...and Just Like that, It Blooms!

Once upon a time, there was a small house on a small hill with 18 steps leading to the front door. We cruised around t, scrutinized it, inspected it, and just like that we chose it to be ours ....all 360 square feet of it! All of the windows were blue painted shut, the rooms had fours layers of carpets nailed with force to the hardwood floors, the toilet turned into a drinking fountain for the Point Loma wild life, a small brunch of a lantana bush made its way into the living room through a missing part of the floor, the backyard was one big unattractive ten-foot high pile of garbage! But we loved it the same. We, two dreamers and idealists from the heart of Europe in American West pursuing that famous beautiful colorful American Dream! We rolled up our sleeves, cleaned up the property and my well chosen life companion drew plans and built, only with help of his father who came from Europe for a three month long stay, our beautiful Czech-like white and blue house that came with an oversized pepper tree in the back and a lost cat Liza. And that chapter calls to for a blog post to be written soon!

But now I want to jump over a chunk of time and share a recent adventure! Our quarantine project number 10! Wow and wow, the best and most fun, creative project we worked on!! Just like that, one day my children and I attacked our front yard with force, passion and no plan but to get rid of the Crassula Ovata that took over the front. We did not like it at all! No charm, no shape, no colors, no uniqueness!

So, we decide to clean it up a little. We do, and it looks better! We clean up a bit more, and it looks even better! And before we know it, half of our yard is void of any green only to reveal an ancient terrace….

When the head of the household comes home, he is not happy! But before long he is with us every afternoon armed with a jack-hammer and here we go!

All has to go! Hundreds of stones that used to be cemented in a retaining wall need to be removed, soil hard like cement must be shaped into terraces, it is hard work, the loads of green is endless, but nothing will stop us!

And still no definite plan! But the more we make our front yard naked, the more creative ideas come to mind!

After deliberating, we arrive to a decision without any fights!: Flowers, veggies, compost (hidden!) citrus trees, curving line of the wall, red bricks, small steps... Not a wish Is left out!

Three weeks later….here we are! The foundation for a wall is done, that seemingly easy task to make it strait was endless!

The bricks are being stacked up and that is so much fun! It is a lots of bending, handing, stocking (800 times!), but it grows literally in front of our eyes! Our obligatory short breaks for hot tea an coffee (a teapot and a French press is sitting on a roof of my car permanently!) are shortened as we hurry to have it done!

And here we go! Two beautiful terraces, bottom one for flowers (we will use gray water to keep them beautiful), and the top for vegetables. With our existing top tier, devoted to wine, herbs and a beautiful bench (homemade!) for solitary moments, here we go with a three- tier front yard! Every inch of it used up!

And thus ends with this blooming happy end one of many chapters of the quarantine, social distancing, an era of reckoning, recognizing, sorting, wandering within, wondering ...I am glad to have such wonderful companions on this quarantine road, for better or better, I know how lucky I am.

And if you read all the way up to here, a special medal for you in a form of a beautiful bouquet from our garden is coming your way!!