Relative Something

Last spring I contacted four landscape companies asking for quotes on upgrading our front walkway area which has settled to such a degree it doesn’t properly drain water away from the house anymore. Two of the four responded and showed up to submit a quote. It was good to hear some of their thoughts about possible solutions but the costs were a real shock.

They came in at $11K and $8K to remove what was there and replace it with a new finish.

I decided to do a much more minimalist fix using DIY labor.

We have nibbled away at the project over a very long span of months but the last few days of Cyndie’s boundless energy has increased progress significantly.

We knew there was a concrete sidewalk beneath all that stone but we just didn’t know how much. The bad news is that the concrete had settled in the wrong direction for draining water away from the house.

It occurred to me yesterday that we could hire a concrete lifter to solve that part of the job. We’d need to spend some money on that but it would be a lot less than the cost of total replacement. Then we would be able to more easily finish the re-installation of the slabs and river rock ourselves. Think of the money we’ll save!

I sure hope my body will be up to the task. A shoulder injury I’ve been dealing with for months has recently flared up to a degree that has me questioning the ultimate success possibilities of my self-healing routine. I was enjoying slow increments of improvement that gave me hope prior to a few instances where use caused new pain and loss of strength.

On top of that, for good measure yesterday I dropped some boards on my foot and gave myself a painful contusion.

I was able to toss 80 bales of hay last night without much in the way of limitations, so I’m optimistic my abilities won’t be too much of a problem.

I’ve started watching the 2nd installment of Netflix’s NFL series, “Receivers” and it has me wishing I could have the immediate attention of trainers and physical therapists like professional athletes have.

Of course, by not having them, think of all the money I’m saving!

.

.