Another Successful Weekend - Cross 2 things off the list!
That's right! 2 major projects have hit the done pile. I got up Sunday morning with can-do- done attitude and jumped right into the project list. Ok that's a little bit of a story. I actually made a game plan on saturday night. I really wanted to get something done. Really Really. So I made a list of what I wanted to accomplish and set it on the table where I would see it when I drank my coffee in the morning. You know... Because I tend to forget my plans if Its not in front of my face. I admit it was a completely doable list. I just got sidetracked... But in a good way. On the list was Clean up the Tick Farm. Which I did. I tried to start up the old mower. That was a story in itself. it has been a year since I last used it. I kept it to just mow the Tick Farm... and I kept it behind the fence in the elements. So I wasn't surprised it wouldn't start. What did surprise me was that a baby opossum was living under it. No it wasn't injured. When I moved the mower, the opossum woke up and ran into my back yard. All I saw was that tail go under the gate and make a beeline for the yard. So I chased it down with the shovel and herded it out of the yard and into the woods. No I wouldn't kill it. It wasn't hurting anybody.
I couldn't get the mower to start so I wheeled it to the Service porch to sit till Trash day (Tuesday). Either the Rednecks, Mexicans or the Trash service will pick it up. That was a big deal for me. It shows ya that I am back on the "Get Rid of It" bus. I then got out the Good push mower and tore into the Tick farm. I mowed and mowed... till I ran over a yellow Jackets nest! They freaking NAILED me on the back of my left leg. The one day I decide to wear shorts... and I get stung! I gave it a couple of minutes and went back to retrieve the mower and finish the opposite end of the tick farm. I then cleaned up all the tree limbs and pulled out all the 4x4 post remnants that were back there. I put them in the pile of wood scraps that are going to go to the dump next weekend. When everything else was done I carefully mowed around the Yellow Jackets nest. Once that one spot was left I pointed the mower to the gate and ran towards the gate... pushing the mower ... over the nest. Completing the Tick Farm clean-up, pissing off the Jackets and avoiding getting stung again. Next up... Mow the back yard.
Once that was done, I decided to deviate from the list. And here's why: On Saturday, I power washed the the cedar fence pickets I had replaced last weekend. I had lined them up to dry out. I thought it would take longer to do that, but by 2:00pm they were dry. So instead of storing them I decided to use them on the Grill Table Project that had been bouncing around in my head for 2 years. I didn't want anything to happen to the boards. I knew I needed to clean up the patio and the boards were in the way.
I knew they couldn't be stored this way. I needed to make usable lumber out of the pickets... So I set up a little lumber mill and cut all the scrap off the pickets and made planks out of them. Basically I salvaged the Meat out of each picket. I ended up with Boards / planks of varying sizes and scraps that I can burn in the upstairs fireplace as kindling.
Then I said, "Crap. I just need to get this party started. The tools are out here, It's a beautiful day. Just knock this project out." I really did say that to myself. and I'm sure you are Saying to yourself... "What the Hell is she talking about?" I inherited an old grill in the same trailer load of crap that yielded the Airplane Parts. It was so incredibly rusty that I couldn't do anything with it but trash it. But I got an Idea in my head that I couldn't shake. so I went out and bought an old grill from a junk dealer for $35. I then removed the innards and the roll top... and let it sit on my back patio for 2 years. Here's what it looked like.
I had thrown out the Lawn Mower - why not the Fake Ficus Tree and the ripped up cushions? So those hit the Trash pile. I had pressure washed part of the patio. I was on a "clean the patio" Roll and The Grill Table was one of the last things that needed to be done. So I proceeded to work on the Grill Prep Table. I had no definite plans. I just started to wing it. I had a set of drawer slides in the garage - so I started making a drawer. I needed something to fill the space above the doors. I thought If I can't do the drawer Idea then I'll take the box and put a lift top on it and mount it in that space. But after several hours and a trip to home depot for Self tapping Screws... here is the results.
I have a few little things left to do - I'll work on it this week. But the main part of the table is done.
I went in after completing all this at around 9:00pm. That was a very productive 12 hours. So I treated myself to a Klondike bar and 2 advil.
I couldn't get the mower to start so I wheeled it to the Service porch to sit till Trash day (Tuesday). Either the Rednecks, Mexicans or the Trash service will pick it up. That was a big deal for me. It shows ya that I am back on the "Get Rid of It" bus. I then got out the Good push mower and tore into the Tick farm. I mowed and mowed... till I ran over a yellow Jackets nest! They freaking NAILED me on the back of my left leg. The one day I decide to wear shorts... and I get stung! I gave it a couple of minutes and went back to retrieve the mower and finish the opposite end of the tick farm. I then cleaned up all the tree limbs and pulled out all the 4x4 post remnants that were back there. I put them in the pile of wood scraps that are going to go to the dump next weekend. When everything else was done I carefully mowed around the Yellow Jackets nest. Once that one spot was left I pointed the mower to the gate and ran towards the gate... pushing the mower ... over the nest. Completing the Tick Farm clean-up, pissing off the Jackets and avoiding getting stung again. Next up... Mow the back yard.
Once that was done, I decided to deviate from the list. And here's why: On Saturday, I power washed the the cedar fence pickets I had replaced last weekend. I had lined them up to dry out. I thought it would take longer to do that, but by 2:00pm they were dry. So instead of storing them I decided to use them on the Grill Table Project that had been bouncing around in my head for 2 years. I didn't want anything to happen to the boards. I knew I needed to clean up the patio and the boards were in the way.
I knew they couldn't be stored this way. I needed to make usable lumber out of the pickets... So I set up a little lumber mill and cut all the scrap off the pickets and made planks out of them. Basically I salvaged the Meat out of each picket. I ended up with Boards / planks of varying sizes and scraps that I can burn in the upstairs fireplace as kindling.
Then I said, "Crap. I just need to get this party started. The tools are out here, It's a beautiful day. Just knock this project out." I really did say that to myself. and I'm sure you are Saying to yourself... "What the Hell is she talking about?" I inherited an old grill in the same trailer load of crap that yielded the Airplane Parts. It was so incredibly rusty that I couldn't do anything with it but trash it. But I got an Idea in my head that I couldn't shake. so I went out and bought an old grill from a junk dealer for $35. I then removed the innards and the roll top... and let it sit on my back patio for 2 years. Here's what it looked like.
I had thrown out the Lawn Mower - why not the Fake Ficus Tree and the ripped up cushions? So those hit the Trash pile. I had pressure washed part of the patio. I was on a "clean the patio" Roll and The Grill Table was one of the last things that needed to be done. So I proceeded to work on the Grill Prep Table. I had no definite plans. I just started to wing it. I had a set of drawer slides in the garage - so I started making a drawer. I needed something to fill the space above the doors. I thought If I can't do the drawer Idea then I'll take the box and put a lift top on it and mount it in that space. But after several hours and a trip to home depot for Self tapping Screws... here is the results.
I have a few little things left to do - I'll work on it this week. But the main part of the table is done.
- Sand the top (Monday)
- Polyurethane - first coat done. (Tuesday - Wednesday)
- styrofoam insulation the inside of the cabinet - Used Cedar and Plywood from the camper instead (Thursday)
- get a pan to go in the left shelf - or cover it up. - Made Box out of Cedar and attached. put in new bushings (Thursday)
- towel rack (Saturday)
- and some trim boards (on left and right of drawer). - (Thursday)
- line the drawer
I went in after completing all this at around 9:00pm. That was a very productive 12 hours. So I treated myself to a Klondike bar and 2 advil.