Weekend Projects

We've lived here nearly five months. Friday I finally got bathroom curtains hung. It wasn't so bad in the first few months; the glass has a frost coating so that it's not see-through. But it's warm now. We want the windows open. At the old house, there were two times a year when there was ANYbody around who could see in the bathroom window: when the farmer planted and when he harvested. Otherwise, who'd be in a position to see into the bathroom? But here? There are neighbors. So if you took a shower during the day, you'd just be careful with where you undressed and how you slipped into the shower, out of sight. But at night, with the lights on, NO WAY. The window had to be closed, or you had to shower in the dark, or something. (Believe me, it was loads easier to shower during daylight hours.) And we could always use the toilet in the little bathroom, where you can't see in the window. But now I have the curtains done! Finally! They aren't fancy. But the blue-daisy fabric goes well with the linoleum and the bright yellow walls. Best of all, though, it's so much easier to take a shower without having to finagle some privacy.


And here we see part of Gary's project. The guys all put a lot of manual labor into this!! The boards on the deck have been removed, turned over, sanded, and sealed. But along with that, a whole lot of dirt had to be dug out and carted away because the joists were sitting in the soil. And what happens to wood boards sitting in dirt? They turn to compost. And when they start rotting, they aren't the best at holding up weight. So the guys have a nice airy place under that part of the deck, with the soil graded away from the house now, and a porous ground-cover that won't hold moisture next to the joists. The guys also had to build a small retaining wall. The only thing that had been holding the dirt back at all was a few 4x4s next to the shed. It wasn't enough. But the men here dug, and carried those heavy stones, and got them all placed properly, and put the shed back into its spot. Isn't it pretty? And now we even have part of the garage back because the mower and edger and wheelbarrows can live in the shed instead of by the bikes. Yippee!

I just think what Gary's done with this deck is SO impressive!! There's still quite a ways to go, but I think he's at least halfway done now. And hopefully it will help to be getting into the drier part of the summer -- more days to work without being bogged down by mud mud mud.