It feels so good to finally have some pavers down! I’m really excited to be so close to being done. There are some spots I need to fix that aren’t level, like the edge where I didn’t think I needed gravel. Oops. Looks like my gravel days aren’t behind me. There’s a big surprise. Luckily I have some left over.
Tag: house
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July 28
I FINALLY finished building the foundation for the patio today. After more than three months, it feels overwhelmingly awesome to finally have this done. I have a lot of gravel left over, but that is still better than not having enough. I got it up to the height I needed and it looks pretty good. I’m very, very proud of it. I can’t wait to see some pavers down, maybe this weekend. We are coming down the home stretch!
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June 6
I laid the first layer of gravel for the patio. It may not be thick enough and it’s definitely not level, but I put down a pallet’s worth, so it’s not nothing. I also tried to level out all the dirt piles in the big depression in our yard. I think I did about a B job on it. It’s a little nuts that all that patio dirt still doesn’t make that area flat. But… it’s better, so yay. Two birds with one stone and all that. It’s starting to look like something.
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May 31
Phase 2 of the patio project is done. Next weekend I’ll spread my first layer of gravel and then I’ll be ready to start compacting. Once that’s done, I start laying pavers and the whole thing will start looking real. I think at this point I’m looking at Labor Day to be totally finished, decorating and all. That’s kind of perfect timing. I’m pretty proud of what I’ve already accomplished. I’ve come further than I thought I could and I’m still enjoying it. Other than this, Robin got her hair cut, we went food shopping, and I did laundry. I don’t really want to go back to work tomorrow, but so it goes.
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May 9
I thought I was going to finish digging today, but I didn’t anticipate all the roots I was going to have to deal with. Or the humidity. My clothes were drenched when I came inside. I only have a little left to do, but I promised Christina we’d go paddling tomorrow, so it’ll have to wait. The footprint I dug is making it look real. Assuming I do it right, I think it’ll be beautiful when it’s done. It rained a little today, which is nice. Florida needs rain. Otherwise it was a slow day. We went food shopping – less than an hour from the time I got off the couch to the time I sat back down. Made fish sticks for dinner. Watching the Yankees game and trying not to get too mad at them for giving up the lead. I guess we’re all human.
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May 2
I had to throw in the towel early today because it started thundering and sprinkling. With bad weather predicted, it didn’t seem worth it to push my luck. Got a good bit done anyway. Christina had dance team auditions for next year and then we went out for lunch at the Loop. Afterwards we went to Myrna’s house to get some Penn State things she is giving away now that she’s moving. Some of the stuff she gave Billy is pretty cool. When we got home, the girls and I went to the mall for some shopping (I am a sucker and bought pretty much everything they asked for) and to get Christina’s ears pierced (second piercing). They look great! Long, busy day!
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April 26
Today’s work went faster than yesterday’s. I got into a rhythm with the roots and got twice as much done today as yesterday in the same amount of time. I think two more weekends of digging and I’ll be ready to lay the gravel. And then the part I’m most scared about… compacting. ChatGPT insists I can operate a compactor. Billy says I’m crazy to even try. I’m not there yet, but I’m going to need some kind of plan. Once I finished up this morning, I picked up Christina from her sleepover (which we dropped her off for two days ago). She had a good time. I spent the rest of the day doing chores… food shopping, laundry. Billy suckered me into baking cookies. Not a bad day, but tomorrow it’s back to the real grind. I haven’t run in a week. I’ve gotten quite inconsistent with my workouts and my eating, and it’s showing on the scale. Baking cookies today didn’t help. I need to find that mojo that I’ve had these last two years. I can’t go back to where I was.
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April 25
Started digging around the patio today. It was very slow going, thanks to the massive number of roots I had to dig around and pull out. Digging is so much easier than moving 10+ tons of building material. I felt like I could have gone longer, but I’m trying to pace myself. It’s exciting to see something starting to take shape, even if it’s just a small start. I can’t wait to get back out tomorrow.
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April 9
I’m going to have to do a lot of ground leveling for this patio project, which I realized as I was grilling cheeseburgers. Luckily I will have lots of fill. As I wait for the materials to arrive, I’ve been creating a hard labor playlist on Spotify, which has been fun. I haven’t made a playlist in forever. I love discovering new music. Reminds me of this dream I had the other day where someone asked me to make them a mix tape, actually on a tape. So I had to start thinking about where I was going to find a tape recorder, and a CD player, and then I would need CDs too… And then I realized I had a turntable, so maybe I didn’t need CDs, except I didn’t have any records either. It was a dilemma. Spotify makes this all so much easier.
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March 29
I’ve been wanting a backyard sanctuary since before I had a backyard. I’m feeling ready to make a true effort. It won’t be the $30,000 version I had in mind originally, but I think it will be nice. I have a screened in tent, some cushion covers, string lights, a shopping list, and a plan. Robin is skeptical. Her skepticism is my fuel, folks. And when we finish with the patio, I’m moving on to the garden. I’m excited. I will probably finish just in time for it to be too hot to want to use it. But it’ll be ready.
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December 22
It was back to work today and I got more done in one day than I have done in entire weeks at other times of the year. It felt good to be this productive. Christina baked a bunch of Christmas cookies all by herself, which is also awesome. Robin smiled at dinner and said words out loud, which always makes me happy. All in all, not a bad day.
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December 15
I opted not to go out for this morning’s run due to the cold temperatures and high wind, and I’m glad. Instead I spent the day working on next year’s family calendar – an annual tradition since 2008! I also managed to go food shopping, do laundry, and make meatball subs for dinner. We’ll get the rest of our Christmas lights up at some point. Maybe.
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September 6
I had all intentions of sneaking away to do some writing today, but not surprisingly, the day got away from me. I did, however, build Legos with Robin. We’ve completed the 3-in-1 that Christina gave me for my birthday, so we went to the store and bought some more. Robin’s already finished it. Too bad Legos are so expensive. There’s always her birthday.
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August 13
So this happened today… heard a loud crack and thump outside my office window and came outside to find this, just inches away from Christina’s bedroom. Very thankful it missed the house. Took Robin to tumbling in the middle of a violent storm and witnessed lightning striking the other side of the street as we were driving. That was fun. We also had dentist appointments today. Robin has another cavity and three more watch areas… It’s time to come up with a better plan for her oral hygiene. Pretty eventful day. I’m ready for bed.
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June 20
Robin made dinner again tonight, and it was GOOD. It was a chicken chili with a Mexican flair… so good. Otherwise today was just an average day. Christina says she got her back walkover, which is exciting, but I haven’t been able to see it. The studio is too small for me to go in and watch. Hopefully I’ll get to see it before too long!
