Hey y'all. Welcome back to the second part of the story of my deck. Whoever thought that there would be so many ideas tossed around and decisions to be made about a simple wooden deck! It was soon apparent after The Coffee Cup stood in for me for four months, that an awning of some sort would be needed. My Blue Ridge Mountains get lots of afternoon showers throughout the summer. Since Sharon didn't want to take the chair cushions out of the shed and then put them away again during every single visit with me, shelter was called for. Even though I have a beautiful retractable awning that would give everyone/everything shade and protection, there would be that issue of rolling it out, rolling it in over and over.
Folks questioned us about leaving it out 24/7, but the legs are screwed into the deck and the corner guy lines are tied to eye-bolts also screwed to the deck. Having thick rhododendron bushes on three sides provides a buffer for gusty winds, adding to its security. Even when the outer bands of Hurricane Florence blew through last year, the Quest was steady and stable. In this year's pre-RHC-season, Sharon unfolded the awning on her deck, sprayed it with a silicon tent waterproofer, and sealed all the seams. It's holding up well in our second season and hopefully will continue to do so into 2020. Now would you believe there were decisions to be made about lighting our deck? Oh yes there were and that's a good subject for part 3 of the evolution of my deck. It tickles me to death that you stopped by to read my little blog! Until tomorrow, from my family (Sharon, Gracie, Splish, Gigi, and Zip the new kid on the block) to yours, I wish you the best! Mollie #357.
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When Sharon, Becky, Rob, and Trisha met Janet on that Saturday morning back in March of 2018 to look at a potential seasonal site at Raccoon Holler Campground, one of the first things that stood out was the deck. At 27 feet long and 15 feet wide, it was a beauty. Even though it was covered in leaves, the potential was there! After a spring clean before The Coffee Cup arrived, ideas of an outdoor mat, chairs, cushions, choice of awnings, a cooking station, lighting, tablecloth for the picnic table, and more began. We didn't want anything fancy, cluttered, or tacky though. Both The Cup and I have similar colors, so a palate of browns and beiges was chosen. It was important that the list of new items to be purchased would be kept at a minimum. Cousin Rob was forever sending Sharon links to stuff to be bought, LOL. But Splash, The Cup, the Wee Cabin, and home had a sizable inventory of items to choose from. Take mats for example. First we borrowed the Cup's brown & cream mat that you see in the photo above. Then came Splash's huge black and white mat. The third was purchased at Lowes, and although beautiful, it held water and would not drain when it got wet despite being an outdoor one. The fourth was a keeper Sharon found at Kotula's back in late spring. Next came the decision concerning chairs and tables. Sharon saw some high-backed, brown, plastic "Adirondack" chairs that she thought would be great. No need to worry out them getting wet! They were light-weight and with the 20% off coupon from Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Splish brought them up to the Holler. Two folding white plastic tables were purchased too. But everyone from Sharon to the Cousins quickly realized they weren't terribly comfortable and were actually kinda hard to get out of. Even with some black & white cushions from Lowes, it was an epic fail. So it was back to the drawing board. Chairs 2.0 occurred when Sharon was gifted a couple of really nice chairs for her deck in Newton, freeing up the four that she had used for years. Once again it was Splish to the rescue and in a matter of a couple of hours last summer, comfortable chairs and flowery cushions were in place to finish out our first camping season! The "Adirondack" chairs now circle the fire pit. Cousin Rob was the inspiration for two folding tables from Walmart . . . black, sturdy and big. This year, Sharon bought new matchy matchy cushions. Chairs, cushions, and tables are ready for relaxing, seating visiting friends, and casual meals! This is a good stopping point for the Evolution Of The Deck Pt. 1. Thanks so much for stopping by and from my family (Sharon, Gracie, Splish, Gigi, and Zip the new kid on the block) to yours, I wish you the best! Mollie #357. Happy Birthday to me! Well, more specifically, Happy Gotcha Day!! Sharon reminded me today that on July 17th, one year ago, we met for the every first time. She and Cousin Rob rolled into Hohenwald, TN bright and early to take delivery of me. It was love at first sight and everything I hoped and dreamed it would be. After an exhausting and thorough orientation and walk-thru, we traveled on the Natchez Trace for our first night camping together. It was thrilling, scary, and funny all at the same time. There's a story that only Sharon and Rob know and they will laugh until they cannot breathe every time they talk about it. We traveled the next day to my forever home at Raccoon Holler Campground in Glendale Springs, NC and it's been an awesome year of camping together ever since.
I haven't taken the time to write any blogs this season, but I plan on fixing that and getting you caught up on my life here on 5th Avenue. I'm so glad you dropped by so I could tell you about my birthday today. From my family (Sharon, Gracie, Splish, Gigi, and Zip the new kid on the block) to yours, I wish you the best! Mollie #357. |
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July 2020
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