FIRE!

The firepit is now operational! Now we could use some cooler weather

landscaping continued, sod, but no plants yet (too hot)

Irrigation and sod have been installed, plants are due in a couple weeks. Fire pit has been completed from the outside, but still waiting on the fire glass and fire ring for the inside. Here are random pics . . .

Pool update - we have water!

The pool portion of our backyard project is complete - landscaping begins this week, here are pics:




Future firepit in foreground -

Sorry for the lack of posts, just returned from a European tour . . .

with 75 of my favorite UT students. Here are some pics:

Switzerland -



London -



Spain (modern) -


The new Opera House in Valencia, Spain - still under construction . . .



This is THE BEST sounding (and one of the most beautiful) Hall in which I've had the pleasure of conducting, located in Zaragoza, Spain. Carnegie Hall, eat your heart out!

concrete . . . and lots of it!

The Concrete guys poured the patio, planting beds, and firepit area last week. here are pix:

Patio Forms . . .

The concrete crew has been hard at work once we finally got the gas line inspection taken care of (several issues there, but won't bore you with the details). We're still refining the final layout as the slope of the yard is even more severe than anticipated and the concrete guys are working hard to keep water running away from both the pool and house - which is very good, but may make us compromise on the design a bit.

Here are some shots . . .

Firepit in the foreground -


Opposite view (and there's Josh's house in the background being built next to us - good thing we like the design of his house!) -


Overhead shot, firepit on the left -


Overhead shot, BBQ/Outdoor kitchen slab on the far right


Just as a reminder (I have to keep reminding myself) - here's where we're heading with all this . . .

Shed is done and pool stuff still moving forward . . .

Here's the finished shed - I think it came out very well (just like my rendering!) . . .



The pool guys have reached the point where our other subs come in- plumbers to run gas lines for BBQ and firepit and concrete crew to build planting beds, firepit area, patio and pool decking. We've made a few alterations to the original bed design due to how high the walls in the back come out of the ground.

Here's a couple quick pool shots . . .




And here's a shot of the progress of the back beds . . .