{May 2014 be a Happy and above all a Healthy Year for YOU!}

Hoping you all enjoyed a very special New Year's Eve with your loved ones and that this year will fulfill many a dream. Be it a marriage, the birth of a child/grandchild, a graduation, an anniversary, a special long dreamed about trip, a long awaited visit with relatives or friends after several years... On and on the list goes. Each of us has different dreams, wishes and hopes. One of the ingredients for being Happy is to be Satisfied with what we ALREADY HAVE and for COUNTING OUR MANY BLESSINGS.

Wishing all of you a Happy and above all a Healthy 2014!

This photo is from November 21, 2013 taken during the banquet of the Dublin Rotary Club's 75th anniversary.

Husband Pieter is wearing his Burberry Tuxedo in year 'round weight wool with silk cummerbund and bow tie.

Got him this Tuxedo from Bloomingdales in September of 1986, for use at the many Conferences for their formal banquets. My Pieter never changed in size so this will serve him for life!

We both continue being stable in size and love—a true blissful relationship.

May God grant us many more years together.

I am wearing my Escada silk brocade skirt with wool/cashmere/silk and sequin embroidered top with Escada pumps with Wolford panty hose. Of course all Outlet items for living frugal.

Both of us are happy and grateful for having recovered from major surgery.

Looking forward to a calmer and healthier 2014!

{Our New Retainer Wall & Vinyl Picket Fence}

Our final mega project for 2013, did come along very well! Husband Pieter did finish placing the two new segments of vinyl fence panels on December 28. Photos have been taken yesterday. We already did have 6 Gothic Picket Vinyl Fence Panels in place. Pieter did dig them up and on the Internet I'd found and ordered 2 more of these 3-ft x 8-ft Vinly Fence Panels from Lowe's Home Improvement  

Bandido-boy, is proudly showing off his new Gatehouse Arborley Gothic Picket Vinyl Fence that he helped his Papi build.

On December 16, I did drive this cute little trailer back home from Lowe's, Vidalia, Georgia where we picked up the 2 panels that I'd ordered on line. Here Pieter made another trip with our Toyota RAV4; our loyal work horse for 16 years!

Just enough space for passing by the huge Southern Magnolia.

On December 18, another load of concrete blocks and concrete mix for building that retainer wall after the 65 Year Old Pine Tree had been cut down on the 17th. This is part of our water control, for keeping the rain water behind this retainer wall and not again running towards our home.

Bandido-boy helping his Papi, day after day. And our felines thought that the mulched tree trunk + the dug up soil was their new HUGE litter box...

You can see the spot of the mulched trunk to the right.

Precision work for leveling it out neatly...

Pouring concrete and on top of that come those concrete blocks...

Some back breaking job for removing the old green metal post that was deep into the concrete. Hacking it clean from concrete again and also finding a huge surprise in the ground.

You can now clearly see where the 65 Year Old Pine Tree once stood!

No, the huge surprise he found in the ground was nothing valuable but these Saw greenbrier, Catbrier, Bullbrier or Smilax bona-nox L. roots! 

It got tangled up into the huge oak tree, unseen with its mean thorns and very hard to kill.

That's where the 65 Year Old Pine Tree once stood...

All done! Retainer wall painted and the Vinyl Fence Panels all erected again! The old green metal post anew into the ground in the concrete for fastening the wire fencing.

Leaving an opening between the white vinyl post and the green metal post for Cat–Thresspassing.

That's where friend cats come to visit and our Tiggy–Tiger goes to see them...

Neat job or not?

And that for an eighty four year young man!

Guess that my Pieter does more physical work than many young men half his age...

Healthy living!

Our Tiggy–Tiger girl figured it out how to get to the other side again.

Notice that the first panel is NOT set on concrete blocks.

Husband Pieter didn't dare to dig there due to the wiring in the ground...

But do you see now how different the height levels are and why the water after tropical showers runs towards our home?

For the end of the year, I feel mighty proud of my dear husband Pieter's accomplishments.

Living frugal from one pension, with 3 adults, we also manage to be happy with our 6 felines.

Now, I'm off to scanning the FINAL100 slides and than I will have managed to make them all digital by the end of 2013 for archiving!

Have you also accomplished some major project this year?

Wishing you all a happy New Year's Eve and a Happy and Healthy 2014!

Thanks for reading here.

Related links:
{65 Year Old Pine Tree Cut Down} | previous post of Part I
Gatehouse Arborley 3-ft x 8-ft White Gothic Picket Vinyl Fence Panel | link from Lowe's

{65 Year Old Pine Tree Cut Down}

On December 17, the weather was wind still and finally the people from Soles Tree Service, Inc could come and cut our HUGE 65 Year Old Pine Tree down.

We had to cut it for keeping the water away from our home...

You will find out below!

Here it was... Funny enough our cats think their Papi created a huge litter box for them!

Speckie girl is right behind me...

This tree was on the border line with our neighbors and it could become a hazard to either one of us.

But the main reason that we cut it, with permission of our neighbors, is to prevent the rain water running down from the higher areas towards our home.

There it is; tall like the oak tree next to it. Our home is out of perspective due to the distance...

Our Southern Magnolia to the left.

It really was a HUGE one...

Our Vintage Woodworks elements are showing very well here.

This photo I took from the neighbors garden and you can see the steep slope running down towards our home...

The total length of this tree measured about 27 meters or 88.5 feet.

The traffic was temporarily stopped as it fell on the road.

We already did have these white vinyl picket fences up there on the border.

BUT as a matter of fact husband Pieter had requested the builder to erect a retainer wall on the border when he was constructing the house. We were working and living in Indonesia at that time. He did NOT erect that retainer wall... 

We paid the price for it this year!

Right through this opening, to the right of the pine tree, was a track where the water would run down straight towards the bay window area...

Now you can see the plan. In the center where the vinyl picket fence has been plucked out, husband Pieter already started pouring concrete and putting concrete blocks on top. Thus creating a shallow retainer wall for keeping the rain water behind it and forcing it to run down hill, alongside the retainer wall towards the back. No more threspassing of rain water!

Yep, here I stand next to parts of the top...

You can see the first part of the picket fence about 4 meters off the road. 

This photo is from August 20, when the water did rise up against our front door steps.

That's the time we had problems with our basement and we want to avoid having to mop up water again for 4 days and nights non-stop!!!

For the time being; this mission is accomplished and in about ten years this huge pine tree could have caused problems as its core was hollow.

Will show you soon the finished project!

Have you had to do something on your property to keep rain water away from your home?

Related links:

{Fighting the Water + Scanning Slides} | previous post by me

{Do you know Dutch DWEILEN for Mopping up Water?}| previous post by me

{IMPACT and AFTERMATH of TROPICAL THUNDERSTORMS} | previous post by me

Rainy July Day in Georgia II - iPhone upload  | shows you how it looks like with heavy rains...