This eventuality is now a reality - Hooray!!

It has definitely been a character building week, have you ever had one of those? Betcha have. The classroom teacher was out Thursday and Friday which meant two things: substitute and HEADACHE (ugh). Things were really looking brighter though, by the time I arrived home Friday afternoon. Why? Because we finally (finally, Finally, FINALLY! *and insert off-key aria of LAAAAA right about here*) have concrete, and wonders never cease. Ha. I would offer bets on whether or not Jen crashes and burns either going out or coming in with that step [photo inset] however, I'm not into gambling and that is what's known as a sucker bet anyway (it's definitely not if, it's when and will there be a trip to the ER?). 

There's also the possibility that DD and I split the difference with one wipe out each; you just never know when both of us were born without the Grace Gene *grin*. We're counting on DH to take care of things topside (he's 6'1" without his boots). Lifting the door may take a little bit more doing than originally thought, though, as they concreted the threshold... Ooops. 
The green uprights [photo below] were for the screen on our old patio long since converted to a tack and feed room (kinda messy in there *wince*). Actually, we were halfway finished with it when we got the horses so I never even painted the rest of the ceiling, just slapped some paneling up on the walls. Guess I'm going to have to add that to my project list now, as this will become an indoor Epic Farms area. Room? Office? Whatever ;o)

We did, however, encounter one large and one small problem. The large problem was that there was not enough dirt to build up one end to the height they needed (just one of those things that wasn't discernible until they started working). They ended up using considerably more concrete than originally planned; that's for sure. Our house is on a downward slope, so the patio had to be up high enough to keep the water from running into the house if we have heavy rains (that would be bad ;o) and also allow enough height to ensure patio sloping for water runoff (basically into the hill). Thankfully, DH was there to make that decision. That sure is an awful lot of concrete though (yikes). So much for the money we had set aside to do the rest of it right away. POOF! History. Toast. Gone. *sniffle*.

The small problem - thankfully - only affected the bottom part of the wheelchair ramp, although it took some doing to correct as the concrete had already begun to set. Seems the concrete truck (or the workers) knocked down our little "no dogs allowed" fence, and our neighbor's ankle biter popped over to investigate. Naughty girl!

Now we just have to let it cure for a minimum of 28 days before we can stain it. Oh goody, more waiting. So what do you think? Turned out pretty well, didn't it? The area that juts off on the right way in the back will be the tack and feed room. (and Boo-Yeah to that! ;o) It's longer than it appears in the photo. The patio itself is 16' by 40' not including the feed room. Sure doesn't look that big in the photo though, does it? The pipes sticking up on the right in the foreground will be a bathroom.  

You know, I wonder if I took my hairdryer on the high heat setting and...well, never mind. Guess I'll just wait. *tapping foot*. Is it ready yet? No. How about now? No. Ready? Not yet. Okay. Tap-Tap-Tap-Tap...*heavy sigh*...Tap-Tap-Tap. What about if I...

Have a wonderful and blessed week everyone!