A new look for my entryway...

Hey there!  Let's see if I can even remember how to publish a post!  It's been way too long!

My vacation to Alaska was fantastic, by the way.  I was gone for about 10 days, then back to work - which is hectic these days since the students are back on campus!  Then, I managed a visit with friends on a Saturday, dinner on a Sunday, another drive one Saturday to visit my sister - just seems like I've had "stuff" to do that kept me from working in the garage.  Then, there was the fact that it was clean when I left for Alaska.  I like clean, almost as much as I like running wood through the saw and creating tons of sawdust!

Finally, two weekends ago running wood through the saw won and I managed to get back to work - ahhhhhh.  It did feel good to be producing something again.  I wasn't sure what I was going to make, I just wanted to do something.  As I was putting out my meager supply of Fall/Halloween decorations I realized that my entry was getting pretty scraggly looking.  The concrete in that area is ugly - I'm not planning to try to do anything with that, but I did think that if I dug up my big jasmine bushes and planted them in large planters I might be able to cover up a bit of the cracked and ugly concrete!

I measured up the space and headed off to HD where I picked up lots of cedar fence posts.

$2.05 / piece       5/8 in. x 5-1/2  in. x 6 ft. #2&Btr
No Hole Incense Cedar
Dog Ear Picket

These things are pretty cheap, and they hold up to the weather really well - that's what fence posts are supposed to do.  I bought a bunch of them (about 20 of them) and figured that would do the trick.  Well, you know my measuring skills are sadly lacking, and I ended up having to go back for about the same number of boards.

Turns out that my planters were large enough that they could have been used for small coffins (just keeping with the Fall/Halloween theme)!  I walked out to the entryway, double checked my measurements and wondered if I was going to be really, really sorry that I'd started this project!
These things are 36" wide, 33" long and 29" tall.

This past weekend I figured I was going to finish this project up and just live with it, regardless of whether they were too big and disproportionately sized for the space.

So, out came the primer and paint.  I wish I'd taken a picture of the primer I used (and the paint wasn't much better)!  It was old, from when we painted the house - so, 6 years old at least.  The can was rusted and the lid was caked with rust.  Miraculously, the paint wasn't "spoiled"!  Clumpy, but not sour smelling or ugly looking.  After stirring and stirring and stirring and, well you get the picture - I had a somewhat smooth product and was able to get it primed and painted.  I used a semi-gloss exterior paint for the final two coats. I painted just the top 6 inches of the interior and covered the inside with gardening cloth that I poked all kinds of holes in for drainage purposes.  

Then it was time to dig up my jasmine and put the boxes in place.  Oh, my - I haven't dug in the garden in ages and gosh did it wear me out!!  I do forget that I'm not 29 anymore!  I had just enough energy to fix something for dinner and head to bed - hoping that my uprooted jasmine would make it through the night and next day until I could pick up some potting soil and get them potted!

Monday, we made a stop at HD after work and picked up bags and bags-12 bags in fact, of potting soil!!! I did only use 8 bags, but figure I'll need to add more as the soil settles.

And, here's the result.  I'm doubtful that the jasmine plants will survive - especially the plant on the left of the door, but for now I'm trying to keep them alive and flourishing.  The planters do what I'd hoped they would, and disguise some of the imperfections in the concrete.   They seem to widen the entry area, too.  All in all, I like the planters and the new look!  What do you think?