I Built A Screened In Porch! :)

Hi Everyone!! :)

It is raining pretty hard today so I had some time inside to catch up with my blog friends and post an update. I have to say it's been a challenging week! Alex is still pretty sick and spends most of his time in bed, he has no energy. But he is gradually healing so we're both really happy about that! His insomnia is gone thanks to passionflower tincture but he still sleeps pretty much all day and is up all night. He's trying to shift his schedule by staying awake an extra hour each day, he should be back to his usual sleeping schedule in a few weeks. All of the household and pet responsibilities have fallen on me so I've been a wee bit overwhelmed! We had some really hot weather to start last week, but I'm shivering as I type this today. 

My seedlings are doing so well...too well to stay in this window! Look at the pumpkin...the leaves are too tall now, but it doesn't look like we'll have warmer weather until the first week of June. I can probably start to transplant the lettuce, spinach and beets, but the rest will have to patiently wait!

The last hold outs were the carrots, and finally they are starting to sprout! I planted them April 29th.

Despite the cold weather, the lilac tree is starting to come alive! That's good news! So...how have I kept busy, besides caring for my home, pets and boyfriend for the last week? I decided to build my screened-in porch on my own. Bug season is upon us and I need my sanctuary!

Alex wanted to do it for me and asked me to wait, but you know what? He's just too sapped of energy right now and we don't know when he'll be healthy and energetic again. Plus, I wanted to see if I could actually do this on my own. I didn't buy the best material, knowing it would be temporary for the next 2 years. I started with 2 x 8's and sanded them all, all 30 of them.

Then I stained them what I thought was the same colour as the fading brown on the current porch!

Not a bad match! But my colour is nicer. :) I took advantage of the sunny beginning of the week to build the frame on one side and screen it in. Thank goodness I have that arnica gel for my hands!

I finished TODAY. For someone with zero carpentry skills, I'm really proud of myself! Remember I talked about that silly space where I hang my garden tools? I was going to completely block that off because it's about 1 1/2 feet wide and you can only walk sideways on there - such a wasted space!

Instead, I decided I needed the space, but also needed access so I built a screen door. That was my "guinea pig" because I've never built a door, door frame or hung a door before, so it was a learning curve!

This was the real challenge. The front screen door. OMG...the challenge...mistake, fix mistake, mistake, fix mistake...I was so frustrated at the end that I was in tears! But I got it all done. It hangs perfectly, has handles, a lock, and even magnets to keep it shut when I go down the stairs. Alex came out to help me hang it. After just half an hour, he was out of energy again, but I couldn't have finished it without him!

I'm pretty proud of myself. Now I just have to hope that Charlie won't barrel right through the screen on her way to the yard...I think when I go out next time, I'll have to stop by the hardware store for some kind of "kick guard". The only thing left to do is lay down the carpet. I bought some of that green fake grass carpet!!! I love that stuff! :) I'll do that tomorrow, then I can sit and rest my weary muscles!

That porch was a heck of a lot of work for me. Mama Pea, you said your ankles hurt one day after you were gardening...well, my ear lobes hurt, how's that? Lol...The dogs got their walk in the woods each morning still, that was kind of my "nature therapy" helping me through this challenging time! See Jack? He's "pointing" because he saw a rabbit. He's got some hunting dog in him that's for sure!

And look what I got in the mail the other day! Alex ordered this book for me because he said he wanted me to have some fun "porch reading". Even though he's quite ill, he's still spoiling me. Meals have been all over the place. I'm making very bland and healthy food for Alex and by default I've been eating a lot less and have been losing weight. I need my comfort food again! :)  No skinny minny in this house!!! Tomorrow will be warm and sunny again, so I'm going to try to do some work in the garden after I lay down my fake grass carpet. :)  I saw Charlie sniffing and eyeing my seedlings when I brought them out...so I don't need convincing that my container garden will need to be fenced in, I'd like to do that this week. 

I hope the upcoming week will be a little easier but you know, I love Alex so much and I love my little fur family, so even though it's exhausting, I thrive on taking care of them. I just can't forget about myself in the shuffle!