So, yesterday was hard but fun.

On Sunday morning I saw the landlady's three dogs headed for the road. Here she came, hobbling down the driveway, tears streaming down both cheeks, trying to chase them down. I went and gathered them up for her and spent some time with her to try and calm her down. We drank coffee while I did my laundry and I started formulating a plan. She has pain medication that she takes in the morning, and it takes her a couple of hours to start getting mobile, meanwhile the dogs need to go out. Also, her first step beneath her door is dangerously low - I mean nearly 18 inches below the threshold and she's had a stroke. I've worried about her falling out the door but didn't know what I could do about it.
Well, I thought I'd tackle what I could, so I bought some treated 2x4's and vinyl lattice and worked all day building her a little fenced-in yard. I skirted one side of her house and fenced across the front and I even made a cool little gate. I had asked Chad to look at the stair-problem. When he got off work I was just finishing the fence and he jumped in and moved the stairs away from the house and built a deck at the perfect height beneath her door. Now she has a transition point between her door and the steps. That solution is perfect, and I don't have to worry about her falling. You should have seen the old lady dancing with joy on her little deck. She was so thrilled with the deck and the fence. Now this morning, all she has to do is let the dogs out the door and forget about them while she makes her coffee and lets her pain medication take effect.
I'm not a fence builder, but I think I did a pretty cool job. It looks good. But mainly I'm impressed with Chad's solution. I would have never thought to do it that way. Ms. Doris and I were both flabbergasted that he pulled such a great solution out of thin air. Pretty efficiently too. It took him all of an hour to get it done. I struggled all day with my fence project.

It was all worth it, now I don't have to worry about the old lady during the day.

I gotta go to work now, you have a great day.
MsAmber