Persistence Pays Off

This is nowhere close to the most glamorous post I've ever written but it does document what's been going on around here in the world of DIY.

You may remember that last year we had an enormous tree cut down in our backyard. If not, that post can be found here.

We knew we wanted to remove the huge stump but never really got around to it. Then two months ago, we got new neighbors, a sweet young family who wanted to replace that old, broken down fence you see here:

So Eric got to work. Every free minute he had while the sun was out he could be found out there working away at this beast.

We ended up getting the neighbor's permission to remove that piece of fence so he could get at it from the other angles as well.

Lets just say: sometimes its best to call for professional help. Or at least someone who owns heavy duty equipment. But we didnt know such a person so Eric used everything from a chainsaw to a power washer(to clean off the root system so he could get in there to chop at them) to his knees! Yes, at one point I walked out there to take him water and he was sitting DOWN in the hold pushing the stump with his legs.

But guess what? It worked! Countless hours of working alone finally got that sucker out of the ground!

He was completely exhausted...but glad to have it out.

I couldnt help but snap a couple pictures of the neighbor's tree in all its fall glory. Isn't it beautiful?

So the end of the story is: the stump is gone, a week later the neighbors installed the new fence and now we can shift our focus to the next project on our lists.

Hmmmm...which one should we choose?

Finishing the hallway walls and ceiling & installing the new light we found?

Painting the downstairs rooms?

Staining our fence and playground set outside?

Painting our bedroom?

I think the one we need to do first is the fence staining. We've borrowed a paint sprayer from our neighbor and are watching the temps daily waiting for the perfect timing. We're running out of time now since the weather is in the 40's here in New York.

We'll keep you posted!