Working With My Hands

I've never been really handy or anything, but ever since I moved out of the city into a small rural town, I've found that I've had to dig deep and find the inner craftsman in me. My first project was fixing an old barn-like structure on my property. It was leaning and the roof was buckling in; I didn't know whether I should fix it or just tear it down.

I looked into renting a backhoe until I found out one of my neighbors owned one (this wouldn't have happened to me in Chicago!) but the more I looked at that barn, the more I wanted to save it. I gathered a few of my neighbors and with the help of their construction tools and one tractor (don't ask) we were able to save the barn and even expand the hay loft so that I have a place to store my holiday decorations! Guess I'm more handy than I thought. Well, maybe I should say I have very handy neighbors!