The Bannister Project....

True to form, nothing is simple for the Beast.  He tries so hard to be careful but something always seems to get screwed up for him.  He went and bought the 4x4 to replace the rotted post and also a length of 2x4 for the rail sections.  The 4x4 he measured from the one he had removed since it was rotted inside.  He showed me the section he had removed and gouged out a huge section (to make sure there were no termites involved).  The inside of the post was very wet, which made that easy to do.  The banister rail was the same way.  He was a little concerned about carpenter ants but I guess they only like dead, dry wood.

I helped get the post set in place (while holding the level to make sure it was kept straight).  That wasn't easy since he kept knocking into it while laying on the sidewalk, trying to drill the screws into place.  I kept having to check the front and side section and knocking it into place.  After the second screw, it required tension to make sure it was straight. 

After that, it was making the proper angle cuts for the top and bottom rail and that is where he really had his problems.  First of all, they weren't EXACTLY 45 degree angles.  Second of all, the first section (for the bottom), he actually cut totally wrong.    It should have been cut like this:  \_______\  and he cut it like this  /_____\.  You get the idea, I hope.  The good thing was that he measured the new piece of wood wrong so he was able to re-cut it and it almost fit snugly.  He ended up having to caulk a bit of it that attached to the front post but you could tell the guys that originally built the porch did a bit of that, too.  I know because I peeled off some of it.

When he ran up to Lowe's to buy another 2x4, they were closed (they close early on Sunday and he forgot).  So, the rebuilding will continue tomorrow.  I will have to help more once he has to put the struts that run between the top and bottom rails.  He won't be able to manage that alone.

When he was busy after I helped with the front post, I got busy pulling down this vine that had taken possession of the tree in front of our living room window.  Not only the tree but it had also started attaching itself to the house and the front porch around our door.  It almost covered my gnome but hadn't attached itself, thankfully.  It's a cheerful *Welcome* gnome that was a housewarming gift from the Beast's aunt.  She had one that I had always liked so she got us one, too.

I had to yank, pull and even use the big pruning sheers to get most of that off the tree.  Then the Beast tells me that he's going to remove that tree, too.  In a way, I don't blame him.  It blocks the light badly (even without the vines) and I don't think the roots do any good under the house.  It's going to really change the looks of our house when that one goes.  I hope he takes out the three bushes in front of the tree, too.  We'll be able to get at our hose more easily and I would rather plant tulips and crocus there so it looks nice at the first hint of Spring.  I don't want anything that grows tall in that area.  I still have hopes of extending our front porch one day and it will make it much easier to do the less we have in that area.

I was amazed at what a difference pulling the vine down made.  I actually thought it was just the tree itself with lots of leaves.  But, while I was waiting for the Beast to get ready to put up the front post, I took a good look at it because of it attaching to the house.  I started pulling at it and some of it slipped off easily.  Others were more firmly attached with loads of those little tendrils they throw out to grab onto a surface.  That's when I had to grab the pruning sheers.  I was amazed at how large a pile I ended up with.  I even started pulling some weeds that were growing among the bushes and then started doing the same in my flower box out front.  It needs to be done anyway since most of the flowers are now dead and gone.  The Beast loves mostly annuals.  

He will run out at the first breath of Spring and actually plant the flowers in the box without consulting me about what I might want to do.  He yanked out my rose bush this year even.  I could have killed him over that.  It had the prettiest yellow roses.  But it was still young and would only produce about six to eight roses so he figured it wasn't doing well.  I had only had it two years and it was a small one when I got it...not the ones you buy that are about two feet tall to begin with. 

We had a pretty lily plant and the Beast just didn't believe me that it was a perennial plant.  He got impatient for it to flower (the flowers are beautiful orange ones) even though I showed him the pods that would open.  When he wants flowers, he wants them NOW.  Right after the pods opened, he yanked that out, too.  I can't win with him.

I'm dreading when we have to weed the garden planters.  I checked them (visually) yesterday and a lot of the weeds are two feet tall or more.  It's going to be a nightmare.  I don't think our mulcher even has enough room for all we will have from that.  He's talking about emptying the dirt from them and starting all over again in the spring next year.  I could see doing that except for the work it implies THIS year....LOL!  The strawberries have multiplied again and I seriously need to thin them out A LOT so they produce more berries next year.  The Beast tried to fight me over that (again) but I told him if they didn't produce more, then I would let them go wild again.  It only takes a year for that to happen.  He wasn't happy about the idea but he stopped arguing with me.  That's a battle won, believe it or not.

The Beast is leaving on Wednesday for Florida to visit with his cousin and, even though Baron will be here with me, I'm rather looking forward to the time without him.  I may see if my sister, Cee, wants to go out to lunch one day.  Either that or we can buy the stuff to make some shrimp alfredo here and just relax with a glass of wine or something.  I think we deserve it.  I'd invite Diane over for a *girl's get-together* but not sure how Dennis would feel about that since he's still not speaking to the Beast.  I hate that shit with men.  They always think whatever THEY are feeling, WE should feel, too.  Dennis is dead wrong in this case but he'll have to learn that for himself.

Time to get this posted.  Please, please be safe tomorrow if you are going to a barbeque or any gathering where there will be drinking.  Remember, the police are out in droves during this holiday in particular to try to avoid the high holiday death toll.  Don't become a statistic.

Love you all.  ***Hugs***