Landscape & Gardening

Remember “The Soup Nazi”?

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violation

Here in University Park, she’s called “code enforcement” and has cited me for violating Sec. 3.01.003. Any blockage, impediment, structure, personal property or landscape material that prevents free passage or use or impedes or obstructs an alley easement. Under the dubious guise of “landscape material”, my steel edging could damage wayward tires. Say what? Excuse me, the pointy end of this edging is buried below grade! And exactly where in the ordinance is the easement’s placement described in dimensions? NO WHERE! Just like “landscape material”, the easement’s exact location is open for any kind of interpretation. SCREAM!

Film: Design & Architecture

A South Beach Hotel Circa 1958

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hole_in_the_head_00000

A Hole in the Head (1959) is a comedy film directed by Frank Capra, featuring Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Eleanor Parker, and Carolyn Jones. For me, the real star was the down-in-the-heels hotel located on South Beach’s Ocean Drive. Unfortunately, the interior scenes were sets, but the exteriors belonged to the very real Cardozo Hotel, which is now owned by Gloria Estefan and her husband. To continue on and see more captured film stills, click on the link below.

Landscape & Gardening

Backyard Progress (days 19 thru 24)

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If you're wondering why the bottom step is shorter than the others, here's the explanation: The original intent was to have the bricks set on their edges which would have increased the riser height, but after examining the handmade bricks, we discovered that this caused the uneven wavy edges not to butt up nicely with adjacent bricks. The concrete base had already been poured, and we were forced to lay the bricks flat, as I illustrated in a previous post, causing the bottom riser to be shorter than the rest. I can live with this, because I, too, am not precious and perfect. Imperfections are welcome.
If you’re wondering why the bottom step is shorter than the others, here’s the explanation: The original intent was to have the bricks set on their edges which would have increased the riser height, but after examining the handmade bricks, we discovered that this caused the uneven wavy edges not to butt up nicely with adjacent bricks. The concrete base had already been poured, and we were forced to lay the bricks flat, as I illustrated in a previous post, causing the bottom riser to be shorter than the rest. I can live with this, because I, too, am not precious and perfect. Imperfections are welcome.

The fancy stonework has now been completed. Two expanses of random rectangular Pennsylvania stone paving in mixed colors — one at the base of the back steps and another in the front of the house — were carefully laid on a one inch setting bed of decomposed granite and compact soil. No mortar was used. Instead decomposed granite was swept into all the joints and compact surface.

Landscape & Gardening

No. Not Working. Please Redo.

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gate-bad

This makes my eyes bleed! Not in my wildest imagination did I fear such a mess. Why did I not anticipate this fiasco? Me, Miss OCD, who truly believes God is in the details! I have never seen a messy chain link gate. Old and battered maybe, but they always had nicely made frames before they were rammed by some random truck. This frame structure is a total reject and is to be redone to my specifications accompanied by a detailed drawing with a vibrant accent color. If the fabricator has any questions, he has been instructed to contact me and not make some crazy wild guesses. It may be several weeks before the new gates are ready for installation, but it will be worth the wait. Hopefully the fabric won’t become warped before then, and with luck, no neighbors will look too closely.

Interior Design

Woops! Forgot to Show This!

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livrm_1569

The backside of the tubby chairs. I can’t believe I forgot to include this photo in the previous post. Please understand that the front two rooms are a long way from being complete with furnishings, art, and decorative objects which will add color, variety, and vibrancy to the overall spaces. This process is called decorating one square inch at a time.

Interior Design

Peekaboo (part 1)

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(above) Behind the chair is a piece by Scott Barber called 'Swell.' Giclée print on Lysonic paper. First edition, October, 2004, limited to 500. Once it's hung, I'll do a full-on proper photograph of it, but I'm waiting for the final coat of paint to be applied on the above wall cabinet before I hang it.
(above) Behind the chair is a piece by Scott Barber called ‘Swell.’ Giclée print on Lysonic paper. First edition, October, 2004, limited to 500. Once it’s hung, I’ll do a full-on proper photograph of it, but I’m waiting for the final coat of paint to be applied on the above wall cabinet before I hang it.

A pair of tubby armchairs. That’s how 1stdibs had listed them when I first added them to my portfolio. Before all the restoration work, I had lived with a lot of traditional hand-me-downs and antique mall finds. In other words, my décor suffered greatly from the brown furniture syndrome in an out-of-date arts and crafts style. It was time to grow up in a timeless manner, since I no longer needed trendy objects to disguise a house that desperately needed structural updating. The key words that must apply to any new object chosen for my house are: timeless, integrity, functional, quality, quiet, sophisticated, and gracious.

Landscape & Gardening

Backyard Progress (days 15 thru 18)

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Bertha and Bubba survey the realm from their new lofty perch. I'm pretty sure with time and exposure, the intense color of the steps will eventually tone down as my front doorsteps have.
Bertha and Bubba survey the realm from their new lofty perch. I’m pretty sure with time and exposure, the intense color of the steps will eventually tone down as my front doorsteps have.

The handmade clay brick paver work is complete, and I would now like to bore you with the technical design details of brick laying. It all started with a series of books written and illustrated by Peter Joel Harrison, who was the first to research and illustrate the historic details of fences, gates, gazebos, trellises, brick pavement, and garden walls. I won’t tell you why and how he came to do this, because you can easily find this out by visiting his website.

Landscape & Gardening

Backyard Progress (days 14 and 16)

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This detail view of the fence was taken in the afternoon.
This detail view of the fence was taken in the afternoon.

Day 14. Preparation for the lace fence installation. The fence contractor, Bryan Warrick of Allen Fence Company, is a full time firefighter who does this on his days off. On Tuesday, he had installed all but 3 fence posts when the University Park’s code enforcement swung by and shut us down because no permit had been issued. DRAT! I had warned all of them that a permit was needed, but they chose to fly under the radar. My landscape contractor thought that since we were replacing an old chin link with a newer one that the city’s approval wouldn’t be needed. Who would think that UP would be desperate for the cash? After all the Park Cities has some of the wealthiest folks living here who pay hefty property taxes. Go figure. Bryan then drove to the code enforcement offices, filed the drawings, requested a permit, and then called it a day. Thursday, his next day off, he would continue after picking up the permit.