Walking Away

After we moved into our home but long before the landscaping was finished around the house, Steve mentioned to me that the National Science Foundation had invited him to apply for a temporary position in Washington, DC. Temporary meant a year-long assignment.
My response was, "Just after we got into our dream home!?"
He replied, "Yeah. I'll just tell them it's not a good time."
I saw a drop in the enthusiasm he had come with and said, "This is the position you applied for before, right? When they didn't choose you but later someone said to you that they wished you had been chosen instead of the guy they took on." He confirmed this.
"And it is only one year; we would be back in a year." He confirmed this.
I knew this was something he would really like to do. He was getting close to retirement. It would be an challenge, an adventure.
"Go ahead and apply," I said. "It wouldn't hurt to see what comes of it."

That was in the early summer. He sent the application off and we watched for some feedback all summer. No word. He kept his research going and planned for his fall semester classes.

Then in September, someone called to invite him to come for an in-person interview. He went in October and they seemed to be very positive about his appointment. We would hear back from them within about a week, they said. A month went by. Faculty members were anticipating the next semester of courses. Steve told his Department Chair he might be gone for the winter semester but still no word from NSF.

Finally, word came, but unofficially. Yes, he would be appointed as of January but there were conflicts of interest that would need to be cleared before he could be appointed. He was encouraged to remove himself from any grants that were funded through NSF.
I was dubious. "They want you to remove yourself from research projects based on unofficial assurance that you will be hired? --with no indication of what you will be paid, what expenses they will cover for a move across the country, and whether we'll be able to maintain our home here as well as an apartment in the DC area?"
Steve was confident and began to make the requested changes.

As a program director, he would direct the vetting of research grant applications and assist in dispersing federal funds for scientific research. It turns out that the NSF directs the funding of about 25% of basic research at US colleges and universities. That's a lot! They need science experts as well as the permanent employees at NSF to manage it. These experts come from their own research, put in a year (or two or more, as I found out later) and then return to their research. These are called "rotator positions" because the experts rotate in and then return to their universities or research institutions. He spoke with several who had taken a turn and found that virtually all of them enjoyed the experience. He was excited.

I also began to plan for my removal from the projects with which I was involved in Provo. I had been about six months on the Provo Transportation and Mobility Committee, less than three months on the Provo Planning Commission. My role as secretary with the United Utah Party was an elected position. Sure, I could drop out but the party was young and finding replacements for this and all my volunteer positions would be tricky. But finding them was someone else's responsibility.

Steve received the official notice of his appointment only about a week before we left Provo. What a relief!

Care for our new house became more straight-forward as Lisa became engaged in November and would be married shortly after we left. She and Clint would live in our dream home -- and take care of it and the needs of the rental unit -- while we were gone. The more I think of it, the more I think this is as it should be.

Lisa and I have been closest of all my children, not because she was favored but because of her placement as youngest child. She had my attention whereas her siblings had to compete with other younger children. She also was a cuddler and kept me as her confidant. When her siblings wanted to pull away from home and stopped having those late night talks with Mom, she had my full attention and loved it. Even when returning from a year in Africa or a year and a half as a missionary, she quickly picked up the mother-daughter bond again. As a young wife, she would need to pull away from home and mother and rely on her husband for close-knit bonds -- her husband and a female friend, I believe, a wise contemporary. It is best that I am out of the picture for the first year or two of her marriage.

In mid-December I began packing up clothing and kitchen essentials. On December 19th, I loaded the car we would drive across the country.
On December 20th, I looked around the walk-in closet, now clear except for hangers and a few items on the upper shelves. I made sure there were supplies of furnace filters, water softener salt, and cleaning supplies. I ran my fingers along the granite counter top in the kitchen and closed . I locked the doors, turned out the lights and walked away.

Making the House a Home

Window coverings were a high priority once we got into the house. I must have been in too much a hurry because I had to hem most of them twice before they were right!

Gradually, the house became ours as items unique to us began to surround us: the picture of the Ogden Temple on our bedroom wall, the sliding bookcase in Steve's den held bird books, and shelves and files filled with family history.

I purchased a new rug for the living room and placed a hanging of painted humming birds on the wall adjacent to the dining table meant to hold back some of the echos in the large room.

I love inviting people to come visit us at our new home. I love being here and am so grateful that Steve made it possible to realize this long-held dream.

Landscaping 5: Path Lighting and Shrubs

Although the street light on the street opposite our houses lights up our driveway quite well at night, the pathway leading to our front door is darker, especially as you pass the rental unit's west wall.

We ordered solar-powered landscape lights to light the way. They last about 8 hours on a full charge so during the winter, morning walks may still be a little dark but for the most part, they are great!

The bill from Peak Landscaping came in and at first I worried that the budget was way over-spent and we'd have to wait for plants. Steve was able to rearrange the budget, freeing up a fund for plants that we can plant this month.

Fall is the best time to plant trees and shrubs but, on the other hand, the nurseries have been selling stock since spring so the selection is diminished. Fortunately, they are also trying to clear out what stock they have, so if what they have is what you want, the prices are pretty good. We will wait until spring to plant the more fragile plants, such as Hostas, Artemisia, and other herbs or annuals. I may still put some bulbs in the ground or put some pansies out for some garden color that will come back again in the spring.

Interestingly, I rarely found the plants I had investigated in my advance planning of the landscape design. And the plants I did find were rarely mentioned in the plant book I used for reference. I decided to try to find the shapes I had designed around and trust the advice of the nursery workers. Then, we'll just hope for the best.

I was able to find a set of three columnar evergreen plants for the center of the front of the house; the middle one is a Hick's Yew, flanked by two "Sky Pointer" Japanese Holly bushes. All three grow narrow. The Yew probably will grow to about 10 feet tall while the Holly bushes will only get to about 5 feet.

On both corners of that north wall, I found Elderberry bushes with dark, black-green lacy leaves. The one on the east, or left side, (see photo below) will grow straight and taller (6-8') and is called "Straight Laced". The west corner Elderberry bush will grow to a similar height but a little bushier and is called "Black Lace". The leaves look very similar.











Beside the east Elderberry, I plan to plant a Weigela bush called "Sonic Bloom". Its name comes from the fact that it blooms both in the spring and in the fall and, indeed, it is currently in bloom! I wanted to draw attention away from the water controls there in the front of the building while still making them accessible.




I also chose four compact Weigela bushes for the west walkway, next to the wall of the rental house. The leaves are multi-shades of green and will blossom in the spring. They will stay small, only 1-2 feet high and wide. I hope they soften the look of the walkway.

Next to the porch, I chose Mock Orange, a bush that may grow quite tall but the feature I was after was the fragrant blooms. Although they are reportedly supposed to bloom only spring to early summer, there were a few blossoms on the bush that I purchased. The smaller plant in the corner nearer the door is Brunnera, a shade-loving plant that may self-sow as an informal ground cover. I think I may plant that in the southwest corner of the backyard where the neighbor's trees provide a shady spot.

I purchased a nice Hydrangea for the area outside the basement bedroom window. It should provide a little more privacy and have some showy flowers in the summer. It needs to have a lot of shade, so to protect it from the late afternoon sun, I will place an Arborvitae bush to the west of it at the corner of the house.

I also bought a rose bush and haven't decided where to put it. For now, the pot is on the south side of the porch but I am thinking of planting Bridal Wreath Spiraea there instead (they are sold out of it this season though).  I think I'll plant the rose bush on the east fence near the door we use to walk out of the garage. It is climber so we should be able to weave its branches into the chain link fence. It won't hide the parking lot and the junk that collects next door but the bright red blooms will provide a cheerier focal point.

The plan is to get these shrubs into the ground in the next couple days. Steve returns from his trip to Virginia Monday night so we'll aim for Tuesday (or Wednesday) to get them planted.

Landscaping 4: Gateway Pergola and Fencing

The landscapers came on Wednesday and installed the pergola entrance. We hope that it will more easily direct visitors to the "front" door that is so far in the back.
Then, they got to work on the fence that surrounds the rental unit patio and the fence with its gate to the east entrance to our garage.

The east gate also serves to hide three trash cans. We now have a use for the green landscape waste container and the first time Steve mowed the lawn, it filled it completely!

We have had positive response to the landscape improvements from the neighbors. I remember when the last of the trucks disappeared from the front of our house and I thought I had lost a good landmark for where we lived. Now the pergola gateway stands out very prominently, especially from an east approach.

Now that's a landmark!

Landscaping 3: Rocks and Sod, Drip lines and Sprinkler Heads

There was a lot of vegetation cleared when the landscaping crew began. Here are a couple of "before" and "after" shots to indicate what was hauled away.

August -- West side

September -- West side

 But I get ahead of myself.
With the curbing in place, the concrete cured, Peak's crew prepared the planting areas by laying weed prevention fabric over the compost-rich, sandy loam soil. They then installed a drip system for watering future plants. Then a load of gray pebbles was delivered for mulch and wheel barrows took on the load.

Sept 8 -- Weed stop and drip line

Sept 8 -- Loading rock mulch

Sept 8 -- Rock much ready to spread

The underground hoses that carry water from the rain gutter down spouts are connected to "bubblers" in the lawn area.

Sept 11 -- Rain water bubbler

Pallets of moist green grass don't have to wait long as the crew turns to the process of "carpeting" the lawn area. Flexible sprinkler lines poke up from the soil and will receive their sprinkler heads only after the sod is in place around them.  

Sept 11 -- Laying sod

Green grass noticeably cools the temperature around the house.

Sept 11 -- Posts for the south patio shade sails were installed just in time for the back yard sod

Sept 11 -- A welcoming front porch

Landscaping 2: Flagstone, Fence posts, and concrete curbing

The flagstone path was finished during the second week. The stones were laid is sand and then a mixture of sand and polymers, not concrete, filled the gaps, giving them more stability. Fence posts were cemented in place and final lines defined the path of the curbing that would separate lawn from planting areas.

Sept 2 -- Flagstone set in sand

Sept 7 -- Gaps filled with sticky sand

Sept 2 -- Fence posts in place

Sept 2 -- final lines for curbing

Sept 7 -- Curbing installed

See the Landscaping Crew post for a description of the
process of laying the concrete curbing.

Landscaping 1: trenches and dirt

Week 1 of Landscaping work made a big difference. I was out of town for most of it but Steve took pictures of the progress.

August 25 -- Debris cleared, ground leveled

August 27 -- Buried utilities identified

August 28 -- Trenches for sprinkler system dug and pipes laid

August 29 -- top soil brought in and surface smoothed

August 29 -- - Sand delivered for flagstone path

August 29 -- One more step from porch to flagstone path

August 30 -- fence posts erected

August 29 -- down spout extensions buried