Heavy Liftin' I'm in the middle of one of my many projects and as usual, I never do anything that's easy. This time it's a small patio in the corner of my garden and before I could even start, I had to move an engine of my son's that he really, really wants". I couldn't move it alone, so had to wait for a kind neighbor to help me. That got done, and it was time to get down to business. The plan is to use some 4x8' sheets of tempered glass someone gave me, and create a wind break. To make that work, I needed to dig postholes, so that's just what I did -- dug 8 of them, one foot down. Once the posts are in, I'll sandwich the glass between two 2x4's, have a longer 2x4 going across that I'll fasten together to hold it in place. So, the engine is moved, the holes are dug, and I'm ready for the next step, which is to lay plastic weed cover and layer sand over that. HOWEVER, right in the middle of that step, I take a small vacation to Seattle, so everything stops. Nothing magically got done while I was away; it was all just as I'd left it. And then my phone started ringing with people needing me to work for them and again, it all just sat. Yesterday, though, I had some time and thought "ok, this is gonna happen". I bought the plastic, cleaned off the area, and got to work. Today, I drove down to the sand and gravel operation a half a mile from my house and the man who worked there got his BIG machine, and dumped probably a TON of sand into my little half ton pickup. Good thing I didn't have far to go, cuz it was LOW to the ground. Once I got home, I got to UNLOAD it, shovel by shovel, little by little, till the truck was empty. But now, I have yet another job I have to go take a look at and have to stop again. Is this ever going to get done? I'm beginning to wonder. So, here we are, a little sidetracked, going to bid a job. These people need serious weedeating done, a hillside full of berry vines, thistles and poison oak. I wandered around with them, and he kept pointing out MORE and MORE area, till I finally said, "I'm really sorry, but this is just way too much for me!!". I am SO glad I've learned to say NO when I need to. I gave them the name of young man I know and will try to connect them. He's young, strong and can probably do it faster and certainly easier than I ever could!! So, finally, back on track with MY work. More sand was needed, so stopped and got that on the way home. I had plenty now, enough for yet another small project I'll do once the patio's done. But, I have to tell you, unloading sand is NOT an easy task, and my whole body is telling me how NOT easy it is. However, it's done, all I have to do now is level it and I can set the stepping stones and various other treasures I'm going to use for the floor. That's the FUN part for sure. I also changed the original plan from using 4x4's and now am going to use 2x4's, much easier and it'll work just the same. I did dig 4 more holes than I needed, but oh well--that's the way of the world sometimes. I guess somewhere in here I should mention that earlier in the week I had another job with a friend and THAT job also involved heavy stuff. I built a retaining wall, moved (ugh, yeah) SAND, and we're going to do a very similar project in that spot for her as well. Are you seeing a pattern here, the way I am, that my work lately is BIG, HEAVY, DIRTY, and HARD??? Course for 25 years, all I did was move paper around, so believe it or not, I REALLY love doing this. Someday I'll tell you about the rock garden I did, where I MOVED, by hand, a whole LOT of rocks!! So, back to work-- well not really, because, that's where this chapter ends. I'll have before and after pix, more stories to tell, and the finish to this a little later. Hope you'll be here to read all about it!! 6/27/08 7/5/08 The patio's done and it's awesome, if I do say so myself!! I had to redo a couple of things, move the stepping stones more times than I care to think about, but I got it. Turned out the whole thing wasn't square; it was a trapezoid shape and that drove me crazy for a while. Then I decided to cheat, make a square and use the little leftover triangle for plants!! That worked just fine. Doing this was a most satisfying project. I had no plans, other than an idea in my head. I just started, kept going, dug, shoveled, moved sand, stones, muscled those huge sheets of glass all by myself. And by gosh, I did it!! I sat down and had drink and it felt SO good. Come on over and we'll have a party!!!