Casa Mai - the Backyard

The Wisteria some years back (it's even larger now)
Parties! Okay, technically they occur throughout the entire house (including the Basement); but I always try to encourage the party to spread outside. We have a very nice yard that we work pretty hard on. For the parties we put up lights, pipe music outside and fire up the chimenea. Plus -- I put the beer out there!!

	Every year we have a themed party inviting friends, family, co-workers; it's very popular. It's also a lot of work but fun. Everything revolves around the theme: food, music, decorations, and clothes (a Costumer never passes up a chance to dress up!).

Cinco de Mayo In 1996 we had a Cinco de Mayo party. (Actually we have this most years.)
Pirate Party 2002 was the debut of the Pirate Party.
Day of the Dead ...and there's usually a Day of the Dead Party on (or around) November 2nd. Interested in finding out more about this holiday?

The Fence We have a really nifty fence section that we built in our back yard to balance the eastern end of the Japanese garden.
The original fence was in the yard at an estate sale; I think the organizers were a little startled when we said we wanted to by it but they took our money anyway. We took pictures of it in its original setting and condition so that we could recreate it properly because it had to be completely disassembled to get it home.
	We carefully measured each piece and cut new wood to the correct dimension	We re-used the painted sign and bamboo pieces from the original fence.
		After most of the construction was done we set it upright and anchored it in cement. We nailed on the eaves and attached the sign last. It looks very pretty at the back of the yard and the wood has weathered nicely.