And I Successfully...Well, We Successfully...Built Two Gates and Now Have a Fenced In Back Yard for Glamis

When I first got hired as an employee and began buying my own school clothes, I quickly learned the art of clearance racks, deals, and ridiculously low prices. This, of course, has carried over into my homeownership and, well, it's more difficult to get a deal on household items, including a fence.

Then comes Pam's pool. It had to be taken down after a terrible winter and, as a result, she needed to get rid of the fence that surrounded it. The twins and I took down the pool and I earned the right to the fence. The trouble was that it was for a pool and not, necessarily, to landscape a yard. Still, I thought to myself, "Hmmm, I have all this material. I must be able to jimmy something up."

I finished the back a few weeks ago, but we needed to do the front. The trouble was that we needed to build gates, too. I kept going to Home Depot and Lowe's, and they're gates were $320 a piece. Even the gate brackets were $90. I kept thinking and looking around and procrastinating, but then Chitunga said, "Okay, it's Labor Day already. We need to finish the fence."

While he was at work, I made my plan of action. Buy cement. Put in poles. Cut one of the fence panels into pieces. Buy a few other cheap contraptions. Go to the door section and get the individual brackets rather than the door kit. AND for $62 we now have two fences in the front, both with gates. Glamis now has a complete back yard and we can let her out without worry.

Not bad for a labor day of laboring. It feels good to scratch another thing of the list (and Chitunga can erase it from the refrigerator white board...sh'zaam!)