We had some work done around the house this spring and summer. Most of it was outsourced, but DW and I did do one BIG project ourselves. I'm proud to say that not only did we complete it, but we were (and are) still talking to one another after completion!!
Recipe:
1) research outdoor playsets online; find best deal
2) order online with "guaranteed" delivery
3) find out that delivery wasn't guaranteed afterall and complain to all who will pretend to listen
4) find out that the playset will be delivered in two days on the very day you've decided to cancel your order (and thus cancel your cancel)
5) find out that the delivery is coming on an 18-wheel semi that can't get to all the way to your house because of the curves, hills and (most importantly) community covenants preventing such nonsense.
6) agree to meet said truck at the gate to the community to transfer the entire playset into the back of your minivan. Pray that it will all fit and that the delivery guy will actually be willing to help make the transfer. Take second car (small SUV) just in case.
7) meet truck; load thousands of pounds (or so it seems) into the back of your faithful minivan and put the slide in the SUV. Pray your way back up the mountain.
8) stand in the driveway and try to figure out how to unload the stuff!
Now you've assembled your ingredients; time to start assembly.
1) find the instruction manual (all 62 pages including diagrams). Thank the Lord that it appears to have been written by technical writers who actually speak English as their primary language and have actually seen what they're describing.
2) rough sort the parts and pieces to get a handle on the scope of project.
3) start putting parts together
4) get to step 5 (out of 112) and discover that you're missing 5 little metal brackets that are critical to moving forward beyond current step.
5) wait until Monday morning and call manufacturing company; request said brackets.
6) wait until brackets arrive
7) wait for your calendar to allow you to start assembling again.
8) laugh about the fact that the instruction manual says this should take" two moderately skilled people 16 hours" to complete
9) finish 6 days (spread out over 2 weeks) later.
And then you have the masterpiece pictured above!
Recipe:
1) research outdoor playsets online; find best deal
2) order online with "guaranteed" delivery
3) find out that delivery wasn't guaranteed afterall and complain to all who will pretend to listen
4) find out that the playset will be delivered in two days on the very day you've decided to cancel your order (and thus cancel your cancel)
5) find out that the delivery is coming on an 18-wheel semi that can't get to all the way to your house because of the curves, hills and (most importantly) community covenants preventing such nonsense.
6) agree to meet said truck at the gate to the community to transfer the entire playset into the back of your minivan. Pray that it will all fit and that the delivery guy will actually be willing to help make the transfer. Take second car (small SUV) just in case.
7) meet truck; load thousands of pounds (or so it seems) into the back of your faithful minivan and put the slide in the SUV. Pray your way back up the mountain.
8) stand in the driveway and try to figure out how to unload the stuff!
Now you've assembled your ingredients; time to start assembly.
1) find the instruction manual (all 62 pages including diagrams). Thank the Lord that it appears to have been written by technical writers who actually speak English as their primary language and have actually seen what they're describing.
2) rough sort the parts and pieces to get a handle on the scope of project.
3) start putting parts together
4) get to step 5 (out of 112) and discover that you're missing 5 little metal brackets that are critical to moving forward beyond current step.
5) wait until Monday morning and call manufacturing company; request said brackets.
6) wait until brackets arrive
7) wait for your calendar to allow you to start assembling again.
8) laugh about the fact that the instruction manual says this should take" two moderately skilled people 16 hours" to complete
9) finish 6 days (spread out over 2 weeks) later.
And then you have the masterpiece pictured above!
2 comments:
Well...that recipe seems mighty daunting to me!
But what a lovely playset!
Enjoy!
Susu
I saw your comment on my blog, and had to come over to take a look at what one of my fellow fathers-in-arms hath wrought. That is one impressive-looking structure. And I love all those trees in your yard, too. Unfortunately, our big tree fell over a few years ago, and then our neighbor took out all his big trees, so our skyline is pretty bare these days. We've planted well over a dozen new trees since we moved in, but they're not very big yet. So we keep planting more to compensate. :)
Pleased to make your acquaintance!
Post a Comment