When I moved to Sacramento I didn't believe I could afford to purchase a home, but with some searching and patience I found a fixer upper that was a short sale. I'm going to share my journey to turn the house into a home with an emphasis on becoming a bit more self reliant as I move toward retirement.
Before
After
As part of my plan toward self sufficiency, a new metal roof and solar panels were installed. The roof line on the right was extended to create a small porch. The metal roof provided a clean surface to eventually collect rain water for the garden. California is notorious for periodical droughts and collecting and storing rain is essential for gardens. The solar panels have dramatically cut my summer cooling expenses. I currently sell extra power to the local utility but future plans call for batteries to store that extra power for night time use.
Current
Here is the current work in the front yard. It is plumbed through out and has electrical laid in for Christmas decorations. Robert (standing in the back ground) came up with the idea. You can just see the 4 sided trellis in the middle that will have some type of vine growing up it. We haven't settled on the plant yet. The front yard will be part of our food garden so most likely the trellis will have something eatable growing. What you can't see in these pictures is the driveway was widened on the left in order to provide more room for us old fogies to get in and out of our cars. The fence will of course be painted and along the inside of it roses planted. I love the smell of roses and I hope the thorns will deter folks from climbing over the fence.
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