Love Leads The Way

I understand that a plan of any undertaking has to be definite and plans have to be clear. Actions must be taken. Failure is to be avoided. But, the plan must be fluid. It is easy to confuse definiteness with rigidity. We are making definite progress. We had a general idea and when a step is taken new possibilities arise which were unforeseen. Rigidity causes blindness. Real progress requires definiteness and action and fluidity.
Becky was blown away when she saw the new grill. She was standing on the spot of the former grill, which in this photo, was in the middle of the patio between the table and the swing. She looked around and said, "Put the table right here!" She gestured lengthwise parallel to the house and said, "Put it here, this way, right in the middle." With the grill over there I agree totally. This location is better than under the tree. It feels like a final decision.
This experience inspires me. Our marriage gives me part and gives her part. The two parts work together and make a greater whole. Trust, hope, faith and love are the true ingredients of success. These are things that come alive in activity. Causing these things to come alive are like doing anything worthwhile - it takes work - a labor of love.
So with a slight course adjustment, we sail on, more sure of our way.

Garden Table - Feasibility Study - #1 What about the grill?

The top photo is the view from the kitchen sink. I placed the grill so that there is an unobstructed view of it from the kitchen sink. That has worked out well. I don't think there is any call from any quarter to put the grill anywhere but where it is now. I plan to use a piece of concrete from the kitchen counter when they are replaced in the new and improved grill. This will be the third grill I have constructed so far. All have been temporary being made out of crudely stacked brick. Seeing how construction of a righteous table requires grading the entire patio, I think it is time to think about a permanent grill. I love having a fire pit lined with fire brick. That makes the heat so very even. With a concrete counter top on the side I will have enough room to place the hibachi there. I think, "Yeah, it is time for the real thing." But the thing is, once you start out to do something real, the possibility of failure becomes real. I could fail. What if I choose to ignore the fear of failure and set out to build the grill I know needs to be built?

The table will find it's exact spot. Meanwhile I won't be afraid to shove this one around with the chairs and mess up my nice, neat pile of gravel. It can't be lost.

Garden Table - Preliminary Plan

My first thoughts of building our outdoor table were weak. That's not so bad. On the one hand, my first idea got scrapped. On the other hand, I have been alerted to new and better possibility. I accept that this process will take time. Therefore, I will create a deadline of Thanksgiving to complete construction of the table. This is the best idea I have had on the subject so far.

This project requires me to re- grade the whole patio. I have to invent a method to level the whole patio and provide a proper foundation to bear the load of the table and pedestal while not overloading my spine. There's the slab on the porch in the top photo. I want to put it where the table is in the bottom photo. I have to cause the slab on the porch to float down the steps and across the patio to the base. Then the slab has to be turned to the horizontal with all the care of a space shuttle maneuvering to dock with the space station. Finally, the slab has to be set in place on top of the base and this job is done.

I may use something other than brick for the table pedestal. Becky may want the table lengthwise parallel to the fence or lengthwise parallel with the house or at some point in between. We have time to carefully consider the details.

Garden Table - First Step: We Agree and Believe

Becky and I confirmed that we both believe the garden table should stand in the location visible in the bottom photo scratched out in the gravel. Our agreement is an important first step. We want our table to provide maximum hospitality. This is the dream and this is the time and place of our first step; our garden table groundbreaking.

The groundbreaking took place while I was getting the grill on for Becky's Booster Block Party Planning Committee Meeting. I took the opportunity to move a little gravel. My spirits were high and I was thinking that all I had to do was move a little gravel, level it out, stack the bricks and put on the top. Two factors popped up to dash my preliminary concepts. Number one, I knew in my heart that this effort would be inadequate. Number two, the sheer weight and size of the concrete top means that to set it on top of a base will require an effort equal to ten stout, young men directed to lift and carry the piece.

During my painting days our crew helped the marble guys on a remodel job years ago move a counter top made from a slab of black African marble. That slab was about the same size as our concrete slab. We carried that slab from the truck to the kitchen. Installation of the counter took every bit of the strength of ten stout workmen to move and set. The boss marble guy had to buy us all a good lunch to get our cooperation. Transportation of a massive, breakable object is a huge and perilous task in itself. Break it and the project is dead. Set the top poorly and it stands as a monument to poor administrative skills. This is to become our outdoor table. I can't let Mother-in-law have anything but good things to say about it.

I am forced to go back to the drawing board. That's a good thing.