Memorial Weekend - Day 2

On one of my many late night bathroom trips, I posted the Blog entry and a bunch of photos. No sense waiting until morning since I was awake anyway. Then I went back to bed.

I woke up late at 7:00 AM. I refilled my pill box and then had my oatmeal and morning pills. I kicked the cats off the bed and stripped it, throwing the bedding in the washer. I shaved and showered and then headed out to Home Depot. I bought more herbicide and some green bean seeds and then had a nice young lady load a cart with eight bags of river rocks. She put them in my trunk after I paid for them and said, “See you soon!”

I drove home, changed clothes, put the bedding in the dryer and pulled the car into the back yard. Before I started putting in the river rocks, I leveled the planter to a true level, not to the patio (I couldn’t live with that tilted look). I took out the landscape fabric and the false bottom, so I could put the dirt I’d dug out and left on the patio back inside the bottom of the planter to hold it and the river rocks in place. Then I carefully dumped each bag of rocks where I wanted it.

Oh, I almost forgot. I checked the rain gauge and we picked up 1/2 inch of much-needed rain yesterday here in Redford.

I put the false bottom and landscape fabric back and then filled one end of the planter with the bags of dirt I had in the garage to estimate how much more I would need. I took a photo of the rocks before I forgot and the project moved too far along.

I changed clothes again and headed out to Home Depot again. The same girl laughed when she saw me and said, “See, I told you!” Then she loaded four more bags of garden soil and three bags of potting soil. I also bought some screws and two one foot square gray patio stones (I had a plan all along, but I ain’t telling unless it works, lol!)

When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping! So, next I hit PetSmart for kitty litter and cat treats. Then I drove to Kroger and got the little I had on the list. I want to grill more brats later and had planned on stopping at Westborn for sweet corn but, on a whim, I bought some redskin potato salad at the deli for my side dish instead.

Back at home, it was already three o’clock! I unloaded the groceries and then drove the car out back again. Then I changed clothes and, before I went back outside, I had a cup of coffee and made the bed up. BTW, it was getting really hot outside. My brace was wringing wet with sweat (yuck).


But, I went outside with a pad of paper, pencil and tape measure. Here’s my idea: The planter is about two feet away from the state park grill. So, I worried that any herbs planted near that end of the planter “might” be affected by the heat when I’m grilling. Also, in the past, I’ve lugged over the outdoor tables to set stuff on, like tongs, grill brushes, plates of uncooked food and/or plates of cooked food I pulled off the grill.

Since I have leftover cedar boards and aluminum angle iron (what the hell do you call that – I’ve asked in the past when they fixed the garage door but never got an answer), I thought I’d make a platform to hold two one-foot patio blocks. That will give a buffer for the herbs and allow me to set things, even hot things, on the planter. Brilliant, right?

Well, brilliant maybe, but not so easy. I designed a way to use the leftover cedar 1x6’s (ripped down to 3 1/2 inches on the table saw) around the edges. The one in the middle (where the two patio blocks will meet) will be sideways and full width and the one on the dirt side will have that aluminum angle iron bolted to it so they can’t move.

So, I bought the stainless steel screws I needed (regular, cheaper screws would eventually rust and stain the cedar) and put together my holder. The hardest part was to cut the aluminum to length (21 1/8 inches) and drill six holes in it so I could screw it to the cedar board. I even assembled it upside down on a piece of plywood so that the blocks would lie flat, instead of rising up on one end because of the screw heads. Yes, I thought of everything!

Except…

Remember that old carpenter’s saying, “Measure twice, cut once.” Apparently I didn’t, because when I took it out to screw it to the box (with more, longer stainless steel screws I bought), the dirt side (with the aluminum) was too short! WTF?

I got the tape measure and checked it again. The real measurement was 22 1/8 inches! Damn! I toyed around with quick fix ideas that “might” work, but wouldn’t give me the support I felt I needed. So, I took it all apart and re-cut the cedar board (after ripping another one down again) re-cut another piece of aluminum with the hacksaw and then drilled the holes again.

I was just finishing assembling it for the second time when I went in the kitchen for a glass of water. Oh, oh! The sunny sky had turned almost black and it looked like it might rain any second. Normally, I wouldn’t have cared, but the car was still in the back yard, with the trunk, open and loaded with dirt and potting soil and the windows and sunroof were open because of the heat. I grabbed the car keys, ran outside, unloaded the seven bags of dirt onto the patio, closed up the windows, trunk and sunroof and drove it up front to the driveway. I didn’t want to leave it in back if it rained hard, fearing I’d make ruts in my lawn.

Next I carried my holder out and installed it. Then came the tricky part. I’d made it to accommodate the width of the 12 inch patio blocks, but naturally, since the outside of the planter is two feet, the maximum length of the opening is only 22 inches.

If you remember, I bought that blade to cut concrete, so I took off the wood blade and installed the concrete one on the Skill saw. I suppose I could have just cut two inches off one block, but the edges are slightly beveled and it would be noticeable (at least to me). So, I wrapped the one edge of one block with the brown masking tape and marked off one inch. The tape was both so I could see the mark easier and, since I’d never tried to cut concrete before, I didn’t know if it would chip.

Holy shit! You wouldn’t believe the concrete dust the saw was making (I know I didn’t). So, I stopped, got a face mask and moved the sawhorses out on the driveway and into the breeze. It wasn’t “hard” but it was slow and took a long time. I brushed off the dust and put it in place, then I re-measured for the cut on the next block (it was still one inch). I repeated the process and after fitting it into place, I put the saw horses and the Skill saw back in the garage.

I washed up, paying particular attention to my glasses as I didn’t want to scratch them with the concrete dust. It was getting late, so I started the charcoal on fire. While the coals were getting ready, I mixed the garden soil and potting mix in the wheel barrow (one and a half bags at a time) and slowly filled up the planter. It was a little past time for the “perfect” coals, but the planter was finally full.

I grilled my brats and ate two along with some of the potato salad (the potato salad needed more salt, but it was not bad at all). Then I went out and hosed off the patio, river rocks and the planter to clean up the dirt I’d spilled while using the transfer shovel from the wheel barrow to the box.

My neighbors called me over to the fence to compliment me on the planter. Rick said, “I can’t believe you did that in one day.” Tammy, his wife, said, “No, I was outside yesterday and he was working on it.” Rick asked why there were vents in it and I explained about the false bottom, how I had to cut it down two feet and how I made the patio block holder and what it was for.

He said, “I was going to tell you not to wash your patio off, because I am still coming over and getting on your roof to blow off the helicopter (maple) seeds and they just make a big mess”. I explained I was washing off spilled dirt and I could easily use my blower to get any maple seeds off the patio; I just can’t get up on the roof right now. He said he’d probably do it while I was at work, so he wouldn’t disturb me. I thanked him again and said, “You come when ever you want, you’re doing me a favor and won’t disturb me.”

I went back inside and took off my brace, ready to take a shower (no way am I going to put this sweaty, saw-and concrete dusty body on clean sheets) when the doorbell rang. It rang again before I could make it there (I miss a lot of phone calls the same way). It was Tammy, from next door, who handed me a container and said, “I made some potato salad and thought you might like some.” I told her I love potato salad and thanks a lot! (I didn’t have the heart to tell her I just bought some and there was plenty left in the fridge). Nice folks!

I was so sore (which is why I didn’t transplant the herbs tonight) that the water turned cold before I was finished with my shower. I threw everything I’d worn today, (including my bathrobe) in the washer and turned it on. I sprayed my brace with Fabreeze and I got “dressed” in boxer shorts and a tee-shirt. I took another pain pill and an anti-inflammatory pill and filled in the Blog post. Then I went to bed at 11:30 PM without ever even turning the TV on.