Another Big Project Finished - Whew!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend! 

Sweetie surprised me with a sweet bunny centerpiece on Easter, which makes me smile every time I look at it!

The weather sure was lovely here in the mountains, what a blessing after such a long, snowy winter!

It was the perfect weather to get outside and tackle one of the biggest projects on my spring-cleanup list. 

My Crooked Little Country Garden.

It did not survive the winter, and it needed our help desperately. 

The wood rotted out in many places, the corners had burst, and the garden had all but imploded.

It was a sad state of affairs, for sure. There was no way this garden was going to survive another summer without some serious repairs. 

She was in very bad shape, my poor little Crooked Country Garden. 

I headed off to our local lumber yard with my list and necessary measurements, and the lumber was delivered that very day. 

You have to love a small town lumber store for service, don't you? 

I was ready to tackle the repairs on my own but Sweetie made me promise that I wouldn't touch a thing until he was there to help me. 

Even though he's only got one good arm. 

Yup, my little one-armed bandit has been recovering from yet another shoulder surgery, and has been in a sling for ages. 

Either way, he made me swear I wouldn't start without him. 

Because he says my tools are toys and he was going to bring his big-boy tools to really do the job right. 

Okay. 

Well, in the end, he was probably right. I don't think my tools would have been up to the task, and there would have been a lot of choice words coming out of my mouth, had I been tackling this on my own.

My plan had been to 'sister' the boards with new wood, using metal corner braces to help make the structure more sturdy. 

As it turned out, many of the boards were beyond saving, and had to be ripped out. 

At the end of a very long, hot day, I had a garden that I hope will survive for quite some time. I don't know how long the other boards were in place, as I only own the house for two years, but hopefully I'll get some time out of these new boards. 

I did not use pressure treated wood, as I garden organically and didn't want the chemicals leaching into my soil. 

I know that might come to bite me in the butt, but I felt strongly about my decision. 

We reinforced the boards both inside and outside the garden, sistering where we could save the old boards, replacing where we had to.

I know without a doubt that if Sweetie was not part of this project it would have had a much different ending. 

For one thing, there would not be all these nice square, somewhat level, beds. 

Nope, no way. My patience would have run out before we ever made it inside the fence. 

At the end of the day, we were completely exhausted, could barely walk, and were both very grouchy. 

Extremely grouchy. 

But I have to admit, my sweetie was right. 

Don't tell him I said so. 

Meanwhile, where were our helpers through it all?

Yep, you guessed it.