Are we there yet?

 

Full privacy fence... I'm enclosed now.  Only gate is on the far side of the house!

Problem #1:  A gap, about 8 or nine inches wide between the railing and the privacy fence.  A small child could wriggle through and fall to the patio (concrete).  They have promised to fix it.

Problem #2:  There is supposed to be a drink rail on the long side.  Foreman Brian said they didn't have the brackets to attach it.  Calvin promises it will get fixed on Friday.

Problem #3:  They left all the leftover construction materials on the patio, not out where the lumber company truck can come and retrieve them easily.

Calvin promised they will shift those "leftovers" to the north side of my driveway on Friday so I won't have them on the patio.

Until that patio is cleared of hazards, I can't use my sliding door to release Ember into the yard, which means I can't take down the x-pen temporary fence, either.

Consequently, I have called up the day care and slotted Ember in for Friday, Saturday, and Monday.  Friday and Monday I will have workmen here, finishing up on Friday and hauling off the trash on Monday.

I only booked her Saturday, not Sunday, over the weekend, because I figure she'll need a "down day" with "mommy and me" at least one weekend day.  

On the plus side?  The supporting columns are much bigger/sturdier than the old ones.  The flooring and steps are composite, not wood, so don't need as much maintenance.

Friday June 19 - Happy Juneteenth

I'm a bit frustrated.  The workers did not come back Friday morning, so even though I took Ember to day care and removed the center of the X-pen barrier.  I called the head guy to express my worry about the 8 80-pound bags of concrete mix, two of which had the bag broken open, that were sitting on my river rock bed.

Naturally, there was rain in the forecast and the crew that was supposed to move all that stuff... did not show up.  I called the boss who said he would call the crew chief and get back to me.  He never called back.  As the drops began to fall, I tried an emergency shelter made from Ember's doggy pool.

I weighed it down with a couple of cinder blocks from the back yard.  I am not hopeful that the bags will stay dry and I will not pay these dudes the remainder of their fee until they get the trash and leftovers out of my yard, and the gap fixed and the drink rail installed.  If those bags get wet, they will be solid concrete and impossible for me to shift!

About 2 p.m. my son called to check up on me, and we chatted for quite some time, "solving (not) the problems of the world", and generally having a vent (guys don't call it bitch) session.  That pulled me back from the anxious worrying and second guessing.

Saturday, June 20th

This was the day that our local Community Center held the celebration for Juneteenth.  I had never been to such a celebration before, but I knew that my son and DIL intended to attend.  Despite the forecast of rain, I thought I should go.  If nothing else to get myself educated about a holiday that growing up in one of the whitest states in the nation, I had been unaware of until the pandemic years. 

It was packed.  I found the group and was pleased at the sheer joy of the attendees.  

There was live music, emcees, lots of organizations had booths to promote their services, food was served in a buffet line (hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and water, nothing fancy, but very holiday fare).

There is a water park pad, so the kiddos were able to enjoy water even before it started coming from the sky.

I have turned into that old lady that stays and hour or an hour and a half and ducks out early.  Given I had to park about half a mile away, it was a good thing.  By then it was raining steadily.

Ember was in Saturday day care.  They open an hour later on Saturday, so we had time for about a mile of neighborhood leash walking before we went.

When I went to pick her up, she was wet from playing outside in the rain, too.  I love a summertime rain when the temperatures are mild.  I had taken down the x-pen panels in case the deck guys were to come to clear off, but with the rain, I held out little hope.  I put them back up in the rain before I went to get Ember.

Sunday, June 21

Happy Father's Day.  Rain continued.  I went grocery shopping during Ember's morning nap.  When I got home, I let her out of her crate and together we went on a neighborhood walk.  Then Dexter (the car) took us for a ride to recycle some cardboard.  

I was pleasantly surprised when about 12:30 p.m., Ember decided to crate herself for another nap.  Perfect timing.  I went upstairs to pay a bill, then snuck out of the house about 1:30 to go to FGC's baseball game.  As usual, no photos due to foster program rules.

It was a really good game.  He seemed most excited when he got to play first base (he made an out), and later in the game when he was tapped as pitcher (he caught a fly ball that would have been foul).  He did well at bat, too.  This year the league is "coach pitch" but if the kiddo can't get a hit after four pitches, they put up a tee for them to whack it.  FGC managed to get on base off coach pitches twice, and his third (and final) at bat he had to use the tee... and whacked it so well he got a double!  With the rules this year, the inning ends with either the batting team getting five runs, or the fielding team gets three outs, whichever happens first.  FGC managed to get across home plate on all three turns.

I have no clue what kind of score there was at the end of the game (nobody really counts it), but I was very pleased to see how much these kids (all of them, not just FGC) have learned over the past two seasons.  I'm also impressed with the volunteers who coach and umpire!  We are very lucky in this town to have so many folks involved.

I ducked out right after the game and came home to my pup.  It was about supper time and getting fed no doubt helped a lot to establish a good mood!

Monday, June 22nd - we are there!

I dropped Ember at day care and came home to find... workmen!

They installed my drink rail (read "cat superhighway").  

Fix for problem #1:  The gap has been filled with a solid post, matching other support posts on that side. 

Fix for Problem #2:  the crew installed the deck rail, also known around here as The Prisoner's personal highway.  You can see it in the final photo.

Fix for problem #3:  Calvin showed up and took away the trash from the patio and swept up.  

He took away the concrete mix bags that I had sheltered with the baby pool.  He hosed it down so that the river rock was in good shape, no damage from my anxious weekend!

The leftover building materials got moved to the driveway, so that Ember doesn't have to be kept on leash until the lumber truck comes to pick them up on Tuesday.

After I wrote him a check and he left, I took down the x-pen panels, moved the chairs back onto the deck, and hosed down the patio, an extra layer of cleaning because... Ember will be free to run loose in the back yard again!

All's well that ends well, and I can return to normal living for a while!

Life is good.  Spark on!