Digging, measuring, cutting, power drilling, shoveling, watering, sawing, painting . . . not bad for a day's work! We just need to get a couple more pieces of "fencing" (a.k.a. our old deck railings. We are good re-purposers :) Seeing the boys work the hand saw still makes me a little nervous, but it's a good thing to know how to do, and they have just a few contact scrapes on their legs as a result, nothing serious.
Gabby is now practically an expert post hole digger . . . I remember the one we used growing up being much bigger than the one we bought at the construction store. It took me a few tries to remember the process of using the thing, but just like riding a bike, it all came back to me :)
The concrete Buck bought was great! You just pour it dry in the hole, add water to the top, let it soak, add some more concrete, then water, and 20 minutes later you have a cemented post! We had to move quickly, but that fence is solid!
We wrapped up our projects about 4:00, because Buck and I did want to try to squeeze in a date night for our anniversary. We decided to start out at Lowe's--oooh ahhh :) We didn't end up buying anything, but put together a pretty solid list for the next morning. Most importantly, we decided to scrap our plans for redoing the bathrooms with the pre-made countertops we'd purchased. A little further inspection revealed they were four inches deeper with a drop-down lip that would make drawer opening impossible. Instead . . . we're using ceramic floor tiles!! Oh, but wait, that update should be shared later.
We happened to receive a special anniversary card in the mail from a certain lady in CA who thought we might enjoy dinner at P.F. Chang's (she was right!). We have a pretty set ordering menu at the Chang's--if we went more often we could say, "The usual," and they'd know what to bring to the table. Well this time we ordered egg rolls and dumplings (no lettuce wraps, what?!) Buck got a sushi roll and I ordered pad Thai chicken. I wanted more vegetables, so we also ordered a side of their Szechuan asparagus . . . it was SOOO delicious. We stopped eating everything else and just mowed on that :)
Of course, we were stuffed, so we asked for a box to take our leftovers all mixed together with the leftovers of the asparagus . . . and left it on the table!!! Ughh. Brennen always gets our P.F. Chang's leftovers for lunch the next day, it's kind of a tradition. He was almost as bummed as I was that I forgot to grab that box!We were just in such a hurry to get to Trader Joe's to pick up some yogurt and coconut that I guess it escaped my mind. :)
There's a coconut stick product that I like . . . we've discussed this before on the blog . . . when I run out, Buck wants to make sure I'm well stocked for the next time, so "we" (he) buy it in bulk. I laughed when I saw how many were on the shelf, because usually there's just a few. They must have known we were coming. I loaded five in the cart and was ready to go. Buck basically does an arm sweep and half the shelf's contents go cascading into the cart! He says, "We need at least 15." No, we do not :) I think we ended up with 11 . . . I'll consider it my bonus anniversary gift, since we decided this year I got carpet and he got a barn. So I got carpet and coconut and he . . . well, he still just got a barn ;)
The next day, we were up and taking measurements (after breakfast--Buck made breakfast both mornings, I like when he does that :) You can see in the photo below that we used our old Bessie Van as a truck once more to bring home a few tile, chicken coop, and garden fence supplies. It's amazing how returning some things gives you wiggle room to buy other things ;)Our goal was to finish the gate . . . check! Buck built it from leftover deck wood and then applied the hinge kit we picked up. The kids scooped a little dirt to level out the place it swings open, and we have an official enclosure! Gabby helped me finish painting the new sections and then she moved on to help with the coop building.
I think this chicken coop will be big enough for 800 birds!! But Buck thinks maybe six :) Those ladies will be living in luxury with all the work that's going into this coop--I still don't quite see the finished product in my head, though Buck has tried to explain it to me several times. My brain has trouble comprehending such things!
Graysen switched teams and helped me start the chicken wire process. It basically requires some good leather gloves (thanks Grandpa Leonard!), a TON of staples, and some patience :) Graysen was my landscaping pin installer. He was so fast, I couldn't keep up with the stapler! And it turns out new wood is harder than old, rotted wood, so on a couple of sections I had to hammer in the staples--so that slowed me down a bit too. We got half of it wired and the other crew got started on the coop walls, but then we were hot and turning pink and decided to call it a day!
Unfortunately, we didn't call it early enough because Buck woke up with a nasty headache at 2 a.m. I napped on the couch to keep him company from 3ish to 5ish . . . I'm such good company when I'm asleep :) He was able to call in to work, so he could take his rescue medicine and rest the whole day. I'm sure a day off was a good thing.This morning he said he slept all night and didn't have even a twinge of a headache. They needed him to fix an issue at work that they couldn't figure out yesterday, so he went in early today. Then he has two days off. It's been a crazy schedule lately! I'm not sure if we'll finish up outside tasks or focus on the bathrooms? Either way, we're getting stuff done as a team!
--Coop Dreams-- :)
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