I Love Hard Work - Could Watch it All Day

Boo hoo. Last full day of having Joann visiting. Today we mostly stayed home. I've long had some handyman work contracted for today. Was so worried about the workman getting all done - poorly, that last night I had rampant anxiety dreams - woe was me.

The end post, that holds up the patio roof has dry rot & the board that holds up the lattice work rotted and fell away. I've whined about it before; the wood got dry rot because a former handyman Paul took down the gutters and refused to put them back again, because, according to the ninny, 'who needs gutters anyway?' Yeah, who needs gutters, unless you don't want the supporting structures of your patio rotting out and collapsing. Gurrr!

Before: pathetic, huh?

These posts survived, but the bottom board is almost rotted away.

The bottom cross beam is rotting away,
and the lattice is all faded, black with dirt

I was so frantic over whether or not the work was going to be done correctly that I actually had anxiety dreams all night long. The usual; my car lost and me trying desperately to find it in a huge unfriendly city. My bad dreams didn't foretell a danged thing because it was a perfect day.

Jorge showed up and I drove us over to Lowe's Hardware for $60 something bucks worth of 4 X 4 wood posts and new lattice work; a few metal stays and some finishing nails. Back at the house, Jorge dug in and...

•           replaced a post, 3 cross bars and two lattice works.
•           repaired the hole in the corner of the yard i.e. Hurrah! The cat-freeway is closed!
•           mortared and bricked up the broken corner of the front yard's southern flower bed

Replaced the dry rotted post and lattice

Replaced the lower three cross bars t hold up the lattice work

I couldn't be more pleased with Jorge's work. He didn't cost an arm and a leg which makes me happy. We already started planing the next assault on the woodwork of my front porch. Hurrah! My home will not fall down around my ears after all.

Joann was self entertaining most of the day, watching a few shows on TV while getting in some good work on her soft, green baby blanket. We did a bird-store run so I could get some treats - i.e., mealworms, for the girls, who spent most of the day roaming around the yard. They are now, thank heavens, large enough, that the few cats that sneak into the yard won't touch them. Poor Rum-kitty, is terrified of the girls.

Meanwhile, the Joann and I got a little more work done on new chicken coop. We decided to treat ourselves to dinner out at Mikuni's the Japanese restaurant. The girls were treated to a new can of mealworms. Life is good.

The girs roamed wild and free most of the day
It is so lovely being to large for cats to mess with