{Water Control Project Finished}

Almost doing the happy dance! On January 21, the crew came to pour the concrete. 

Water Control Project Finished!

Of course, such a job could not be handled by husband Pieter...

The big truck arrived and by wheelbarrow the concrete was brought to the spot.

That meant ACTION!

NO cat-supervisors now; they're all hiding as they are scared of strangers...

Thick consistency makes it heavy to handle...

Dumping it onto a wooden board and than spreading it out...

Husband Pieter made them this wooden beam for leveling it; just extending across the aluminum gutter.
They do a great job!

Cake art in the rough...

Smoothing it really well.

Six days later; all dried up and looking very nice!

This is the bay window kitchen area...

Pieter showing how neat they worked around the aluminum gutter. They did an excellent job and understood quite well what Pieter wanted.

The other side of the bay window towards the front porch.

This is from the retainer wall looking towards the front porch.
It did dry out nicely.

Detail of the aluminum gutter and the Scallop Concrete Edger...

When the danger of frost will be gone, those 20 x 20 cm or 8 x 8 inch tiles will be put on!
Will show you later the tiled Patio job.
Do you like it?

Related links:
{Final Preparations for Water Control Project} | previous post by me
{Retainer Wall Extension for Water Control} | previous post by me
{Pipe under Brick Walkway & Trench for Water Control} | previous post by me
{Our New Retainer Wall & Vinyl Picket Fence} | previous post showing you part I of Water Control
{65 Year Old Pine Tree Cut Down} | previouis post showing you preparation of Water Control

{Antique French Gilt Metal & Glass Biscuit Box with Handle}

On the French eBay I did come across this beautiful Antique French Gilt Metal & Glass Biscuit Box with Handle. The only problem was that one side of the handle had a missing threaded rivet... When I asked my husband if he could repair that, he said yes I can. So off I went and bid on it but the person was NOT willing to ship it to the USA. Well, I asked friend Janny from Rozen van Papier (Paper Roses) if she could help me out. She graciously did so and that's how I ended up being in possession of this antique French Biscuit Box. Only at Christie's I did find something similar: A VICTORIAN GILT METAL BISCUIT BARREL AND COVER WITH CUT-GLASS LINER, LATE 19TH CENTURY... Have a look at ours below, it is the same size as the one at Christie's above but not as valuable. But this is now our treasure!

Would you not have fallen in love with it?

One of those threaded rivets on the side of the handle was missing...

So what did I do to find a matching one?

Husband Pieter took the two off from the glass lid and replaced the one missing on the handle with one of them.

Than I went on line for finding two new ones for putting on the glass lid again.

Guess what? I ended up at Restoration Supply Company in Escondido, California where I ordered my two round threaded rivets and nut hex! 

We received excellent service from Miss Brandi K. Gay!

To the right is Brandi K. Gray.

A very caring company with OUTSTANDING customer service!

So refreshing to learn that such high courtesy companies still exist...

Somebody had tried to glue them to the glass top...

Tricky for removing all that gunk without damaging but Pieter managed to do so.

On top of the lid are the two new round threaded rivets with their matching hex nut that Pieter did saw to fit.

This Gilt Metal & Glass Biscuit Box measures 18.5 cm x 12 cm and 11 cm high or 7.3 inches long and 4.7 inch wide and 4.3 inch high. Quite a size and I filled it up with home baked Amaretti cookies made from almond meal.

Quite lovely or not?

What a history this biscuit box has had... wish it could speak!

So glad it arrived here safely in one piece; all the way from France.

Love those ball feet! Very nice beveled corners too.

If you like to sit down for a while, I will make you a tea or coffee to go with these Amaretti cookies.

ENJOY!

{Final Preparations for Water Control Project}

On December 30, 2013 my husband Pieter did start with the Final Preparations for our 4th Water Control Project. The previous 3, you can find below this post. All prostrate Gardenia shrubs had to be dug up and saved for transplanting them elsewhere. Can you guess what we will be doing here?...

At the Bay Window and Veranda side of the house...

Cat-man and supervisor Bandido looks on.

Freshly built concrete wall with Scallop Concrete Edger, just as is done on the outside (seen to the left)...

All shrubs have to be taken out here!

Bandido's tiny sister Tiggy-Tiger is checking out if there are any prostrate Gardenias left...

Now it is all bare and leveled with a slope, towards the outer Concrete Scallop Edger.

Tell you what... Tiggy-Tiger and her brothers just LOVED this huge sand box for rolling and than tracking sand up the stairs!

Here you see the plan. An aluminum gutter at the end (left) and it is leveled such that it descends towards that gutter.

So the caught rain-gutter overflow from the roof and sky water combined, will run away from the home.

The end of the aluminum gutter on the ground, will discharge the water here onto the little brick platform from where it runs downhill into our back yard.

From the other side you can clearly see how the aluminum gutter will discharge all rain water onto the little brick platform.

The soil that got leveled off for making the place descending, got wheelbarrowed here in a rather low and wet area near the pond and greenhouse.

Now this is the front of the house, where the front porch, office and guest bedroom is.

Also prostrate Gardenias need to be dug up here.

Same procedure; leveling off descending towards the Scallop Concrete Edger and the aluminum gutter...

You can see where the plank is how much it descends.

Ha-hah, our cat-supervisors left their Litter Clean bucket out here... 

Funny how Pieter has been using that, for mixing his concrete!

This is the end and Pieter did pour some concrete as a wall with Scallop Concrete Edger on top to mark its end.

The black Drainage Culvert Pipe goes underground from here, at the end of the aluminum gutter...

Here you see the black Drainage Culvert Pipe go underground... more or less.

There is always cat-supervision!

One growing season further and it will all be invisible.

Bandido and his sister Tiggy-Tiger like what their Papi has accomplished!

Tiggy-Tiger dreaming about her HUGE sand box but it will not be that way for long...

Check out  {Water Control Project Finished} which will be published in 6 days!

Thanks for visiting.

Related links:
{Retainer Wall Extension for Water Control} | previous post by me
{Pipe under Brick Walkway & Trench for Water Control} | previous post by me
{Our New Retainer Wall & Vinyl Picket Fence} | previous post showing you part I of Water Control
{65 Year Old Pine Tree Cut Down} | previouis post showing you preparation of Water Control

{Happy 90th Birthday Mom}

Happy 90th Birthday dear Mom; you made it, regardless your kidney dialysis!

Mom, with her soft face...

This photo I took on October 27, 2009 when we visited my Parents during our 62th trip to The Netherlands.

Don't have a more recent one of her yet.

This photo is from March 22, 1996 when Mom & Dad were here with us in the USA for about one month.
She was so happy with these photos where she only got her hair curled, her face powdered to make it less shiny and lipstick on. NOTHING ELSE!
When I gave her this photo in a silver frame, together with some others that were taken of her, she told me it was the best gift she ever received.
Dad could not get over the fact how good looking she was and when we had dinner at our friends' home, she was the star of the evening. All our friends found her looking so much younger than the previous visit in 1987.

Made me feel proud of course; and I still have my Mom!

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As of today, 2121 have viewed this post...

When Mom viewed this post with us during her dialysis and at that time 863 people had already viewed this post...

Related links:

Mom got called MOVIE STAR for once she was the CENTER of ATTENTION! | later post about Mom's best gift on video...

{Mom's 5th Dialysis Anniversary} | previous post by me
{Happy 89th Birthday Dear Mom} | previous post by me
{The Little Black Dress & My MOM} | previous post by me
{Humble Gifts of the 1950s}| previous post by me
{Mom's 4th Dialysis Anniversary} | previous post by me with more pictures of Mom
{60 Years Ago} | previous post by me with Mom's pictures
{GERANIUMS BRINGING BACK CHILDHOOD MEMORIES}| previous post by me

{Our Camellia Yuhsienensis}

From a tree enthousiast at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville, Florida, we did receive some exotic plants in return for material from our Golden Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' which seems to be the only species around. He is trying his best to propagate it so the species will be preserved for the future. Below this post you find links that lead to our very rare Golden Oak. But here is one of the exotics we received; Camellia Yuhsienensis. This is a species that is suppposed to be from the Hunan province in China.

Isn't she a beauty? Very special petals!

This is inside the greenhouse extension husband Pieter built this summer. Link you find below.

This is the first time that this young Camellia Yuhsienensis blooms so we were thrilled to see its blossoms!

This species from China has white petals with notched tips, unlike other species, this flowers in clusters at branch tips resulting in a heavy floral display in January through February

Next to the acrylic side panels that Pieter put in there in the summer.

Any blossom in the winter is a bonus!

Photos are all taken on January 20 and it is supposed to bloom in January/February so right on time.

Guess it is well protected against the harsh frost we endured the month of January.

Let it grow into a stronger adult shrub first before exposing it to the elements.

Do you see those buds?

Related links:
Camellia yuhsienensis | Tikorangi The Jury Garden | site from New Zealand showing this C yuhsienensis
{SHATTERED Winter Dreams...} | previous post by me showing the green house extension
{Golden Live Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' in Sunshine at its BEST} | previous post by me
{Our Golden Live Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' with Catkins} | Previous post by me

{Cloudy Day versus Sunny Day}| Previous post by me

{Our Golden Live Oak has LOTS of Acorns!} | previous post by me

{Our Different Oaks} | previous post by me

{My Silk Quilted Vest Creation and YOUR Opinion Requested...} | previous post by me showing golden oak