Arbor

Well, I didn't know if I could do it or not, but it turned out I managed just fine.  Even the part where the instructions said two people were needed, I did it alone okay.  The only problem I ran into was misalignment of the preset screw holes.  One that was on a cylindrical upright was off by about 1/8th of an inch.  It was a place where the bench fastened to the pole.  No amount of tugging on that thing made any difference.  I finally to some metal cutters and nibbled both holes in the front and back of the seat just to allow the screw to reach the hole.  It was still tricky, being on a curved surface, the bench wouldn't reach around.  But by twisting and skewing, I finally got all screws on all sides of the bench firmly fastened.  I would have finished the job in one day except for that glitch.

Today I finished the upper part.  The upper apron and cross slats served to really straighten the whole unit.  I just finger-tightened the slats on the top as a huge thunderstorm was rolling in.  I'll do another round of tightening on Wednesday.

Rain is predicted for Saturday, our party day.  But I suspect it will just make things pleasant and cool.  I'll set up many chairs indoors and as many on the patio as I can, but won't try to put people anywhere they might get rained on.  I'll eliminate tables as we are crowded, and people can hold their plates on their laps.  It will be just fine.

Now I have to get busy with cleaning the house.  I've neglected it for a couple of weeks while working intensely outdoores.  And I've tracked in dirt and bark in the process.  So cleaning starts tomorrow.  I'm taking three days off work this week, so I should have no problem getting everything done.  Just follow the plan.

Here's is a shot of that cool arbor  I have some hanging pots full of gorgeous flowers to hang up there.  And I'm looking for some cute cushions for the seats.  The location where I have it is very hot in the afternoon, so, I'm thinking I might weave some lengths of cheesecloth through the upper slats to filter the sunlight to my hanging plants.  I'm also posting a photo of the new flower bed right by the patio.  It's long and narrow and very colorful right now.