Our version of retirement: Living a childhood dream

The snow melted
Me and my lady went shopping

She found a great buy of yarn
Now, she has umpteen containers of yarn
But, this is 'variegated sock yarn'
Anyway, it was $1/skein
Asked her how many socks that'd make
It makes one pair (sock yarn skeins are small)
Thing is, she sells those socks for $10
The other thing, she prefers to give them as gifts

Me, I whipped over to Home Dopey and bought some 2x4s

So, the rest of the day was table making day

I'll soon make the picnic table, but started with a counter for the deck
I plan on using the BBQ every day this summer
Steaks, dogs, ribs, and chikin
The grill needed more counter space

Its a simple affair, but built it quite sturdy

grill.jpg

Just a simple 45° brace, and an elephant can sit on it

45 brace.jpg

I used almost five 2x4s and a half quart of stain
Material; less than $40

Tomorrow
The picnic table
 

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iu
 
Diary note to self;

Ho Lee Crap, Batman!
These bird houses are selling again!
.....and its still freaking winter!

Had 15 on the shelf in the shop

Now I have five
and orders for four more

Sorta funny note;

I was bringing in some tiny abodes to this one shop that'd requested 'more'
A customer had just bought one
It was still on the counter
She saw the new ones, and looked like she wanted to trade
Told her 'you should buy another'

Anyway, I gotta set aside the back yard projects, and fire up the work bench again

Other diary note;
Raise the price

last five.JPG


Gotta admit, they are pretty cute

I have a hard time parting with some of 'em

close up smaller.jpg
 
Had a bit of good weather

Did some initial work in the back yard and deck

Built and laid out the first raised bed
(I'll flip it over and till the sod away)

Also laid out a spot for the grape arbor

R9UxFym.jpg


Starting out with four of the raised beds
The corn will just be in the ground (not raised bed)

Six fruit trees will go in the other corner
(the deer are anxiously waiting....watching)

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Pretty much finished the deck
Still some touches here and there, but other stuff precedes

Before

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after

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Had to cut the dog ear crowns of the fence post to match the existing ones

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aaaand, of course continue with the avian abodes while I peck away at the back yard

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all in all, not unhappy
 
Meanderer said:
Gary, looks like the place is growing on you!
Click to expand...
Well, Sir Jim
The term 'lush' won't come into play for 3-4 years

Gotta start somewhere.....and soon, if I'm gonna enjoy it

Not gonna put in fully grown stuff
No fun in that

Reminds me of an ol' Gazzilionaire at the private club I toiled at, down in Houston
River Oaks Country Club

He was a tenured member with some clout
Bought this huge tree
Very spendy
And had it planted on the signature hole

....then we all watched it die
 
Gary O' said:
Well, Sir Jim
The term 'lush' won't come into play for 3-4 years

Gotta start somewhere.....and soon, if I'm gonna enjoy it

Not gonna put in fully grown stuff
No fun in that

Reminds me of an ol' Gazzilionaire at the private club I toiled at, down in Houston
River Oaks Country Club

He was a tenured member with some clout
Bought this huge tree
Very spendy
And had it planted on the signature hole

....then we all watched it die
Click to expand...
Wealth does not necessarily translate to common sense 🙄
 
My granddaughter was born with a rather severe case of Dravet syndrome

...along with autism

She's seven now
Doctors say she probably won't see her teens

faith 2.jpg

My son keeps her constantly by his side, including his commercial fishing trips,
as she abruptly goes into an epileptic fit at any given moment
Sometimes so severe he has to administer CPR
She stays in the wheelhouse for the most part
With her helmet on

When they visit, we are on it, as she zeros in and locks on certain things, dangerous things, like cook stoves
and expensive things like laptops.....she fixates on the mice
Her sentences are only one word
So, she'll point to something, and want it....need it
Saying whatever limited word she's retained to define what she's pointing at

Anyway, she loves to stack wood at the cabin
She'd do it all day, if he let her
Also, she loves 'cooking'
Snow is a good substitute for meal prep
She'll spoon it into pots and pans, and 'cook' it all on the unlit firepit
...for hours

Today, I'm going to build her a sand box
Sand, wet sand, is a bit better food substitute

I've gotta do this
Otherwise its 'NO!!.....DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!' every few minutes

Thing is, she can't be in the sun for any length of time

So, since our back yard has little to no shade, I've got to incorporate an awning of sorts into the design

sand box.jpg

Its a must do, as our little town has been dubbed 'The City of Sunshine'
(Sun is over 300 says a year here)

Also, I'll need to include some cushions/padding on top of the wood sides,
as she flops into her fits, and can really knock herself for a loop.

That's today's project

Oh, and she also likes Jeopardy
 
Gary O' said:
My granddaughter was born with a rather severe case of Dravet syndrome

...along with autism

She's seven now
Doctors say she probably won't see her teens

View attachment 156562

My son keeps her constantly by his side, including his commercial fishing trips,
as she abruptly goes into an epileptic fit at any given moment
Sometimes so severe he has to administer CPR
She stays in the wheelhouse for the most part
With her helmet on

When they visit, we are on it, as she zeros in and locks on certain things, dangerous things, like cook stoves
and expensive things like laptops.....she fixates on the mice
Her sentences are only one word
So, she'll point to something, and want it....need it
Saying whatever limited word she's retained to define what she's pointing at

Anyway, she loves to stack wood at the cabin
She'd do it all day, if he let her
Also, she loves 'cooking'
Snow is a good substitute for meal prep
She'll spoon it into pots and pans, and 'cook' it all on the unlit firepit
...for hours

Today, I'm going to build her a sand box
Sand, wet sand, is a bit better food substitute

I've gotta do this
Otherwise its 'NO!!.....DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!' every few minutes

Thing is, she can't be in the sun for any length of time

So, since our back yard has little to no shade, I've got to incorporate an awning of sorts into the design

View attachment 156568

Its a must do, as our little town has been dubbed 'The City of Sunshine'
(Sun is over 300 says a year here)

Also, I'll need to include some cushions/padding on top of the wood sides,
as she flops into her fits, and can really knock herself for a loop.

That's today's project

Oh, and she also likes Jeopardy
Click to expand...
I remember you speaking of your grandaughter before. She will love the shaded sandbox! What a beautiful child she is.
 
Gary O' said:
That first one is almost exactly what I have in mind

Jus' gotta add the padding on the top of the boards
Click to expand...
You might consider a cover for it when not in use, to keep the cats out of it. It almost looks like the roof slides down to serve as a cover. We had an old rear tire off a tractor, with the rim on top cut back to make a bigger opening. We had the round wooden sides off of a big, empty cable spool under and on top of the tire. It was kinda "make-do", but the girls loved playing in it under the Catalpa tree.
 
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