Mission Complete

It all started about a year ago as I stared at the area adjacent to Deckzilla in our back yard. It was covered in pea stones that I put in place originally because that was where Buddy the Wonder Pooch liked to do his business and grass growing was a forlorn hope. With Buddy’s passing it became a favorite of the granddaughters who assumed it was their mission in life to move as many of the small stones onto Deckzilla as possible. They must have liked the image of their grandfather jumping up and down after stepping on one with only his socks on. After attending a party at Soxfather’s cousin’s house last year I noticed the cement patio they had and the idea was born. I was going to put in a patio in my back yard around my style challenged fireplace.

Finished!!!!

I spent the ensuing year imagining what it would look like. Of course, I would have to obtain my Favorite Panamanian’s permission for a project this sized and she was initially a little leery, based on some of my more spectacular DYI projects in the past. I eventually convinced her. Her only complaint this time is that everybody assumes this was her idea and poor me once again tilting at windmills at the behest of my better half. Let me be very clear, this was my idea. She finally said something nice about today, for the first time. Most of the time spent out there was leveling the area and carting the remains of the hill I had to delve into.

Today's 25

My body was in a pretty beat up state last night as I returned to Home Depot for the final load of concrete. I decided to cut down on my addiction to the gray stuff. I reduced my Thursday dosage of 40 bags to a mere 25 for today’s effort. It was still pretty taxing since the Depot only had bags on the second shelf which added and unwanted upper body challenge to the process. I returned home after dark and off loaded the 25 bags onto Deckzilla. Going with Thursday’s experience when the three stairs to Deckzilla got higher as the day progressed, I loaded the bags on the lowest level I could. My Favorite Panamanian was also out on the deck painting rocks (more on that later). Tylenol had worked its magic overnight and I felt okay to start up again this morning. I’d established a nice routine by the end of Thursday and finally had some restored energy to implement it. My only company today was the flock of hornets who seem to be addicted to freshly poured concrete. They didn’t bother me too much, although, being allergic to beestings I was little nervous at their persistent presence. I was not interested in a scientific inquiry as to whether I’m also allergic to hornet stings. I wasn’t feeling scientific at this point. After a couple hours I was approaching the final area which is where those painted rocks came into play.

My Work Buddy Sniffing the Concrete

My Favorite Panamanian decided the patio needed a stylish punch up and I defer all style questions to her due to my basic lack of any sense of same. Predictably she wanted to find a way to incorporate the granddaughters into the effort. She combed through the mountain of small stones I had excavated during the project. She stayed up late last night painting the rocks so she could emplace them today as three flowers with a granddaughter’s names in each. While I initially was concerned about what this would do to my project timeline, I have to admit they look great and granddaughters cannot be honored enough. So, it’s done. In a major surprise, firmly in the better lucky than good category, 25 was exactly the number of bags I needed to complete the project. I’m not sure what comes next but rest is definitely near the top of the list.

One movie fell in my A-Z effort (for some reason I’ve been tired the last couple nights), a keeper: Anchorman 2, The Legend Continues (Brick Tamland everybody).

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course