The deck is (unofficially) DONE!!

So here it is! The deck is done!! Well, with the exception of a few deck boards still needing to be screwed down (we ran out of screws) and a few railing spindles (we ran out of spindles)... It looks great and I have to say, my husband is a fantastic carpenter!


Again, thanks to all of you who were kind enough to lend a helping hand. Your help was SO appreciated!! And thanks to everyone who came over for our scrap wood bonfire on Saturday. It was a lot of fun to hang out - and great that everyone was so willing to crawl through the window to get in and out of the house. Good times!!


Try to ignore the yard that we still need to clean up. Luckily the mess in the driveway and garage didn't come across in the pictures!!

This is our view of the yard now, from the Dining Room. You may recall that I was conflicted about the railing cutting off our view. We decided to go with aluminum spindles instead of cedar because they have a much smaller profile. We like it very much, and I am glad I can still see (most of ) my yard.

This is where we will put the grill. We plan to build in a couple of countertops for extra prep area on either side of the grill. The countertops were on my "must have" list. It will be so nice!!

This is where we will put a large table. We're hoping for seating for six or more. We were also hoping to get a good deal on some clearance patio furniture, but are now finding we may just be a little too late. Boo! Paying full price is NOT fun.

And finally, these are the windows to the Dining Room that need to be removed and replaced by the new three-panel patio door. Now THAT will be nice. No more climbing through the window! Although that is a funny little quirk of this project. Even the dogs have learned to go to the window to come in the house. Sara will stand out there and bark to come in, just like she does at the door!! She will enjoy basking in the sun by the doors when they are installed. That was one of their favorite passtimes in our other places that had patio doors. Ahhh... sounds nice, doesn't it??