Lanai Day 2 (bonus: Robin shirtless) update: kind of

So, on my first full day on the lanai, I was able to lay it out. Our lawn goes uphill, so the lanai will be basically at ground level on one side and about 3 feet high on the other side. I am going to slope it very slightly away from the house so the rain runs off it. Here is a picture showing the grading. The two joists coming from the wall are in their proper slope and square to each other. (Thank you Pythagoras! Without his theorem, I would have no idea how to square a structure. Math is so useful in life.) The board across is level. It all looks a little wonky, but really it is level.

I started to ready the footings in the areas that don't need grading. Basically, Leslie and I dug the holes to put tubes in. Then, I will put concrete with an anchor in the tube. Voici. (This is a very useful French word which, in this context, means "here it is - take a look". Ok, Laura R. you have just learned another French word - that was painless, n'est-ce pas? I will teach you how to pronounce it in January....)


Today, I must do some grading of the area that is near ground level and then I will, weather permitting, pour the footings. But, it is raining now so I am doing the blog right now.

Yesterday, after I worked, my hair looked a sight (and I was quite dirty, of course). Voici the hair.

So, I took a shower. To show you all my tan, I look a picture after my shower. For people who know me well, you can see that there is tan in places that almost never see the sun in Santa Cruz. I rarely wear anything sleeveless at home. It is the opposite here. I was going to crop it so you couldn't see my little stomach bulge and fat lines in my back. But, I talked to my friend Judith today and I told her that I had gained a little weight. She doubted the truth of my claim. So, Judith, voici! (update: Judith did laugh but was worried about me advertising my shirtlessness to the world. She thinks that there are bad people out there and the fact of the picture would lead to something bad. Now, this is coming from a French woman! There are beaucoup the shirtless women on TV ads and on billboards there. But, I promised that I would change it. Voilà.)