Patio complete!

8 days after it began, construction was complete.  The contractor said 3 days.  Contractor man, why can't you just overestimate and tell me 10 days, then leave me really happy when its completed early?  Instead I'm left frustrated.  If someone asks I'll say it was good work, but have to tell them about how it took more than twice as long as your estimate, you woke me up early for stupid questions, and you rushed cleanup, leaving concrete speckles on my door and trash cans.  Sigh, enough negativity.  Here's the pictures!

 Before:

(of course I waited until the crew showed up to snap pictures) 

Cellar door that I would never have been able to open.  And look at the nasty broken concrete!

Old gate.  No privacy.

Gregory the cat wondering why this looks so ghetto.  And in case you were wondering, IKEA Lack tables were not meant to get rained on.

During:

 Goodbye, wall!

Goodbye, door and stairs to basement!

After: 

Hello, place for Prius!!

Hello, private patio! (Gate is open in)

Hi, herb and vegetable garden!

From left to right, Basil, Tomatoes (I forget which kinds made it from seeds, so I will be surprised later.  Some Big Boys, Cherry, and heirlooms were planted at different points), Jalapeno pepper, green peppers, chilli pepper, eggplant, and squash. Not pictured: Dill, parsley, and Blue Basil to the left, Cucumbers to the right.

Grill where the awful metal door was.  Wildflower seed sprouts on the table.

New locking gate.  Red chair and cute pillow from Home Depot.

I also have a bunch of pictures on how I built the vegetable bed (it's pretty much the size of a coffin, and of course I had to get a pic of me laying in it.  Because I am weird.) that I'll save for another post. 

I'll probably hang some flower beds off the fence for more color in the future, but I'm invested enough time and money into this area for this month.

Time to grill some farmers market goodies (peaches, corn, eggplant) and steak tonight!  I don't want this long weekend to be over.