Wowzers !!!

I finished my big garden bench...with R's help, lifting it and tipping it so that I could finish securing the seat boards and arms. Actually, that isn't giving him enough credit...if it wasn't for his unflagging encouragement and "fire" dousing I would have set fire to the damned thing long ago.   I have to meekly admit that this particular project was beyond my tool limitation abilities. That means that to do justice to this bench and the mans plans I needed a wider variety of power and hand tools than what I have.  In spite of R buying me an random orbital sander when we can't really afford one...It did a lovely job of sanding...but all I had to work with was a table saw, skill saw, and ancient jig was and a drill.  Making the cutting out of the back legs and arms a nearly impossible challenge. Ideally a scroll or ban saw would have got the job done in a couple of minutes... I even resorted to using a reciprocating saw to hack away some of the excess wood, not a pretty scene...

Besides the tools or lack there of, the other really big challenge for me was limited to using the rough weathered planks off the fence we tore down last fall.  Originally I envisioned this adding to the character of the bench, and it does but holy hell, what a pain in the arse to work with...some planks cupped...some planks split,  I chose the best out of about sixty boards but they were still far from perfect specimens...I can see that if I had stuck to the plans a bought the planed lumber the project would have gone much smoother.  But I think, and I could be wrong, that my bench looks 50 years old ...and not brand new, which is what I wanted....I hope to stain it with a gray stain and polyurethane it so it lasts for a long time. 

When we had it all assembled R couldn't wait to put it on the floor and try it out, so there we sat the two of us cuddling on our courting bench in the office of the barn, barely enough room to stretch our legs out in front... it is super comfy even without cushions and we can both fit with generous amounts of room to spare  WE LOVE IT.

when I have it varnished I will post a picture...right now wouldn't do it justice in the office part of the barn...it's up on saw horses again surrounded by water lines, pressure tanks and tool boxes....  but soon...I will have pictures.

Orthopaedic surgeon appointment tomorrow at 8 am...and I am wondering what form the humiliation will take this time... R is quite mad at the rheumatologists phone message and has advised me not to bother going to the May appointment.  That says a lot I think, since it takes a lot to get R that mad.  But this second to last appointment  and then the nerve doctor to look at my arms and then I think that's all.... I plan to take a sabbatical from all appointments medical if I can.  Fingers crossed.

March is a super busy month for us...vaccinating cows, hoof trimming guy is coming to trim, the vet is coming to semen test bulls and these doctors appointments along with the guy coming to butcher two steers for freezer beef sales.

They are rebuilding the road just north of the one we live on...this road they are working on is the one we use to access our other property...in fact our property is all along this road and they have removed all the fences and are cutting down all the trees growing along the fence line and mulching the roots then they will dig it all up...to build the road again and then building new fences... It is stressful for R, since that fence was one of the first ones he put in when he bought that land 35 years ago...and there were some lovely big trees along the roadside...oh well, it seems nothing can stand in the way of progress.