Other Stuff We Did Today

Put teak oil on the new outdoor furniture.

Moved Finn's house off the lawn. Not sure where we'll put it yet. Don't have a lot of choices.

Replaced a tail light on the car.

Jennifer straightened out the garden. We had some cukes and beans along with the rabbit tonight for dinner. No, we did not shoot the rabbit ourselves - we got it at Adam's Fairacre Farms.

Putting Up a Pergola

Trying to figure out how all the pieces go together. We bought the floor model. No instructions & 9 bolts missing.
After a trip to Home Depot to get the bolts, we started raising it.


I have read that a lot of these things blow away, so I put three lag bolts in each corner. Sinking them with a drill was a lot easier than using the ratchet.

Notice the top piece is not right. Had to fix that afterward.

That's me moving Finn's house in the background.

Now the top is fixed. I laid 8' 1x1s on the top of the frame, pulled the center piece out, and let all the 'rafter' pieces rest on the 1x1s as I turned the center piece 45 degrees, reattached all the pieces, and was done with it.

More Patio work

All stone cut and in place.
The right blade made it easier. Jennifer spotted it when I was looking for more of the other type & convinced me it was worth it. It does work faster & doesn't wear down.

All the sand is spread in.

Now we've wet it for the first time.

This is the stuff. It's supposed to stick into the joints a little better.

What's the Bird Eating Now?

Rabbit on the grill.
Bird eats rabbit.

Eet smakelijk!

More Pictures of Ancestral Homestead.

My mother is infirm from a number of maladies including two artificial knees, arthritis, back surgery, and a recent bout with cancer. she needed a ramp, so after the contractor finished raising the attic roof, they fixed up the back porch.




They fixed up the siding for the raised attic.

It's hard to see here but the flat roof over the back of the house is now gone. The old flat roof never worked well, so this will keep the back of the house a lot dryer now.
And yeah, this really is our 'ancestral homestead' for what it's worth. 40 acres or more in the area belonged to my great grandparents Domachowski. They sold the property in the 40s and the place changed hands a few more times as the neighborhood came up around it, but the house largely remained the same in shape until we got our hands on it again in the 1970s.

Patio Progress

With the area framed in, I spread some leveling sand on the concrete slab. This will make it so the pavers don't rock underneath your feet.
Time to cut pavers. I did it with three carbide masonry blades on my skil saw. the dust was horrible.

I put all the whole pavers in then started cutting them in half to cover the gap. Since it worked out to 7.5 bricks across this one way, the pattern looks preserved.


This is what happens to the blades after awhile.

All the half-block cuts are done. With one blade left I have to cut through some to make up the gap toward the front of the picture. These will be about 2/3 the length. Why didn't I start from the center to make the edge look uniform all around? I would have had to put quarter size blocks on two edges and 1/3 size blocks on two other edges. That's twice the amount of cutting for something most people ain't gonna notice. Besides, since I had half blocks on the one side, the pattern looks almost continuous because of the way a whole block appears to have a line through the middle.

Almost done. I need three more blocks.

Other Stuff

Dinner tonight was grilled duck. Gramma and Grampa would be proud. Jennifer got half a duck at Adam's and grilled it over indirect heat with an orange marmalade glaze. We also ate our first zucchini and yellow squash with it.


Had to replace the spot on the garage recently. Here is the result.

This is my neighbor, Flip.

Patio Prep

Jennifer and I started digging out soil around the slab where Finn's house has rested for two years now. We bought timbers, patio brick, and sand to create a patio for our pergola.

I rolled Finn's house to the side using some old posts.

Putting the timbers in place. These are 6x6 pressure-treated southern yellow pine. Each corner has two Simpson straps with 3" deck screws and two 10" lag bolts.

1/2" drill bit for the bolts. I was really pleased with the service at Home Depot today. In fact, we have noticed the service at Home Depot and Lowes to have improved manifold.

Jennifer ratcheting in the corners.

All four sides in.

We played with the stone a little to see what it will look like. But it's time for bed now.

Independence Day

Fireworks, July 3rd, Beacon