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.

Today, I Tap Danced!

And some little old man (not to be confused with Mean Old Man) even saw me! Of course, I didn't see him until I was halfway down. But I kept going anyway.

By the time he got in front of the porch, I had reached the end of the walk and of my silly little attempt at dancing. And no, Why S.? I was not wearing ruby red slippers, though I wished I had! (When it comes to dancing, I am one of those ultra-awkward white people with absolutely no rhythm. Add to that that I am clumsy with a terrible sense of balance and you can imagine the show that any traffic on our four-lane roadway, early on a holiday morning, got.)

"I've been watching you do that," says the little old man, referring to the walkway, not the tap dance. "I decided you could come to my house when you're done. When can you start?"

We laughed and talked a minute about the project with him first saying he'd thought about doing it himself and ending with, "Maybe I'll hire it done."

But I digress. (But I can, 'cause it's my blog!) OK. OK. Without further ado, here are the photos I promised. Drumroll please ...




Is it perfect? Hardly. Are there some things that I still need to do? Definitely! But even those tasks don't overshadow my feeling of satisfaction. And as I sit here with the MDA telethon on, I will not complain about my aches and pains. I will instead be thankful that I am capable of having them.

Then, I'll ignore them completely and move on to the shed ...

The Home Stretch

There's nothing to go out on the walkway and uncover this morning. I threw the plastic away yesterday! While I didn't get finished, I'm in the home stretch.

I didn't get as many bricks down as I would have liked but even as slow as I was moving (the week at work caught up with me and I was seriously short on steam), I forged ahead. This is all that's left! And ALL of the digging that I loathe so much is done. I have a single landscape form to cut and put in place and I've already started to put down rock.

I actually ran out of rock -- again. I swear to God there's a quarry out there! So after mowing the front yard, unloading 10 bags at the dump and grabbing a much-needed shower, I went to The Home Depot. Can you believe these people?! They had the 50-pound bags of gravel on an OVERHEAD shelf! Not sure how I managed it, but I got down what I needed and got it home. It's still in the car trunk waiting to be unloaded.

The mother stewed all day yesterday, but seemed a bit calmer last night. She was even picking on me as I relayed my plans to: 1) mow and visit the dump, 2)finish digging out the last third, 3)cut and get the landscape forms in place, 4) lay down rock and finally, 5) get down as many bricks as I could. (I had finally admitted to myself around 4 yesterday that I wouldn't get finished.)

After I relayed my list of planned activity, she says: "So when's the funeral?" When I was still toiling away at 7:30 last night, she was running around putting things away and cleaning stuff up. I had hoped to have the landscape form cut last night, but didn't make it so I literally was outside until dark. "It's time to quit," she bellowed from the front door.

Yes. It. Is. Today is it, I tell you. Today. This project ends today. I've had it and it needs to be over. So, look out walkway. There will be tap dancin' yet ...

Racing the Rain

The rain shouldn't arrive 'til later this afternoon (around 3 p.m.) but the humidity is already unbearable out there (currently 89 percent). I've already been out spreading gravel, letting it bake in the morning sun and I have my first two rows of bricks chosen and laid out. Now I have to go set up my sawhorses and grab my RotoZip. I've got bricks to cut!

I'm grabbing a quick bite -- and some Tylenol -- before heading out to the trenches. I need to see just how much I can get done before the rain rolls in.

The good news: The widest part of the path is done. From here, less bricks to a row, so ideally at least, it will go a little faster than it's been going. The bad news: The straightest part of the path is all done. It's strictly Angle City from here and I'm not looking forward to it, but hey, I'll adjust, right?

Well, here I go. Here's hoping I've got lots of progress to report later!

Walking Along

My horoscope has had a grain of truth to it for the past few days. From today’s email: The opportunity to travel, perhaps with friends or with a group you belong to, could come your way today NV. Discussions with others could lead to the confirming of plans and practical arrangements.
Last month, Mr. and Mrs. MonkeyGirl came to my aid, removing the shrubs from hell. This month, my highlighted helper friend is CD. An avid supporter, regular reader, and occasional commenter, CD is another of my group of eight from high school.
CD called me Tuesday morning and asked if I needed any help. With both boys in school now, she’s able and willing to contribute to a This D*mn House cause. Since it’s not too far out of her way, she living relatively close to Hardware Heaven, I’m going to meet her there very soon. She’s going to help me haul gravel in her SUV! And it’s just in time, too. I used everything I bought already since I got this far on the walkway yesterday.
I almost got the first third finished! (Where you see the plastic in the front of the photo is the start of the second third.) I’m afraid to get too excited but it’s very cool. Even if I’d had more gravel though, I don’t think I could have gotten much farther yesterday because as it was, I was watering it all down at dusk. (That’s the chief reason why there was no photo last night. I also was outside ‘til there was no light left as I got the front yard mowed and all of the filthiest of the bricks washed off.)
You’re reading the ramblings of a very grateful person. First, I can’t believe that we’ve had this amazing weather for so many days now. It’s just been perfect. The sunsets have been nothing short of incredible. In my ideal existence, it would be this way year-round. I’m afraid it’s coming to end though as rain is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow.
Second, I’m grateful that my employer let me juggle a few things to get this time off, even if I did work a good chunk of yesterday. I had to jump while the weather was on my side.
And finally, I’m humbled to have such incredible friends who continually offer – and provide – assistance, love, humor, and support. To my high school circle, you guys are nothing short of awesome. To those of you in cyberworld who have regularly voiced concern and encouragement, it has helped more than I can express.

And So It Begins

What a difference between yesterday and today. The chief difference being that today I made progress. Real progress.

It took a meltdown to get me there. Sometimes that's just the way it is. Genetic I guess. The mother is the same way. (She just gets obsessed by more things than I do.) When she can't figure out how to make it work, she can be a real pill. She is like the calm before the storm and then she flies through like a tornado until she gets whatever it is done. And I'll be damned if that wasn't what happened to me. I'm sure I was a whole lot of fun last night and early this morning.

Clearly, last night I was frustrated beyond imagination. My plan was not working yesterday, and I didn't know how to fix it. I'm still not entirely sure I know how, but at least today I ran at it from another angle and it seemed to work. (The bricks look a little weird in the photo because they're still wet. In the top photo, that's what the porch looked like on July 8. You'll see there's still sidewalk in front of it.)

Of course nine hours of sleep and some pain meds didn't hurt. Then I drove to get more supplies before I got under way today and it was like the iPod knew just what I needed giving me everything from The Ramones' "Sheena" to The Cure's "Hot, Hot, Hot!" to Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and K.T. Tunstall's "Black Horse and Cherry Tree.'

When I got home, a few things had happened. I was calmer and I had a plan. I also had the bullseye, which did in fact happen to be the perfect solution for the porch posts, and I decided some door plinths (Gene's gonna love this) would would work for the mother's plan for the old salvaged post (that's for a different blog item)and all felt right with the world.

I got my shovel and I took out most of the sand and put down more gravel and more gravel and more gravel and then sand and mortar. And from there, I got to here. There's a lot more to do, but I finally got it started.

I'm tired. I'm sore. I'm happy.

P-A-I-N-T

The mother is a painting fool! Since yesterday, she has painted:

• Four 4x4 posts
• Finials for each of the 4x4 posts
• Roughly 34 linear feet of handrailing
• 24 spindles

This was all virgin wood, so she’s done each piece twice. She even painted into the night after we carried all of this in to the family room. (Just in case it rained.) Now the family room, in addition to already looking like a warehouse, now smells like a paint factory. All this stuff needs to be ready to go for Saturday when Lawrence will come to assemble and install it.

This tally doesn’t include the old posts (that she made me salvage from the old rail) a bunch of decorative pieces , and a 24-inch round wood piece that sits atop the air conditioner each winter.

I’m afraid to stand still in front of her – she might slap a coat on me!

Luckily, Mother Nature held out for a fifth consecutive day – FIVE WHOLE DAYS – with no rain except for a spritz on Sunday. (It wasn’t even enough to consider it a shower.) They’re saying there’s only a slight chance for rain today which would make it SIX days.

Soon, the mother will be ready to start painting around the foundation of the house. That means I have bricks to move. UGH. I had planned to have them out of the way and actually in the walkway by now, but as you know, that just hasn't happened --yet.

I guess we’ll just have to see how far I get this weekend, when they are predicting rain again.

Me Vs. Dirt

I did finally get myself moving and returned home with 300 pounds of gravel and 100 pounds of sand. Unfortunately, none of it got down today.

But, I did take advantage of this glorious third day of lovely weather by continuing to dig out the mudpit. The first one-third has been excavated! I mowed the front yard and delivered its clippings along with about 100 gallons or so of dirt to the yard waste dump. Not the most fun thing I've ever done. Taxing on my already throbbing wrists and generally, just a pain in the a** to do.

Some of the gravel is down in it already due to my stubborness last night. The next step: tamp the remaining uncovered dirt, add more gravel and TAMP, TAMP, TAMP! Then sand, mortar, and finally ... BRICKS!

Maybe someday there will be a walkway here ...

Take THAT, Mother Nature!

Mother Nature -- Look lady, you've really been pushin' my buttons this summer. But, you can slow me down, you can knock me down, you can even occasionally get me down. But you'll never keep me there ... for long.

But hey, in spite of your best shot, I still get to say four words I NEVER thought I'd be able to in the same sentence: THE PORCH IS DONE!

Mother Nature tried to drown out my joy over FINISHING THE PORCH by not letting me start my walkway this morning. I napped instead. I did a brief happy dance this morning before I covered it, after ensuring that the last bricks had set up.

I didn't wake up very invigorated from my nap, but returned to the mud pit and started digging. (Yesterday's heat took its toll, combined with having the thumbs and index fingers on both hands bloody and raw because at some point, I never put gloves back on. Have you ever tried to do anything with FOUR BAND-AIDS on? It doesn't work very well.)

I took out 60 gallons of dirt and debris before calling it a day. Unfortunately, it was a relatively small dent in what needs to come out. While I was working, Mean Old Man (he from my near throwdown episode) walked by. He stayed on the other side of the street though and didn't even look my way. Smart man.

When I came in a few hours ago, I called Lawrence. He's got a dicey week ahead, so we're tentatively on for Friday to finish the fence. Here's hoping!

A Brickyard Throwdown?

DIY isn’t for everybody. I’ll be the first person to admit that because sometimes, I don’t even think it’s for me.

Most people I know are complimentary of the work I do. They’re very supportive and encouraging. They decry their own abilities when it comes to doing similar things at their own homes. Truth is, I think most of them could do it if they really wanted or needed to. But, they neither need nor want to. It’s just not their thing. I respect that.

Some people, however, can be just plain rude. Last year, while painting the house, I came dangerously close to b*tch-slapping a former colleague whose contribution to a conversation I was having with another colleague about the project, was: “Can’t you just pay someone to do that?” And it was uttered in the snidest of tones.

I wanted to reply with an equally acidic response (pointing out the fact that not everyone makes what she does, and she has a second equally large source of income in her house, to boot) but bit my tongue. I instead calmly said that I don’t like to pay people to do things I can do myself. That leaves that much more in resources available to do other projects or to pay for having things done that are way out of my league. Because, that really is the truth.

Then, over the weekend, there were two more contrasting opinions. First, my neighbor’s girlfriend came over. “That’s looking great,” she said. “I know it’s a lot of work.” Later, as I was wrapping up, one of the “neighborhood walkers” as I call them offered me his two cents. “Kind of taking you a long time, isn’t it?”

The tone took me right back to last year’s slight. Yet, I remained polite. I agreed, acknowledging that masonry, after all, wasn’t my day job. (I mean except for putting up the fence, every minute of available time has gone into this project. Should I set up floodlights and work at night? Hmmmmm …. that’s an idea!)

“Then maybe you ought to let one do it.” His tone dripped with snideness and disdain.

Oh no he didn’t! Even if he thought I was doing the crappiest job he’d ever seen, he did not just say that to me. My dander was not only up, it was doing back-flips. This dude is spoilin' for a brickyard throwdown. (I’ve been wanting to use that word since Ann’s post last week!)

“Are you volunteering?” I asked. “Because if you are, I could use a mason’s help, though I’m sure my rates are a lot more reasonable. And if you aren’t volunteering, talk is cheap. Very cheap. Effort, now that costs a little more. So I’d put a little effort into continuing my walk.”

I don’t know where it came from. (I obviously stunned him. Hell, I stunned myself. ) The look on his face was priceless. He kind of harrumphed and resumed walking. I'd made my point with a limited amount of rudeness.

DIY isn’t pretty. It’s messy. It’s time-consuming. It’s costly. And it can be bad for your health if you put your two cents into the wrong project.

(Particularly if you deposit them in earshot of a feisty little woman who is burning up, exhausted and starving – and has an assortment of sharp handtools within easy reach. Not to mention hundreds of bricks.)

The "Evening" Post

The evening post got a little delayed due to last night's extended light show. So much for my bright, sunny day. The latter half of the evening became the classic novel line, “It was a dark and stormy night.” I was violently awakened at about 2 by thunder that rolled on and on for at least a minute, rattling things all over my room.

But hey, I got two consecutive dry days in, so ask me if I cared!

I did not finish the porch. Yeah, I know. This is becoming a running theme with me, isn’t it? But I worked on it a very long time today. Yesterday’s snags had really slowed me down. So this is as much as I was able to get done. I only pray that everything was sufficiently dry and that my plastic will be enough to protect it from the downpour. You can see my "mudpit" in the pictures. (And, if you look carefully, you’ll see Toby in one picture and Ozzie in the other. They were both in the door at one point, but Toby disappeared before I could snap the two of them.)

I can tell you this: Laying bricks upright takes infinitely longer and is unbelievably more complex than just laying them flat. It also requires a great deal of patience, so you can imagine how frazzled I am, me, the queen of Impatience. I am doing three rows on the face of the porch. The first row is structural. It will be masked by the layers of gravel and sand that will precede the actual bricks of the walkway. Not all of the bricks are the same distance from the base, thanks to the jagged foundation, but they’re all level. I have nearly finished the second row. It will intersect at some point with the walkway bricks. The third row will connect the face of the porch with its floor.

I decided to do a running bond pattern on the face. It will be stronger structurally and it will be a good transition to the walkway which will have the same pattern. The mother came out to inspect my progress as I was wrapping up. Except for me, she’s my harshest critic and she said it looks great, so I guess it does.

I’m just hoping that when I am able to go back to it again and I pull away the plastic I don’t find a heap of bricks that used to be the porch face!

The Sins of the Previous Owners

Jayne over at Dainty Digs was plotting some oh-so-deserved punishment for the "sucky previous owners" of her home today. And I have to say I know just how she feels.

I got nothing done today. (Except for mowing the front yard.) I had hoped to get all of the perimeter bricks in place and FINISH the porch. Yeah, that's what I'd hoped.

Instead, I spent no less than three hours in the burning hot sun fighting with the porch. Fighting with the porch because, while I had been busy demoing the sidewalk, I had failed to notice that the nice, solid slab under the porch flows out from under it. That's why there was that funky layer of caulkish like stuff connecting the porch and the sidewalk. They just poured the sidewalk in front of it and thought no more about the shoddy job they'd done with the porch slab.

In order to get the face bricks to line up square, I tried to smooth the jagged edges of the slab. Easier said than done. The RotoZip helped some. I used the masonry wheel to wear some of it down and then put a chisel into the saw lines. Then, in sheer and utter frustration, I started beating the hell out of it with a hammer. That actually worked to a point. Well enough anyway that I got the brickwork started.

I cut some other bricks for the side of the porch edge and started digging at the dirt along the edge of the walkway, trying to get that lined up. I'm glad I covered the pit with plastic. It was pretty damp even so, but once I uncovered it and the sun got on it for a while, it was fine. Without the plastic, I'd have been working in a mudpit. As it was, the second half is a mudpit. The plastic was covered by no less than 4 inches of water! So, I drained it, pulled it off, cleaned it off and then put it back. (They were predicting rain but now ... who knows? Hoping for NO rain!)

It's been a long, hot, frustrating day. I guess the only consolation I have is that I don't have to worry about exacting any vigilante-style justice (by making them even out the jagged edges WITH AN EMERY BOARD) on the idiots who poured this porch to prevent them from doing it to anyone else. They're probably already dead.

Now what?

That seems to be the question on everyone’s mind when it comes to the walkway. The quick and ultimate answer: bricks. But first, there are a whole lot of “now whats” to be done.

Right now, the entire walkway is covered in heavy gauge plastic. We may get rain tonight and maybe again tomorrow. After all those years of having the sidewalk to safeguard against water seeping beneath the house, I sure don’t want to leave it exposed for any longer than I have to.

First, I have to finish the perimeter of the porch. Once you can no longer see the gray facing of the plain concrete, the porch will be complete. Then, once those bricks are in place, I get to play with rocks and sand. LOTS of rocks and sand.

Before I do that though, I have to even out the dirt sides and put in some metal landscape forms. Technically, I don’t have to do that, but I’d rather do it than risk having no barrier between where all the landscape rocks and the yard meet the bricks. Then, I will put down a few inches of gravel and level the whole thing and tamp it down firmly. This is going to take a while. In the pictures, the walkway may not look very big, but it’s about 30 feet long total and more than 2 feet at its widest.

Then, I get to do the same thing again with a combination of mortar mix and sand. Fill it up, level it out. Tamp it down.

And finally, I will get to lay bricks in what’s known as a running bond pattern. (I chose this first, because I like it, and second, because I saw several references to this being the easiest pattern when doing a curved walkway.) I won’t have that several rows of straight lines in between. It’s just a continuous curve with the rows of bricks having a staggered start. I think it’s simple and classic and won’t clash with the pattern on the porch.

Then, I get to sweep in mortar and sand and mist 'er down. I'm sure I'll be doing it a little at a time. Look how long it took to do the porch without all this prep work! *Sigh*

It’s going to be a lot of work and I’m not sure how long it’s going to take. I'm hoping to have it done by the end of next weekend. A lot will depend on Mother Nature’s cooperation and she has been quite the beeotch this year, so I won’t hold my breath. We'll just have to see what happens.

I keep telling myself it's going to look great, it will all be worth it and I'll be sooo glad I did it.

Uh-huh. Keep on talkin.'

How Ambitious Am I?

During our second year at This D*mn House, the old widow lady on one side (we were bounded by them when we moved in) moved into a nursing home and a funny old couple moved in. Mr. M. would ALWAYS greet me whenever he saw me working outside with, "My, you're ambitious!" And I would laugh and sometimes tell him, "No. Just stupid with a touch of crazy."

Sadly, the Ms have both long since died, but I feel a little of that sentiment today. It is GLORIOUS outside. Sunny. 70s. Light breeze. I just unloaded my latest brick purchase and am going uptown to grab a few items before I delve into my day. My day, which includes the following list: Empty and scour catboxes and associated tread pads. Mow lawn. Cut out monster root Dago left during fence removal. Take all clippings, plus two bags from Carole's weed adventures, to dump. Break up first and largest concrete slab in walkway. And finally, last, but certainly not least: FINISH THE FRIGGIN'PORCH.

I'm hearing Mr. M. about now ... Wish me luck!

May I Please Present ...

My porch! I know I've been promising photos of the porch forever, but I'm proud to report that, as of earlier this evening, the porch is COVERED! I still have the perimeter bricks to complete, but all walking surfaces are covered!

I never could imagine actually having it all done.

We got a massive rainstorm earlier and I'm hoping that it had set enough to have not been washed out of place. I guess I'll find out in the morning.

I can't look at this without smiling ...

Arrivals & Departures

Home Depot delivered the posts and fence shortly after 9 a.m. They did call first, but they told me at the store it would probably be closer to mid-day. Uh-huh.

I wasn't sure how they'd deliver it. The driver had a forklift on the back of the truck and brought it off the back and drove it through my driveway. So, I now have a pallet of vinyl fencing and post laying in the driveway. Until July 23. Ideally.

Rain came and left this morning. A few schizophrenic showers and then a brief downpour and then that's it until tonight and tomorrow. But hey, that's OK because I go back to work tomorrow.

My cousin didn't make it today to tear out the old fence, so I'm bettin' that it will be gone when I get home tomorrow. You're outta here!!! It's so wild to have this much stuff goin' on and actually getting done.

The crazy man made another appearance today, this time approaching the mother. He told her he would "be back to put up that fence" but "he had to go to court right now." She didn't know initially that it was him or God only knows. He gets a single warning if and when he returns. After that, he can tell it to the police.

I wonder if there's a surgery to have a maniac magnet removed because, clearly, I have one. And, at the rate that scrap metal is going for ...

When Fantasy Becomes Reality

Get your mind outta the gutter. It's Sunday, and it's not an x-rated blog!

I was moving slow all day Saturday. It took a lot to get me going and a lot to keep me going. Somehow, I think today is going to be even tougher. I didn’t take my planned day off on Friday and I stayed up late to boot, so I didn’t get off to the greatest start.

It seems like half the neighborhood came over to look at the porch. That was very gratifying, interrupting, but gratifying. People I knew – and some I didn’t – were going by and pointing or waving. Now that they can see what I'm doing, maybe I don't seem as nuts anymore. My neighbor says his porch "is next."

One of my bus drivers was working and she drove by and gave me a thumb’s up.
I can say that the first part of the porch is officially done. I mortared in everything I had down and put in a final piece on the transition step that will hold the mortar in place underneath the front door. And that, was that.

I only got a few additional rows on the second part of the porch done, but since it’s so much smaller than the first, it actually looks like progress. All of those rows also got mortared into place. (Pictures tonight. It was too dark by the time I wrapped up and the porch light throws everything off.)

The timing of the shrub removal is perfect. That will make it SO much easier to put the next round of perimeter bricks in. And, since I next go to the sidewalk project, better to have a truck going through the yard now rather than after the walkway is in progress, or worse yet, done.

I’m still just about giddy thinking about the prospect of those evil shrubs being gone. They have been here for about 20 years and my dealings with them during all that time have been nothing but miserable. I seriously have fantasized about having them plucked out.

Seriously. And now, it’s about to enter the realm of reality.

Pinch me.

Now maybe I can work on that Powerball fantasy ...

The Porch: Part 1

Well, folks, don't try to adjust that screen -- the first part of the porch IS COVERED!!! It's not complete, but it IS completely covered. I even started on Part 2 late this afternoon. It was very exciting, after nearly three weeks of pretty consistent work.

I had planned to take the day off, but I'm glad I didn't. It was SO gorgeous out that I would only have been cursing myself for wasting such awesome weather. Mom even felt well enough to go outside and work. She had to pull weeds. (All this chaos here and the woman is obsessed with weeds. Lord, please let me never get to that point.)

It was less than 80, sunny, with an occasional breeze. An absolutely idyllic day for outside work. I am so grateful after all of the funky weather of late. (Including downpours which soaked me to the skin while trying to get home yesterday.I even had to wring out my unders!)

Tomorrow, I will get as far as I can on the second part of the porch (hopefully that is done) and then I will mortar it and the last part of Part One. Then it's onto the sidewalk ...

Welcome Back, Netvibes!

No idea what was up with Netvibes yesterday, but it's back this morning, thank God. I didn't realize how dependent I'd become upon it for my initial news, blog reading, and of course, Twitter.

I know I promised pictures and I would have delivered because I actually did make progress last night. Mother Nature, however, was a rude cow and literally rained on my parade as I was wrapping up. I managed to safely shuttle all of my working gear into the shed before anything could get too wet, but I forgot to put bucket o'dirt under the carport. (It's now bucket o'mud.)

I gave my neighbors the night off from the NEEEEENUHHH whine of the RotoZip, opting instead to do one of the parts of the job I've been dreading: digging out the front edge. (My knees and back are feelin' it today as a result. BIG TIME!) I've dreaded it because the front is bounded by Hell's Shrubbery. For some reason, Carole has a thing for vicious vegetation. The more brambles and barbs it has, the more determined she seems to be to plant it in our yard. Love it! (Read: sarcasm x10). One of my fantasies is having a truck come and yank those suckers right out of the ground. (Yes, I lead a very exciting life. My fantasies even involve house projects.)

I'm almost to the edge that meets up with the nearly complete side edge. Both bricks will have to be cut to fit and it shouldn't take long to get all that in place. Then, I can actually put down the half-bricks that will complete the LAST ROW of the first half of the porch. I guess I shouldn't get too excited at that prospect. There's still a whole lot left to do.

Bane of the Neighborhood

The last full row is in place, though not yet mortared. I have started cutting the half bricks for the final row and I still have to dig out the front edge. Being done with the larger portion of the front porch is in the home stretch! (I'll take pictures tonight regardless of what isn't done.)

Still lovin’ the RotoZip even though 10 bricks later, I got a hand cramp. I do feel the need though to apologize to both the robins who gather at dusk to feast upon the lightning bugs and to my neighbors for the constant NNNEEEEEEENNNEEEENNNENUHHHHHHNEEEEEEENUHHHH that broke the relative peace of the evening. (Or at least at much peace as a four-lane roadway offers.)

My neighbor across the alley has an immaculate yard. She is ALWAYS out there doing something. ALWAYS. Tonight, she was watering. Many nights she sits outside either in a chair on the lawn or on her very quaint brick patio. She is far enough removed from the four lanes of traffic to have some peace. (Or as much peace as one can have living with an obnoxious teen daughter who produced a baby a few years back, and said baby, now a rambunctious, and adorable toddler.) Usually, she waves. Last night, she did not. She just looked disgusted.

My neighbor, with whom I share the vacant lot between us, hurriedly watered his tomatoes and left. He moved pretty quickly, too, a rarity for him.

So, they will really love me tonight when I resume working with the dronish tool. They’ll be relieved to know that, via Mother Nature’s intervention, they’ll likely get a break on Thursday and Friday.

But I'll be back. You'll no doubt hear me. NEEENEEEEENUHHHHHH.