D*mn You, Home Depot!

It is without fail, the curse of the discount offer. Let's send Joe Consumer a coupon and then, let's have none or precious little of the very thing (s)he intends to use it for. Oh, and it expires on Sunday.

And, we aren't getting more of said product for almost three weeks. WHAT?!

The mother met me at the bus station tonight and we headed off for Hardware Heaven. Well, actually we had a few detours. We stopped at the deli/boutique that we first visited a few weeks ago but did not dine at. I got a cool new key chain and a mock Chanel bag. Aren't I too cool? (Yeah, right.)

Then, we headed for our new favorite place to eat, the Chinese restaurant Shangri-La. Ah, I do adore that food. There's almost nothing that food can't help wash down.

Good thing. Because when I got to Home Depot, they had only five of the PVC boards I need for the shed. I need three times that. I didn't expect to get all of them tonight, but I did hope to get more than five. The Home Depot that is actually closest to home supposedly has eight. There was no way I could mak?e it there tonight to buy them.

So, couldn't I purchase them where I was and have the other store hold them 'til morning? Seems logical enough, right? That's probably why the answer is no. They would have to call both store's managers to OK it. And, this is the part that killed me, only "if the other store agreed to send the merchandise" to the store I was standing in. WTF?!

You've got a customer standing in front of you, money in hand, and you won't make it easy for them to buy your merchandise. Seriously?

The kid that waited on me was really nice and he tried to be helpful. He assured me that the other store really did have eight more boards, just like his computer said. (Brian in millwork said so.)

Brian, I'm headin' your way tomorrow morning. First thing. Those boards better be there.

Don't make me get medieval on you ...

When Pools Aren’t Good Things

Nagging problems suck. Especially when they defy all of your efforts to solve them – repeatedly.

That would be the case with the “pools” I inadvertently created when I bricked the porch. I never even considered trying to remove the base and collar around each of the columns that support the porch overhang. I simply bricked up against them. (I freely admit I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time. I try to read about whatever I’m doing and then just keep trying until something works.)

That worked fine – except for the roughly 2-inch gap I created in a square around each column. (Directly surrounding the square of the base.) Even that’s not a problem until a good rain comes along. Then all of the water pools around the column, and I’m sure, slowly seeps underneath the surface of the rest of the bricks toward the edge of the porch. With winter coming, that’s a very bad thing. Housing that moisture underneath makes the bricks even more likely to pop out of place after an extended hard freeze.

I’ve known about this for a month or more now and I’ve tried to remedy it. Initially, I thought I could just go buy a new base. Columns are popular these days – both inside and out – so much so that Lowe’s and The Home Depot both carry them in a variety of sizes, styles, and materials. I didn’t anticipate that I would find them in aluminum (which is what our columns are). I thought I’d be more likely to locate PVC or wood. I did.

Unfortunately, they were either a) too small, b) the wrong style, c) sold only as a cap and base set (I need only the base) or d) all of the above. So I went online and started looking. I talked to a couple of different companies – one of which told me what I wanted to do wasn’t possible and even if it was, they wouldn’t just sell me the base. Other companies had just wood, and again, only as a set.

Then I thought I could buy some fancy composite trim and align it along the edges of the gap and successfully close it up. The first boards I bought were too thin. The second set was a good size, but they still didn’t close up the gap as I’d hoped they would. Buying bigger would look stupid.

Now what? On a whim, I went back online.

This time, I found a company that would sell me just the bases and in Colonial style. Made out of PVC, I think my most likely candidates are a 10- or 12-inch size, both of which the company has in stock. (I’m not sure yet because I haven’t measured. It was just too damned cold last night to do it.) The price was reasonable enough, too. Ideally, I should be able to cut one side of the base and lay it over the gap and around the column.

So, cross your fingers … I’m going to try to order them by tomorrow and I should have them before the end of the month. I’ll keep you posted.

Ding, Dong The Shrubs Are Gone!!!

All I can say is WHAT a day! The only downside, no porch progress.

Most Excellent Friend Chele and Most Excellent Hubby Doug came in his truck before noon today and quickly vanquished the vicious vegetation that was our shrubs. The one that was planted last year to replace one that died is still here, as are the two smaller and more manageable of the shrubs. But the three monsters ... GONE!

I can't say thank-you enough. The absence of Hell's Shrubbery truly is a godsend.

After I came home from the dump, where they were kind enough to go and dispose of the evil trees, I finished digging out what roots remained and began filling in the gaping holes. It was blistering hot in the sun and by the time I'd finished, I was beat. Instead of calling it a day, we went to Home Depot and Lowe's.

At HD, I bought the fence. It is supposed to be delivered Tuesday. (Perfect, since I'll still be home on vacation.) Now, I have to get a hold of Lawrence, and call my cousin to remove the old fence. Things are happening -- and at a rapid pace, too! Makes my head spin.

At Lowe's, I bought some more mortar and 100 more bricks. I got to use my $10 off coupon AND even received another one, still good 'til the 14th. So, savings abound! They had quite a few bricks, and they were kind enough to put the pallet in the floor for me to pick through. Tonight, I even let them load them into the car, something I usually do myself.

That said, now home and having had dinner -- and not unloaded the car, I'm somewhere between exhausted and dead. But, unless they have changed the forecast, it will be dry tomorrow, so maybe I can make up for what I didn't do today. But it really was a good day with a mad dash of activity. I'm grateful for everything that was accomplished and for all the wonderful people who helped make it so.

Our New Fence?

Maybe.
The new Home Depot ad came out today and this stuff is going for about $56/panel. (That doesn't include the posts and fancy Gothic toppers.) Not a bad price though. Carole is on board for now -- 'til she changes her mind.

I need to see what Lawrence is doing next week, or maybe next weekend!

I drove to work today and had to stop for gas on the way home. It was a fortuitous stop, despite the more expensive gas. (I wanted to get gas in Missouri, but the station opposite the bridge was packed. Not worth the fight for a couple bucks.) I ran into my cousin. I'll probably hear all about it from one of my neighbors who saw me uptown kissing on a guy!

He had told me months ago that when the time came to tear down the old fence, he would gladly haul away the old one. Awesome. Something I wouldn't have to worry about after knocking it down.

I filed that offer away, fully planning to cash it in. Now, not only will my adorable, half-Italian cousin (whom we've always affectionately called "Dago") haul it away, he said he had planned all along to bring a backhoe and politely pluck each panel out of the ground and then loft it into a dump truck. Now that is an offer I just can't refuse.

God love ya, Dago.

WWW: Bric(k)-a-brac(k)ing

For this week's Weekend Warrior Wednesday feature, I think I've created a new word: brick-a-bracking. It's a verb that means brick-hoarding. Came home from The Home Depot with every Holland paver they had (71) in the trunk of the 'Bird.

I'm starting to prepare for the long dreaded and long postponed porch and walkway project. And since the Home Depot's version is nine cents per brick cheaper than their competitor, I figured I'd save a few bucks. Lowe's, however, will likely get the lion's share as I have two dollar-off cards (one for $10, the other for $25) that expire Sunday. I hope they will have enough supply that I can use them both.

I'm starting to hoard because even though I already had about 100 bricks before the latest trunkload, Memorial Day weekend is not that far off. I'll get off early on Friday, have the holiday weekend through Monday, and then tack on two days of vacation. So, I'll have plenty of work to do and a little extra time to do it in.

Mind you, we still haven't started Carole's bedroom yet. And, except for wallpaper paste, I already have all the materials for that. In fact, the basement family room more closely resembles a warehouse than a family room right now. I also have to disassemble the existing daybed and assemble the new one. And that's while trying to keep up with yard work, the one major downside to warmer weather.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it all. But it will all look good when I get done, right? Stay tuned ...