Progress
Well, I apprecite the many inquiries I have received regarding this canopy, and wanted to give you an update on its progress. When last I left you, it was UP ON CEMENT BLOCKS in our backyard. I am sure Southern Living was on its way to photograph it, because it was a lovely sight to behold.
The day my dad left it on the blocks (just to get it the right height), I took Mr. Bossy out back to show him what the situation was, and there was my next door neighbor and a bunch of his friends all walking around his backyard, admiring his handiwork. I was mortified. I was like "I didn't want you to see this-- it's only temporary-- blah blah idiot" and he was like "relax, lady". In my defense, he is a groundskeeper at a country club in our area, and his yard is slightly nicer than ours.
Anyway, my dad then decided that he would build these little forms in which he could pour concrete, in order to raise the canopy up enough so it could clear the door. Saturday morning, he came over around 10 am with 9 bags of concrete, a wheelbarrow, a pick axe, two shovels, a trowel, a T-square, his toolbox, a power saw, and a drill.
We did all the measuring and planning and line drawing and all that stuff, and then it was time to pour the concrete into these "L"-shaped forms. Well, as soon as we poured the first one, the boards of the form totally collapsed and we were holding it all together with our hands and a prayer.
So, we had to scoop all the concrete back into the wheelbarrow before it set, and he decided that he could make the forms stronger with screws instead of nails. Now, as you may or may not have gathered, the Bossies don't have that many tools. We have a hammer and a few nails, a couple of screwdrivers, and that's about it. So, when he was like "Do you have any wood screws?" I looked at him blankly for a while and wandered off to the garage to try to find something. Eventually we scraped together the necessary pieces and made much stronger forms.
At one point during the morning, I said "I have to leave in a few hours to go to a birthday party, is that OK?", to which he responded "In a few hours I'll be dead".
So, a few hours later, I left my (still living, thankfully) father out on my back slab surrounded by his tools and pouring concrete into forms. The front two weren't too difficult, but the back two had to be off the concrete (due to a light fixture on the house) and in the grass, which is on a slope. So, he had to dig and you know... do all that stuff to make it level. I told him not to stay out there too long, but I learned later that he worked well into the late afternoon. He may be regretting that he lives so close to me.
So, that's where we are right now. The forms are in place, and this afternoon he is coming over to help me lift it onto the forms and anchor it into place. I can assure you, no matter what it looks like, I'm telling him how much I love it, or else I might get a bag of concrete "accidentally" dropped on my foot, if you know what I mean.
I hope that tomorrow I will have pictures of the finished product for you. These pictures aren't so great, but I was trying to quickly snap a couple while I had the chance. Thanks for sticking with me through the Drama of the Canopy. Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion, fingers crossed.
The day my dad left it on the blocks (just to get it the right height), I took Mr. Bossy out back to show him what the situation was, and there was my next door neighbor and a bunch of his friends all walking around his backyard, admiring his handiwork. I was mortified. I was like "I didn't want you to see this-- it's only temporary-- blah blah idiot" and he was like "relax, lady". In my defense, he is a groundskeeper at a country club in our area, and his yard is slightly nicer than ours.
Anyway, my dad then decided that he would build these little forms in which he could pour concrete, in order to raise the canopy up enough so it could clear the door. Saturday morning, he came over around 10 am with 9 bags of concrete, a wheelbarrow, a pick axe, two shovels, a trowel, a T-square, his toolbox, a power saw, and a drill.
We did all the measuring and planning and line drawing and all that stuff, and then it was time to pour the concrete into these "L"-shaped forms. Well, as soon as we poured the first one, the boards of the form totally collapsed and we were holding it all together with our hands and a prayer.
So, we had to scoop all the concrete back into the wheelbarrow before it set, and he decided that he could make the forms stronger with screws instead of nails. Now, as you may or may not have gathered, the Bossies don't have that many tools. We have a hammer and a few nails, a couple of screwdrivers, and that's about it. So, when he was like "Do you have any wood screws?" I looked at him blankly for a while and wandered off to the garage to try to find something. Eventually we scraped together the necessary pieces and made much stronger forms.
At one point during the morning, I said "I have to leave in a few hours to go to a birthday party, is that OK?", to which he responded "In a few hours I'll be dead".
So, a few hours later, I left my (still living, thankfully) father out on my back slab surrounded by his tools and pouring concrete into forms. The front two weren't too difficult, but the back two had to be off the concrete (due to a light fixture on the house) and in the grass, which is on a slope. So, he had to dig and you know... do all that stuff to make it level. I told him not to stay out there too long, but I learned later that he worked well into the late afternoon. He may be regretting that he lives so close to me.
So, that's where we are right now. The forms are in place, and this afternoon he is coming over to help me lift it onto the forms and anchor it into place. I can assure you, no matter what it looks like, I'm telling him how much I love it, or else I might get a bag of concrete "accidentally" dropped on my foot, if you know what I mean.
I hope that tomorrow I will have pictures of the finished product for you. These pictures aren't so great, but I was trying to quickly snap a couple while I had the chance. Thanks for sticking with me through the Drama of the Canopy. Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion, fingers crossed.
posted by Bossy Bar-Wife | 12:31 PM
2 Comments:
Your dad is a saint.
I love your dad. He sounds just like mine, showing up with everything he could possibly need to do the job correclty (and perfectly level, might I add) because he knows we have no freaking clue what we're doing ourselves over here. (and as an aside, I live in a different state from my parents too!)
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