Even the best laid plans....
Mood:  hungry
What a weekend!!!

Saturday morning Lennie and I got up to start work on the patio. The plan was to put in the frame and then on Sunday pour the concrete. Lennie said the hardest part of the whole process would be the prep work. Man he was wrong. That was actually the easy part.

The concrete slab that was in place was in really bad shape. The top had large stones sticking our and the edges were all wavy and uneven. Lennie decided that we should build a permanent frame around the edge to even everything up before we started pouring the concrete. We had purchased 10 inch wide treated lumber which meant we would have to dig a trench around the existing structure. Lennie started digging and immediately had trouble. The soil was so compacted it was like trying to shovel through rock. He handed me the shovel and ran to Home Depot to pick up a pick ax. I proceeded to dig. I figured I would get as far as I could then he could get the rest with the ax. I managed to make a nice trench on one side and had started to other side before he finally returned. The pick ax made quick work of the rest. When we finished that part Lennie’s friend, Todd showed up with his cement mixer. He proceeded to help Lennie sure up the wood frame At this point I ran to Lowes to pick up some cement to fill in the large gaps where the concrete was uneven. I also stopped at the store to pick up stuff for lunch.

After feeding the boys it was time to head back outside to finish up the frame and patch the holes. I think Todd left about 5PM and Lennie and I worked till 7:30 but were finally able to get the frame completed. We came in and showered and I cooked us a steak and potato dinner. We were both so tired that even chewing food was a chore. LOL Lennie assured me that Sunday would go much smoother. I only wish that was true.

We got up Sunday and drove to Knightdale to pick up more concrete and the dye to make the concrete red. When we got back I realized I had left the bag of dye at the register and had to drive back to Knightdale to pick it up. Ugh!!! Lennie said he would start mixing the first batch and start pouring while I was gone. But when I got back he apparently had just gotten of the phone with his Dad and had started. It was almost 1PM at this point and it was starting to get very hot. So we headed out and started the first batch. We mixed 80bls at a time. Then we would pour it into a bucket and Lennie would start troweling it on. This process wasn’t nearly as easy as he and Todd said he would be. My theory is that we didn’t make the concrete wet enough in the mixer. We would start smoothing it out and it would get hard and we would spray water over it. I read the box of dye later and it stated that doing this could cause uneven color and white spots. Whoops! At 8 o’clock we finished up the concrete and cleaned everything up. I wish I had gotten a picture of what I looked like. I was covered from head to toe in cement dust, dirt, sweat, and red dye. I think Lennie was surprised I lasted as long as I did. We decided to get cleaned up and grab a bit to eat. Once again I was too tired to even chew but I managed to get down some cheese fries and Salmon.

Monday morning we got up to take a look at our handy work. Neither one of us were too happy with what we saw. It was all patchy and different shades of red. I knew there was a reason I don’t lay concrete for a living. I suck at it. LOL We started to discuss what we could do to fix it. My plan is to rent a sander and sand down all the rough patches. Then I can sponge on some color paint or glaze to even out the color a little. Then carve in the grout lines and paint them black. I think this will make the patio look like stone. Because stone isn’t always one color…right? Lennie wants to mix more concrete and pour it over the top. I am sooooo not looking forward to mixing more concrete. I think I got him to agree to try my idea first. We will see.

We both decided that Monday would be our day away from the patio. So we went downtown and had lunch at Napper Tandy’s and then headed over to see if there was an IMAX movie playing that we wanted to see. The only thing playing was Spiderman and neither of us have a desire to see it, so we drove up to the mall to see Shrek 3 instead which I thought wasn’t too bad, I know my sister and two other friends hate it but I laughed. There were come cheesy, campy moments that I think were funny and I loved Merlin who was played by Eric Idle. I found out from a friend of mine who used to work at DreamWorks that there is a TV Christmas Shrek called Shrek the Halls as well as Shrek 4. I really think they should just stop with 3 but hey it’s their money.

After the movie we came back to my place and Lennie got in his truck and went home. I think he had hit is “Rebecca” limit for the weekend. I wish I had been more enthusiastic yesterday but I was just feeling so lousy. I was sore from all the work and I think dehydrated as well. I am really surprises that we didn’t fight or argue once.

Last night I slipped into my PJ’s, order a pizza and watched a movie. I LOVE having Lennie there but it was nice to just relax on my own. I can’t wait till the patio is finished and I can start enjoying it. I will post pictures when it is complete.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.