We have a lovely house at the beginning of a cul de sac. We are on a back bay of Charlotte Harbor and our view is wrap around and includes the pass that leads to the Gulf.

After Hurricane Charley, we had our leaky roof replaced with Mediterranean tiles, multicolored teal and gray. The place should look fantastic but has suffered from neglect. Ed used to mow but didn’t do it often enough. The bushes always need pruning and I used to do some of that, but I am not strong enough anymore. I get sick when I try.

A couple of months ago, Ed finally gave in and said I could hire someone to do the grounds weekly. Steve is a nice fellow, a former cop from Michigan. He has pruned and has just added fertilizer to the lawn. I am looking forward to a recovered lawn. Rainy season has already started, so we are getting late afternoon rains almost daily.

A while back we had a guy remove old, gnarly, sorry looking bushes from our front areaway. They were planted in the stone-covered patches on each side of the walkway. They shedded constantly and weeds had overcome the weed barrier long ago. I had been pulling the weeds and pruning, a tiring effort I can no longer sustain. Once removed, Ed said the area look ghastly. The bushes had been masking the effect. Ed was also annoyed because the new look meant he would have to do something and that meant spending money. This was months ago and he has been snarling about it ever since.

We got a couple of estimates and Ed said they were too high. The undone area was a constant reminder. Ed muttered.I just joined Angie’s list on which I had written we needed an estimate and a fellow called. His name is Steve, he used to be a minister. He gave us three quotes – one for the areaway up to a small stone fence that juts out from the left up to the walkway, one for extending the pavers beyond to the driveway, and a third to include the driveway. (I mean, how tacky is it to have elegant pavers and leave the concrete, cracked driveway alone?? Really? But that was all up to Ed.)
I timidly gave the estimates to Ed and he said “not bad” and that he would talk to him. And Steve came over late afternoon yesterday, and they talked, and Ed agreed to have him do the work, not only including the driveway, but going the extra mile to tear out the existing concrete so that there would be no rise where the material meets the garage door. I am overjoyed. I will live out my remaining senior years with curb appeal. Steve said he would have a screen guy call us. That’s next.

Steve has gone off to buy the pavers. I will take before and after photos.

xx, Teal