Project: Patio Phase I

It's supposed to get to 105 today. I'm drenched in sweat, trying to operate a heavy piece of machinery with just 10 seconds of orientation. My son is glued to the window trying to figure out just what daddy is doing. What am I doing? How do I get myself into these situations?

Well, it is pretty simple. It normally starts with an innocent conversation between myself and Mrs. Schwangston, like wouldn't it be nice if...? Then like a moth to the flame, I'm building an entertainment center (or two), desk for the office, bookshelves out of PB catalog, or in this case, our backyard patio. Throw in a couple more hours of me standing, staring blankly in some aisle at Lowe's, scheming and plotting while Mrs. Schwangston waits semi-patiently for me to sort it out in my head.

I have no idea when this project will actually end, but it started in full this past weekend. So far, I've pulled all the grass up with a rented sod cutter from HD (Reed). It seems that I just try to hold on to it like a rodeo cowboy more than operate it. I was very aware that I could loose a limb during the operation, but appreciated not taking a pic axe to our rock hard Texas soil. I laid the initial border and trim down, and the half ton of gravel and sand delivery arrived today. I went to college so I wouldn't have to do work like this, but sometimes it is nice to put in some solid manual labor...just not in the 100+ degree Texas heat.

Thanks for reading.