bonneville 7 playing, an art show, and a whole buncha people show up.  It was quite fun!

My beautiful wife out by the vines...

Back Yard Remodel: It Is Complete!

 Our back yard remodel is complete!  And we love the results.

 Many thanks to Rivers Landscape Construction from Escondido for turning our vision into reality.

 While I did the basic design, they were instrumental in helping me with final choices on finishes and colors.  The results speak for themselves!

 The BBQ came out spectacular.  I gave Richard from Rivers the basic layout, and he designed a waterfall concrete countertop with ipe wood accents that is breathtaking. 

I intentionally kept the amount of wood in the back yard low to minimize maintenance requirements, but I made an exception for the BBQ.   Lighting is from Unique Lighting.

 Here is the entire island.   I think it works very well.   The BBQ itself is a Bull, and the doors and drawers are BBQ Guys brand.

 I think the entire island works very well with the Belgard Mirage Noon ceramic tiles in Ember color.

 I expect many a dinner will be prepared here!

 I bought the fire table from wayfare, and it looks great too.   I purchased blue glass to really make it stand out.

 Here is the view down the back of the house.  Very sleek and clean, just like I envisioned.

Concrete is 3500 psi with a TopCast 03 Acid Wash finish.  Saw cuts were used for the joints.

 And standing at the spa looking the other direction.

 Speaking of the spa, it was installed this weekend.  It is a 2019 Hot Spring Grandee in Driftwood color and Ice Gray shell.   Really loving it!

 The patio down this side will eventually hold the air conditioners and garbage cans.  We'll build a fence to shield the view from the rest of the back yard.

 The other side of the house (shown here) will be used for storage.  Bikes, extra chairs, etc.

The view from the master bedroom.

Anyway, we are very happy and have the entire summer to enjoy it!

Our Visit With Ames and His Family

 Here is my wife spending some quality time with her new grandson in San Francisco.  He is a quiet, content little boy!

 My turn!

 Looking a little leery at his grandpa!

 Great photo of him looking at the camera.

 And the first dog Cooper!  He must be in dog heaven being able to watch the events on the street from his perch in his living room!

 A very attentive watch dog too!

 Ames with his father in the background.

 Chillin in his chair.

 Cooper playing with a friend.

Boo!

We enjoyed the visit very much.

Back Yard Remodel: Pavers Are Down

 Now that the rain has cleared out,  we've been making some great progress on the back yard!

 A few more plants arrived...

 We decided on what lighting to install...

 And it snowed!  Well, actually that's a weed barrier they are installing.

 They'll lay shredded bark over that.

 But in the meantime it looks like the holidays!

 They are starting to polish the BBQ countertop

 It should match fairly well with the concrete.

 The appliances should go in within 7 days.

 The side yard is also coming along.

 ...new irrigation valves...

 And the big news this week:  Belgard Mirage Noon ceramic pavers - Ember in color!

 I think they look good against the TopCast 03 Acid Wash cement.

 Here is a close-up of the Mirage tiles.  They look a lot darker in photos than they look in person.  If you are considering these tiles, DEFINITELY get a sample of all colors available in your area and take them to your site!

These photos also show more brown tones than are visible in person.  Photos are funny in how they can look so different than reality.

But it still looks great...very happy with the progress so far!

Trip To San Francisco

 We made a trip up north to see the new grandson last weekend.  We needed to make a side trip to Sacramento, so we rented a car for the trip.  They gave us this gorgeous pickup.  It was a joy to drive.

 Passing through Lake Elsinore, we came across this dazzling display of California poppies.  Just amazing!

There has been a lot of rain this spring, so it was a "Super Bloom" where the flowers are just going nuts.

 A little farther up, traffic came to a crawl as everyone gawked, and quite a few exited the freeway onto a frontage road.  There was actually a traffic jam on that frontage road as people got out to take photos in the poppies.

 We arrived at our hotel in San Francisco late, and this was the view from our room.

 Walking down the block for dinner, we ran across our first Robot Security Guard.  Pretty awesome to see one in action!

And the next morning arrive - we're off to see Ames and his family!

Back Yard Remodel: Plants Are Arriving and Counter Top Poured

 They poured the BBQ island counter top on Monday - looks great so far!

 From another angle.

 And the business side.  The locations for the grill, the doors, and the drawers are clear.

 Some of the plants arrived on Tuesday!

 And several crape myrtles arrived today.

A few podocarpus in the background.

It's coming along!