Care and Maintenance

"If the girls don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." 
                                                      - Steve Smith as Red Green in "The Red Green Show"

My honey is very handsome, but recently he had the opportunity to show me his handy side. Our homeowner's association recently hired a new management company to oversee the collection of monthly fees, community maintenance, and spring inspections.  Unfortunately, it took the new management company longer than expected to get their operation up and running, which resulted in spring inspection notices not getting delivered until July.  Here comes the handy side... it's kinda like the dark side, but without the cookies.

Vader has a sweet treat for those who come to the dark side,
would there be a similar reward for those who came over to the handy side?

The list of maintenance required to our property, according to the HOA, was long and the amount of time they gave us to complete the repairs was short.  I said the inspection notice arrived late, I didn't say they extended the traditional deadline to complete repairs.  The back fence, the brick pavers in our postage stamp of a backyard, and the deck all needed to be power washed.  The deck needed a new railing.  The back door needed repainting.  The trim around the front door needed repainting.  The gutter boards on the front of the house needed to be sanded and repainted and the gutters themselves needed to be power washed. 

I was uneasy when I saw the list of things that needed to be done, thinking it would cost me a small fortune to get a contractor out to do all that work.  But, I was absolutely panicked when I discovered I had three weeks to get it all done.  How in the H-E-double hockey sticks was I supposed to find a contractor who was available on such short notice and willing to complete so many small projects for me?


My mother, a prolific DIY handy woman, was quick to help me see that I didn't need to panic.  She also got me to realize that I probably didn't need to hire a contractor.  We were going DIY!



On a side note, my mother has somehow managed to overcome her aversion to my unmarried cohabitation.  I credit this change of heart to my honey's efforts to win her good will.  He has done everything he can think of to get on her good side in the last two months.  He has been a salesman at my mother's yard sale.  He has become a preferred playmate for my nephew and even attended a kiddie show version of "How to Train Your Dragon".  He has cooked for her at least once a week at our house.  He has attended countless family dinners at her house.  He has cordoned off his Sundays as family time at my mom's house.  In short, he has wormed his way into her heart.


But, I digress.  My mother convinced me that we could do all the work that needed to get done around the house by ourselves and before the deadline.  Little did I know that my DIY momma owns her own power washer and that she was willing to give up her Saturday morning in order to teach my honey how to use it.


My honey power washing the brick pavers
 after a short training session with my mom.

She was also willing to give up her Monday off to help me replace the deck railing.  Who knew carpentry could be fun? I'm sensing a new Olympic sport in the making: Women's Pairs Carpentry!



The halfway point: The weathered and rotten old rail is down.

Finish line: A beautiful new deck railing installed by ME!

All I have left to do is sand and paint some doors and wood trim.  Has anyone seen my motivation?  I had it a few days ago when we were power washing and ripping out deck railings.  Now that I'm the only one in the house it seems to have disappeared.  Thank heavens my mother is coming back to get me motivated again this weekend.