In which a small fortune is spent and a deck is built

Mom has been gone gallivanting in Poland for the past week, and this gives Dad lots of time to focus on me and my project. I have made him promise not to work on the house in my absence though, because although I am still working full time, I want to be there for everything. I want to become a master builder, capable of whipping up a chicken coop or an underground bunker at a moment's notice. But first I must tackle the small stuff. Like how best to get a small, straight piece of metal to hold two boards together. It's not as common-sense as you'd think.

After buying all of Lowe's's (how the heck is that possessive done?) 2x6x8 inch planks, and also a bunch of 2x4x8s, and some 4x4x8s, and even a couple of 4x6x8s (if you want to find diversity in the South, just venture into your local hardware store's wood department), we started building the back deck. Now, to be completely honest, building a back deck would not be one of the first things I would have focused on in this tiny house adventure. But seeing as how my contractor is my dad, and he is working for free, and the amount of things I currently know about construction could fill a thimble, I didn't argue and just went with it. And now I have a lovely back deck!

Despite my pirate stance, this is not a poop deck.

As elementary as it looks, I had no idea how involved it was to build a simple platform. You have to measure things and cut things and level things and prop things up, and then whack things with hammers and put nails in things, and then measure other things, at which point you must again cut things and level things, and then whack and nail THOSE things, and on it goes until you have a deck. It took awhile. And we still plan to install rails and rail-seats around the edge so clumsy people won't stumble off it and break themselves (I am referring to myself here), therefore it's not totally complete yet. But I am proud of what we've accomplished and wanted to post about our success so far.

Totally Sawesome!

One of the coolest tools I've seen/used yet is an unassuming little thing, the palm driver. It is a miniature air hammer, meaning it uses compressed air to drive nails with little to no effort on your part. I must admit, the first time I used it, I immediately burst into giggles at how easy and quick it was. It's so easy, it feels like cheating. Here is a short, embarrassing demonstration of how it works. In real life, it sounds much less like farting, I promise:

I tried to take a video of myself while using the palm driver, but I messed up both the nail and the video. I guess selfie-videoing while using power tools isn't a fantastic idea. Luckily my Dad is a cell phone video aficionado. 

By the way, here's Dad. He doesn't smile in photos, unless you sneak one while he's laughing. I'll try to get a smiling one next time, but no promises. He's had that mustache my entire life. One time, my sister and I photoshopped it off of him just to see what his upper lip looked like, and the resulting photo made us scream and ctl-alt-del as quickly as we could. But I still remember. It haunts me.

In other news, I dropped some major fat stacks this week on supplies for my house (Metaphorically, of course. Who pays for things with cash anymore?). Harbor Freight was having a big Independence Day sale, and we went a big looney with the coupons they sent in the mail. I bought a huge generator, two sets of small solar panels (coming in at a combined 90 watts- not a lot, but it's a start), and other various sundries I probably don't need. Dad loaded up as well with a welding helmet, some magnetic trailer taillights, and other stuff I doubt he really needed. But it was ON SALE! And that is a siren call that few can withstand. I also spent way too much on a bunch of vintage brass outlet and switch covers from eBay, and bought an 10,000 BTU air conditioner from Lowe's. We've been to Lowe's so often these past two weeks that when one of the younger workers sees us, he makes a beeline for our truck and helps us load everything up. By George, I think I may have a suitor.

Fail of the Week: I got permission from my wonderful employer, Trader Joe's, to take home as many wooden pallets as I need for my cabin effort. However, I have discovered that wooden pallets will not fit through the opening of the trunk of my car. I'm currently wondering how management (and mall security) will take it if I break out the Sawzall on the loading dock and take them apart before shoving them into my trunk. Thoughts?