The Patio

This past summer we were going to make a patio for Jen's parents but we never had the time to get down there so when a meeting fell through on Monday we decided to head to Raonoke, VA early and make one.  The plot was already cleared for us so all we had to do was build it.  The picture on the left is Mom & Dad's Ford that got stuck as I tried to drive over the curb.  It seems that the 800 pounds of cement weighed it down a little too much.  So after I unloaded the cement, Dad was able to back it off the curb while I was pushing.  We decided if we were going to be getting 4000 pounds of cement we needed something a little bigger than the station wagon so we rented a Ford F 150

I carried 8 tons of cement for this patio.  I actually only carried 2 tons but I had to move it 4 times.  It was pretty fun building the patio.  My back was a little strained and the second night after an 11 hour work day I went right to bed until the next morning.  The sleep of a laborer truly is sweet.  My main job was mixing the cement because Jen said that I didn't form the cobblestones properly.  We had a running disagreement about flat or rounded cobblestones.  Since Jen was forming the cobblestones I guess she won the disagreement because they all came out rounded.

At one point during the morning of day3 Jen burned her hand while warming a cup of coffee in the microwave.  In good mature form I couseled her to throw the mug against the wall to relieve some of her anger.  Only later did I learn that it was a German mug.  Jen said it didn't really help her to release her anger anyway.  I guess that must be a guy thing.  Luckily Jen's parents don't hold to tightly to possesions so they weren't mad at her.  Actually, Jen asked for permission to break the offending mug before she smashed it into a million pieces.    I would mix the cement and pour it into the mold and Jen would perfectly form the stones.

Aunt Buzzy gives her approval to the finished project.  She thought we did such a great job that she invited us to her house to paint a few rooms.  Since we had the truck we got a load of mulch and over a chord of firewood for the house as well.  I don't actually know how much a chord is but the guy we bought the wood from assured us we were getting more than a chord.  That was the night that after we finished stacking the wood I went straight to sleep.

Previous Page    The Trip    Next Page