Our new deck

We've been saving for this - planning for this - and finally we are ready !!!!

The deck was built by our son-in-law Jay - with help from other family members. I made the plans, decided the major features and the result is absolutely fabulous! It was a lot of hard work - a LOT of shopping at three hardware/lumber stores, a lot of hauling of materials and a lot of "going back for one more thing". You just never really know how much material goes into a deck until you see it being built - miles of beams, and acres of decking, piles of railings and zillions of bolts, screws and nails - oh my.

Don and I wanted a big deck - it is 12'x20' - big enough for sitting, eating, barbecuing, entertaining. We figured that once it was built we couldn't make it bigger - so we started with BIG. The porch that came with the house was a tiny 4'x4' with steps down to the sidewalk - barely room to put a chair on - and certainly not big enough for two chairs - and I love to garden and wanted planters and pots for my flowers. So let's get started!

All the beams had to be put in first . . . Jahn was a great help!!!

Beams on the pilings - that is a lot of wood!

The rule is - the deck has to be freestanding - not attached to the house - so the frame had to be partially built a few feet out from the house (so Jay could put the bolts in place in the back) and then the beam section had to be lifted up and moved two feet back, so it was against the house. I was not there for the lifting - wish I had a picture of that. Four people lifting the heavy frame and inching it back until it was against the house - we had to recruit a neighbor to help.

Jahn cleaning the ends of the boards - they all had staples and stickers on the ends.

A boy needs a good French Toast breakfast to keep up his energy . . .

Decking going on - there is a lot of decking on a 12'x20' deck . . .

Ceremonial last screw going into the decking . . .

Start of the railing - 4x4 cedar posts . . . I love the slanted corners - gives the deck such a nice artistic look . . .

And the top boards of the railing . ..

Jahn learning to put a new plug on an electrical cord . . .

With the ends of the decking Jahn made us a "wood henge" . . .

The beginning of the ramp - I am so excited to have a ramp . . .

Don standing at the end, when the ramp was almost done - just need the last few decking boards and a railing (another trip to the lumber yard) . . .

The yard had to be landscaped after the deck was built - Jahn helped his dad unload the three loads of topsoil - while a neighbor stops to chat . . .

Loading topsoil into my ladybug wheelbarrow - don't you think every girl needs a ladybug wheelbarrow?

First flat of strawberries of the season - the perfect snack for a hard working boy!

Our other son-in-law, Jason, and our daughter Beccy came to help us put the slats in the railing on Saturday and the deck is complete! When we went grocery shopping on Sunday we stopped at Big Lots - and what did we find - clearance patio furniture that is wide and soft and oh so comfy - and apparently just made for our new deck.

Two chairs that rock ( on some sort of spring), a loveseat and a table . . . and on clearance - be still my heart!

And so this is our deck - there are flowers on the railings (those planters straddle the railing and are perfect for the gardening I want to do. There are three tomato plants in the pots to the left of the love seat.

These two little gnomes sit in the new table - one is busy - one is dozey . . .

There are three of these lanterns - shaped like a lighthouse and they hold a candle for evenings on the deck. I got them from JoAnn Fabrics on clearance - love summer clearance just as summer is beginning!!! More about the flowers and decorations on the deck later.

Don't you think this is the niftiest deck ever? And today we have a family bbq here!!! Ahhhh summer!!

It's been a year

Quite a year.

Seems the days slip by - the time passes and we have another year behind us. This year has come to a crashing end - pushing and slipping and slamming us towards the new year. I'm looking for peace and happiness.

As this year draws to a close I am thinking about what makes for happiness.

Good health, or course, that helps. And since Don's heart surgery, good health has been on our minds more and more. He is in good health and that brings me happiness. . .

The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness.
You have to catch it for yourself. ~Benjamin Franklin

Family - children and children-in-laws - all spectacular adults leading productive and wonderful lives. Growing and learning and always there to help others when needed. And grandsons - there is hardly a moment of a day that I'm not thinking of things the boys have said, things they have done, photos I have taken, times we have spent with them. And now, next June, another grandbaby - all bring happiness . . .

Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open. ~John Barrymore


Linda - at a sew-in in Anacortes

Friends - I have many friends; long time friends; school classmates that I've reconnected with; new friends; friends nearby; friends far away; friends I talk with almost daily; friends I contact only ocassionally and still, it is like we were together yesterday; friends that care; friends that I care about; friends from around the world that I've met through blogging - friends are happiness . . .

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming
gardeners who make our souls blossom. ~Marcel Proust

Working with my hands - this is when I meditate, when my thoughts wander and swoop and swirl and swoosh far and near. When I can light on any subject and ponder it as long as I want, or for a tiny short moment. Quilting, knitting, crocheting, crafting, gardening, washing the dishes, cleaning our house, painting, dabbling about in new crafts - all bring happiness . . .

Every now and then, when the world sits just right, a gentle breath of heaven fills my soul with delight... ~Hazelmarie ‘Mattie’ Elliott, A Breath of Heaven

Helping others - when a friend hurts, hold their hand; when someone is sad, be their sunshine; if there is a need, fill it; if the path is long and lonely, share the journey - these bring happiness . . .

One joy scatters a hundred griefs. ~Chinese Proverb

Nature - the beauty of the trees; a surprise visit to the bird feeder of a bird we've not seen before; the happiness on a child's face when a deer comes close and eats from their hand; clouds with sunshine bursting from behind them; eagles soaring over the river; dark stormy days when the very air rocks and blasts us; spray from the waves of the ocean; water, smooth or choppy, rippling or rushing - happiness surrounds us . . .

Pleasure is spread through the earth
In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.
~William Wordsworth, 1806

Time spent with Don, just the two of us. Watching the Alaska ferry depart on Friday nights - listening for the whistle blast as it echos through the hills of Bellingham; walking down the mossy path at the lake - finding a new scene that we've not noticed before; riding for hours - looking for swans, or snow geese, or flotillas of ducks, or pelicans skimming the ocean; sitting in our comfortable chairs, talking late into the night; driving down to the bay at midnight just to listen to the fog horns; waking each other up so we can both hear the owl in the night - happiness multiplied over and over . . .

“The really happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery when on a detour.” — Unknown

And so I find happiness - happiness in the year just past, happiness in the things to come, happiness that makes my heart sing, even after a hard patch, happiness that lasts and I can revisit over and over . . . there is happiness . . .

You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream.
And that’s kind of the same thing. – Unknown

Happiness and ice cream to you all in the new year!!!