I did it, I bought the wood, I know what you’re thinking “So what, you’re always buying wood!” but this is a start to finish project no messing about get this thing built ‘It’s a planter for gods sake’ and I have set a dead line of Sunday night so it’s about staying focused and actually producing something!

The guys at Howarths Timber tried to put me off buying what I’d set out to buy because pre-treated timber is better for what I am using it for, far more dureable and cheaper which I agreed with but it comes in 4800m lengths (which you have to buy complete full lengths of) its green in appearance and I would have to paint it (I don’t have paint so it would be extra cost) and its rough sawn so I would have to sand it down a lot to make it look great (Yes I have a sander but I need to build not spend the next 2 or 3 days prepping)

I am going to call this my prototype, something I can learn from making and show to people (possibly…maybe?). It will be made of pine and treated with the same substance as our sheds, so it will look golden brown. From this, I can alter sizes and improve the design if required.

Pictured is the goal, that is what I am making whether it be good, bad, saleable or unsaleable I will make it exactly how Liz Fourez designed at https://lovegrowswild.com/2019/07/tall-outdoor-cedar-planter/ and if pine does not have the longevity I have to say I built 2 chairs in August 2006 and they are only just rotting beyond recovery so they lasted 15+ years with one coat of wood preservative I never retreated since 2006? I think my ‘prototype’ will be OK

The wood cost £45.62 and I intend to try and get an exact material budget for the whole project, down to cost of screws, glue wood stain etc and then get some data and opinion on how much it would sell for and then calculate how much my time is worth by comparing the two totals?

Todays excuses,

The wrong car, I went to Howarth Timber to look at stock and what sizes matched the plans I am going to work from. The cutting list says 2.4 metre lengths will be the optimum to produce the minimum of waste which is exactly what I need to achieve but that length will not fit in my Corsa but will just fit in Jamie’s car

The wood doesn’t look nice, I looked at treated wood and it didn’t look great in the pile outside in the yard….

Note: Just buy the wood, make it out of pine, treat it with wood preserve, and have something to show people, jeez!

Spent last night on me own downstairs watching TV, drinking water which at the time felt OK, and crying!

Although I blogged that it was tough, it was breaking the habit of grabbing that early evening alcoholic beverage which was the tough bit, sitting on the couch watching TV was pretty easy! I had done the usual stuff dog walk washed up etc I then spent an hour in me shed playing darts not my intention I wanted to do some more on my bench but after making a mistake on it at the weekend I had yet to get my mojo back for rectification which always takes a while.

Planning to make something is not making something, thinking about making something is not making something, preparing to make something is not making something. I do all of these really well but none of these gets the result I want and are forms of procrastination disguising themselves as doing something important.

I want to build and create stuff, but I am scared of failure, and I know failure is part of the process but it’s stopping me doing anything at all, what if what I make is rubbish? I need to find that first step that one thing that will get me going, my goal is to build a planter and sell it so whats stopping me?

So: the goal – Build a planter

Timescale – By Sunday Night

Materials required –

8 foot of 4 x 4 treated x 1

8 foot of 4 x 1 treated x 5

Cutting List –

Plan – https://lovegrowswild.com/2019/07/tall-outdoor-cedar-planter/

All this can be achieved if I just stay focussed

I sat thinking about all this whilst watching a documentary on a mass shooting at Parkland high school in Florida on Amazon Prime by a film maker called Charlie Minn who interviews those involved in the shootings but never mentions the name of the shooter, focusing solely on the victims, accounts of what happened and law enforcement. As I sat watching it I realised I had tears streaming down my face listening to these children and the parents of the murdered, one father Andrew Pollock whos daughter Meadow was killed saying to Government 911 happened once and we fixed everything, these shootings keep happening why are we not fixing it? I just kept thinking why America can you keep letting your children die you are not sending them to war you are sending them to school for Gods sake!

It was a very powerful show and I went to bed with my thoughts all over the place but I was sure of one thing I need to do something about my life which may pale into insignifcance in comparison to what I watched but action will always speak louder than words!

Day 1 of what I don’t know, I made a conscious decision not to drink today and I didn’t although it was harder than it should be but I have done it!

Every journey begins with a first step…

I have such a great family they make me thankful every day…

Reagan will always be my first born and the best daughter I have ever known she has turned into a teenager which is understandable every kid goes through that but maan we got an “Ugh” tonight and spent the morning asking her to clean and tidy her room and getting attitude back no matter what we asked?

Lincoln is on the cusp of leaving us and becoming a dick I mean teenager but for now he is just happy to toe the line. He seems like he’s waltzing through life bt I worry that we may miss an issue because of his easy going nature?

I can sum up the difference between my two children academically with their response to “Do you have any homework?”

Reagan: “I’ve already done it!”

Lincoln “Ugh, yeh. I’ll go and do it now…”

Jamie just keeps working hard and is reeping the rewards both monetary and career progression and excels in everything she does.

Me, I just keep doing what I do work wise resigned to the ultimate fate that is I am digging me own grave, implementing hardware and software that will result in my redundancy but hey ho.

After taking Billy for a walk and cleaning the kitchen, I went to pick Reagan up from horse riding Desperate to go play in my shed I did two loads of washing and made us some food before taking Lincoln to Cricket practice, while he was there I went see me dad for an hour. Finally after calling at the supermarket and then preparing marinaded chicken for tea later I managed to make it to my shed to do a bit of woodworking and throw a few darts before taking Billy again cooking tea and finally sit in front of the TV with a glass of wine before bed!

We went to watch Reagan and Lincoln at Altrincham Ice Rink, where they had a half-hour lesson It’s great to watch them do stuff like that and see them learn new things. The problem with the 30 minute lesson is they do not get cjan e to practice which they are both desperate to do, but I think one of Reagan’s friends is going tomorrow and they are both invited so hopefully that will give them chance…?

We also saw that an hour after the lesson next week there is a “SUB Zero” disco which we are hoping to stick around for too which might mean hanging around in Altrincham for a couple hours on a Friday night?

We went to an options evening with Reagan tonight where the High School presented what “pathways” to coin their phrase students could follow and which subjects can get them their.

Reagan is so much like her Mommy on the academic side being studious and very organised in her learning. She has already made her mind up with 3 sciences history and cooking so although the evening was interesting she has already made her mind up and got reserve options sorted too

Jamie was up first on her birthday determined to do her usual morning routine so no breakfast in bed we took her flowers chocolate and procecco down to her in the living, while Altered Images played on Sonos

Reagan won the day though with her gift which was special but the words she wrote in the card sealed the win

I was going start this blog with ‘I didn’t realise how clutter, makes me feel’ but then I though what the hell are you talking about you know EXACTLY how it makes you feel?

In me shed I have to move at least 3 things, to do one thing and it’s so frustrating to spend more time making room than making something.

Earlier today, an engineer came to look at our boiler because it has been losing pressure over the last couple of months and last week it stopped working because I forgot to fill it up. So I thought this needs to be sorted, we pay monthly for it to be right and it just isn’t. When he came he did all the required checks and ascertained that the boiler was fine so the heating system was probably to blame and pointed out that the radiator at the bottom of the stairs was weeping. He said if you have a couple of them the system will lose pressure but the moisture might never drip it may evaporate before it does.

It was pretty obvious as soon as he said what the problem might be so I went round all the radiators to check for weepage but to do so I had to move so much stuff just to get near each valve. Every one was covered with something apart from ironically one of the ones that was leaking at the bottom of the stairs, which because it was not covered was probably hit by the hoover making it leak!

So I spent a long time today moving stuff just to find and fix leaking radiators we just have so much stuff and no room to store it but to create storage space we have to create space and so the cycle continues!