The park we planted around the house

Our neighbors are probably very relieved that we finally populated the dirt with ground cover,hardscaping, low voltage lights and plants. The front is all planting - no lawn - because it fits the style of the house and it's environmentally responsible. We also think it looks really good.



The bouganvilla is planted where one lived before the remodel and is wired to climb up to the second story of the house. We hope it thrives as it will bring a burst of color to the front of the house. Stay tuned.

In the back, we created four spaces - a large patio for eating and entertaining with considerable seating available on wall tops. We have a fountain and fire pit area for more intimate conversation and contemplation. Across the back is the "field" as the boys call it. This is where they play ball, roll around and basically own the area. There are shrubs growing across the back to color that rear fence with green. Off to the site is the gardening area where there are fruit trees and two large planters. The only thing left to do is the drip irrigation for the planters and we'll get this done this weekend.



Finally, at night, everything is beautifully lit. The pergola has down lights and the privet tree has an uplight right through the middle. There is an overhead, gas heater attached to the pergola to bring some warmth to cool, Northern California evenings. It's a yard that draws us outside to be together, to play and to relax.

Saving us from ourselves

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how our high-end, LG dryer was a lemon. After considerable investment of time with dryer repair people and our general contractor, I've learned that LG is trying to protect me from myself by making it's dryer oversensitive to heat in order to prevent dryer fires.

I have no doubt that dryer fires happen and are very dangerous. We clean the lint after every dryer cycle and I'm fine with having the exhaust cleaned annually if lint builds up there. We also have a sprinkler system throughout the house in the event of a fire to put it out. So, LG, I'd really like my dryer to be my responsibility to keep from igniting.

There is an internal trip wire in the dryer (and,according to my General Contractor, every high end dryer made in the last 2-3 years) that cuts off the heating mechanism if it senses that the dryer is not getting enough air. Let me be clear, the dryer is vented. In any case, the only person who can access and reset this trip wire is a dryer repair man. Thank G-d we got the extended warranty because this person has been at my house at least five times. He'll be coming again next week, although he may not know it.

According to the General Contractor, he is re-installing dryers in every house he does because if the exhaust is longer than SIX INCHES, the dryers trip off. Six inches is roughly the width of an exterior wall - meaning that if your high end dryer isn't backed-up against an exterior wall, you are going to have this problem. Our laundry room is a shocking 8 feet from the exterior wall. Our solution will be to re-route the exhaust from under the house to visibly through our laundry room. We're considering adding an exterior booster fan to keep pulling the hot air out of the dryer. Because, with a family of six people living here,three of which are under 7, we need a working dryer. Please LG (and every other dryer manufacturer), let us reset our own trip wires and take responsibility for ourselves. Really, I can handle it.

A lost opportunity for a customer for life

We have an 18 month old LG Dryer that has broken down and required new parts three times in the 12 months we’ve used it after moving into our remodeled home 6 months after buying it. Granted, we do a lot of laundry, but my Kenmore handled it for 5 years without complaint. When the LG fails, it simply doesn’t dry. And every repair cycle has left us with wet laundry for 7-12 days. We've replaced the igniter and now we are replacing some other part. With a family of six people (three younger than 7) – you can only imagine the volume of laundry we produce. Unreal. So, after calling the repairman for the third visit in 12 months, I called LG and said – this particular unit is a lemon – you have to agree that different failures three times over the course of a year is outside of manufacturing tolerances. I’d like you to replace the unit.




For 30 minutes, I heard how that was impossible because the unit is more than a year old. For 30 minutes, I heard that I can call the repair people as much as I like to fix breakages. Not until the very end, when I told them that I would go public with the story to the best of my ability, did they say we will connect you with our Voice of the Customer/customer advocates. The rep then told me that he completely agrees with me that it should be replaced, but LG policy is against him.




What a lost opportunity – LG could have created an advocate for life by standing behind their products (like Nordstrom does), apologizing and making plans to deliver a reliable, comparable machine to our home. Perhaps send us rolls of quarters to take our wet laundry to a Laundromat to dry it. Or send a laundry service until the dryer was repaired or, preferably, replaced. Instead, we are sitting on wet laundry and hoping that LG’s Voice of the Customer agrees that a premium brand trying to establish itself in the US should over-extend on customer service – it will pay off in droves.

Stay tuned for more about it.

Hardscaping Complete

We started the landscaping in December and there was a lot of clean-up and prep work - mostly not photo worthy. Now we have the hardscaping pretty much completed. In front, the wall is done and we think very pretty. We also added a trash/recycling paved area so that things weren't so messy. And the curved path is well used. Lighting will come soon.



In back, we now have a huge patio with a small pergola. We are trying to figure out where on the pergola to mount the giant overhead heater. We are thinking of adding iron work to hold it. Thoughts? Suggestions?





We also have two fountains and a firepit (gas/wood). They match the look of the house and create a peaceful, meditative spot in the yard. The giant slate stepping stones lead to what will be a mid-sized lawn. Perfect for soccer, football and general play. We also had the outdoor kitchen covered in matching stone to the house and WOW, what a difference. Hope you enjoy.

The Landscaping begins

The final stage of the project is underway - the one that literally lives. We came home today to find that the landscaper had started the initial demolition and layout of the new gardens and hardscape. Exciting. We decided that we're going to eliminate the second patio in the rear in favor of more open play space (lawn) for the kids. They really enjoy soccer, baseball and general roughhousing - something lawn is excellent for. If they become really interested in basketball, we'll put a hoop up over the garage or something.

The front gardens are all drought resistant, mediterranean plants. Of course, we'll be growing a new bouganvilla in the spot constructed for it. I hope it's happy there. IT was before! We had our shed installed in the dark part of the yard to store our bicycles and outdoor play gear (as well as Neal's incredible collection of gently used power tools). I just bought the hanging overhead heater that should keep us all warm outside regardless of the weather. And Neal's new telescope provides considerable amazement and entertainment.

Stay tuned - when there is something to photograph, we will!

Spring, Summer and Time for Planting

We've been living in the house for almost 10 months now and we do love it. My parents were in town from mid-August to mid-September and the September portion was started by the healthy birth of my sister's daughter Emma - so my Mom was with my sister's family and my Dad was living with ours. The fact that he was comfortable and we were comfortable and everyone had enough personal space to enjoy being together was a testament to our semi-private guest suite. Love it.

We were lucky that my former company was acquired and Neal's Grandparents wanted to contribute to our home - the combination enabled us to get serious about landscaping. Yes, it's been a dirt sand lot for the last 10 months. Many thanks for our patient neighbors. It's incredible what can grow without regular water. Mostly weeds, but the cherry tomatoes that sprouted in the front lawn were surprisingly good.

We retained Rick Fath (rickfath@yahoo.com) to design the front and back yards. We decided that we'd be ecologically sensitive and go with a drought-resistant, lawn-free front yard and limit the amount of lawn in the backyard so that it's fun to play, but not an eco-disaster. So - the backyard has a deck that leads to the patio with a pergola with integrated heat and lighting (so we can dine outside 9 months a year). Surrounding the patio are gardens and stepping stones. The back third of the property kept the paved area (for biking, scootering, basketball) and added open lawn. I think we need nets over the new fences to catch the balls the boys are hitting easily "out of the park". Ideas? Something that can come down most of the time so that it's not an eyesore.

Stay tuned for photos.

Progress with Thermador

Thank you for all your good humor as we navigate the process of getting a working fridge. Funny how challenging that can be. In any case, Thermador did approve replacement including the protection and reuse of our existing cabinet and panels. But then, the unit was back-ordered. This is keystone cops world. The installation people called to schedule installation for today...and learned today that the unit wouldn't be available until Feb. 6. Thankfully there is someone at Thermador who knows how to get things done (the receptionist who is the only person who actually understands the situation, took action and called with updates)...she is amazing. She confirmed the back-order status and then worked with their A/R people to find a unit available (in Tempe, AZ) and had it shipped to Northern California. She, and no one else at Thermador, embodies the sort of support and out-of-the-box problem solving I expect from a premium manufacturer. I'm not saying her name in case she bent some rules...but if she reads this - Thank You! So - hopefully, next week.

In other news, we are on the cusp of our final inspection. Every few days there is a flurry of work and today's theme was IRON. So now we have the proper iron on the upstairs french doors and the deck. I'm in Miami, but the report from Neal is that it's beautiful. Tomorrow morning, more IRON - decorative hardware installed (third try) on the garage door. And hopefully, more IRON with the shutter hardware getting installed. Two of the three fireplaces work and are finished - one more should be done today. Don't you wish I could find the digital camera? I do. But Neal and I may give ourselves an early anniversary/housewarming gift of a new one...soon. Suggestions?

The kids like the house. Yesterday the downstairs furnace was off (they shut off gas to fix the upper fireplace and forgot to relight the fuse on that furnace) so the boys camped out in sleeping bags on the floor of our bedroom - which was cozy with heat and Daddy time.

We also have the home theater installed and I have to say - WOW. Aaron Rosenbaum at Ambleside put together an awesome system. The sound and visual (at night - we need the blackout curtains for high quality daytime viewing - it's viewable during the day, but at night, it's amazing) simply say - never go to a movie theater again. At the house, we can have wine (two months to go...), food, a comfy couch, fireplace heat and an amazing theatrical experience. You are all invited - let us know when and what movie. Kids welcome to join or go to sleep somewhere while the adults enjoy the entertainment.

And Neal and I returned to our first home improvement task - gardening. For final inspection, we needed to have 4-6 shrubs installed to complement our tree in the front yard. We went over to Golden Nursery on 2nd and talked about the house, the coming Bouganvilla and our needs. George at Golden Nursery recommended some very interesting plants that complement the bouganvilla and the house. Neal planted them with the boys on Sunday and they look terrific. Another need for the camera...

SO - that's all for now.

Stay warm in the Bay Area (unusual cold/frost). And everywhere else you may be!

Definitely ThermadON'T

To continue the saga of the Thermador...last week, a pleasant customer service representative at Thermador told me that they would be replacing my useless fridge with one that worked and that they would be responsible for the custom panels and custom cabinet removal and re-installation - with a target date of January 11. While this date was another week off, at least we had resolution...I thought.

It's January 10 and I haven't heard from Thermador about delivery and installation. Seeing as I don't generally sit around the hosue waiting for deliveries every day, I thought it might be good to call. Upon reaching someone (10 minutes on hold this time), I was told that the replacement was approved (how nice) but that the unit was back-ordered and they had no idea when it would be delivered.

For a timeline reminder - we moved in on Dec.23. This was supposed to be our primary refridgeration for the house. It's currently a balmy 70 degrees in there (warmer by 20 degrees than the Bay Area). I asked Thermador what they were planning to do to stop inconveniencing my family - and suggested that they deliver a 48" fridge for us to use until the proper fridge (custom panels, external ice maker) was available. This seems reasonable. Alternatively, they can refund the full cost of the fridge and the panels and we can purchase one from a vendor more interested in supporting their products and customers.

So - be warned...don't buy a fridge from Thermador. Their customer service people are very nice, but are not allowed to provide compelling service for their high margin products.