We finally got around to replacing yet another thing we lost in Hurricane Ike. This time it was the fence in the back yard. A few trees and tree branches smashed most of it into pieces. Actually we didn't lose the whole thing. It's kind of complicated.
Our back yard is enclosed with a chain link fence. That weathered the storm just fine. But on one side we also had what is called some flex fencing. It was made of thin strips of wood wired together and rolled up. The idea is to unroll it, and as you go along, connect it with wire to the existing chain link fence. It's like a poor man's privacy fence. We want it back on that side, but not because we don't like the neighbors. The problem is, without it our yard is visible from the main street through the subdivision. Which means it can be seen as a potential target by criminals (like we have anything worth a thief's time). It also provides more privacy for if we ever get our hot tub motor replaced (also a victim of Hurricane Ike).
Now, replacing the fence has never been high on our priority list. The chain link fence keeps the dogs contained, we haven't fixed the hot tub yet, and as I said, we don't have anything worth stealing. We did make one attempt to get it a while back, but found out that in spite of what was posted on their web site, the Galveston store was not open on Saturdays. So the other day while Chris was at a doctor's appointment I decided I would surprise her and go get the fence. They were open all right, but I got some bad news. The only company that makes that particular kind of fence had gone out of business. The owner died and left the business to his wife. She hadn't kept up with very well, and they lost their lease on the facility. The flex fencing was no longer available. Great. So much for my Thanksgiving surprise to Chris. He took my name and number "just in case something comes up."
I told Chris about it when she got home so we could begin thinking about our alternatives. Leave it like it is? Pay big bucks for an actual privacy fence? Too much to process quickly, so it resumed its place at the bottom of the list. That is, until I actually received a call from the guy at the fence store. Seems that on a walk-through of their warehouse he had stumbled across one complete roll, and he had found a second roll that they had been using part of in a display. It amounted to just what I was trying to order, so he wanted to know if we still were interested. Well, absolutely.
We called Nathan and arranged to borrow our truck back (that's a whole other story), and went right over to pick it up. Each section fit nicely onto our dolly when we got it home, so I rolled it into the back yard. And there it sits, waiting to answer the questions: will it be enough to cover our fence? When will we get time to put it up? Can Chris and I do it ourselves? Tune in next time. Same Bat-time. Same Bat-channel. (Thought I'd end with a little 70's TV humor there).
Ecclesiastes 10:4 says, "If a ruler's anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great errors to rest."
Father, thank you for making your peace available no matter what our circumstances are. We have a lot of errors that need to be laid to rest. Amen.
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