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.