Rainy Day

What a yucky day! It rained for most of the day. It kinda had me in a funk. Mainly, because I was very limited in what I could do with the deck.

This morning brought yet another trip to Home Depot, a frustrating one, as they seemed to be out of everything I needed. Last night, as I did some research into how to make a concrete slab for the landing of the steps, only to discover that it was a lot of work, and the concrete would take TWO WEEKS to cure! I decided to take a page from the previous owner of this house, and make a small 4' X 4' patio out of brick-molded blocks, just like the one used on the deck off the kitchen. I took a look at it this morning, and it seemed easy enough to build.

Off to Home Depot I was, only to find that they did not have red brick blocks. No problem, they had grey, which I thought was a little more classy. I needed 9 blocks. After climbing over boxes (two associates were assembling grills in this aisle for some reason) to get to them, I could only find 5 that weren't broken in some way, so there went that plan. But then that somewhat creative mind I have kicked in. Next to these blocks were the same grey blocks, only without the brick pattern. I pictured getting four of these, and making a checkerboard of the two styles. I got these blocks, and then headed to lumber. To get 3 stair stringers, where only two were left! Grrrr... To get 1" and 2" deck screws, where those were gone also! Grrrr... I left Home Depot a little annoyed, but knowing I had a good project ahead of me, then, the rain started...

This wasn't a problem, as I first had to construct a 4' x 4' wood frame for the bricks. I could do this in the garage. Then, all I was doing was digging outside, so rain wouldn't matter, I didn't mind getting wet. The thunder, however, changed my mind.

After finishing the frame, I went inside, and had to find something else to do. I shifted over to another project, prepping our spare room for painting, as we will be turning it into a nursery for Junior/Juniorette. That kept me busy for a while, and then the rain let up, and I got to work outside.

I dug out an area only a few inches deep, place in the frame, leveled it, and then one by one, placed each block in, leveling as I went on. It was going so well, until I got to the last block. I placed it in, not realizing there was no way to get it out if it wasn't level. Well, it was about a half inch lower than the rest of the blocks. It looked terrible. The only way to get it up was to dig up and lift the frame, and pull the block out. I did this, added some dirt to level it, and dropped it in again. It was better, but still not acceptable. I did the same thing again, went to drop the block in, and CRACK, it broke in half. I put the block in anyway, but it looks terrible. It will have to be replaced, that is, if I can find a replacement. Looks like I'll be hitting every Home Depot in the tri-county area to find it. Below you can see what I accomplished, as well as Max "helping" me.



Notice the crack in the lower right part of the patio. Actually, from this picture, it doesn't look half bad, but in person, it is glaring. This, plus the rain, was the cause of my funk today. I think had I actually been able to FINISH the patio, I would have felt some sense of accomplishment. I think if it hadn't rained, that I would have definitely accomplished much more.

The whole day was not a waste, though. After borrowing my parents van, we went to the pool store and bought pool steps. Right now, we have a rickety ladder, which is the whole reason for the deck in the first place. This will make getting in and out of the pool easier for me, Meg, Max, and the eventual kidlets.

I just can't wait to be finished with this project: #1, so I can enjoy it instead of constantly working on it; and #2, so I can start painting the nursery, which I am very much looking forward to.

I am now going to make Meg a spreadsheet to track her blood sugar levels. I love computers, it is VERY easy to build and create.