Deck Saga Continues

Between soccer games, school Carnaval, medical appointments, and some just for fun things, we got the deck boards replaced when they were not salvage-able and flipped the deck boards we could use. All the spindles were removed for easier staining. I began staining, working only when the deck was in the shade or the temp was not 80º+, and working around the rainy days.

We watched the grand dog for a few days while his family traveled to Utah for a graduation. He's attached to the garden bed framework while I stained deck spindles.

deck spindles were removed for easier staining

stained spindles back in place

deck boards flipped and new ones in place

Hubby also created some projects from the scrap cedar pieces or the OOPS pieces.

a planter for the front of the house

the base for the raised garden 

with tomato and cucumber plants

and a small deck table

and a second small deck table

While waiting to stain the deck floor, I also stained the front cedar stoop...

And finally, around June 9th, the deck was completed,  and ready for use.

and we have, nearly every day

Deck Addition Saga

Our townhouse came with a 10x10 foot cedar deck off the main floor living space. No steps on the deck. All winter Hubby talked about the steps he wanted to build when we got back home. We had some discussions and after mutual agreement on step placement, and HOA approval, the plan became reality. (I have to admit, I just didn't think the steps off the deck were necessary. I didn't't think we would use them.) But as the project took shape I realized the steps allowed us a second exit to our home and am very thankful to have that option if ever it was needed. I can't see either of us vaulting the deck railing and jumping 57 inches to the ground.

Hubby enlisted the help of Jerry, our engineer friend, and thus began a week of measuring, sawing and hammering.

thinking, planning, 

concrete fabrication (block) to support the pipes

below the frost line, required by code

and to support the landing posts

using a jack hammer to push the 4'

pipes into the concrete block

the process went easier than either of them anticipated

all four in the ground and capped

2 of them

playing in the sand to set the concrete pads

landing pads in place

stringers cut and in place

Jerry was busy that day, so I was the

helping hand

steps done, landing is not, railing is not

Jerry was back

landing done, railings attached

Woo Hoo! 

Old wood. New wood.

So, that led to another project. Some folks told us the cedar should 'set' a year before staining. Others told us to stain right away. Hubby wanted this project completed before his foot surgery on June 3. We rented a power wash machine and cleaned off the old wood. (Old wood meaning the deck was built in May 2018.) Cleaning off the wood brought about another project...some of the cedar was so chewed by the power washing process, floor boards needed replacing as did some of the deck spindles. We were now on week two of 'adding steps to the deck' and hampered by rain every other day. The saga continues...

Miss W's Dance Recital

On our birthday we watched Miss W's dance recital. It has been our joy to watch her grow in ability and grace since her first rectal in 2014.

No photos are allowed during the dance. So once the dancing was over and the girls and boys on stage for their final bow, I took a group photo. 

her hip-hop costume

her ballet costume

a proud daddy

On their last day of school we brought the kiddos to our place for a sleep-over. We went to the pizza and bingo event at church. Hubby was the big winner of the 4 of us, winning 5 times.

Carnaval

No, that is not a misspelling. The grandkids attend Sonia Sotomayor School, the Spanish immersion elementary school. Their end of the year festivities for parents and others was Carnaval, the Spanish word for carnival. It included a parade of each classroom with a bit of history of the carnaval in a Spanish speaking country. The students wore or carried masks. Some of them danced to the music.

entrance of the first graders

a student wearing a native dress

M is the 3rd person in red

another traditional dress

and another

this one from El Salvador, according to the wording on the skirt

entrance of the third grade classes

Miss W looking for us and waving

the fifth grade girls did a dance 

followed by the fifth grade boys

It was colorful, short and sweet. The El Salvadorian bakery in town donated sweet treats for everyone. The students were invited to stay for a dance. We did not.

The Rest of the Norfolk GeoTour

Sunday was a new day. We had 5 required caches to find, sign and collect the "required" word, all north of Norfolk and in the small community of Pierce. We added a few others to the list just because they had been found recently and we knew who had placed them.

Many little towns had railroad depots, but not every one was saved and preserved. The geocache was nearby.

I noticed a couple of blocks in Pierce were paved with bricks from Norfolk Brick and Tile Company. Bumpy, but very cool! Well over 100 years old!

We had to take an alternate route to Pierce because of road closures due to the spring flooding. It was very evident how high the water was earlier in March and April.

The water level had subsided in the North Fork Elkhorn River that runs through Pierce. The river during the thawing, spring snow falls, and rains was 12+ feet above normal. This bridge stayed in place, but others in Madison County did not.

a common sign

the river along the detour road

We took the detour road to Hadar on the way back to Norfolk. The little community had 3 geocaches. This one was worthy of a Favorite Point. Take a Book, Leave a Book was in the front yard of the cache owner.

little houses holding books for various age levels

and dvds and cds

cute metal yard art

surprisingly, Hadar also had a very nice public library

Then it was back to Norfolk for the Cache In, Trash Out event at the brick yard park. 

followed by a coffee/lunch event at the nearby Dairy Queen

We checked in at the coffee event, thanking the organizer of the event and the GeoTour. We did some more geocaching around Norfolk until 1:00 when the Chamber reopened so we could return our GeoTour Passport and receive the souvenir GeoCoin.

a specific, special word found at each geocache

had to be written in each of the 40 boxes

the reward for a fun weekend in Nebraska

and 50 or so new geocache finds