The Porch is Done!

The porch is done! Yay!

So if anyone stops by today, DO NOT walk up to the porch!

Let me back up a second. Last night M's grill went kaput and some time was spent figuring out what failed. Turns out the plastic connection that attaches the gas line to the gas tank was failing and that gas was not making it to the machine. Easy, right? Well, not quite. The grill's existing line was tightly clipped onto the grill using solid brass clips. A safety feature, except if something happens and you need to replace the mechanism. I finally managed to cut through the brass fitting and we ran down to Canadian Tire for some replacement parts. A solid hour (or more) later, I managed to get the grill back up and running. And this time, the fitting is a screw-on style, so if something like this happens again, we can just unscrew that from the grill and replace it.

So, instead of grilling last night, we had Taco Night. I think M quite liked it. MMmmmm... tacos.

Okay, now for today:
I got out of bed early (8 am) and got right out there and finished the one section of railing that was needed. That took about 1.5 hours. Then, M awake and "rar'in" to go, we tackled the porch floor and sides.

It took us the majority of the day to do, but it is finished. Looks pretty good, too. M chose Jack Pine as the color for that section, a more greenish shade than the previous painting in that area. It better matches the shutters on the windows and really looks good, if I do say so myself.

I think it is safe to say that neither one of us wants to see paint or a brush for a long time!

After the porch, M weeded and I tried mowing the front lawn. Bad idea on my part. I was already very, very tired and mowing up and down that hill was a killer. However, the majority of her front yard is finished and looks okay. Hopefully I can finish the rest tomorrow and give M a small break from mowing.

We were so exhausted that we barely were able to make dinner. We grilled some steaks and garlic potatoes on the newly fixed grill (works great, but now maybe TOO good-- it was way too hot at first and we had to turn it down a lot). Again, very tasty, but our level of tired made it hard to finish the meal.

Now we are lounging around the house and preparing to watch a little TV, a movie, or do something else that is not a problem if we fall asleep during.

So, on my last full day here for a while I need to:

• Do a little paint touch-up once everything is dry and we can see what (if anything) we missed or goobered up.
• Finish mowing.
• I'm hoping to get down to Dom's and have him shave my head and face for me.
• And lots and lots of cuddling, I hope. ;-)

I hope to have some good news when I get back to CA. Hopefully I can get myself back here and living with this wonderful woman shortly!