Hopefully tomorrow evening I can begin on the next section. See ya!

Getting there...

This evening I finished installing the joints in the first segment. Yeah!

Its hard to believe that this wood cost nearly $200. Not bad I guess... I expect the total project cost to reach $1,000. The good news is that we will have a nice big deck for evening parties.. and you are all welcome to join us.

This piece shows where the decking will come underneath the slider door. There is a small gap but it should be fine.

In this picture, you can see the orange paint in front of the existing deck. This area has been identified as the newest expansion to the current project. Now the deck will be expand an additonal 12' to a total of 36'.

Today I put the ledger up. As you can see, I had to skip over the dryer vent and water faucet. This not be a problem - I hope.

The original plan was to build a 14' x 21' lower level that connects with the smaller upper deck.

This weekend my folks visited and helped get the new deck project off the ground.

Today's landslide EXERCISE was fun and very beneficial to all those who participated. Thanks for visiting!

I pretended that we were all going home - to leave her there all tied up. She was an excellent victim and everyone complimented her.

Because she complained on neck and head injuries, the responders immobilzed her head and placed her on the backboard. (Remember, this is only an exercise!)

Once Erica was found, they took good care of her and transported her to safety.

In a nearby building, Erica pretended to be unconscious but later awoke with complaints about head and neck injuries. In this landslide scenario, the building was jolted by a slide and debris fell on her.

In the background, the responders tended to an unruly (diabetic) victim.

Today we held a CERT exercise at the fire station and Erica played a victim. For more pictures of her experience, go to: http://ericatrathen.blogspot.com/

Bye for now!

This sure is a nice popcorn bowl - Thanks Linda!

Our new kitty, Yoshi!