The Bungalow Chronicles

A couple weeks ago we went to the local garden center to spend our “Lurvey Loot”. For every $10 spent at Lurvey’s Garden Center between April and June, you receive $1 in “Lurvey Loot”, which can be used for up to 50% off your purchase between July and September. We had $116 in Lurvey Loot to spend, mainly because of the Arbs and Dogs, the aluminum landscape edging and other patio necessities we bought this spring.

Our major landscaping expenses are over, so we won’t be earning much “Loot” in the future. Even though we have pretty much planted all we’re going to plant this year (except for some seed that I’ve already purchased), it seemed like a good deal. I was mainly interested in seeing what they might have in decorative objects for the garden.

We had always talked about buying a water fountain or even constructing one ourselves, but we weren’t in a hurry to get one. However, with the Lurvey Loot discount — something that would soon be expiring — and knowing that we’d probably never get around to making a fountain ourselves, we decided to take the plunge.

There were a couple of good options. One was a short fountain that had a very Prairie/Mission feel to it, but we decided that something with more height would be better for our yard. We went with this Giant Iron Bubbling Urn and placed it in front of our garage.

They had several of these on display, but had one still in its crate, so that’s the one we took. This thing was H-E-A-V-Y. Made in Vietnam, the fountain was packed with the left over material from gym shoes. I guess it’s good that they’re recycling their waste, but I hate that it’s ending up in our landfills.

I think it may look better in front of the trellis with the Clematis growing behind it, but that thing isn’t going anywhere for a while. For now it looks good breaking up the expanse of taupe garage siding.

The color is a deep red brown, which complements our brick bungalow perfectly, and the sound is really very soothing.

As part of the Houseblogs.net “Look What I Did” Sweepstakes, it’s a perfect time to show the Before-and-After of our flagstone patio and the progress we’ve made on our yard to date. (I’m also happy for the chance to win some cold hard cash/plastic from our sponsor, True Value!)

When we moved into our bungalow, our sorry yard consisted of:

• Over twelve types of weeds
• The imprint of the PO’s Pod storage box which had been sitting on the front lawn for six months
  
• Rubber mulch
• Chain-link fences; one of which was installed too far in on our property
  

In March/April 2008 we began to plan our new garden spaces in earnest.

The family who bought our previous house (located 90 feet away) very generously offered us the flagstone from the patio we installed there years ago. With two young children, these new owners were preparing to tear out the patio and garden in favor of lawn. (Having moved only two doors away, we currently enjoy watching the kids play in their yard from the comfort of our flagstone patio. It was definitely a win-win.)

Following are the steps we’ve made to turn our yard into a comfortable outdoor space for entertaining and relaxing, along with much-needed curb appeal.

1. Remove the fences and reestablish the correct property line. Once that was done we planted shrubs which will eventually grow into a natural privacy fence.

2. Remove sod where the patio would be located as well as the paths leading to the patio. Then proceed to dig. And dig. And then dig some more.

3. Lay out and install the flagstone patio. Think: a big giant puzzle using pieces that weigh a LOT.

4. Plant trees, grasses and forbs (flowering plants) that are native to our area.

5. Build a structure to house garbage and recycling bins, compost, and act as a fence against the alley.

6. Add tables, chairs and decorative elements.

While still overrun with weeds, our yard has gone from this:

To this, on the one-year anniversary (today!) of moving into our bungalow:

This post was written for Houseblogs.net as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by True Value.

Remember Phil Hartman from Saturday Night Live as The Anal Retentive Chef? He would show some perfectly chopped red bell peppers and proceed to throw out one that was chopped just a little too big, one that was a little wrinkly, etc. until he finds fault with all of it and has to start over.

To dispose of the garbage, he first folds it up in a paper towel, then tightly wraps it in aluminum foil and finally places it in a paper bag, which is folded twice and taped shut. He then holds it up and announces, “Now that’s some garbage you can live with!”

This is how I’m feeling now that we’ve completed our Waste Corral. Will you just look at how great it turned out? This is definitely worthy of some anal retentive garbage!

The long panels in the front of the bin slide up and out so that we can access the compost more easily.

After a few bonehead moves on our part, we finally got it squared off and level. We really should have built panels first by connecting the boards to the posts, set the posts in dirt/gravel and then finished it off from there. But we set up the posts first and later had to dig up and reposition some. Oh well, it was a good project to learn from and we’re happy with the results.

On the other side of the gravel path we’ll eventuallybuild a raised vegetable garden, but we don’t plan on using the garden until next year.

Below is a view from the alley side. Our garbage and recycling bins have already been pulled out for pick up. I’ll plant some native grasses in between the two to keep the dirt from splashing on the fence.

With the vegetable scraps piling up quickly now that we’ve been getting our weekly box of produce, I’m so relieved that we finally have a compost pile that I can live with!

We rented Harold and Maude the other night. It ranks up there as one of my all-time favorite movies. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen it — it’s a lot — but it has been a number of years since I last saw it. Not only is Ruth Gordon just fabulous (Bud Cort is great too), but the soundtrack includes a bunch of great Cat Stevens’ songs, and it has that quirkiness that I just love in movies. I found myself smiling throughout. If you haven’t seen it, put it in your Netflix queue.

Ruth Gordon plays Maude, an eccentric woman who lives in a (nicely decorated) train car near the ocean and is about to turn 80. Bud Cort plays Harold, a young 20-something, who is quite unusual himself. Although his family is quite rich, he drives around in a hearse. They become friends because they both frequent funerals (of strangers).

Maude has such joie de vivre (and it’s hysterical when Harold’s snooty mother throws out French phrases in her conversations) that Harold can’t help but to start looking at life differently.

I won’t give any more away, except that Maude frequently hops into cars and steals them, and it was this dialog that I found particularly poignant after our recent burglary:

Harold: You hop in any car you want and just drive off?
Maude: Well, not any car — I like to keep a variety. I’m always looking for the new experience.
Harold: [smiling] Maybe.
Harold: [more seriously] Nevertheless, I think you’re upsetting people. I don’t know if that’s right.
Maude: Well, if some people get upset because they feel they have a hold on some things, I’m merely acting as a gentle reminder: here today, gone tomorrow, so don’t get attached to things.

Earlier this week I mentioned that we finally started building our WC — not a Water Closet, as a flush toilet was originally called (and what bathrooms are still called today in German), but a Waste Corral to house our garbage, recycling and compost bins. Still housing waste, but a much less icky kind.

We had a couple of ideas for this setup. One idea was more of a square format with the garbage and recycling side-by-side and facing the alley, and the compost bin on the back side of the structure facing the garden. This seemed like a more compact way to go, however the garbage and recycling bins are supposed to be spaced 4 feet apart on pick-up day, so this plan would require us to drag them apart each week.

Our other idea was to span the width of our side lot with the garbage and recycling on either end, where the bins would just have to be rolled forward on pick-up day, and the compost in the middle. This is the plan we’re going with.

We thought that this would act as a little privacy fence off the alley as well, and it would make it convenient to move the compost into the future vegetable garden. Since we use our recycling bin most of all, it’s located closest to the garage.

In our previous house, we had a single compost bin, which was fine for the most part. Since waste matter is constantly accumulating, though, you either have to dig deep down to get to the good stuff or hold off on tossing the waste until you’re ready to start a new pile. One way around this is to build a double (or even triple) bin: one for new waste while the other is left to simmer.

Our double bin will have screening to separate the two but still allow air to flow between. The rest of the structure will be made with cedar planks with gaps to allow for airflow.

So here is where we are today. First we had to move the gravel that was dumped for our paths, as well as move the additional dirt we dumped there from digging out the patio and paths. We hauled the gravel to the north side of our garage. I’m confident there won’t be any weeds growing through that!

Next we dug holes for the posts. We’re using 2×2 cedar posts and setting them about 6″ deep. We felt it was unnecessary to go any deeper for this project, nor did we think we needed to set the posts in concrete. Instead we are using our gravel as a base and mixing it with Gator Dust, the polymeric jointing sand that we had left over from our patio. The Gator Dust is doing a decent job of securing the posts in place.

Of course as Pete started to dig the last hole he came upon a HUGE chunk of concrete buried in the dirt. It was so big that he couldn’t find the edges, and we have no idea what it could be from. We know the original brick garage was in the same location as the new one, so it’s not foundation.

It doesn’t really matter since we won’t be planting a garden there, but it meant that he had to chisel enough out so that we (okay, he) could install the final post. (I have the very important job of measuring, checking the level and holding things in place — hey, I moved more than my share of gravel and dirt, so don’t think he’s doing all of the manual labor!)

The rest of the project should go much faster. The cedar planks will completely surround the garbage and recycling bins on three sides (open to the alley). We may either leave the front of the compost bin open, or we will create a channel where the cedar planks can be added or removed as needed for easier access. We’ll see how it looks.

Earlier this spring we decided to try CSA: Community Supported Agriculture. We’re now in our fourth week of Veggie Nirvana. Every Wednesday we receive 3/4 bushel of organic produce from the farm we support.

As a shareholder we received a cookbook, The Real Dirt on Vegetables by the farmer/owner of Angelic Organics, John Peterson. Besides being a great cookbook, it’s a very entertaining read, with Farmer John’s musings spattered throughout along with essays on sustainable agriculture and organic farming.

Each Tuesday we receive an email newsletter letting us know what to expect in our box the next day. The newsletter will also reference pages in the cookbook for recipes pertaining to the week’s crop, which has been particularly helpful.

Through these newsletters we’re already getting to know the people who provide our produce. This week we read about the pesky aphids that showed up in the kale and a funny story about spraying a crop with beneficial nematodes. At the start of our subscription we also read the heartbreaking story of losing one of their employees in a car accident last fall (who was also the girlfriend/partner of the Growing and General Manager) and how they are coping without her.

They say that a CSA is a way for the food-buying public to build a relationship with a farm, and that is so true. And by cooking according to what is in season, it is already changing the way we eat in a positive way.

Here is what we received this week:

We have zucchini, cucumbers, lettuces, kale, young turnips, beets, cabbage, basil, parsley…even popcorn still on the cob! It’s a lot of food for two people, but it’s steering me back to my vegetarian ways, which is a good thing for me too.

If you’d like to see what’s available in your particular area, visit Local Harvest to search for a CSA, coop or farmers’ market in your zip code. Unfortunately, all shares from this farm are sold out for 2008, so if you live in Chicagoland, be sure to visit your local farmers’ market.

Bon appetit!

* I love the song Box of Rain by the Grateful Dead — this is my Box of Rain. When asked about the meaning of it, Robert Hunter, the Dead’s lyricist for this song, said:

By “box of rain,” I meant the world we live on, but “ball” of rain didn’t have the right ring to my ear, so box it became, and I don’t know who put it there.

Currently in bloom at Bungalow Chronicles — each one native to all or most of the lower 48 states and Canada:

Kalm’s St. John’s Wort (Hypericum kalmianum)

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Prairie (or Tall) Cinquefoil (Potentilla arguta); also native to Alaska

Pete and I enjoyed a well-deserved four-day 4th of July weekend.

On a very chilly Thursday night we strolled over to the Morton Grove Days Festival, an annual event complete with carnival, live bands and the all-important beer tent. Although one of my good high school friends only lives a few blocks away from us, between both our busy lives we never manage to get together much — so we usually end up meeting for a few beers at the local festival.

We hung around the house on Friday — it was an absolutely gorgeous day. I did some gardening and Pete continued on the path to the alley.

As you can see our Joe-Pye Weed — the plant in the background — is absolutely ginormous! I later dug up my transplant mistake (false sunflower) you see in the foreground because of its invasiveness and non-nativeness.

We had our parents over for a BBQ Friday evening. We planned to walk over to Harrer Park for the Morton Grove fireworks, which are always excellent, but instead Pete, my mom and I ended up sitting on the patio and getting glimpses of the fireworks all around us. Someone nearby was setting off some really great ones.

Saturday we went kayaking on the lake where Pete’s family owns a cottage and relaxed with friends. Pete stayed there overnight while I returned home to wrestle the cat and give him his medication (he succumbs pretty easily, so he’s really not that bad).

Besides brunch with my mom and an afternoon coffee break, I had Sunday to myself — which I truly enjoy from time to time — and was able to get a few things done. Of course never as much as one hopes or plans, but at least the day wasn’t a total waste.

Yesterday we started working on building a structure for the garbage and recycling bins combined with a compost bin (finally!): our custom WC, or Waste Corral. We have to finish building that before we can finish laying the path.

But first we had to move 1-1/2 cubic yards of gravel along with about the same amount of dirt in order to start on the corral. Once we finish the WC, we’ll be moving the gravel back to finish the path. I swear, we’ve moved dirt, mulch and gravel all around the yard more times than I can count.

Lots more work left, but maybe we’ll have it done by the weekend.

A few weeks ago I requested information from the Village about the purchase/sale/construction of our bungalow. Shortly thereafter I received a letter indicating that they did have that information and that I could visit the Building Department at any time.

I was imagining finding copies of the original floor plan, the builder’s name, etc. But no. In reality all they had were permits for a new garage in 1997 and the electrical upgrade in 1998. They also had a copy of a notice they sent the PO to scrape and paint windows and fix the dormer exterior, also in 1998. That must have been when he installed aluminum storm windows (thereby covering up the peeling paint), replaced the dormer windows and siding, and had all that sheetrock hoisted into the attic.

I’ve also checked the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, and talked with both the Morton Grove Library and the Historical Society. Zippo.

Someday I may go down to the Cook County Assessor’s office to see what I can find, otherwise I think I may have hit a dead end. Dang.

While I sat at my desk, catching up on Houseblogs.net, others just couldn’t sit still.

I mistakenly transplanted a False Sunflower from our previous house thinking it was one of the natives. The plant is nice, but it’s very invasive.

Pete was getting ready to dig it up until he discovered a bunny nest very close to it. The babies are newborns, eyes still shut and virtually hairless. We hoped that the mother would move them, but there has been no sign of the mother at all. It looked like at least one of them may be dead, but at least two of them were wriggling around yesterday.

I checked them this morning, and they were still moving a bit, but not as much. I thought that perhaps the mother had abandoned the nest, but, after a quick Google search, found out that the mother only visits the nest once per day, usually in the middle of the night so as not to attract attention. Although we haven’t touched them, it also said that it’s a myth that they will abandon the nest if they detect human scent.

I just looked at them again and they have already grown and are looking like tiny little rabbits with tiny little ears.

We already have a slew of young bunnies running around the neighborhood in addition to the numerous adult rabbits. We really don’t need more bunnies around, but I just could not do anything to harm them.

I’ve noticed that the adults have been chasing each other around a lot, so I really hope that they’re not doing that other thing…you know, f**ing like bunnies.

A home invasion is unsettling, that’s for sure. Once it happens to you, you find yourself checking and double-checking to be certain doors and windows are locked. You look out your window when any car drives down the alley. You’re more aware of unfamiliar vehicles parked on your street. You keep checking around the house, trying to remember anything that you may have had stashed away in a drawer that is now missing. You ponder whether or not to leave your laptop in your car or your house, because neither option seems secure anymore. Your ears perk up at any sound you hear, your heart starts pounding, and then a sigh of relief that it was just your cat.

Although I said before that he couldn’t take my memories associated with some of the things he stole, which is true, you DO mourn the loss. Perhaps you’re grieving the “detachment” of emotions and feelings — the sentiment — to those things. Some things may hold onto childhood memories, others from a memorable vacation overseas. Or the thing may represent the love from your spouse marking a special occasion. Worst of all, it could be an item that belonged to a family member who is no longer with you — something tangible that somehow gave you a sense of connection to them.

Then you think about how grateful you are that neither you nor your spouse was harmed, that your pets were not injured or killed, or that your house was not damaged. You think about what others have gone through who have not been as “lucky”. Like the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the terrible flooding in Iowa. Or those who wrote to express their sympathy, because they, too, had had a similar or worse experience.

And then you just wonder, why? Is it a wake-up call, divine, karmic or otherwise to remind you that life isn’t fair, either to you or to the burglar who feels the need to take from others? To be thankful that you didn’t suffer a greater loss like so many others have? To appreciate the love and support of friends and family, both more important than “things”? To knock you down a peg for feeling happy that things were generally going well in your life? To put you on guard, punish you for complacency and heighten your awareness?

Maybe it’s all that and more. If so, message received.

Instead of celebrating the one-year anniversary of officially owning our bungalow today, we’re still reeling from the burglary we experienced last Friday. It happened right as we got home from work. I mean RIGHT as we arrived home — because he wasn’t finished stealing our things when he took off. I’m just thankful that no one was hurt.

I don’t think it would be wise to go into any more detail about it, other than that unbelievable jerk helped himself to leftover cherry pie from our refrigerator and dripped it all over the house as he robbed us. It took us a while to figure out what it was, but for several hours I couldn’t find Günter (the cat) anywhere and I was (perhaps irrationally) fearing the worst.

Luckily Günter was hiding in the basement and neither he nor Axel were harmed.

The Morton Grove police were quick to respond and did a great job. Hopefully this guy’s luck will soon run out.

Of course the worst part is the way you feel knowing that someone has rifled through your drawers, and the loss of those possessions you owned that had pure sentimental value and will be of little monetary value, like a watch that belonged to my late father.

I was burglarized when I lived alone in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago, so this is the second time I’ve endured this type of loss. I’ve been thinking back on that time and have to keep reminding myself that they are only things. Just like before, I will get past this loss, because he can’t take the memories or feelings that were attached to those objects, and that’s what is most valuable to me.

If you pass by our house, it appears that we live in a red brick bungalow, and that’s the way I think of it as well. In reality, though, the face brick is made up of many different colors: reds, yellows, greens and browns.

I would love to add color to the window trim — I hate the white — and these bricks give me so many options. I remember the PO telling me that the original roof color was green. Looking at this brick, it makes total sense.

While I hope someday to replace the aluminum storm windows with wood storms (just in the front of the house), the gutters and soffits are also white. So unless someone wants to give me a bunch of money, I guess I’m going to have to live with the white.

Anyway, as we’re finally starting to organize the garage a little, we found some extra face bricks, but we couldn’t believe that they would be left over from the ’20s. Then I remembered that the PO told me that the porch and front stairs had been rebuilt because there had been damage from rain water dripping onto it (for who knows how long).

I never looked at the porch closely until we started working on the landscaping in front. There’s quite a difference in the type of brick used, but it blends in very well. Whoever did the brickwork did a really nice job.

Last week I stopped by the Village Hall to fill out a Freedom of Information Act form requesting any information about the purchase, sale, and construction of our bungalow.

Yesterday I received a letter saying that they do have that information on microfiche and that I can make arrangements to view it and make copies. I’m very excited!

Maybe it will help lead me in finding out whose tiny hand print was left in this concrete border:

It looks to be from a toddler, maybe around 3 or 4 years old. I recently discovered it after I planted some shade-loving natives on the north side of our house and was watering them. It’s hard to see the hand print on the dry concrete, so it was easy to miss.

It’s also part of a larger decorative concrete border that someone made. There are several different types of stones embedded in the concrete. I wonder if the stones had any significance to the person who made it?

The area rug that I bought from Anthropologie back in early April unfortunately didn’t work out.

The cats may have been a factor, although I know they weren’t using it as a scratching post and they’re locked out of the living room when we’re not home. But they did like to play with their toys on it, and Günter liked to stretch out on it for a belly rub, so a claw may have snagged the rug.

I knew that it wouldn’t remain pristine, but the loops pulled out easily and it was looking shabby really fast after only two months.

Anthropologie has an excellent Unconditional Guarantee return policy, so they accepted it, no questions asked. I would definitely buy from them again with a return policy like that.

Dammit! I really liked that rug, and I really don’t want to search for a new one.

Now that it’s getting way too hot outside for my tastes, I’m thinking about my next project — one that’s been on the agenda for a while: the bathroom tile.

Because the PO had the entire bathroom tiled, including the ceiling, we’re not going to be tearing it out anytime soon. (Yes, the ceiling too!!)

But I just cannot stand the blue-and-yellow color scheme — it has got to go. I’ve also gotten used to it, and that scares me.

So I came up with a plan that I believe I could live with indefinitely, because I’d much rather put our efforts into building a mudroom or finishing the attic before ripping out this bathroom.

Since the yellow tiles are fewest in number, I decided I will eliminate those by painting them like I did for the kitchen back splash (also same PO color scheme).

Ta da! My new color scheme (plus white):

I bought a quart of Vanex Breakthrough paint and had it tinted to match the darker floor tile color (on the left). It definitely matches the darkest swatch, but I think I could have gone with the lighter swatch. I painted a test tile and it looks a tiny smidge darker than the floor. Oh well, I still like it.

The brown you see in the background is the Ultimate Turkish Towel in Chocolate from Restoration Hardware. I loooovvvve blue and brown together, and with the white fixtures and blue-and-white floor, it will look so much better, don’t you think?

It’s going to take some time to tape and paint all those tiles, and I’m also going to paint the tiles first with Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3 primer, but I’m not in a huge rush. As long as it remains this hot, I’ll have all summer.

The Chicago Blues Fest took place over the weekend in Grant Park, a free event which is scheduled every year over the first weekend in June. If you ever plan a visit to Chicago, Blues Fest weekend would be a rockin’ good time.

Unfortunately we weren’t able to make it downtown to see the likes of Koko Taylor, B.B. King, Johnny Winter and the many other incredible blues musicians playing from afternoon until evening over the six stages and four days. But we did make it down to Buddy Guy’s Legends for a sold-out show Monday night to see Back Door Slam, a fantastic young band from the Isle of Man.

All three in the band are great musicians, especially for their young age, but Davy Knowles, the guitarist and singer, is freaking unbelievable! The band dynamics reminded me of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble with SRV as the guitar virtuoso and lead singer (in fact, in Back Door Slam, neither the drummer nor bassist sang at all).

In any case, if you like blues rock, Hendrix, Cream…you will LOVE this band, and if you ever have a chance to see them, don’t hesitate. Their debut album is great, but they’re even better live. Here’s a video from last night’s show:

The guitarist playing with them, Steve Arvey, approached us before the show to ask if his buddy could stand where we were standing to videotape this one song (by Willie Dixon), so this video was our exact vantage point. Steve told us that he plays a lot in Europe and in 2001 he was playing a blues fest on the Isle of Man, and Davy and Adam, the bassist, attended his workshop. So over the years Davy has kept in touch with him and invited him to play on stage.

The crowd varied from 20-somethings to 50-somethings, but overall it was generally an older crowd. The band were very congenial, gave out autographs and let people take photos with them. You can tell they are just so nice and genuine. They were just blown away that they were playing in Buddy Guy’s place, and that they just saw B.B. King play over the weekend.

Pete and I were blown away to be able to see such a great band in its infancy. Go see them.

* Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues, performed by Buddy Guy:

With the temperatures rising, my thoughts have turned to ceiling fans to to lower energy costs by (somewhat) reducing our dependence on central air. We particularly need a ceiling fan for our family/TV room, which although facing east and north, has six windows and quickly heats up in the morning. In winter this is also the coldest room in the house partly because of those same reasons.

So I was very excited when I read a little article in the Fine Homebuilding Annual Houses Issue about a ceiling fan by Reiker that also contains a heating element to warm the room in winter.

According the web site’s FAQs:

How advanced is the Reiker Room Conditioner? It is revolutionary. With its initial warm up all four heating elements are activated. Just prior to reaching your desired temperature one heating element shuts off. When the desired room temperature is reached only two heating elements are required. Once the room becomes “seasoned” power is reduced to one heating element.

How does the fan know when to turn heating elements on/off? The remote control and receiver work in conjunction with each other to automatically sense the ambient air temperature and adjust as needed.

The fans only come in 52″ or 54″ sizes, and the smaller fan is only available as a pull-chain (manual) unit with heat settings limited to high, medium and low. The 54″ model comes with the thermostat remote.

Based on the size of our room, we should use a ceiling fan with a diameter between 36″ and 42″. According to guidelines, installing a fan that is too big for the room could look awkward and overwhelm the space. For that reason I’m hesitant to order one, however I may go ahead with it and see how it looks. The blades look thinner and more streamlined, so maybe it will look fine.

Instead of paying several thousand dollars to reconfigure our hot water heating system, this would be a much cheaper alternative. And considering it looks as though our space heater has also conked out, it would kill two birds with one stone. (Please note that I would never intentionally kill birds — not even a pigeon or mourning dove, both of which I don’t particularly care for.)

We went to the Public Works facility in Morton Grove to pick up mulch provided at no charge to residents. The PO left a kiddie pool behind, so we threw that in the back of our VW Passat Wagon to contain the mulch along with a couple of shovels. As we started to shovel our little hearts out we noticed that there was a huge tree slice half lying on the pile nearby. We both looked at each other and said, “That would make a cool side table!” So we threw it in the car.

Can’t you just picture a couple of icy cold mojitos sitting on a table made with this slice, nestled between two Adirondack chairs?