Time consuming projects...

I love myself a good project. Big or small I love the idea of working on something and completing it.

However, as much as I love a good project there are some projects that I despise. Some include projects that take hours of your time and yet it's hard to see a significant improvement in the final product. Like when we had to reinstall insulation in the attic. It took time and money and at the end of the day, we close the door and will never look at our work again. I like to marvel at my work!

So when the inspector mentioned we might have our hands full with the sprinkler system, I wasn't looking forward to the project. Sure, it would be nice to have a functioning system but all the hard work isn't very noticeable. We spent four Saturdays working on the silly system. Whoever installed it did an awful job - seriously atrocious. All the heads sat above the ground, one as high as 5 inches out of the ground. It defeats the purpose of a watering system when your lawnmower runs into it. (might as well save the trouble and use a $3 sprinkler.)

Steve dug out all 15 heads. This was not a quick project. After digging out around the heads we were able to see what we were working with. We opted to lower all the heads using an attachment called a swing joint. This allowed us set the head at any height we desired. If that was our only problem, this project would've been a two Saturday job. But of course once we got it dug out, we found broken pipes and pieces and we started wondering what in the world we just got ourselves into! With two more Saturdays we were able to secure all the new heads and position them for proper watering and fill in all the holes. It was a glorious day to see those piles of dirt removed from the lawn.

I made countless trips to Ace and Home Depot. The third time in two days that I went to Ace, the guy at the counter asked if I wanted to sign up for their loyalty program. I kindly declined and stated that I rarely shopped there. The next day, I had to go back and I saw the same guy. He asked again about signing up for the loyalty program. I kindly declined. He stated, "I know you don't shop here very often but I've seen you here everyday." That sealed the deal - I would have to start driving the additional two miles to Home Depot where they wouldn't recognize me coming back for yet another piece that I forgot or misplaced!