Very slow progress

I wish I could say I've been tatting up a storm since school let out for the summer, but I haven't. As you can see, I'm making very slow progress on Renulek's "Letnia."

How did summer get so busy? Dave and I were home alone for the 4th of July. We putzed around doing mundane things like laundry, gardening, cleaning the house... all very restful, really. However, neither one of us really spent time being creative, unless you call weeding and cutting down a storm damaged tree creative!

We went to daughter Alison's house yesterday to help replace her backyard deck. The wood had rotted in places, and Alison was concerned that someone was going to stick their foot through the wood. Alison and family tore up most of the old deck on Thursday and Friday. We arrived about 7:30 yesterday morning. Dave set to work right away pulling out the rest of the old, rotted wood. The right tools make all the difference!

While Dave was preparing the ground for the new lumber, Alison and I unloaded the new lumber. We then made a quick trip to Menards for the correct length screws.

By lunch time, Dave had the new deck framed. After lunch Alison and I went shopping for deck stain, while Dan and the kids loaded the rotten wood in to the truck. Dave started on the decking, and once he was on a roll, Dan and the kids helped screw the boards in place. It truly was a group project, and as Dave predicted, the deck was built in one day!

By 5 p.m. we were all ready to be finished for the day. Yes, there's still some work to be done. There are spots that need to be sanded. The cloth under the deck needs to be trimmed, and the stain needs to be applied, but now my daughter and her family have a safe deck in their back yard. What a feeling of satisfaction!

Today... daughter Carol's bathroom!