It Sounds Like A Jackhammer Outside Our Window

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We woke this morning to what sounded like a jackhammer outside our window. Oh, hold on. It was a jackhammer! Santos and his crew of one have arrived to “do” our California room.

A little explanation is in order in case you don’t know what a California room is. I didn’t.

Our California room is actually a covered patio with an adjoining side yard.  It came with a concrete slab off sliding glass doors from the kitchen.  As you can see from the photo, the slab is on its way out.

In its place we’ll have a larger sitting area with brick pavers in a herringbone pattern.  A gas grill awaits assembly in the garage.  We’ll also need patio furniture.  We had a ceiling fan installed a few weeks ago.

It’s California so we’ll leave room for plants and a few small trees. Right now we look at a wall. We need more color. Plus Helaine and I both fantasize about picking lemons and other fruit in or yard.

This is a small space. We are trying to maximize every inch.

Santos says today will be the only noisy day. Excellent.

5 thoughts on “It Sounds Like A Jackhammer Outside Our Window”

  1. Geoff,

    Get a copy of the ‘Sunset garden book’ for the definitive guide to southern California gardening in a small space. Dwarf and semi-dwarf citrus trees, avocados, and a host of other fruit trees can be grown in a small space as long as you have sunshine and irrigation. We pick Nectarines, Avocados, Limes, Lemons, Kumquats, guavas, assorted Asian exotic fruits I can’t remember the names of, and lots of roses in our backyard garden. Avoid grass if you can–it sucks far more water and maintenance that it is worth.

    Tomatoes, peppers, and assorted other ‘Salsa garden’ can be grown in pots on the patio with drip irrigation on a timer. Nothing better than a nice big batch of home-made pico de gallo, salsa, or other Mexican food accompaniment fresh from the garden!

      1. Yep, I suspect that’s about right–I have several editions, and the oldest one is the best one as I recall.

        A bit of Southern California history: Sunset magazine was started by the Lane family, and they ran it for years. They sold it a few years ago, and, IMHO the quality went south and the advertising took over. Sad, but that’s how it goes sometime. It’s now published by the same conglomerate that does Southern Living–and both magazines have suffered.

        That older edition was produced when the family was still in charge…

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