First off, good news. Eircom came and switched our service to the better line. Dial-up speed (relatively speaking) and reliability is back within normal pain thresholds. I think I’ll take Darron’s suggestion of using email to post as well, at least for the simple stuff.

I haven’t achieved contractor status yet, but I felt oddly confident using a grinder to cut through cement tiles for the lean-to at the back of the house. I’ve never been one to care for the whole macho, power-tool thing, but there certainly was a moment in the building supply when I asked for a grinder disc. The man behind the desk tried to sell me several discs to make it through the job and I confidently asked for a “diamond-edged disc.” Thank you very much. The job was fairly straight forward with the exception of the midges. These pesky little guys attacked my eyes, ears and nostrils but I persisted through the attack, sprinting inside after the last cut. The picture is of the completed struts. Tonight I finished the batons along the top and am ready to tile this weekend. Can’t wait …