We threw a Memorial Day / belated housewarming party and some of our friends apparently decided to sit on our neighbor's dock because we didn't have much seating. These reportedly smart people (with Phds, MDs, etc) sat way too many people down on the dock, and broke it.
Luckily our new neighbor was gracious about our apologies and accepted our offer to fix the dock ourselves. (She even apologized to *us* for not telling us about the weight limit - which should have been obvious!) Anyhow, after some failed effort yesterday to remove the old rusted hook & eye system, we gave up as it had broken off too closely to the boards. Today (after jury rigging an extension cord plus three surge protectors to get the drill to stretch out there), we installed a new hook & eye system for $5 and we're good to go! On the old Scout theory of "leave the campsite better than you found it", we even offered to our neighbor to put in a new system on the other side, to replace the remaining rusted set.
Not particularly badass, but I'm amazed at how "accomplished" I feel after tackling this repair job. I know folks, including MMM talk about it, but apparently I had to experience it for myself. :) Gives me confidence we might be able to handle the next repair that comes around now that we own a house. And I'm thrilled we didn't have to resort to a handyman or buying a new dock, which would have been quite unfortunate, but worth the price of good neighbor relations.
