Someone tripped on our tree-raised sidewalk (or claimed they did - more on that later), and we were required to replace the paving on half of our frontage. We replaced the entire thing to prevent the camel's hump that would have been the result of doing only what the city required.

No argument - not only was it ugly, it was a trip hazard. We just hoped to have another five years before we had to deal with it.

Supposedly we did this ourselves, because our chosen contractor told us that the city disapproves of those nice curvy wings onto the path. I'll gladly take the blame for this job.

If we had to (pretend to) do it ourselves, we were going to claim it as our own. Most of the early sidewalk jobs had been stamped and claimed by their creators, so that was consistent with the goal of matching the old work. But we couldn't find stamps, so Doug made his own. On each end, the job says "H & K 2005," and on the stub of the front path, it shows the house number from before the '30's renumbering - 364. 364 Marguerite. There actually are old sidewalk stampings that say "H & K," so we've brought something back that we never intended to.

Poured and curing. It's beautiful. Unfortunately, it's a little too level and doesn't drain that well. I was concerned and trying to think of a solution before I called for the required inspection, but the inspector came out before I could call, and signed off on the job. Phew.

The week after the start of the sidewalk project, we got a note from the city saying someone had complained about electrical, plumbing, and wall-moving work being done without a permit. No, I don't think anyone actually tripped. And no, we're not moving any walls.