Porch Swings

Ok, I can't resist the temptation of decorating before the deck's even finished.  Dustin wants a porch swing, but given that this is cedar, I'm not certain it would hold up to the stresses of a swing.  That and I really don't want to start reinforcing this thing after it's already put together.  Here's a really nice glider I'm hoping to talk him into (gee, I hope he's not reading this.)  For the price, we'd be hard pressed to build it for the price they're selling it.  Of course, I'd over engineer it and it would last longer and hold up better if I built it...but hey, we'll be sick of it in a year and want something else anyway.

The Deck, Part Trois

It's been a while since I posted an update to the deck. This is mostly because it took over two weeks just to prep the boards and posts that it will take to complete the pergola. One of the "This Old House" guys once said that it 90% of the job is prep work. After that, it's easy. He wasn't exaggerating, at least about the prep work. Well, without further ado, here's our current progress.

The first thing we had to do was cut, sand, and stain the boards and posts that would be used for the pergola. This took the longest of all the tasks.

Next, we assembled the "ladders" that will serve as the roof of the pergola. Each of these runs long-ways. This is half of the "ladders" that will be used.

Once the ladders were assembled we put the posts into place. This took three people. I first tried to do it the "easy" way by nailing 2x4's to the post and then pushing them up a little at a time. This approach failed quickly and miserably. Dustin (being the people person) went next door and got our neighbor to help. I'm sure glad he did. Otherwise, I'd still be out there trying to raise this thing by myself.

After some grunt work, we raised all six posts and put the cross-members in place. I'm sure they have another name, but "cross-member" works for me.

We're over half way there! It's certainly been a challenge and it's taken far more effort and time than I had anticipated, but it's given me something to do while Dustin's at work and I've lost some weight and bulked up in the process. I even have a tan for the first time in about ten years. With any luck, we'll have the "ladders" up and support pieces in place by this time next week. After that comes the stairs, railings, skirting and finally DECORATING!

Mamma Mia!

Dustin and I went to see the smash hit musical Mamma Mia! at Fort Worth's Bass Hall this past weekend. It was a BLAST! I didn't think I'd like it and even lamented shelling out as much as I did for our tickets. I was pleasantly surprised both by our seats and the performance.

If you're not familiar with the musical, Mamma Mia is a story told using the music of ABBA. Needless to say the audience was composed primarily of Kids, Moes, and former Hippies. All the music is live, even the band. I certainly recommend it to anyone who's an ABBA fan, or just enjoys a good laugh.

The Deck, Part Deux

After another week, we finally have something that resembles a deck. We've actually accomplished more that I expected. Keep in mind that neither of us should have been trusted with power tools in the first place, so any progress is noteworthy. After setting the pressure treated 4x4 beams, we put 48 Cedar 2x6's on the beams. Then we back primed them using Ready Seal, and started screwing them into place. We were only able to secure 11 of the boards before we lost daylight, but the remainder should go relatively quickly (so long as we don't kill one another in the process.)

Here's the deck once the beams were secured. This took a LONG time since the 4x4's were somewhat warped. Keeping things level has certainly been a challenge.

Finally, we have planks. The stain isn't uniform, but it doesn't matter at this point. The deck will be sanded before it is stained "for real." The reason it's stained at all is because I used too much Ready Seal on the back side and it ran around to the front. Oh well, it's only $80 for a five gallon bucket. (DOH!)

The Deck

A few months ago, Dustin and I were sitting in our living room watching TV as we normally do in the evenings and one of us (which one of us is still in debate) suggested building a deck and pergola in our very drab back yard. After weeks of planning, we finally started the project. It took me a week to dig the holes for the footers. Texas clay is very hard when dry and sticks to everything when it gets wet. This weekend, Dustin had an unprecidented two days off in a row, so we spent both days pouring the concrete for the footers. Here's the results.

This is the side of the house where the deck will be built. Here you can see the footers as well as the concrete slab that will serve as the foundation.

A close-up of the 12 footers that make up the left side of the deck's foundation.

A close-up of the 6 footers that make up the right side of the deck's foundation.

Buddy & Penny

This is Buddy. He's the ultimate All-American "Dog." Dustin and I found him at the Humane Society of North Texas. Initially, Dustin didn't like him, but quickly warmed up to Buddy. Buddy's about 60 pounds and very energetic. Squeeky toys and laser pointers tend to keep him busy when he's not sleeping.

His playmate, Penny, is equally a handful. Even though she weighs only 50 pounds, she's built like a runner. They once escaped from our backyard when the wind blew the back gate open. A day later, they were both standing at the front door waiting for breakfast.

Concert in the Gardens

On June 24th, Dustin surprised me by taking me to "Concert in the Gardens." Essentially, you pack a picnic, bring your little red wagon to haul it around in, sit in the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens and sip on wine as the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra plays music from Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, Star Trek, and E.T. Not only that, but there was a Laser Light show and fireworks to boot. I absolutely LOVED IT and recommend everyone go next time around.

Heather and Dustin toasting to the evening.

Joe-Joe enjoying a sammich

The view from where we sat.

Rob & Dustin

Awww....... It's Rob & Dustin. This is a pic of us at a Christmas Party.

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