The summer of the patio.

Summer (and fall) of 2019 will forever be known in the KK house as that time we built a patio.

When we purchased our house (where Mr. KK’s grandmother used to live), there was a concrete “deck” off the back of the kitchen that Mr. KK’s grandfather had built. It was not the prettiest thing, but it allowed us to have our grill close to the kitchen, with enough room for our chiminea, table and chairs, and my potted herbs in the summertime.

Unfortunately, it started cracking and wasn’t in the best shape, so we had to take it down. And with it, went our only outdoor space (that had a floor, anyway) where we could eat outside and hang out.

We knew when we took away the old patio that we would eventually build a new patio off of the new family room. We had beautiful french doors that would be the perfect gateway to our outdoor living paradise.

And this past July, in what will be called the “Summer of the Patio”, Mr. KK spent every waking moment working on this creation with his friend. From drawing the plans, to changing the plans, to picking out the stone (this is where I came in!), to clearing the land and digging in, this project took over our lives.

When we started, it was July and it was HOT. Notice the lush green trees, and my lone lounge chair.

The was was the first thing to get dug and built.

I believe this photo was taken during the hottest day of the summer, it was about 100 degrees and 1,000,000% humidity. But these two soldiered on:

And, oh, all the deliveries! Stone, gravel, sand, more stone, more gravel. Our yard was a disaster:

Check out that wall!

From what I could tell, the wall was the “hard part” and it was finally over!

Next up, digging and clearing where the floor was going to go:

It may be hard to see, but it’s the beginning of fall here. You can see the leaves in the grass in the back of the yard. Summer was over, and we were yet to enjoy our first drink on the new patio.

That rush of laying down the first stones!

Fall meant shorter days, but that didn’t stop these two. They worked well into dark, using the floodlights to see.

And…done!

The patio itself is officially finished, but there’s still a ton of work to do. Besides cleaning up the yard and scraps, there are planters to be filled in, walkways to plan and lighting to think about.

All I know is that I’m going to have a celebratory drink on this thing of beauty, even if I have to wear a parka and boots!