I Love the Smell of Expanding Foam in the Morning

Before I can start on the kitchen floor, I need to finish a few smaller projects. First on the list was to replace the back door. The one on the house when we bought it was as weather checked and crappy as the front door, so it had to go. With the new door in place we'll be able to tile right up to the thresh hold. We weren't sure if we wanted to add a storm door for the back door or not, so we found a middle ground for now. The door we purchased has a window which can be opened. Yeah, a window in the door is not the most secure way to go, but it's a nice neighborhood and if somebody wants to break in, they'll get in one way or another. That's why I have insurance - to protect my Picasso and Rembrandt collection. As I removed the old door, I found there was very little insulation in the door frame, which explains why I felt drafts in the winter around the door. The new frame got a can of expanding foam in all open spaces, so I expect the problem to be gone.





I've also been spending some quality time outside with the overgrown landscape. I honestly don't think anything has been pruned out there for at least 10 years. I cut down a couple of scrawny trees which went to seed next to the foundation. They weren't big enough to cause any damage, but they were about to touch the gutters, so I know they've been there a while. The evergreen bushes were about twice the size that they should have been allowed to grow, so I cut out a lot of the lower growth to expose the roots. They look much better now, in my opinion. By the patio, I had an evergreen which was so heavily overgrown that the best thing for it was just to remove the whole thing.

Our plan for the landscaping has changed a bit now. We're going to wait until next Spring to do any real major work outside so we can do all the landscaping in one shot (when we have money). The interior renovations are going to take every penny we have right now, and I've got enough on my plate without worrying about the landscape too much.