Fall visit from Scott's parents

This fall has been fairly mild so far, which has allowed the grass to get a chance to get established, though it may need to be reseeded in Spring. You can also see the final look of the steps and the porch that Dean finished. We are going to wait until spring to paint.Here's a great photo on the new stamped concrete patio. Coca couldn't sit still long enough to pose for the shot.
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Simone visits Madison!

Simone, the newest member of the Lamont family, visited Madison for a conference about translation, or, in industry parlance, "localization." As you can tell, Liana and and Simone look quite similar, especially when they are both wearing Liana's clothes!

Martinez, the wedding

Last weekend was the wedding of Eric Martin, aka Martinez. Suprisingly, there were no Latino wedding customs at all. The mini high school reunion is pictured first.The happy couple.

Yard update

After the concrete patio and driveway were poured we had to bring in topsoil and do the grading. I planted grass and hopefully it has enough time to get started, depending on how long the weather stays nice. Meanwhile our friend Dean is working on finishing up the porch steps. I also laid pavers in front of our garage/workshed.

New driveway

As we were repairing the stairs and back porch, we decided that the driveway needed some attention too. It was crumbling badly, and the rain pooled on it before leaking into the basement. The guys did the whole job in just a few days.

Day 1: Remove old driveway.
All the kids in the neighborhood enjoyed watching the men work. Unfortunately, Scott Rattray wasn't around to help me get this thing moving...

Day 2: Remove the second (surprise!) driveway; pour the new stamped brick patio. Here Scott is trying to find where the cement runner ends.

Day 3: Pour the new driveway. We plan to park side-by-side, and hopefully both be free to leave without moving a car. We will put in some stepping stones and little lamps connecting the driveway to the back yard.

Many of the flowers are dying as the weather turns cold. The dahlias are thriving!