The Amazing Expanding Project

The thing about owning a fixer upper is that every project you undertake has the potential to blossom into a project tenfold in size. Want to replace the bathroom floors? Surprise! The area around the toilet has water damage! And there's termite damage as a result of that! Suddenly, the one-day, $150 project involves installing a new toilet and tenting the entire property. For example. 

So, it was with both enthusiasm and skepticism that we approached the vegatable garden phase of our backyard project...and our expectations were not disappointed. We examined the yard and selected the best spot for the garden. Then, we realized a couple of fence boards could use straightening before we built the box. Long story short, we spent eight hours rebuilding the better part of the fence. Garden materials are purchased and waiting for us, but it wasn't in the cards for this weekend once the fence project was done. 

On the upside, we needed very little new lumber to fix the fence. We were able to mostly reuse what was already part of the fence, which was a good feeling. To be honest, it was a far better feeling than the physical feeling at the end of that eight hour day of fence building. 

Cue the photos:

Good thing the neighbors are awesome! Not everybody would be ok with ten minutes notice about having their privacy totally invaded, and their personal property tampered with. 

Dad was totally skeptical of Sergio's "loose tooth" approach to getting out the most rotten fence post. But, he triumphed!

I didn't get an "after" photo, but dad was able to sledgehammer this whole piece of  concrete. Not bad for a retired person. 

Let's be honest, the Evil Empire has great prices and convenient locations. Sigh. Fortunately, we didn't need a ton of lumber to fix the fence, and the boards for the garden are ready to go. 

This is the point where the neighbor realized her first instinct had been a good one, and she would have a fixed fence before sundown, and for free :-)

Beautiful fence! Restored to its original straightness. And, best of all, a perfect spot right beside it for a vegetable garden. Spring planting, here we come!