B-r-r-r-r-r-r-it's winter!

Forty-six degrees when we got up this morning. Yes, I know, that's not really cold but it is for us baked desert dwellers.

Rick even lit the stove on Friday night but we did need to open the windows as it quickly got very warm in here. We had never lit the stove before so it was a shakedown. It performs perfectly, has a beautiful flame and will provide more than enough heat for this house.

Yesterday we repaired the damage created by that ferocious storm we had during monsoon season. It didn't take long, probably 5-6 hours of actual plastering. Rick also put in about that much time earlier in the week, digging up the clay (we created our own clay mine with what we had leftover) and sifting. And I enjoy doing it so it's not really a chore. Here is a comparison of the surface before and after:

From this..................................to this.............................................to this:
















Amazing what a little clay, sand, water and fiber can do.

Me and the trusty companion, Gen.





The finished wall...












We're going to try some soy resin on the wall to stabilize it a bit more. Even though this is not a huge job, it's something I wouldn't want to repeat too often.

These pictures also show the patio. It's done with 8x16 concrete pavers placed in a random pattern with 3/4 minus river rock between. The curb is 3.5" poured concrete. About 3/4 of the pavers we got at the salvage yard, the rest from CABCO block company. I plan to stain the pavers and the curb a light brown so they won't be such a glaring gray. So far we like it but it does make it difficult to place chairs as they tend to sink in the gravel.

And one last picture of some of our landscaping as it matures. The hummers love these Orange Bells.