Evicted!

Ever since my very first woodworking project, I've been working on my back patio. I don't have my own shop, don't really even have my own SPACE, and that just seemed like the best solution at the time.

We had no idea that my little woodworking adventure would turn out so successfully, and that I would keep accumulating tools like some women accumulate expensive handbags. Those have to go somewhere.. And the scraps/leftover wood? Who would have thought that there would BE so much?!

And using the back patio? Yeah, can't happen. 

This is what everyone sees when they look out my back door, too. Embarrassing! 

There are just so many things wrong with that whole set-up.

(not to mention the geckos that snack on the crickets who nest in the gap between the patio and the house - this guy's dead, and he's still there because Mr. Goats thinks it's funny that I'm too big a wuss to touch him to get rid of it is evil.)

But, hey!

We have a decently sized area next to the house, that you can't see unless you walk that way. Which means that, if we ever fix our yard so it's not too embarrassing to have people over, they won't have to look at my miter saw and wood stores. And we could actually use our back patio as, get this.... A BACK PATIO!

So this past weekend, Mr. Goats and I killed all the plants on that side of the house

Moved all the crap away (I'm still gonna have to find something to do with the smoker... crap)...

And cleared most of the rocks.

This was the end of Day 1. I know it's hard to grasp the sheer amount of crushed granite rocks over there, but the previous owners of this house must've gotten a really good deal... because they were 8-12" deep in some areas.

Day 2 was spent marking off the new site, and leveling it out.

Laser levels come in SOOOOOO handy (my step-dad gave me this, and I would have never thought it would help me out so much!)

And by end of Day 2, my 8'x10' work site is all cleared and level!

Now, if I can ever get off my lazy bum, my goal for today is to have a date with a tramp..

Er... Tamper.

;-)

source

Hopefully I'll get the area all flattened and framed out so that we can get some concrete poured!

After I have another cup of coffee :-)

What'd you guys do over the holiday weekend? And major projects? Tramping? Or tamping... whichever...