It's the little things.

3 months?! Has it been THREE months? Sorry, Mom. :)

I will make a concerted effort to keep my blog more current, not just for the entertainment of the few friends and family members who actually read it, but to better chronicle the evolution of Tara.

I am often tempted to think that doing little things around the house- small improvements here and there- don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. But they do. Making a house your very own is like watching a child grow up. Small things happen every day in the lives of our children that we are prone to overlook because they seem almost mundane or routine. But, with your kids, you blink and- bam- they're running across the room! And the memories of those first steps and countless falls you once thought tedious now seem priceless.

So, to better relish in the little victories in renovating Tara, enjoy the following fall improvements! Curtains, valances, and chalkboard paint (with a magentic layer underneath), oh my!

Hometown Homage

Speaking of hanging things on the wall, I can rest assured that wherever we move, my hometown will never be too far away with this sweet reminder hanging on my wall. Thanks, Mom!

Lesson learned? Find a spot in your home for a little something to remind you of where you grew up. Unhappy memories from the hometown or stuck in a family of gypsies as a kid? Pick a fun momento from a happy location, even if it's a ticket stub, and give it a place of prominence.

Summertime and the Living is Easy

Has it really been two weeks since my last entry? Sheesh. Even though I haven't been documenting all of the projects I've been squeezing in this summer, it doesn't mean that Tara is improvement free! It just means that our work ethic has taken on a summertime temperment, a less-rushed, slower feel.

Summertime and the living is easy.

This unscheduled summer has afforded us more opportunities to get pictures of our kiddos, and like any parents Rhett and I are over-eager to display them. Naturally, the blank canvas in the hallway seemed like a fabulous place.

Yikes! But THIS is a BIG space! (Not that we couldn't cover it entirely with pictures of our babies.)

However, how do you put something in a space like this that compliments the size? It's easy to hang something that would be quickly overwhelmed, and it's also easy to attempt to fill the space and end up cluttering it instead.

After seemingly endless searching, I found an answer.

As you might have noticed from prior posts, Rhett and I have a deep love for anything antiqued and weathered (hopefully he'll remember this love for all this antiqued when I am 95!) I found these three amazing frames, made out of reclaimed barn wood, at a little shop 10 minutes south of my house. They bring color, character, and a certain amount of charm to the hallway without crowding!

Horray for the casual, easy feel of these frames. For purchase information, email me at renovatingtara@gmail.com.

Just Beachy

Friends, I've just returned from a beautiful week at the beach.

What's not to love about some time at the seashore? Sand between your toes, the cool breeze, fun with family, delicious seafood, and...

...classy decor? I mean really. What is this and why in the world was it on dsiplay in our beach house?

How about this one.

Oh my.

Someone didn't leave their glitter ribbon and glue guns at home.

Why is it that condos and beach houses seem to be oblivious to the rules of home decor that we all try to follow? Is it that the owners of these places feel that their environmental surroundings are so superior to most of ours that they assume they can neglect any basic rules of interior design, throwing seashells on random items and then declaring it "beachy"?

Whatever the reason, we had a lot of fun shrugging our shoulders at the ridiculous nick-knacks in our house. It reminds me of the condo five of my high school friends and I stayed in when we visited Hilton Head Island the summer after graduation. It was covered, and I mean covered, with dolphins. Sculptures, miniatures, printed linens, placemats, framed prints- dolphins exploded all over each room. We lovingly named our home for a week the Dolphin Shack. And I still laugh each time I think of that crazy little place.

With that I only have one thing to say: stay classy, beach people. Your decorating escapades help make happy memories for visitors like me.

Happy Birthday to Tara!

Last July 4, Rhett and I spent our first night at Tara. Nevermind that the kitchen looked like this:

Charming, I know. Did I mention we were without plumbing too at that point? Oh, and let's not forget that I was 37 weeks pregnant going to the bathroom in the woods. I don't think our neighbors noticed, but I'm sure they would have been thrilled to know that the Clampetts were moving in.

Needless to say, our first night at Tara was not quite a 4 star experience, but we survived. In fact, if you're one of those annoyingly optimistic people you'd probably say that a rocky start at Tara has made all the things we've accomplished in the past year that much sweeter.

You're entitled to your opinion.

All this has got me thinking, however, of what we really need out of a house. What do we have to have out of a building to make us happy? You can say that plumbing and electricity are non-negotiables, but are they really? Will simply four walls do? And aren't the best memories of where we live memories of when something crazy happened- like when all the power went out and we had to cook over the fire and play Monopoly by candlelight?

This past weekend, our family traveled to south Georgia for Rhett's 75th annual family reunion. The reunion was a lot of fun, and over 225 of Rhett's extended family were there, which really meant that there was a LOT of good food. Although I'm from the South, I'm pretty sure that certain parts of the country should require a passport, because I couldn't find the tiny town (is it even a town?) of Hatley on a map. What impressed me as much as the food and fellowship of all the wonderful folks I met this past weekend was the simple character of some of the buildings.

Here's the Hatley Women's Club:

And the Courthouse, which I am told also doubled as the jail...

Silly to some, I suppose, but I love these simple buildings. They remind me that in some places the buildings we live our lives in were, and still are, free of fuss (though I'm not sure the "jail" makes me feel very safe). For women to get together and do good or for justice to be done in a place like Hatley, they didn't need  a glossy million-dollar place to do it in.

Winston Churchill wrote, "We shape our buildings and then they shape us." Isn't that the case? We have an idea of how we want our buildings to work and function but in reality, once we live and work inside them, they begin to shape the way we do things. It's not because of their ammenities either. Simple structures or even those that are incomplete can make a big impact.

While I'm grateful for the great strides that Tara has made in the last year, I smile when I think about those first few crazy nights at this house last July. Forget that there was hardly a kitchen and I had to run off into the woods to go to the bathroom, we were just so happy to be here.

Happy Anniversary, Tara!

Inspiration Station

I know, I know. It appears as though I've taken a hiatus from Renovating Tara without telling anyone. Instead of a long, drawn out explanation of why, I think a picture will suffice.

So yes, we thought it was wise to add another personality to the mix. I now have five children- Rhett, my girls, and my yellow labs.

Summertime is busy for everyone regardless of whether you're adding family members, I know. So who has time for home renovating projects?

We do!

Despite the hectic work schedules, play schedules, and everything in between, I love to have a project going on. In the next post I'll show more of Rhett's handywork on the treehouse/shed/fortress, but I want to take a second to highlight a way to keep all the inspiration for those projects organized.

You know how I love to be organized.

The problem with the inspiration I find in magazines is this: I love something, I dog-ear a page, and then I either throw the magazine away or forget about what I marked entirely. So what's the point? Does this happen to you, too? Drives me crazy.

Then I realized I had the solution lying in my closet. I had a huge bulletin board left over from my old office and so I casually covered it in...burlap, of course. (Yes, I'm still on a natural fibers/burlap kick) Any fabric you like will work, of course, but burap is what I had on hand and I love the texture it adds to a blank wall. I hung the bulletin board on our blank guest room wall and TA-DA! I have an inspiration station for 2.49 plus tax (the cost of a new set of thumb tacks). As you can imagine, I immediately grabbed a stack of House Beautiful magazines and went to work with the scissors.

It was missing a little bit of zing and personality, so I did have to add a bit of flair...

...but what I have ultimately is a visual reminder of all the things I've loved in the past month. All the ideas, trinkets, gadgets, and colors that made me smile are all in one place- and how great is that?

It's also nice to know that if the board gets to have too much personality over time, it will never have as much personality as the new puppy. Heaven help us.

Daylillies!

I'm not one to extol the virtues of delayed gratification, mainly because I have zero patience. However, when the rewards of hard labor present themselves so beautifully at last after months of work, it's hard to resist being excited about them!

When we decided on a location for the treehouse, Rhett and I uprooted a good number of mystery bulbs to clear the land. I'm thrilled that the bulbs I replanted in the front beds have turned out to be lovely daylillies- and they're gracing us with their color and beauty this week. Happy Summer!

More to come!

A Happy Girl

Our oldest daughter, relaxing in her new tree-home. :)

Construction by Moonlight

When Rhett said the treehouse portion of this little building would be done by the end of May, he was serious. So serious, in fact, that he's outside right now putting the finishing touches on the ladder.

I apologize for the dark picture, but what can I say? It's 9pm!

Progress!

No, really! We've made more progress on the treehouse. If I couldn't see progress like this, I would definitely think my husband was having an affair with a cicada, becuase he's been spending a lot of time outside.

All this to prove that while the posts may have slowed lately, we've still been working. Take a look! Should be ready to play in tomorrow :)

They're Here.

No, not the cicadas, though that seems to be what everyone is talking about.

Those cicada creatures are already driving me bananas in fact. I can hardly hear myself type! Our oldest daughter has become slightly obsessed with collecting the shells, the sight of which absolutely gives me the willies. Yuck! The idea of a bug that comes up every 7 (or 13) years to only sing loudly, mate, and die is gross.

Fortunately, more than cicadas have arrived at Tara. Fairies! Yes, fairies. Don't believe me? They've taken up residence in the backyard on the old birdfeeder.

They've even created a little sign- how quaint!

Our oldest daughter hopped inside a few days ago to tell us that she's seen one- maybe two. She reported to me that they're far too quick for me to actually get a good look at, but if I'm lucky I might be able to see a glimmer of sparkling dust. How fun!

I love to see something magical come to stay at Tara in addition to the deer, bunnies, and variety of birds.

Message to the fairies: Welcome! Message to the cicadas: GO HOME.

"Mom doesn't go to Home Depot!"

Thus squealed my oldest daughter in the carpool lane this afternoon.

She asked what I had done during the day and I rattled off the usual errands- grocery store, dry cleaners, post office- but when I added that I'd been to Home Depot she came unglued.

"What!? Home Depot?" she asked.
"Well, I had to get flowers for the front pots and..."
"Oh! For flowers! I thought you meant for tools or wood or something. And my mom doesn't do stuff like THAT!" and she began to laugh uncontrolably.

No, I don't usually go to Home Depot so I can see how it was out of the ordinary. But still- why does she think that Mommy can't go to Home Depot? Understandably, if I had said J Crew instead of Home Depot she wouldn't have batted an eye...but I wonder if sometimes she sees me only as another mom in a polo dress, making grocery lists, planting impatiens, doing laundry, washing dishes, etc.

When my daughter looks at me, does she only see this?

Or does she ever see this?

Granted, she knows I can do pullups and run with the best of 'em (by the way, you KNOW June was hitting the gym- look at that waist!), so she may know I am physically fit- but does she know I am capable? Does she know that if anything ever happened to Rhett I would be able to hold it all together? Maybe our larger home renovation journeys would end, but can she feel assured that I would be able to fix leaky faucets? Paint walls? Install printers? And maybe I can even do those things without breaking a nail (or whining about it).

Sometimes I wonder.

I take for granted sometimes that my own mother is a warrior in her own right. A single mom for the majority of my childhood, she did it all- cooking, cleaning, scheduling, child-rearing, AND bringing home the bacon. So much of me has always wanted to be a stay-at-home mother, and I'm thankful I am. However, I have to ask myself sometimes that if in wanting so badly the lifestyle my own mother was not able to have I have somehow negated to make sure my daughter knows I would be capable if I was ever on my own. Capable of say, going to Home Depot. In short, will she look at me with admiration for my strong character as I do my own mother, or will she see me only as a source for fashion advice?

So, when I pulled the car into the driveway, I took her out to see the screw that I drilled into her treehouse. Yes, ME. I did it. (Mainly because Rhett needed me to drill it while he pushed the board into place, but that's neither here nor there.)

"You know I drilled this, right?" I said, pointing to one small screw out of about a gazillion.
"Yes."
"Because you saw me do it yesterday. That's right, Mommy can operate power tools."
"Okay. Can I play with the neighbors?"

I don't know if the message got through to her, but I have to say that I am convinced that the whole treehouse would topple to the ground if it wasn't for the one screw that I drilled. Mommy is a super-hero, and don't you forget it.

I hope she comes to see more of Mommy being capable in the renovation stories that follow (please see the post on my shoveling the driveway from a few months ago...) In the meantime, I am going to wait on Rhett to get home so he can drill holes in the bottom of my new planters.

The Emcees: Making a difference in under an hour!

If you're just joining us, monthly I run an awards-style post giving out my "Emcees" for the best stuff out there. March's Emcee article featured the best Spring Cleaning essentials and this month I'll let you in one the best ways I've found to make a difference to your home in under an hour. Set your timers and lets get started!

One of the most difficult parts about being married to a Rhett, a handyman for all seasons and for all reasons, is that he can be under the house or in the garage for SIX hours working, and at the end of all his work he has nothing to show for it. He's made progress during that time for sure...doing something electrical or something...but I can't abide by making progress on something that I can't see. I'm a results-oriented girl!

Usually I'm trying to do three things at once with my big toe, but every now and then I have about an hour to get something done. Sometimes I'm able to spend a little cash, but in all truth I just want to accomplish something to make my house a teensy bit better. Do you ever feel the same way? Like there's no time for a massive home renovation but you have a feeling you just want to make some kind of improvement?

You need to see results, too. You've got an hour? Know where a few basic tools are? Ready to see a change (and have other people notice, too?) Let's go! Here are some suggestions for ways to spend that one little hour (or less!) and take another step towards making your home uniquely yours.

Project number 1: Switch out tired old cabinet knobs ($)

The easiest update for any piece of furniture in any room is to switch out boring, standard cabinet knobs for a look that's funky and fresh. So far I've done this three times in this house alone!

Anthropologie has great knobs, and if you catch them on sale they're cheaper than a warehouse like Home Depot (and a lot more stylish). I mismatched knobs in our smaller bathroom for under 20$, and it took less than 20 minutes.

In the same shopping trip, I was able to score 4 yellow and brass knobs for the game/DVD cabinet and 6 (on sale!) green and while knobs with gilded edges.

Like this so much you want more? Add flair with finials.

A lot like adding/switching knobs is simply adding/switching finials. You know what finials are- those little decorative touches on the tops of lamps or at the ends of curtain rods? We...er, our oldest daughter...chose navy airplane finials for her curtains! Such a fun touch...and it makde her love shopping for curtains!

Project number 2: Rearrange! (free)

This one costs nothing (usually) and gives you a great workout (guaranteed!), but for some reason this suggestion is most likely overlooked. Why? Who knows. But here's your boot camp commandment.

Go to the room of your house you like the least. Stare at it, devise a new plan, and make it happen! It's hard I know, and usually you don't have near enough to space to even imagine something new...but just try to switch out two peices of furniture minimum. That's it. Live with it and see if you like it better (or get inspired to make a bigger change).

Have the courage to play around with the arrangement you've come to know. Who knows- you could chnage that room forever! And if it doesn't work? How hard is it to move furtniture back? Your least favorite room is waiting...

Project number 3: Beautify your entryway ($)

Who wants to come home to bleh? Not me. In under an hour, with some simple terracotta pots and easy annuals (1.87/6 pack at Home Depot), you can come home to something beautiful and colorful. How do I know? This was my one-hour project this afternoon. The trick to getting it all done in under an hour is to make sure you have everything you need before you get started- potting soil, pots, gloves, Osmocote, plants, and a little water (and maybe a spade). Here's the final result!

I have to acknowledge here, to be fair, that not everyone has a back porch, front porch, sidedoor, or small entryway in which to place pots of impatiens. My dear friend Virginia lives in NYC in a building where putting plants in the hallway is probably seen as an invitation for a severe fire code violation. So what is Virginia to do but bring the outside in? Nothing is more elegant and cheery than a small boquet placed inside your front door (or in this case, inside your den). Welcome home!

Project number 4: Switch out or revamp old photos ($?)

How often do you put a picture in a frame and then NEVER change it out? I thought so. We usually frame a favorite and then, years and millions of pictures later, we silently refuse to change it by simply letting the opportunity pass by! Walk through your house, grab all the frames you might want new pictures in, and decide firmly to change them. You can upload digital prints quickly and easily to Shutterfly and have them printed all Walgreens or Target in under an hour. I don't remember what used to be in this silver frame, but now it holds one of my favorite pictures of Rhett and our oldest daughter- super easy and very inexpensive. And I see it every day.

Project number 5: Boost your house with a fresh scent ($?)

These last suggestions will definitely boost your house by making an immediate difference in the smell if not in sight.

One of my favorite things to do is to bake. My house smells amazing for at least a few hours, and *BONUS* there's a yummy treat to share! Chocolate chip cookies and pound cakes are easy favorites that everyone adores.

Since baking isn't widely regarded as a home improvement project (when did you last see Nestle semi-sweet morsels in Lowe's?), you might consider placing scented drawer liners in your linen closets for an easy project that satisfies your olfactory senses and at the same time gives your towels and sheets a slight hint of lavender.

Measure your shelves, cut out the paper to fit, and secure it with double-stick tape (or something like it). As with all the other suggestions, this should take you no more than an hour. Crabtree and Evelyn has my favorite scents and prints, but you can find these at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and even Target.

Guests might not notice immediately that you've had a busy hour, but you'll know. The little things are what really makes a home YOUR home anyways. And that feeling of accomplishment? It's exactly the same as the one that you'd get if you gutted and refinished your kitchen...only a whole lot cheaper and much less stressful.



It's coming along.

No, we haven't stopped working on the treehouse. Rhett is very...let's say...OPTIMISTIC about completion times when it comes to projects.

This treehouse has been no exception to his habitual extending of deadlines. I wrote an article for the Tennessean about his building our oldest daughter a treehouse for Father's Day in 2009.

Nearly two years later, we've moved, added another daughter to the family, and the treehouse is still in the works. Maybe I shouldn't announce Rhett's plans to the greater Nashville area until I have a firm timetable next time.

Ultimately, while his lackadasical approach to timing drives his type-A wife absolutely insane, all the projects Rhett starts do eventually become finished! And isn't that better than having half a dozen unfinished projects strewn about?

From the pictures with the entry on Pythagorean theorems and post hole diggers a month ago, you'll see there is progress! Slow and steady...

Peonies!

First peonies of the season...one more reason why I love Tara in the Springtime!

Tara in the Springtime

Was it Cole Porter who sang "I love Paris in the Springtime. I love Paris in the Fall"?

That was because he'd never been to Tara or the words would be slightly different. I love TARA in the Springtime!!

Tara isn't the prettiest girl on the block, but when the flowers start blooming she sure looks a whole lot better. And on a 75 degree day who doesn't want to sit outside on a hill and enjoy the fresh air? Allergies be damned.

It's about time to dig up my pansies and plant impatiens, but for now I give you a few glimpses of Tara in the Springtime.

They say that breaking up is hard to do.

Now I know, I know that it's true.

First of all, there are a lot of people who read this blog! You like me, right now, you like me! I'm  flattered. I know this because I made a big announcement (see below: "we're buying another house!") and I was swarmed with people wanting to talk about it in these past few weeks. These are people who don't technically "follow" the blog, either. I'm no Jane Lynch, but I feel pretty popular. So, thank you for reading and increasing my self-esteem. Maybe if they have a blogger's sweeps week I'll annouce we're adopting or something- watch my readership soar!

For those of you who do not stalk my every move, I need to bring you up to speed. Rhett and I fell in love a few weeks ago. No, not with each other again, but with a new house to renovate. Great location, a basement to build out, a fantastic master suite...ah, yes. Sure there were flaws- the possibility of substantial termite damage/activity, asbestos, and the requisite cosmetic work, but we love a challenge, started bidding, and after a week of negotiation with the sellers we were about 99% sure the house was ours.

Until it wasn't.

Our realtor was stunned, and she will probably be hard pressed to do business with the shady realtor for the sellers in the future. Apparently they'd been entertaining offers from another buyer at the same time (for shame!) and when we held firm to our offer, we got snubbed.

Rhett and I were taken aback. We are great renovators! Look at us! We're adorable! Solid financing, a love for homes, willingness to add character and preserve detail...we are the whole package!

But apparently, they just weren't that into us.

So here we are, still at Tara. But I have to say that everything here feels even more right. We didn't have to move, and now we get to enjoy doing more with the house who most recently has stolen our hearts, Tara. And there is work to be done!

Dating for Houses

Is RealTracs.com like Match.com?

When we started looking for Tara, our fabulous realtor told us that after all her years of experience she could most accurately compare the process of looking for and buying a house to one thing: dating.

Rhett and I identified things we wanted as we searched through RealTracs: more land, a garage, bedrooms all on the same level. Ultimately while Tara had these basic charms, the house had attributes we now love that we didn't even know to originally ask for- and isn't that how it is with dating and utimately choosing someone to permanently share a life with?

For instance when Rhett and I first met I knew he had some baseline appealing qualities, like his commitment to faith, his willingness to go running with me, and a desire to have a family. But what made me want to commit were the bonuses that I didn't even know to ask for (He cooks?! He can fix and build anything? Where do I sign?!)

Well, kids, it seems we're at it again. No, we're not polygamists and yes, after renovating this house we still like each other enough to be in this marriage for the long haul. In fact, we've had so much fun with this house that why not go for another?

That's right.

Although our love for Tara is real (I feel guilty just looking at other houses...) we've been looking around a bit. And, well, I don't know how to say this...

See, it's not Tara, it's us.

We've met someone. It's been going on about two weeks. She's a ranch, too. She has about 700 more square feet and about another half acre. The master bedroom is huge. The closets are too.

*sigh* It feels good to get that off my chest.

You should also know, reader, that's it's gotten serious. We made an offer on the new house last Tuesday. It's now Monday night, and after spending nearly a week back and forth with the owners, it looks like we've got a deal. We'll have a home inspection of course, but we wanted you to know we're pretty committed to the new place. We just didn't want to say anything until we knew it was getting serious.

So are we two-timing Tara? We're not sure what to call it yet, but we'll keep you posted.

Math is still hard.

Q: What do you get when you cross the Pythagorean Theorem with a Post Hole Digger?

A: A very tired Scarlett, mentally and physically.

--

I took Geometry in the 9th grade. Confession: I loved it. I loathed all other kinds of math- Algebra, Calculus, Trig, simple multiplication and division. But for some reason, Geometry made complete sense to me. I think it was the way that Geometry panders to my obsessive compulsive personality. Take for instance proofs. Remember those? You had to prove that something was true, such as the area of a triangle, using a step-by-step method of stating mathematical truths. Confusing for some maybe, but if I had it my way, Will Shortz would run one in the New York Times daily. They're fun!

Okay, for me at least.

I remember my teacher, Mrs. Everley, started class each year asking us all what we wanted to be when we grew up. For every occupation given, Mrs. Everley had an example of how Geometry would be useful in everyday work. Architecture may be a given, but Mrs. Everley had been teaching for such a long time that she could convince you that Geometry would be useful for lawyers and artists. She was truely a pro. I'm fairly confident I told her I wanted to be a mom, and I bet she gave me some answer about how Geometry would help me do laundry or something.

Well, Deborah Everley, 15 years later you're actually right. Moms need Geometry, and not just to cut sandwiches into equal triangles. In fact, I needed Geometrical knowledge this weekend as I continued to work my days away as a stay-at-home mother. You win.

Rhett is building our kids (and himself) a two story shed/treehouse. Remember when I asked you what our next project should be and you emailed me with suggestions (main bathroom! screened in back porch!) as to what we should do next? I'm pretty certain none of you voted for a shed/treehouse, but Rhett is kinda in charge here, so a shed/treehouse it is! Isn't it nice to know your vote mattered?

After clearing a spot for the treehouse, Rhett roughly measured out space enough for eight stakes which he used to mark a 10x10 square which became the footprint for the building.

Apparently, it's not good protocal to just eyeball these measurements (if your contractor eyeballs his/her measurements, you might want to worry), so Rhett insisted that we have right angles at all four corners.

"So," Rhett instructed. "What do we need to do to make sure these are right angles?"

My palms began to sweat. Um...a piece of cardboard that was already a perfect right angle? A compass?Where was my iphone so I could look this up?

"The Pythagorean Theorem, right? Remember that from Geometry?"

It sounded vaguely familiar and eventually, after I'm-not-revealing-how-long, it became familiar once more. Taking a second for you?

We measured 3 feet on one side, 4 feet on another, and then...VIOLA! We made sure the points connected on a perfectly measured 5 foot line. After repeating this procedure on all the other corners, we ended up with four right angles. Ladies and gentlemen, we had a square. The first round of this project, however, did not stop with a Geometry refresher course.

Rhett deemed it necessary to put up nine concrete posts to support the subfloor of this new structure- at each corner, halfway on each side, and in the middle. To put in these posts, Rhett needed a post hole digger (pictured below) and asked me, being completely serious, if I knew how to operate a post hole digger. To quote my storybook friend Eloise, "I am a city child." So, no, Rhett darling, I can only guess as to how to operate one of these contraptions.

Of course, Rhett was not at all deterred and saw this only as an opportunity to further my home improvement education, and now I am a post hole digger expert. I have the aching back to prove it.



We dug 9 holes for 9 concrete tubes, and the next day Rhett and his father mixed the concrete to fill into the tubes. And at the end of chapter one of the Shed/Treehouse saga, we have this (without the random tire):

What's on the agenda next for this ambitious project? We'll put down a floor and frame up this little house this coming weekend. I'm really looking forward to seeing Rhett's vision come to life (almost as much as I am seeing how much fun our kids are going to have playing in this treehouse!) but I'd be lying if I wasn't a tad bit hesitant about any upcoming math quizzes or scary new tools to learn to operate.

But learning is what this is all about. Lesson learned here? Playing in the dirt is hard! Almost as difficult as math.