When the cat's away...at drill

Hello.  I am still alive and in fact quite alive.  Things have been a little crazy around the Cook household.  We've had a going away party for the Mr.'s best friend, I graduated, we went and played in Las Vegas, we put in a yard, I job hunted and got a position teaching summer school English, I kept job hunting and accepted an opportunity I never thought I'd be a part of, and the Mr. has had some career path planning to think about too.

{the new oasis, keeping myself and the Mr. busy}

And there's been projects a plenty around here.  Today I want to show you my little project of love based off of this masterpiece.  Don't get too excited, it's only the compost bin and it has yet to be painted, but we are planning to build the raised bed garden in the fall or next summer.

So first things first, make sure your husband is gone.  Send him to run an errand, out with his friends or ask his commander to schedule drill ;)  Sometimes a girl just likes to tackle a project by herself and do it her way the unconventional way.

Step 1:  Gather supplies.

{this is not a photoshop action, this is the actual jigsaw borrowed from our roommate, which is a blog post of its own.  suffice it to say if your are a real adult, sans roommate, borrow/buy/find a jigsaw elsewhere}

{after some experience, I'd recommend investing in a good decent hammer, or grab a crow bar from your nearest neighborhood bandit...my hammer broke whilst prying up board number two}

Step 2:  Get ready to rage...on a palette.

{rage is an important supply to have, I was lacking on the first board which is why it is now fire pit kindling}

• Saw along the sides on four boards.
• Then use your handy little jimmy/flat head screw driver and hammer away under the middle nails.  
• When you feel your rage start to wane, attack from the other side.
• Then use your hammer/crow bard to pry the board up.  Watch out for rusty nails, nothing says "Honey, look what I did!" like a tetanus shot.

Step 3:  Lay your boards out in a square and calm yourself down.

Step 4:  Gather your next batch o' supplies.

{mending braces to attach your boards to each other}

{chicken wire/rabbit wire depending on who/what you're trying to keep out of your compost}

 {tree limb cutters eh hem, wire cutters}

{a drill that your Mr. has deemed the "wife drill" since it can't do too much damage, an upholstery staple gun, and broken hammer}

Step 5:  Use your noodle.  Put it together, obvees!  Be sure to measure your chicken scratcher wire to fit behind your boards.

Step 6: Grab your hinges and carry your happy little gate out to where it belongs. Attach with someone's help who gets home too early.

 Step 7:  Admire your gate's new control of neighborhood pests.

Step 8:  Decide to paint compost bin aqua, even though it is only a compost bin.  Next weekend.

{Head over to Heather's to see more ways that people are making their lives a bit more lovely}