Patio Project Progress

When we bought our first house about 12 years ago I knew it needed a stone patio.  A natural stone patio.  It took the STP 8 years to gather enough rocks and finish the project.  He put his back out in the process.  When we finished it, we sold the house.  The new owners probably tore it out and replaced it with pavers.  I couldn't bear the thought.  I don't really want to know. 
Our new house had a blank canvas for a landscape.  Which is an optimistic way of saying it was a big patch of dirt with a few weeds.  It has not been three full years yet, and we have grass, and flower beds, and baby shrubs and a garden and even a baby tree.  And you may recall that I have patio dishes.  So what I really needed is a patio.  A natural stone patio.  With some old salvaged bricks thrown in to make it look like it has been here forever.  And you may recall that we have a plan.  And we have started. 
So you may be wondering if you will have to wait 8 years for pictures of the finished patio.  The truth is that I have not taken a lot of pictures since we began the hauling and laying of stones.  Because we have passed from the excitement of the first days and the promise of summer days sipping lemonade and iced tea on the patio, to the reality of hot summer days spent picking rocks, and loading rocks, and hauling rocks, and unloading rocks, and placing rocks, and setting rocks.  And every day we say 'maybe one more load of rocks will do it' and 'just one more day and it should be done'.  We have passed through the 'whose idea was this?' stage and are deep into the 'will this ever get finished stage?' of the project.  
Today we hauled the last load of rocks.  (Not that we have all the rocks to complete the whole plan, just that we have hauled our last rock for this summer.  Even though the STP has seen the plan, he is in denial.  Don't mention 'phase two' to him.)  And I think 'one more day' will do it.  No, really.

This is a picture where I had my lawn chair and I was 'trying it on'.  I think it was right after this that the STP stopped laying stones for the day. 
Hoping it will be done by the Fourth of July.  Can't you just see little cups full of cherries with stems?