Full Days...

Since Thursday, I think I have spent the majority of my days outside.  Thursday through Saturday were the garage sale, and then once the sale was done, Tom and I worked on the deck while the kids played outside too.  We soaked up the sun and definitely tired ourselves out. 

All in all, I would say the garage sale was a success.  Thursday night was probably the busiest time, Friday was the most profitable, and Saturday was just SLOW.  I still had a lot of junk left when the day was done, but I did sell most of the bigger things I wanted to sell.  And I was surprised at some of the other things that sold that I didn't think would go...an old DVD player, a big tube TV, a 200 disk CD player, 35MM disposable cameras, shoes, sheets, an old digital scale.  It was a great feeling to clean out, purge, and make some money.  Grand total - $394.50!!!  Awesome!!  Now to look at my wish list and see if there is something I can cross off it with this new found money!

I was very thankful for my friends on Friday.  Tom was supposed to work from home that day so that I would have help with the kids during the garage sale. Unfortunately he had to go into work, so I was solo. My friends Jessica and Melissa texted me that morning and asked if they could pick up the kids and have a play date at one of their houses while I did the garage sale.  It was out of the blue - and I was so thankful that they offered to watch them for me!  The kids would have been miserable had they stayed at the house - and so would have I! 

As for the deck project - it is coming along.  We have spent four full weekends working on it and we still have a long ways to go unfortunately.  But I'm loving the transformation, and it is worth all the work we are putting into it.  I can't wait to see it when it is all complete.

Here was the deck last summer...

Here it is from two weekends ago...

And here is what it looks like as of today...

The floor will be the last thing we stain... it will match the grayish/brownish
color that is on the tops of the handrails.

We still have the stairs, part of the south side, and the bottom posts to do too.

I love that we took down the awkward trellis that was right here.  I know it was
for "privacy" but it just annoyed me... swayed in the wind, looked out of place,
and would have been a pain in the neck to paint.

Hopefully when it is all done, the deck will just blend into the the house.  Fingers crossed that we are happy with it in the end (actually I know we will love it). 

Come Sunday night,  we were all exhausted!  But I'm not complaining - they were four full and completely satisfying days!