Tuesday, June 09, 2009

after 70 years, the shed is gone


Dad built this shed in the late 1930's. It was his workspace through two houses and assorted projects for at least 50 years. It had been the playhouse for rodents for the past 20 years. Now I have a nice concrete slab to contemplate ...mosaic? Hen house? Both? and I have tons of old, rusty, tools and gizmos for artsy-fartsy projects. But there is still much clean-up to do, nails to pull, boards to be stacked, wall to be finished and then painted... before I can play.

My most wonderful neighbors came last Sunday and helped take the shed down.
It was a dirty dusty task but humor abounded and it really didn't take all that long. Karen, our neighborhood Martha Stewart, made yummy pizzas on the BBQ, the weather cooperated by staying cool, and everyone got to go home after just a few hours of toil. Nobody got hurt. I can't thank them enough!

My brother has been working on "the wall" ever since. We got all the boards up yesterday but still have to finish the corners and figure out how to finish the roof. The little shed will then be cleaned out and reorganized and I will have ONE place for all my tools and "stuff" . In the meantime, I have a huge pile of lumber to rid of nails, stack, and then re-stack down by the road for the county's free pick up. There will be at least one dump run for the hazmat stuff.

I was thinking of having another shed built but there is something so "right about having that airspace clear after all its years of darkness, that just an open patio of sorts sounds heavenly. The spot is pretty shady. I got to see some very nice mosaic work in an East Sac. garden last Sunday morning and now I am so inspired... something whimsical... something unrefined and delightfully tacky...

So this morning I need to stop at ACE on my way to work and get a new blade for the Sawsall so that I can cut all the long boards into something acceptable for the county refuse. (no longer than 4') The big magnet will be getting lots of use (and for a long time, I'm sure), finding all the nails that managed to fall out of the rotted wood. Its a wonder that none of us has stepped on a rusty nail..I'm sure we have stepped on them but for some blessed reason, the nails have remained on their rather benign sides and not attacked us through our shoe soles.

That's all the news fit to print this morning. There's a whole 'nother chapter on whether or not I need "intervention" ...... have spent more money on plants this year than in the last ten...but they're so cool! Now I'm wanting a lotus. Oh do I want a lotus. The plant, not the car.

toodles~
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2 comments:

will said...

And everyone breathes easier ... still, I don't trust ladders with three legs I suspect the laugh when people fall.

Dian Lea said...

Wow how remarkable you had a shed that your father used 50 years ago. Even though it had run it's course that is still amazing in this day and age. The space will manifest into a new shape but still, continuity an uncommon word in this common world.