Raised Garden

We recently finished a project that many of us had a part in.
 I decided to make a raised garden. Because of the dogs, it had to be high enough they couldn't get into it.

In our city, people throw their junk curbside to be picked up. I was driving and saw a wooden structure in a trash pile. I told Rick and Ty about it. Next day I drove by it again and hoped it would still be there later when Rick got home from work and was going to get it.

But on my way home from my errand, I saw the trash truck at that pile. It lifted its claw and came down smack on top of the pile, and wood went splintering everywhere. My heart sank. I'd just lost what I was going to use to build the garden.

Or so I thought.

But then I turned onto our road and saw this:

Ty had seen the truck pass our house. He didn't have his van yet, so he grabbed the wagon and ran down the street and got the biggest part of the wood structure. He was definitely my hero that day.

So this became the base.

I bought a board for the top and cut it to 43" x  48".

We used a staple gun to attach black material that is actually to keep weeds from growing. For this project, we used it to cover the board.

Then we used screws to fasten the board to the frame. 

We bought boards for the garden sides. We waterproofed them before cutting them the right size.

Rick put on the corner brackets.

The walls are 10" high. 

Rick put lattice around the base for looks and to keep the dogs from getting under it. You can see that we've gathered more "junk" to make more gardens.

This one is done. We may try another one soon. What projects have you done lately?

Bonding Over Projects

Some of us have been taking advantage of the free building workshops for adults at Home Depot, and the ones for kids at both Lowes and Home Depot. We did them a couple of years ago, then stopped for a while, and then started up a couple of months ago. It's free fun and a shared experience to bond over.

Here are some of the projects.

Lowes had cars to make from kits the first three times. 

There's a patch for each completed project.

They made a butterfly house at Home Depot.

Jessica, her mother in law Lisa, Jasmine and I went to a women's workshop at Home Depot. We removed slats from a wood crate.

 Cut it in half with a power saw.

Put the slats back on and added legs to the two halves to make a vegetable stand.

Mine is actually right here in my writing area holding the books I'm using.

Then Lowes had a birdhouse project.

Tyler hung one of them in a tree.

In the next few weeks, the kids have an Angry Birds birdhouse at Home Depot. Jessica, Lisa and I have two womens' ones at Home Depot. Jasmine is joining us for one of them. Tyler, Jessica, Lisa and I are doing two general ones at Home Depot.

If you haven't tried the projects with your kids, give it a go. They may love it. And it's a good bonding thing. It's something Rick does with them. And it's free.

Here is the link to sign up for the Angry Birds birdhouse. You can check for it in your area by zip code. HERE

The women's ones are HERE

The general ones are HERE

And the Lowe's ones are HERE

Let me know in the comments section if you've done any of them or if you plan too.