January 11 - 19, 2025 - Blackstone Grill - Golf Cart Driveway Project Started - Wreath - Driveway Project Completed

My Blog Reflection

I have learned that our greatest blessings come when we able to improve the lives of others.

Jimmie Carter

January 11, 2025

About a week ago I found a rusty 3-burner Blackstone grill on Facebook for $50.00. We drove about thirty miles this morning to pick it up. The fellow selling it was really nice and helped me take it partially apart and then load it into the HHR. It is in much better shape than I expected and in it is a much heavier duty model than our Blackstone at home. It needs some paint work on the lid and sides, which are rusted, but other than that it is in great shape. I'm not getting to that project until after the golf cart driveway project is complete.

January 13, 2025

A big project this season is installing a golf cart driveway. I got my permit a couple of weeks ago. It is good for six months so no rush.

Driving the golf cart across the grass kills the grass and we end up tracking a lot of grass cuttings into the house when they mow. Calling it "grass" is a joke. There is no grass because there is no irrigatation. The "grass" areas are a weed with lateral vines in all directions. It is tough as nails and hard to pull up even in this sandy soil. 

The driveway will go all the way back to the Florida Room for two reasons. The first is it a safer place for the cart from thieves and second I installed an outlet there so that Buster can easily be plugged in for charging.

Here are a couple of pictures of the area where the driveway will be. You can easily see the track marks.

In the pictures you can see a brown dirt spot in the driveway path. It is the stump from the palm tree that fell down during the hurricane. The maintenance guys ground the stump down about four inches deep but that was not nearly enough for me to have a level driveway path.

Getting started:

Some time back I noticed that early in the morning there are Latino guys hanging outside Home Depot looking for work. At 8:00 a.m., with the help of a translator app on my phone, I hired two guys for four hours at $20.00 per hour to dig out the driveway. One kid was a harder worker than the other but they did work consistently and did get the job done. Here are a couple of pictures. In the foreground of the first and second pictures you can see the stump from the palm tree taken down during the hurricane. 

When the guys hit the stump that was the end of their digging work. I paid them and sent them packing. I then tried to use my Sawsall to cut out chunks of the stump to level the area. After about ten minutes my Sawsall quit working. Don't ask me why. I had just put a new switch in it. I immediately got on the community's Facebook page pleading to borrow one. Denise brought one by along with her charger. 

I soon learned that I wouldn't live long enough to chip that stump out with a Sawsall. I could have installed the driveway grid over the stump but I would not have been happy with the results. I went to Home Depot and rented a stump grinder for four hours. I couldn't believe how heavy that machine was for its size. It took everything I had to help the guy load it in the back of the HHR. When I got home my neighbor Mark, who just flew in today, helped me unload it. 

Grinding the stump out was a much slower and more tiring project than I imagined. The wheels would sink in the sand making it hard to push the heavy machine into place to grind. It only cut about three inches deep and about an inch wide at a time. Very slow work. I worked the machine for a while and sat down. When Mark saw me sitting down (glaring at the machine) he came over and finished the job. What a great guy.  After three hours the stump was out and I took the machine back to Home Depot. I hope I never have to use one again. I was completely shot for the day.

January 14, 2025

Today I dug more dirt out to level the area. I then laid down landscape cloth to keep the weeds from growing up through the gravel. I bought the heaviest duty cloth that Home Depot had. I don't want weeds. I may get a citation again. 

Next I installed the plastic edging. Even though I had stretched the edging out and left it outside in the sun for two days to uncurl, it was still impossible to install it in a straight line. I did the best I could. Next the first section of grid was laid down. I soon learned that the thirty metal hook stakes I ordered to hold it in place was enough for one section but not enough for the second section I needed to put down.

I ordered another thirty metal stakes from Amazon. They will be here on Thursday. In the meantime I started hauling dirt away. 

There is a dirt pile behind the dumpster at the maintenance shed. I was told that I could take the dirt there to get rid of it. The problem was getting it there. It is on the other side of the park. I emptied the trash can and the recycle can and strapped them to the back of Buster.  He wasn't a golf cart today, he was a pickup truck. I could only do this because he has a back seat that folds up.

After the first trip to the dump I learned that I could only fill the cans half way because once I got to the dump pile I couldn't lift them off to dump them. This meant I would be making a lot of trips. I made four trips and quit for the day

January 15, 2025

Today my goal is to remove the rest of the dirt piled on the carport. I had all day and needed it. It was fifty degrees and gloomy. It was good weather for shoveling dirt. It took me eight hours and eighteen more trips to get rid of the dirt. Between shoveling dirt into the trash cans and dumping it at the maintenance shed, I was beat. I was glad this part of the project is over. I hope to get the rest of the grid laid tomorrow then I can order the rock.

On one of my trips to the maintenance area to dump the dirt I got a picture of this guy in a front yard. Kelly told me the lady living there feeds him and several other smaller birds that hang around her place. Her house adjoins a large drainage ditch so the birds hang out there all the time. I think he was posing on one leg for me. He's about three feet tall and kind of cute for being so ugly.

January 16, 2025

After eating supper and showering I slept for eight hours, which is unusual for me. This morning I’ll admit I'm a little sore in various places. Not unexpected.

This morning I got a second bill from the tree trimmers. This bill was $600.00 for trimming up the pine trees after the snow fall, which followed the ice storm. I’ll still have a bill for grinding out the stumps when I get home.  Believe me, I won't be renting a machine to do that myself! The loss of all these trees in our yard is so disheartening and we haven't even seen it in person.

Today Kelly went to a lady's craft class here at the park and learned how to make a wreath. She needed some pipe cleaners so we went to a Dollar General and obtained the last package they had in stock. Kelly came home and made a very nice wreath about sixteen inches in diameter using ribbon in her Scottish colors. Now we have to decide where to put it. We may just take it back home. It doesn't blend well with our decor. LOL

January 17, 2025

It is still quite chilly but it did get up to 65 degrees with some sun in the afternoon. We haven’t had sun for several days. For lunch today we went to small Greek restaurant nearby for another one of Kelly's international meals. I had a gyro and a Greek salad, both were good but almost too much. Kelly had the spinach pie, which was good but not as good at the one we made in Greece last summer. 

The grid spikes arrived from Amazon so after lunch I installed the rest of the driveway grid. Here is a picture of the driveway grid ready for gravel. It looks a little wavy but that is partly due to the gray landscape fabric sticking up on the edges. I'll trim it back once the gravel is in and I can walk on it. You can't walk on the grid without gravel in it to support it.

We then drove to the landscaping stone company and ordered a cubic yard of small stone. It probably won't be enough but they would only deliver it in even yard amounts. I was afraid two yards would be too much and that I would have nowhere to go with any that is left over. It will be delivered tomorrow.

A lot of people stop by and asking about the grid. No one had ever seen it before. We saw it for the first time in a national park in Panama. It will definitely help hold the gravel in place.

I need a propane tank for the old Blackstone grill I bought. I found one on Facebook nearby for $15.00. I will pick it up tomorrow as well.

January 18, 2025

The gravel arrived around 10:00 a.m. and was dumped. I quickly realized that I severely underestimated the amount of rock I would need. Rather than waiting until Monday to have more delivered and paying another $65.00 delivery charge, I went to Home Depot and bought bags of pea gravel. It changes the look a little but we don’t care.

In between trips to Home Depot I picked up the LP tank. Getting it filled and working on the Blackstone will be my next project.

I hauled twenty-four bags of pea gravel and spread it out. I was done for the day. After a hot shower it was time to watch the Chiefs and Lions games.

January 19, 2025

Major rain was predicted in the late morning so at 8:00 a.m. I headed to Home Depot to pick up twelve more bags of pea gravel. As I was spreading it out the rain started. It really poured. I was still a little short on gravel so I headed back to Home Depot. When I arrived the gate to the lawn and garden area was locked. I suppose because of the hard rain. I ran to the main entrance in the rain and walked through the store to the lawn and garden area. In the rain I loaded six more bags of pea gravel and headed home. This would be my last trip for gravel no matter what!

In between torrential downpours I spread out the last six bags of pea gravel. I then spread some of the white stone I saved back in with it to blend the two types of rock. The job was completed by noon. 

Here is a picture of the finished golf cart driveway. It ended up being a much more labor-intensive project than I envisioned when I started. Mostly because I just can't do manual labor like I used to. We are happy with the results.

After taking a nice hot shower and changing into some dry clothes, I plan on watching football the rest of the day. At 4:00 p.m. I am taking Mark to the Tampa airport. I am thrilled to save him an Uber fair after his help on this project. He said he won't be back until February sometime but one or more of his daughter's girlfriends may come by and hang out for a few days before then.