A New Mail Box

What I thought was going to be a quick project to fix my wobbly mailbox, turned into a long project.  As I was trying to straighten up my mailbox, the wood post cracked and I had no alternative but to take the whole thing down and start over.  At first, I tried to dig out the concrete holding the rest of the post.  I quickly learned that was not going to happen.  I then started a new hole next to it.  I figured a few shovel fulls of dirt and I would have the hole ready for the new post that I had to go buy now.  After a while of digging, I decided to go to the store and get the items I needed and give this digging thing a rest.  I realized it was going to take me more time than I expected.  I had put hours into digging this hole and thought I just about had the hole deep enough, when my neighbor came home.  He asked if he could help and I immediately said yes.  I was getting to the part of putting the new post in and adding the concrete.  I had never done any concrete work before, except cleaning it, and I really wanted to make sure this was done right.  After he did some measurements for the height the mailbox should be, I needed four more inches dug out.  He gets his post-hole digger and uses that and I'm thinking that would have come in handy, since I was using a regular shovel.  I found another "toy" that I have to have.  Everyone should have a post-hole digger just in case.  We got the post in and concrete in and it is finally done.  I have only now spent about eight hours on this project when I thought maybe one to two to straighten up the old one. 

Two days later, I go out to finish up since the concrete is set. I spent another 3 hours just staining the post, putting the mailbox on the post and adding my house numbers to the post.  I also planted some flowers (still have more to plant) by the mailbox for a little flare.  I have to say, I love my new mailbox and happy I did it no matter how much time it took.  It goes to show you that if you have the right tools, things can be a lot easier to do.  I have a whole wish list of tools I want to do all kinds of woodworking jobs.  I guess that is for another time, though.

"A Confused State of Mind"

It never ceases to amaze me that people have so much free time on their hands, that they go out and cause damage to others or their property.  Are they mad at these particular people or are they just mad at the world in general for something that happened to them in life.  Or are they just jealous?

A group of individuals egged our cars again for the umpteen time.  They just randomly go around the subdivision and hit most of the cars parked on the street.  It is getting a little old.  These people may not have a life; but others do.  It is done at night; so, when someone gets up and finds their car that way, it has to be washed before they can even leave for work.  Of course, that makes them late for work. 

Who ever is doing this, needs to stop and go get a LIFE!  My daughter and her friend's car was egged again last night, as well as others in the subdivision.  I drove around just to see how many cars were hit.  It was random.  I didn't see the cars there as much as the eggshells on the ground and knew what had happened to them as well.  I have heard if you don't wash the egg off right away, it can damage your paint job.  My daughter only works part time and is a student in her last semester.  No way would she be able to have her car repainted and this has happened several times. 

If they think this is funny, it's not.  If they need something to do with their time, volunteer. 

If this happens to others, let me know. I want to hear from you. 

Pressure Washing

I found a new toy - a Pressure Washer!  I loved using it.  I started out by pressure washing my driveway and it looked so good, I did my sidewalks, front porch and started on my house.  I can't believe how good it cleans. The side of my house was starting to look a little bad.  There is so much moisture that gets between my house and my neighbors white fence and just doesn't dry well; so there was a little green build up on my house as well as his fence.  I liked how good that side of my house looked after washing it; that, I decided to clean that side of his fence as well.  It cleaned up pretty good.  I doubt he even knew it was bad since it faces my yard.  I am pretty sore today after about 7 hours outside pressure washing; but it was well worth it.  I still have some to go; but that is for another day.