Slave Labor

And we are the slaves... to our dogs! :) Two weekends ago, my parents came and helped us pour the concrete forms for the patio border where we're putting the outdoor kennels. This weekend, we had to finish what we started.

Saturday, we poured 37 bags of concrete for a walking path to get from "our" patio to the dogs' patio.


Also on Saturday, we filled the patio area with a sand/gravel mix and leveled it out before laying concrete pavers to fill it in. Of course, these pictures neglect to show the 2 loads of gravel I myself went and shoveled and hauled Friday night, only showing the 1-1/2 Gil did Saturday morning! :)

We brushed the concrete walkway to provide better traction in slippery weather.

Our home improvement store of choice neglected to give us the entire amount of pavers we paid for and we ran out with 6 rows left to lay Saturday afternoon. We went in to pick them up and due to a computer glitch, they ended up only having 4 in stock. Luckily, their competition had the same product and we were able to finish the project Sunday.


All this just to have a place for them to go to the bathroom. Otherwise, they live indoors with us!

Sunday, after we finished the patio, we got to work on the fence. Well, Gil got to work on the fence while I did some laundry and other indoor chores. Then I went out and finished helping him with the fence. We had to section off a portion of the backyard so the dogs would have a fully enclosed place to run. We no sooner got the gate latched before we brought them outside... they were so excited, they ran circles around the yard for a full half-hour before settling down to a mere trot!


The things we do for the love of our dogs.