sunshine days

She is always thoughtful with her gifts, and my birthday this year was no exception. She and her hubby gave me a gift certificate to Lowe's and two weekends of their time to devote to household projects, namely my backyard.

I had been wanting to create a sun deck for reading and general sunworship-ness for some time, but as usual, I was missing two-thirds of the time, money and energy equation. I'd also had my eye on a pineapple fountain from Tommy Bahama (I know!) but didn't want to spend the 200 or so clams they were asking.

Enter my bestest friend and her handy hubby, who bought redwood from the lumber yard and brought over their saw (bought as an excuse to execute this project, perhaps?) and got to work one hot weekend a few weeks back.

Before said project could begin, some minor adjustments needed to be made to the space designated for the sun deck, particularly clearing it out of the wood chip-debris and what remained from the fountain grass and jasmine that I pulled out last year.

We made a stop at Lowe's for sand (lots and lots and lots of sand) while Cyrus got everything settled to begin the project, and it was there that I was met with the fountain-from-Tommy-Bahama's-cousin. I knew instantly that I had to buy it, and at about half price of the one from the "island purveyor," I knew it was a good choice.




All cleared, sand poured, ready to go!


The master carpenter, ready to get down to bidness


Hey, what's this work stoppage?!


I got the fountain assembly job


Ta da! (pay no attention to the dead foliage in the background!)


Finished product. I now need someone to help me lift it into place!



The bench/sun deck is about the size of a twin bed, and is sure to be super comfy if I ever get around to buying the foam, as Jewels offered to sew the cover for it. I'm thinking Sunbrella fabric, despite its hefty price tag, because the backyard gets a ton of sun and investing in something durable might be the best option. I will be installing a shade over the bench, but that will most likely have to wait until next summer.

Thanks, guys, for all your help!