This thing… was actually quite stressful for me to procure. It must be my planning and default stress, but the whole process was a bit daunting. The thing is around 300 pounds, and I was worried about transporting it to/from Home Depot.
In my defense, I was super tired…
After a late breakfast, several of us went to go spend some time helping Kirt work on the new boat he acquired (and is restoring).
With our travel done yesterday afternoon/evening, Liz and I spent the day today working remotely. Which… when you’re already working remotely, where that happens seems like a moot point.
With the crazy long work day we had yesterday, Liz and I were both pretty wiped out today.
Our goals for the arbor today were pretty modest: get in the bottom 2×4 cross braces (with pocket screws) and also get in the top 4×4 cross beams.
Despite it being a Friday, Liz and I opted to suit up after work to put in a bit more time getting the arbor in order. We wanted to get some concrete in for the posts (and to also figure out how much more concrete we needed to purchase, in the event we needed more).
With our post holes dug, today we focused on getting the arbor posts situated and fixed in place (mostly). We spent a good portion of the morning talking at the kitchen table, going over our approach and how to best figure out the placement of things.
Liz, clearing out some roots and rocks. We learned that whenever the augur would bind and jerk, that was our cue to stop it and remove whatever obstruction was down there with a post hole digger.
This was a lesson I didn’t quite learn when I was going solo – I’d hit a snag, and just keep trying to power through. When what I should have done was stop and clear.
We had a lot of backwards math to do: start with the overall height, then reduce it down to where we wanted it to be. Then figure out the height of the posts themselves. And then also factor in how far the posts should go into the ground.
Liz has a vision for restructuring our backyard. To even begin laying out that plan, one of our garden boxes needed to be relocated.
This isn’t a final move, but more of a “get it out of the way for now” move.
We’re both nearing the two weeks after our second shot, but we’ve been sequestered for so long… going out to eat anywhere still feels distant. I think it will take us a considerable amount of time before we feel comfortable doing something like that again.
There’s work to be done this year, and also things to be done that will take a few years to realize. But it’s been very interesting to hear her talk about the changes, and to watch her go about planning this whole new space.
Liz has been working to clean up the main hall windows. Tonight, I got to see an interesting side by side between two of them.
Today, Liz and I were both outside working: me in the backyard, her in the front. She was clearing a lot of the front yard and parkway, while I was working on digging out the dandelions, and mowing the yard.