Who needs Ahmad Hassan of HGTV Yard Crashers or Norm Abrams of This Ole House

I have David. If you watch HGTV or DIY channel you’ll know who Ahmed and Norm are. My husband has been my handy man for 33 1/2 years now. He can rebuild and general repair a car or motorcycle engine. Of course all the computerized stuff in cars is making it more difficult. Remember the show "Tool Time" with Tim Allen. OMG! That's David but with way less accidents and injuries. David is an electrical draftsman/designer by day for the oilfield industry. So electrical work around the house is no problem. 
Maybe I should submit his name in to DIY and see he could be one of the DIY renovators. He built his garage work bench that you could ice skate on it's so smooth and slick. He re-finished all my kitchen cabinets and my box window in the kitchen. Leave it to me to have a mishap on his woodwork. I had put a Christmas Poinsettia on a trivet but the water had leaked out under the plant and I ruined his beautiful work. I'm in deep do-do over that for obvious reasons. Eventually he'll correct my damage when he thinks I won't ruin it again. David is a man of many talents.

Over the years he has developed his landscaping techniques and has become my own personal yard crasher. So Look out Ahmed! David is in trouble with some of the neighborhood husbands because their wives are asking "Why don't you landscape our yard like David does". Our friends always joke and ask what David has yanked out of the yard lately. It became a joke in my Christmas newsletter about him "yanking plants up by the roots and whether the plants are safe". David has this habit, if he doesn't like the way a plant or tree looks or grows, it gets yanked out by the roots. My friend Judy didn't mine because she usually benefited. She took his uprooted plants to her lake house. He's always threatening the plants but that has slowed down considerable since he's finally getting the yard where he's almost happy. 
   

For a few years we had over 200 shrubs in the front yard only which David preferred to be hand clipped.

  

2004 May



 

2004 May

Eventually he decided that the electric trimmer was a lot faster and easier.

  Image that.

 

I love how our yard looked and especially how it currently looks. It's all due to David's hard work and a very small contribution came from me.

2009 July


David has been yard crashing our current yard since 1995. It's been an ongoing process. Very few of the original plants have survived him. The survivors have been moved at least 3-4 times before allowed they’re able to rest and be happy. 

2009 July New paint, rocks, and pro landscape





In 2009 David had someone come in and professionally landscape some of the front yard. David wanted more curb appeal with less green shrubs, more color and rocks 



 

2011 March

Spring has sprung but some of the plants didn't return after the freezes we had and there are some bare spots. Weather Houston the past 2 years has been a little bi-polar to say the least.  As David replaces plants he adds a few others.



2011 March



Plants in Houston have a hard time surviving temps that stay below 30 temps for long durations. 

This year I'm not sure how many will survive this drought if we don't get some rain real soon.
  

This year we have lots of color in the yard. Everything is blooming and David replaced the few little plants that didn’t come back. I think our yard may be like the Gulf Frwy (I45 S)….. It will always be under construction. In just 30 days since my last pictures the yard has come alive.


2011 April



2011 April



2011 April



Our home and yard have undergone some major transformations over the years. I think for the most part we're done. Maybe a few tweaks here and there and it's a wrap. At least I think. Oh wait a minute we have to re-do Pamela's room. Her room screams “junior high” style and she has grown up since then. I’d hope so since she is 24. Pamela would like to update to something more mature. Yes I know once she finishes nursing school in 2012 and gets a few paychecks in the bank she'll be out on her own. BUT with a little guidance we'll paint it a color I can live with when she's off in her own apartment and on her own payroll.   

Until next blog ............ A colorful garden of every hue, is just like a quilt



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(¸.•´(¸ ;.•Carla.♥