March 29 – “Come gawk”

It is done.  The fence is up.  Oh, we had a few glitches along the way.  Issues of spacing solved by highly creative manipulation of pickets and a table saw.  Occasional nails that missed their target, solved by retracing steps, popping them back through and taking more careful aim.  Positioning of the gate latch, solved by expert use of a skill saw.  A dearth of certain supplies, like proper sized pickets for the gate and eight foot two by fours, solved by two extra trips to Home Depot.  Hurrah … somewhere I could actually contribute.  Well, I also picked up pizza for everybody, so there was that.  And Chris made the run to get Cailyn from school.  It was, as always, good to see her smiling face around here. 

We are not finished with the back yard transformation by a long shot.  I spent most of the day tearing out the makeshift pathway next to the side door.  Chris’ new idea for that space is to put down a layer of quickcrete, then before it dries to lay out the pretty slate we reclaimed on top of it.  That will mean my day is pretty well set.  I’m in charge of grounds preparation.  Yet another way to come to the end of the day sore and achy.  Can’t wait.  Oh, and we haven’t finished tearing out the back fence either.  Much to do.  However, feel free to drive by and gawk at our masterpiece of fencedom.

If you stop on your trek, you might be stuck with me as a tour guide, though.  Chris has not been feeling so hot.  She’s not sure if it is allergies aggravated by blooming bushes and sawdust–filled or a full-blown cold.  She’s supposed to have the last half of her How to Make a T-Shirt Quilt class today.  Hope she feels up to finishing that.  She really looked forward to it for a long time.

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 says, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Father, I’m keeping it simple today.  Please heal Chris quickly.  Thanks.  Amen.