Blanchard the builders

Can we fix it???  Yes WE CAN!!!!!

As the girls spent their week at the "G's" in Florida  (G and Gdaddy- or Grammy and Granddaddy- or Rick and Betsy's)  Todd and I had a few days of checking out restaurants, listening to music in NOLA, and watching "House of Cards" late nights here at the house.
So on Wednesday, it was decided that the rest of our "kidless" time would be spent repairing the back fence.  Boards were loose and rotting, and it was a matter of time before Guinness truly used the state of things to his advantage and took a stroll out of the yard.
SO, Thursday the work began.  The physical work anyway, as Todd sat with pen and paper for hours configuring what we needed, and we made a trip to Lowe's on Wednesday just to get an idea of the supplies there in conjunction with his list.
Thursday we headed to Lowe's and after at least two hours, left with a trailer full of wood, concrete mix, tools, etc.  Thursday was all about post hole digging, which we soon found out only Todd could do in the unbelievably hard ground we had to dig in.  Friday after the post hole digger broke and we headed back to Lowe's for some more wood, we installed some 2 x 4's and prepared for the long day Saturday.
Saturday was a 14 hour day.. breaks only for lunch and dinner and one beer break. :)
But around 10 o clock PM Saturday, we installed the last board.
Here are the before and after photos:

BEFORE
The fence behind the retaining wall was surrounded by years worth of organic material and was rotting.

BEFORE
These wood slats had seen better days, the gate wouldn't even open when we first moved in  (who doesn't take a trip to explore their own woods???)

AFTER

AFTER

AFTER
with awesome new big gate that can fit a canoe through it

Here are some day by day photos to show the progress.  What a job!

I will never look at a fence the same way!

Progress after Thursday (Day 1)

Day 1 progress

don't make em like they used to :)

Day 2

Day 2

Beginning of Day 3

Day 3 at beer break o clock :)

Wonder Blammit twins activate!

At least we had an awesome view the whole time :)

Paddling Lake Chinchuba

One of the best parts about this house is the lake right behind it.
It's not a big lake, by any stretch.  But it is open water that one can throw a kayak or canoe in a paddle.
Yes I will know every curve of the land in no time...
but the peacefulness of hearing only the paddle dipping in and out of the water and the boat moving through the lake is worth the possible monotony.
Here are a few pics from the only time I brought my camera kayaking.
I had to put it in a Ziplock bag stuffed into my shirt as the kayak is a "sit on top" kayak with nothing really to store anymore than your bottom! :)

Love sighting the egrets and herons that frequent the lake

So I traversed a small dam to get into Bayou Chinchuba (more water to explore), paddled around a bend, and this was in my way... till next time, Bayou Chinchuba.  I will figure a way around these trees.

Dam It!

I was not invited to this geese party.

most random place to store one's rollerblades!

Happy 40th, Todd

6/22/2013
We celebrated here at the new homestead in Mandeville with friends and family, boiled shrimp, and lots of laughs.
I only took the camera out for the cake part... I am slacking these days with the pictures!
Here are the few shots that I have.