One of these days, I would like to build (or have someone build) a bench attached to the freshly-painted railing (I would finally be motivated to do it!) on my front porch. I envision putting a couple of all-weather cushions on it and sitting out there sipping a beverage or reading a novel and watching the boys play in the front yard. In the meantime, I have a couple of patio chairs that will suffice.

I do not have a stellar history as a green thumb, but I have gotten better in recent years. I guess my mom’s love of plants is finally rubbing off on me! I have a few hanging baskets and some shelf plants that sit on the porch railing, along with a few potted plants on the ground. I also had two windchimes, one of which was my brother’s that he had at his old duplex. After he died, I inherited it, and it made me happy to listen to it tinkling with lovely music.

Unfortunately, the strings that held it together succumbed to the elements, and it fell down. Thankfully, the chimes didn’t break, but I needed to re-string the whole thing, and in order to do that, some of the holes needed to be re-drilled.

I set it aside for a couple of months – until I had time to work on it – and finally I made time this weekend. I sat at the kitchen table with the hand drill and box of assorted bits and went to work. (Yeah, yeah – not the ideal work station, but I managed.) I restrung the chimes with microfilament line (ie, fishing line) and drilled out the clogged string. Ta-da! It isn’t like-new, if you look really closely, but who is going to climb up on a step stool to examine my handiwork? 😉

I hadn’t realized just how much I’ve missed hearing the chime until a breeze started blowing as I hung it back into place. Hearing the sweet music brought a smile to my face. I think Nathan would be proud of me for fixing it … and using power tools, to boot! In the words of Tim the Tool Man, “Arr, arr, arr!” 🙂