chain of fools.

this weekend turned out to be quite productive here on the home front. the weather forecast was just vague enough to give us the confidence to begin some pretty major outdoor projects. saturday turned out to be sunny and warm(ish)so we had no excuse to put off creating our stone pathway.
aaron and i started our day by heading to the north portland tool library to pick up a hoe, rake and push broom. we nabbed a ladder while we were there so that we could finally clean the gutters, but more on that later. the portland tool library is a small but amazing part of the community. it's exactly what it sounds like: residents of north portland can check out tools (anything from a sweeping brush to a table saw) and then return them when they are finished. it allows everyone to complete the projects they want to complete without breaking the bank. it also encourages people of all income levels to take on projects themselves and improve their homes and their neighborhoods. we really, really love this place.
i have been watching a lot of online videos on laying pavers/flagstones (i'm still not sure exactly what they're called) over the past few weeks so i felt pretty confident of the steps we needed to take in getting these things laid down.

the first thing we did was lay out the stones in the design we wanted. this ended being a pointless first step as, despite our best efforts to document the position of each stone-from numbering them, taking pictures of them, drawing diagrams of them-it was impossible to recreate the design in the end.
so after we numbered the stones, we moved them out of the way and started digging. i found using the hoe was the best way to break up the soil and pull up the grass. after shoveling a few scoops of the loosened soil onto a tarp we laid out, aaron conveniently decided he would clean the gutters. i didn't mind too much as i was really enjoying this part of the process. i developed a steady, almost hypnotic rhythm and actually lost myself a little in it. however, the digging definitely took a long time and for a while i was convinced this would be a two weekend project rather than a two day project. we took a break for lunch (my sister had been over with her dogs so she went and got us sandwich fixin's) and to rest for about an hour. refueled and revived, i knocked out the rest of the digging with aaron's help.
we weren't as concerned with leveling the ground as perhaps we should have been but we did try our best to make it more level than it originally had been. once we shifted some soil from the high parts to the low parts, we dumped sand over the dug-out space and started spreading it out. i used a piece of wood to smooth out the surface and quickly got to work laying the stones. as i mentioned earlier, our numbering system failed miserably. after having spent almost consecutive 6 hours outside i was exhausted but determined. aaron retreated inside to do the dishes while i, having abandoned all hope for recreating our initial "design", just started piecing together the stones. i tried my best to level them out as i went but i was far from perfect. i finished up the day by dumping more sand over the stones and sweeping as much as i could into the gaps. i decided to quit for the day and let the dirt settle for a week or two and then tweak any uneven stones.
all in all, i think we did a decent job for a first time stone-laying. if i had to do it over again, and i pray to god i never do, i would take two days. day one would be digging, smoothing and leveling. day two would be laying the stones. determination can be a blessing and curse.

as i mentioned earlier, aaron took a break from the manual labor to clean the gutters. the back gutters were completely clear while the front gutters were filled with all sorts of things. we decided this might be a good time to put up some "rain chains", as we had been talking about this for a while. we went to the hardware store and purchased two lengths of chain for a little over $20. aaron removed the down spouts only to discover that when the house was painted, they neglected to paint behind the down spouts-more evidence that the previous home owners were fans of short cuts. the lack of paint has a streaky effect and kind of adds to the ambiance of the rain chains...right? right? we're stuck with it either way so we forged on and after a few different attempts, aaron figured out a way to rig the chains to the gutters while i figured out a way to anchor them. i filled a strawberry planter our old neighbor gave me with stones and that seemed to hold the chain in place. after lots of trial and error, we set up a "system" to direct the water away from the house in the event of a downpour. it looks a little ridiculous and we aren't certain it will work, but for now it's a solution.