a grand finale

 Day 14. Final contact. It was a beautiful morning with lots of sunshine and a bit of a breeze. John & Roy were here at 7:30 and got to work on the final stairs. Before I knew it they were installing the gates, then they moved 3 super heavy benches up the 5 steps onto the deck. They disassembled their work area and with a blink of an eye were gone before Carm even got home from golf..

How would I rate the experience? An easy 5/5.

the last screw

I putzed around for the rest of the morning, having Carm move one heavy thing after another while I played with fluffy pillows. Happy.

We decided that an umbrella would be good so we dashed off to a semi-distant Home Hardware. With a stroke of luck, there was a blue umbrella! I also found 3 giant black planters which hold the old scummy planters.

This afternoon Jo Ellen and Don came for a late lunch. It was sunny and not too hot.

With the gates on we can block the dogs onto the deck so they can stay out  with us if it isn’t too hot, which reminds me, I have to dig out the outside dog bed that I have somewhere. It’s blue & white striped so it fits with the decor ;-)

Awesome!

“it’s finished!”

garlic harvest

 Lucky Day 13. Sunny and hot with a humidex of 30C by 11am.  The early morning was gorgeous with a portent of another hot day. John & Roy were here at the crack of dawn again and got busy with the skirting. They ran out of wood around 9:30 so started on the stairs on the pool level. Meanwhile, in la la land, I was putzing around making bread and egg bites and Carm was golfing - just a quick 9 holes. 

During our coffee break chat this morning they mentioned that people rarely served them coffee let alone food. Often they don’t even let them use the bathroom for heaven’s sake! I can’t imagine having someone working at the house and not taking care of them. Unthinkable!

It has been a challenge to think of what to serve though. Especially as we are all eating on our laps… best if no cutlery is required. Today’s lunch snack is egg bites with a few slices of bacon, and slabs of hot from the oven bread.

Carm had to go get more wood. It is unF%?King believable how much wood costs! It’s nothing to spend $600 or $800 for a few boards. No wonder Pierre was happy to get our old decking, nails and all! And then he was at the lumber store again for more hardware… and into town once more for his 2nd booster!

In between all that running around we harvested garlic… 142 bulbs! I think they are smaller than last year but Carm thinks they are the same size… hopefully he’s right.

By the end of the day a low set of stairs for the end near the garage and installing the 2 gates remains for Monday. I don’t expect it to take all day. We should crack a bottle of bubbles with them!

Speaking of bubbles, we toasted our first meal on the deck with Trudie & Leo - Trudie kindly brought a full spread for us to enjoy. The last bites of supper had just settled in our guts when the sky let loose. We ran around gathering up plates and bowls and glasses. Of course I had ‘dressed up’ our eating and seating areas so I was grabbing all the cushions and other decor (ha ha).

Awesome!

“beautiful morning with not even a breath of breeze”

“bread fresh from the oven”

rail against the machine

 Day 12. Hot and humid with humidex at 35C but not as brutal as yesterday. The railings are going up today at a rate that seems impossible. Then stairs or skirting, not sure what comes first (skirting probably). John and Roy also lifted up the 3 giant planters with the cedars in them.

Carm was gone for much of the morning doing countless errands, some deck related and others getting food. Hopefully eggs too… I planned to make banana spice muffins today but when I got to the part where I needed an egg, well, it seems that I hardboiled every single egg in the house! Dooh! So lunch will be hard boiled eggs and crostini. Maybe some dip too. (update, the muffins were done in time for lunch)

By 2pm (maybe earlier), all the railings were installed. I love it! It wasn’t my favorite style of railing but with the scale and surroundings they look fantastic. Carm and I put the post caps on all but the ones by the gates which still need to be installed. Lupa can no longer jump off the 5 foot drop at the end of the deck (she actually did this the other day and came out unscathed but I nearly had a heart attack! Especially as there was a towering pile of boards with huge nails sticking out.

John and Roy worked on the skirting the rest of the afternoon. They work well together with John taking the lead and Roy there to cut and deliver wood and other supplies. I try to stay out of their way but today the temptation to be outside was too great… ha ha!

I’ve been taking out icy wet cloths for them to put on their heads or necks but still the heat bears down on everyone.

In the afternoon (after countless trips to the city and the building supply store), Carm started leveling a spot to rest the stairs on.

After a cheater supper of hotdogs, I wandered outside and decided to move one of the metal chairs from the front deck to down by the pool, and then the other chair, of course the table. We sat on the deck thinking about what will go where and before we knew it four more plants came aboard, and the big dining table, and a chair, and the old deck box…

It’s a bit like moving into a new house :-)

still a bit of skirting needed here and there

Awesome!

“I thought I wouldn’t like the railings but I love them!”

“my honey out and about like an ancient hunter”

“finding what I think are the perfect solution to planters on the deck”

“the stairs from the house (again, awesome)”