Out with the Old and In with the New

Over the next few weeks, we are having a new patio and driveway put in. Our existing patio and driveway are as old as the house which was built in 1972. They are cement (cracking cement, that is), and the patio is flat on the ground. The new patio will be raised around 10 inches and will be built with bricks and pavers.

They started work a little over a week ago, and our whole back yard is torn up. We are very excited about this because we both love to sit outside in the evenings and just relax and watch the birds, chipmunks, and, oh yes, our little racoon, who lives in one of our trees near the patio. He's a sweet boy, but we keep a close eye on him since our grandchildren play in our back yard regularly.

We are losing several very old shrubs and a few trees, but it is probably time for them to be replaced anyway. We also lost a 40-year old chain-link fence that surrounded the back yard, but we were not sad to see it go since it had become very rusty and most yards do not have them these days.

The driveway will be the last thing to be completed, and it will be a mixture of pavers and cement. There will be a small stone retaining wall on the yard side of the driveway since the yard slopes down toward the house.

The project should be completed in about a month, just in time for spring and our evening respite. Keep your fingers crossed that we have good weather and that all goes well.