We managed to get everything we lost replanted and learned a valuable lesson in the process. Most of it has already burst through the soil. The workshop is done! err mostly. I still have to do the finish work and and I have to waterproof it. As it is right now there are lots of puddles. If my photographer, wink wink nudge nudge, gets me the photos I will post photos of the completed structure tonight. As for today I have about four hours to get it waterproofed and get some things moved in. Off to work I go.

Everything's been going really well. We've been very busy doing lots of hard work. We had a minor setback. Some of our plants died off in the garden after a heavy rain followed by cold temperatures. Everything is replanted and we will be planting more later in the week. We start phase 2 of the work shop tomorrow, raising the carport we're using as a roof and wall supports.

Getting the foundation laid out for the floor of the workshop

Some of the wood we used is reclaimed pallet wood. We had to drill pilot holes for the deck screws. Seasoned oak is some pretty hard stuff.

This is Helen ensuring her right to make project requests after the workshop is complete.

Here we are cutting blocks out of donated 4x4 posts. These were used to get the floor joists up off the ground and to level it out.

Don't damage the help!

Look at this young buck here. They just can't keep up with the old man.

This is my beautiful wife. She is the hander and finding of things, driller of boards, and my motivation in all things.

Phase 1 complete! Its level and square. Not bad for never having done anything like this before. It is all painted up with two coats of floor paint that we got marked down to $10.50 a gallon.

I took an entire 18x20 carport down by myself today and transported it 150 miles. Thankfully Helen was there to help me load it all up. This is phase 2 of Mancave 2.0. I'm still working on phase 1 which is the foundation and the floor. I should have that finished tomorrow. Putting up this carport is going to be hell.

Here are some of the photos I was speaking of earlier. I'm sure you will notice some all together undesirable dwellings in the neighborhood. It's really hit and miss out here. We certainly can't complain though. We got a very good price with great terms and it will be ours in just over two years. Yes, no rent or mortgage in under three years. Also the location is zoned as rural so we can pretty much do whatever we want. We are seriously considering chickens next year. The place sits on two lots. The rear lot is almost entirely tillable and completely fenced in. The front lot is completely shaded by an oak, ash, and maple tree.
It's supposed to get cold tonight so I went out and covered up a large portion of the garden with the tops of 2 liter coke bottles. We used 2 liter bottles to start all of our plants. We put them in a little green house we made from a steel rack we picked up for $5.

Helen will be upset if I don't mention the 72 pots she picked up at the SIU flea market for $12.

Upcoming: I started my vacation this week. We are headed to Kentucky to pick up the car port I intend to re-purpose into a work shop. Picks to come. Also when the blackberry bushes get a little bigger I will post pictures of them as well as the strawberries if they ever come up.

Here is a bird bath I made from a re-purposed satellite dish. The post is about 2' into the ground. It is painted with appliance epoxy. If you've never used this paint it can be purchased at Wal Mart. It is great stuff.

This is main garden it is 50'x30' which is entirely too big but hey I'm an over achiever. In this picture is a wheel barrel we picked up from an estate sale for $10, a garden cart I got off of Craig's List for $50, and some tripods I made out of donated lumber to support pole beans. There were two satellite dishes against the trailer. One has been re-purposed into a bird bath and the other is now gone. The post is going to be used for a bird house.

The side of the garden shed is the old location of our compost pile. It is now the location of loofahs with the rear of the shed being used for bushel gourds. Each trellis is actually two parts and is made from pallet wood. You can just see the old satellite dish peeking around the corner,

In this picture you see your loyal narrator with a brand spanking new tiller. In the background is a 20 horse riding mower I picked up for $250 off of Craig's List last year. We spent $600 on the tiller but with the amount of tilling we do it just seemed necessary to buy a new one rather than take our chances on something used. Besides that used tillers are still very expensive.

This is a photo of an apple tree we planted last year. Along the fence row we planted a golden delicious, red delicious, two pears, two peaches and one cherry tree. All of them are of the Tyrion Lannister variety. ;)