The First Square

Our houses don't need much work. Each side was very simply remodeled right before it went on the market. That gave us lots of energy to think about the yard. We each took a blueprint of the front & back and designed what we thought they should look like. Then we had a family meeting to compare & decide what to do. There were a few conflicting ideas, but we worked it out & decided to build out square foot gardens. We are going to grow lots of food.

Our first crops include broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, swiss chard, kale, arugula & collards.

Bookshelf at 667, December 2011

David & I needed a bookshelf for his growing collection of oversized art books and my nature & garden books. But we didn't want a typical bookcase & thought it would be fun to build our own unique shelf. The space under our steps looked like a good spot & we scored some nice oak pieces on super sale. Then I bought 4 different sets of brackets so we could decide which ones looked best & fit in all the right spots. It was a bit tricky to figure out where the wall studs were, but we got out the stud finder & the measuring tape along with the drill and got to work.

Staining the pieces in the backyard.

The finished product with room for collections.

Oakland Sunset

Patrick and I moved to Oakland exactly five years ago. We obviously love it. And love calling it home.

Sunset from our bedroom window