House to Home I - Big Yard

We've always enjoyed and have been pretty good at turning someone else's house into something we call home.  It's always a challenge and this one is no exception.

It all started with a few unexpected outside improvements, but we're trying to chip away at them and put that behind us!

Like this retaining wall - built to keep those amazing palm trees and our pool from sliding down the hill.  You can see there was a huge drop off that the previous owner had attempted to shore up with a menagerie of DIY projects.

Before.

This wall was definitely our first priority and, although we are fairly good at DIY, this one was definitely not that kind of project.  Sometimes you need a professional.

After.

Now it's perfectly level and these incredible palm trees and the new sod are thriving.  From this angle it's difficult to see that 4 foot drop off!

Before.

See? It took a 4 ft wall to level that hill!  Seven guys worked two 12-hr days to complete it.

We moved more than a few piles of topsoil from here up to the wall before we sodded it.

We had some good helpers!

After.
Now all our grass has come back and the wall looks like it was always there.

Before.

Our house was built in 1993 and this fence appeared to be original to the house.  We figured it was only painted to somehow make it look less likely to fall down.

So rather than waiting for the fall, we took it down.

We had some really good help on this project.  Ross loves doing projects like this.  Okay, maybe he doesn't love them, but seriously, we couldn't have done all this (fence or dirt or sod) without his help!

Pop and Norma Grace taking a little break.

After.
It's really a work of art - that curved gate and all.

The shrubbery, which is already long gone in this photo, was also original to the house.  Overgrown with thick trunks and sparse leaves, we decided it had to go.

Here is just a small sample of them.

It was another challenge in itself to figure out how to drain all the water away.  The entire yard has some serious drainage issues.

Like this, for example.  One of a few French drains we now have throughout the yard.

Back to the front landscaping . . .

After.

After a LOT of leveling and reshaping and new trees and shrubs, it looks beautiful.  I put the stone path in myself and I will never do that again :)

There was once a huge oleander bush here.  It actually spread as far as that dirt spot and was nearly as high as the roof.  The fence on this side wasn't much better and it wasn't painted either.

After.  

Much, much better.  Jim worked tirelessly on that stone wall there.  It's perfectly level!  Notice the nice new cedar fence Jim and Ross built.

I'm not a big fan of red front doors although our Jefferson house also had one.  I never figured out a better color for it so I guess it's still red.  I tried several colors on this door and even painted all the hardware, but Jim finally came up with the perfect color.

After. 

This is 114 Oak Isle painted in Benjamin Moore 10 Downing Street.  Glossy black.  Classic and perfect for this Georgian house.  I removed all that paint I previously applied to the brass hardware and I'm so glad I did.

This sidewalk was broken and sticking up for all to trip over.  The center of this section had sunk several inches.  Everyone who looked at it figured during construction 23 years ago, debris was buried here and it rotted over time.  According to our new neighbors, it had been like this for years, but Big Ed (previous owner) never got around to fixing it.

After.
So we fixed it.  A brand new sidewalk, perfectly flat.

I didn't really like these brick columns, but also wasn't anxious to tear them down.  Redoing the patio is way down on our list of projects, BUT . . . rules of our neighborhood say that fences facing the street must have a brick column at the corners.

So I went in search of this particular brick and turns out, it isn't available any more!  We figured there would be just enough of these brick to make the new column for the fence.  By the way, we chipped off every bit of that mortar ourselves.

More good help!

A new patio is on the list . . . somewhere.

After.

Voila!  Re-purposed bricks into a brand new fence column - mortar is still wet here.  And there's the stack of leftovers.  That was close!  This project also required a professional.  Brick columns are hard!

Before.

Where the sidewalk ends.

As part of the new sidewalk project, we also got a new mailbox.  The masons took the old one down, cleaned the bricks and reused them.  Yes, they did the cleaning this time!  I asked them to make our new mailbox look just like the one across the street - wider and with a rounded top.  The concrete guy even laid a bigger foundation to accommodate the new size and shape.

After.  

I left the house and the masons for a few hours while they were working on it and came back to this.  It looks exactly like the old one, right?  I was upset at first.  Notice the "extra" concrete pad.  Anyway, I decided to just let it go.  It was done and that was that.  What we have there is a failure to communicate!

Before.

This little spot had great potential and I really enjoyed working on it.

After.
Much better. 

Jim had the idea for the little stone path and I transplanted moss from a shady part of the yard and filled in between all the stones.  Makes it feel like my little garden in Belgium.  The moss is struggling here in sunny Texas, but it's hanging in there!

Before.

This area of the back forty holds a lot of water so we decided cypress trees were the answer.

After.  

Our little cypress grove.  We planted about 20 - some of the smaller ones are hard to see.  One of these days it will look amazing I'm sure!

You can also see our nice new fence on the left and our neighbor's crappy fence on the right.  We've struggled with what to do about it because it's an obvious eyesore.  Rules of the neighborhood allow (supposedly) for a 6 foot fence ONLY so . . .  our options are to (1) break the rules of the neighborhood (like our neighbors obviously did) by covering theirs with our own 8 foot fence (2) make a stink with the neighbors and the neighborhood rule makers or (3) . . . leave it like it is.  Since we are the definition of rule followers and non stink-makers, for now, we are going with door #3 . . .   Grrrrr.

Perhaps the best part of all is this amazing pool which we have thoroughly enjoyed and our main reason for choosing this big yard house!  I think it's beautiful and I love to sit and have coffee by it and crank up the fire pit and have marshmallows by it and watch the kids have fun in it and . . . all that and more.

I think that patio project is moving up on my wish list :)

an american in america

Finally we are back in the U S of A

But first, I must do a little reminiscing about our journey from there to here because it was very emotional and very exciting and very exhausting.

I miss a lot of things about Hasselt and I really miss my little garden of cobblestones, ivy and moss and flowers that bloomed with only rain water.

This is Winslow's last of many visits he took to a cafe'.
The world traveler, he was.

Celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary just a few days before departing. 

I wasn't sure it could happen, but somehow all this managed to turn into . . .

THIS!

On one of our last days in Hasselt, we had dinner with our good friends and neighbors.  From left, that's Anse, Pieter, Esther, Bert, Jim, me, Ross and Annemie.  A difficult and bittersweet farewell as we don't know if or when we may see all of them again.

On one our last nights in Hasselt, we were treated to a farewell dinner with some of Jim's colleagues at The Century.  It was another bittersweet evening as we were excited for our new adventure and reluctant to leave our old life behind. Although I didn't get to know each one of Jim's co-workers personally, I was lucky enough to get to know quite a few.  These are some really great men and women who became friends and whom Jim has a world of respect for.

Moving day in Hasselt.  Loading a trailer this size on a city street is a complicated matter.  A lot of planning and scheduling and permission from the city must be done to allow these trucks to block the sidewalk, the parking spaces and the bike lane.  Everything must be done pronto.

Everything from upstairs must come through a window down to the street.

The international moving company was very efficient.

We wouldn't see our things again for more than 60 days so there was also a lot of planning when it came to packing for the flight - as noted in photos above!

This is Hasselt.  A great city to call home. I do miss it.  A lot.

When we left Belgium, we had dinner and spent the evening with Ross.  We said our good-byes because we also wouldn't see him for a couple of months as he finished his job contract in Brussels.

The flight across the pond is really long.  If you've never done it, it's difficult to imagine sitting in one place for 10 plus hours.  Not long into our journey, I took this photo.  It's the display that constantly reminds you how far it is!

Just when you think you've been in that seat as long as you possibly can . . . you realize it's only been 4 and a half hours and you aren't even halfway!  I actually didn't get out of my seat the entire trip.

Mostly because I didn't want to upset Winslow - who also didn't move for that entire trip.  He sat right there where my feet should have been.  My ankles might have been swollen!  Good news was that he traveled in the cabin with us rather than in the cargo like his trip over.  Good thing that worked out because I wasn't sure how I was going to smuggle him on board, but he was definitely not flying cargo this time.

Fast forward.  We landed safely in Atlanta.  Spent a few hours getting the rental car.  Drove a couple of hours and spent the night in Birmingham to get a head start on the drive south.  Went to Wal Mart at 3:00 a.m.  Still living on Belgium time where it was 10:00 a.m.  We were up and ready to go!  We drove to Ruston and had a nice welcome home visit with Jim's parents whom we hadn't seen in a very long time.  Then finally to Longview . . .

and our very own house!

The first of our moving trucks - delivering all the stuff that had been in storage in Texas all the time we were in Belgium.

Some of this stuff had been packed since Ruston (2010) because we'd moved Ross out of the Ruston house AFTER we had already moved to Belgium.  A few things we forgot we even had. 

Then, right on schedule, 2 months later, that very same shipping container from our front door in Hasselt made its way to our new door via the port of Antwerp, the Atlantic Ocean, the port of Houston and I-20!

Finally, all our worldly possessions in one place.

The fun part - unpacking and organizing and 

A LOT of discarding.  We kept the little girl :)

All settled, so of course, the next logical step is home improvement - our dream for the last seven years and our bane for the last seven plus months!  

It's all coming together.  I think.

Some time among the Belgians

In all the time we were living in Hasselt, we never met another American also living in Hasselt so we were unique to everyone we met and they were curious about why we were living there and very surprised to learn that we actually liked it there.

We also formed some opinions about the country, the people, and life in general. Most importantly, despite 3 official languages (French, Dutch and German), Belgians speak fluent English which made life way too easy for us and learning Dutch impossible.  Nederlands is moeilijk.

Lest I forget one day . . . these are a few facts and a few of my own personal opinions about Belgium and Belgians . . .

Belgium is a kingdom with a king and queen and ranks among the most densely populated countries in the world. The climate is temperate, making it not too hot and not too cold, Goldilocks.  

Belgians are generally nice and usually helpful, but not outwardly friendly.  If you approach someone and ask for help or directions, you will find them most willing, but it is rare for someone to smile and say "good morning" to a stranger on the street.

Belgians are attractive, not always beautiful.  They are well-groomed and fashionable.  Most are physically fit and average in size.  Personal appearance is not an afterthought - it is an important aspect of daily life.  No warm-ups outside the house. 

Belgians are family-oriented and prefer to live in close proximity to extended family. They are patient with their children, rarely scolding or raising their voice and never raising a hand to them in public.

Belgians love their homeland, but are not patriotic.  Their flag doesn't fly from every bank and car dealership, but Belgians also don't have any intention of leaving their country.  They want to own their own home, right there, and preferably build it with their own hands.

Belgians retire young and receive a decent pension.  They pay about 50% of their income in taxes and most have no incentive or desire to work more than 40 hours a week.  If at all affordable, they will spend 2 full weeks on holiday every year - somewhere that's warm and almost exclusively during July and August. They enjoy life.

Belgians are tolerant, accepting and almost indifferent.  Less than 5% of the population attend church and practiced religion is almost non-existent.

Belgians are over-educated and speak at least 4 languages fluently.  They are rigid and structured to a fault, preferring every aspect of their lives be planned. Impromptu is not in their vocabulary.

Belgians are entitled to all social services - their tax dollars at work.  They enjoy universal healthcare, but no, it is not free.  The country is famous for its bureaucracy and with five political parties, the people don't ever expect a majority nor do they take their government seriously. Elections are hardly noticeable.

In my opinion, Belgium is ahead of the curve in many ways.  Euthanasia has been legal for the last 13 years.  Abortion has been legal for 25 years.  Gay marriage legal for 13 years. Microchip credit cards and paperless transactions were established 25 years ago. Yes, that "new" microchip you still don't have on your credit card - they had it 25 years ago! I'd call that "ahead of the curve".

If Belgians marry, it will be after many years as a couple, usually with several children and perhaps a decade of cohabitation prior to a legal contract. Although some couples also have a church wedding, marriage is only legal when performed by a civil registrar, usually at the City Hall.  

With over 11 million people (~1000 people per sq mile - 10 times that of La. or Tex.!), drivers are mostly courteous and attentive, considering the number of them on the roads.  A drivers license, possible at age 18, is expensive and not easy to achieve.  Many fail several times before earning that coveted certificate. Pedestrians and cyclists are abundant and they always have the right of way. With designated sidewalks and bike lanes, they are fairly safe - considering the number of cars on the road.  

Belgians and all Europeans enjoy generous public transportation options.  They are affordable and relatively reliable.  There's always room for improvement, but one can easily live an entire life and travel the world without ever owning a car, although most Belgians do have a car - hence the horrendous traffic.

Belgians enjoy life, but perhaps the one thing they talk about and/or complain about most is the weather. The national color is grey.  Just kidding.  Kismet.  I, too, complained about the weather and now I remember the true definitions of "air you can wear" and "hot as hell".

Belgium - famous for great beer, delicious chocolate and waffles, a cafe' on every corner and good people.

____________________________________

We had the good fortune to get to know a lot of Belgians and were able to glean a little into how some of them feel about Americans.  We almost never encountered anyone who was openly negative about the U.S. 

Disclaimer!  This is my own personal opinion about what Belgians think of Americans in general - obviously not ALL Americans and obviously not ALL Belgians.  And it probably won't surprise you.  The media has done a fine job of painting us all with the same brush.  I hope we left those who knew us with a better feeling about Americans than what they see and hear in the news.

Belgians think most Americans are very patriotic and think the world ends at the American border. They think most Americans want to impose morals and values on the rest of the world even if it kills and/or bankrupts us.

Belgians think most Americans are arrogant and unenlightened, particularly ignorant of history, geography and current worldly events.  They also think most Americans are intolerant and very religious.  

Belgians think most Americans are always in a hurry, are wasteful and obese.  

However, having said all that . . . Belgians apparently don't think any of that is necessarily bad. Most want to visit America and those who get the chance remark that Americans are friendly, the prices are reasonable, and they hope to get to visit again!

Lest I forget . . . 

an american no longer in belgië

Hello, it's me . . . an american no longer in belgië.

After 7 months, I stopped long enough to reflect and feel a need to chronicle . . . something.

Our departure from Belgium.  Our return to the States.  That last Turkse kebap.  That first American glazed donut.

I want to remember and  . . .  I don't want to forget.

Being back in the States has given a whole new meaning to the words "joyful" and "wistful" and "adjustment" and a little "regret".

Seven years away is a long time and a lot of things have changed and I don't mean just my hair color.

Maybe things haven't changed.  Maybe I've changed.  Probably both. As Jim said, we left a little different and we came back a lot different.

I've definitely stooped to a whole new level of low in fashion.  I'm way too comfortable going straight from yard work to the home improvement center. Flip flops and all.  That would never have happened in Belgium. Dress to the nines or stay home.

I had gotten way too accustomed to using the blinkers while abroad.  I'm adjusting to keeping one hand free for all those things we Americans do in the car besides drive. Eating, drinking, and mostly texting. Blinkers - optional. Attentive driving also optional.

And those greetings.  How you doin' today?  Can I help you find anything?  Are you lookin' for somethin' in particular?  Welcome to this store you're in.  Did you find everything ok?  If I can help you, let me know.

Yes, you can help me by not talking to me!  I have a hard enough time remembering why I'm even here.

I had definitely forgotten about all that greeting that goes on because you will absolutely not hear that abroad and I think I prefer it.  The "not talking to me" part.

I long to walk right across the street to the grocery store full of good wine, a whole aisle of smelly cheese and fresh baked bread.

I must admit, it is nice to walk into my very own in-house laundry room fit with an American washer and dryer and not walking across the street toting my dirty clothes and bag of Euros.

I long to walk or bike downtown to the corner cafe' for a coffee or a glass of wine or a great beer.

But, I sometimes enjoy driving the car (no blinkers, of course) to one of 50 Mexican restaurants within a 5 mile radius and ordering a large frozen margarita.  Where "large" actually means as big as my head.

I long to go to a restaurant with no television, where we can linger and the waiter ignores you and doesn't ask for your drink order before you even sit down.  And who doesn't bring the check with our drinks.

So I begin a new chapter because I want to remember . . . and I don't want to forget.

   

Of course I took pictures.

Here's to hoping this transition gets better.