DBQ (Dream-B-Q)

For our first official post of the summer, what better topic than the backyard grill/BBQ?

Who wouldn’t dream of having a custom-built BBQ on your patio?  Nice feature, huh?  Kinda pricey though.  Unless you “inherit” the sad shell of a former such luxury with your foreclosed home, which you bought with your super-handy hubs, whose ultra-super-handy-pops is always willing to lend a helping hand.

surveying the scene

So… here’s what we started with…

Ugly.  Sad. Pitiful.  EYESORE.

So bad, in fact, we put up plywood support and duct-taped plastic tablecloths over this thing in an attempt to sheild it from view during our Open Dream Party.  It was the perfect spot to serve drinks, including this YUMMY sangria, but we would never force our guests to see the extreme DIY home improvement project that awaited us underneath.

But once we did have the time/energy to tackle it – we think the results are quite impressive!

Here’s how the Dream boys got ‘er done:

filled a gaping hole in the back with recycled pavers we found in the backyard

the hole in front was measured, cut and filled so that our existing grill would be a perfect fit

after the el-crappo tile on top was removed.... the surface was re-enforced with plywood and Dura Rock

new tile went on that surface like a breeze

it took just a couple of hours to set and grout

after a little paint to cover the new stucco (DIY) job...

voila! the eyesore is now quite nice to gaze upon

The BEST part?  The entire project, which the pro’s would charge thousands to do, cost us less than $150.  Here’s how:

Mortar = $6

Bricks/Pavers to fill holes = Free!  Recycled from ones we dug up on the backyard

Plywood/wood = $19

Dura Rock = $16

Tile/grout = $90

Paint = already had

Grill = already had

Labor = FREE!

Total cost = $131

Yep, you can color us happy and know that we’ll be enjoying many a grilled meal in the future.

Happy Summer!

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Gone to the Dreams

So, Mr. & Mrs. Dreamer – the two people who feed us SCRUMPTIOUS kibble twice a day – are outside working on something, so the Bulldogs are taking over this blog.

your guest bloggers for the day, Paris and Bowdoin

You can read more about how awesome we are here.

As you can imagine, this whole “Dreamscaping” nonsense totally rocked our world.  We had already spent several months peeing and pooping all over the backyard – making sure every inch was designated Bowdoin/Paris territory.  Then, this crazy “bobcat” invaded…

Dad calls it a "bobcat"...

…but there’s no way in the vet’s office that’s a cat.  I mean, we can totally take down a cat… but this sucker… (was a bit beyond our abilities.)

*sigh*

So, we just had to sit back and let it scoop up all of our favorite pee spots, then dump (rock) on them.

however...

there was one incredible benefit to having this “cat” in the backyard.  It’s big paws churned up the BEST DIRT PIT EVER.  It provided endless good times…

for wrestling...

for playing "where's Paris?"...

what did you say?

I know, I know. I look like a beached whale. Shut UP!

we got our tongues...

and our noses caked in dirt.

In other words, it was AWESOME!

In fact, we’re kind of sad that it’s all cleaned up now – and so are we.  No more dirt pit meant the dreaded trip to the groomer for us.  BOO!  Stinky is so in right now, someone needs to explain that to our owners.  Anywho, we’ve about exhausted our word-base, so we’ll sign off for now, until some other crazy project rocks our world and we feel compelled to bully into the blog again.

'nite 'nite!

 

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