Deckstravaganza: Pour me one!

Saturday was our big triple-header: deck work, a Kentucky Derby bash and a fundraising dinner. Not only did we smush in all three, we did it with style.

Face masks require one to smile with his or her eyes.

First, we were up and at ‘em bright and early to pick up some donuts and our cement mixer. We also had to get some new cardboard tubes because the ones we had originally were 14 inches and the trouble with the auger meant we had 12 inch (still up to code!) holes. Then, we came home and got to mixing. We started with three 42-inch deep tubes. I checked for stuck babies, bunnies and puppies before we poured.
It was tedious, but not too bad. The worst part was hauling 24 60 pound bags of cement from their spot in the back of the garage to the holes.

Soon, we had three of these:

Of course, we had to deface the wet cement right away. Hubs chose a simple heart motif (actually it looks a lot like the tree carving included on our wedding stationary), not my original idea of face-planting into it a la Michael Scott.
Then, it was time to clean up and dash to the Derby party, where hubs' gut feeling led us to pick a winner and walk out full of Kentucky Hot Browns and $56 richer, which we promptly spent at the fundraiser on orchids and bartender tips. I failed to document our wonderful outfits, but imagine this: hubs - daperly decked out (ha!) in khakis and a purple tie and me - swooshing through the streets in a fluffy yellow creation, topped with a big-brimmed white hat, adorned with a white rose and some brown feathers, plucked from my feather duster for a last-minute Derby hat. Glorious.

How was your weekend?