Friday morning I finally decided to tackle the mess that is the abandoned house behind me. It looks so much better when things are growing over it, but those things growing are also a problem. Ever since the tree was cut down, the invasive plants have taken over and have made quite a mess of that house. It's been ten years of junk accumulating back there. I don't even know how most of it got there.
The iron sofa frame has been there all along, but the red and white KFC container is new from last month. Was someone back there? Did a squirrel drag it over there? It's a mystery. I do know that a few tenants ago in the house next door, used the empty lot as their own personal dumping grounds. Just tossing their garbage over the wall.
Then there was the tenant who tossed his lit cigarette into the mess and caught the whole place on fire. Luckily I had just seen him smoking and then looked up to see the smoke coming up above the edge of the wall.
Or? maybe not? Maybe it would have been good to let the place burn to the ground. It's not really salvageable for anyone to purchase.
After about two hours of cutting paper mulberries, piling up some of the junk to be tossed in shifts and filling three large construction bags of trash (shoes, pots, clothes, food junk, kitchen utensils, baby diapers) I had to stop.
I wanted to pull up the disgusting carpet but there were too many black spiders crawling around on top of it.
I was happy with the progress I had made. Now I just have to go back in next week and start hauling out some of the junk in the pile.
After that mess it was time for a fun project. Miss Mary and I had gone to purchase our spring plants and some flowers with left over money from the gift certificate we received from Green's Grow the previous week. We also bought 4x4s to make nicer planters.
With help from the West Philly Tool Library, I check out a chop saw and a set of very special drill bits that will drill a wide circle into wood so you can recess the head of a nail or bolt. Very practical.
The drill is a different story. Something happened to mine last summer. I haven't seen it since then. This is very sad because that drill was a good friend, helped me with a lot of projects. I think it was stolen, but I have no proof. There were so many people wandering in and out of my house last year. I have a second drill at school to use for drilling holes in boards. I brought that home. When I pulled it out to use it, it just didn't have enough power. Not only that, but I can't find my box of multi drill bits. This convinces me even more that the drill was "lifted" along with the bits. Sigh. oh well.
Mr. El left early in the morning, so I asked Miss Mary if she knew where he kept his and if I could borrow it. She brought me this the heavy-duty scary looking drill. But no complaints! It got the job done.
Once they were finished, we hauled them out to the street, put them in, and planted the flowers.
I don't know what it is about flowers. It just brightens everything and made us so happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment